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Catching Up – Some Views About Some Guys From Queens (NY)

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by Hank Boerner

April 21 2020

Alas, dear reader — I seem to have been neglecting my Stay Tuned web commentaries for quite a while. I have been writing and posting many comments in our other platform, G&A Institute’s Sustainability Update. Apologies.  Please do visit the other blog and follow us there as well if you find the content is of interest.

Take a look:  https://ga-institute.com/Sustainability-Update/

Today, I’d like to share some timely thoughts in this essay about two, or three, and maybe a few more (very prominent) guys from Queens, New York — and some background on the fascinating little corner of our wide country from which they come.

OK – I will also talk about some guys from Brooklyn, the (Kings) county neighbor of Queens County.

But first about two of the men in the news every day from Queens.  They are both very aggressive characters, as you can see in their public lives.  It’s forward, pressing on, always, and no backward movement.  They appear to take no prisoners in their business and political and governance activities.

That Queens spirit, you see, is in their blood.

On our TV screens and other viewing devices now each day we are getting news & views and boasts and asides, some nasty and some humorous from the prominent Queens duo:   President Donald J. Trump and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Both men are broadcasting live from New York and Washington out to the millions (the national and perhaps global audience tuning in every day to see what is going on with the virus crisis and government response).

And today (April 21) the two are meeting in the White House to discuss the way forward in the coronavirus crisis. 

Alpha males. Clash of the Titans.  Coronavirus drama. 

They are very different people, as we can readily see — but interestingly, they do have a few things in common that shaped their lives growing up and moving into the business and political spheres.

Being from Queens, I would say, had something to do with that.  I say that as a Queens-born and raised guy myself.  Being from Queens is always part of who we are, we like to say.

You need to know about Queens — it’s in the blood.

About “Queens” – the Homeland – Some Context For Our Story

First, some background to help you understand the origin story:  “Queens” is the official name of the populous county (2.3 million) in New York City where both men now prominent on the national scene were born and grew up and lived — and get this, lived quite near to each other for a time.  Other than that coincidence, of course there is very little in common  that we can see between them.

To provide some context:  Queens is also the name of the boro (or borough), a legal county within the Greater New York City incorporation.  It’s one of five NYC counties- an “outer boro”.

Outer boros, that’s what many people call the parts of the city that are not Manhattan.

What is unusual if you don’t live in these parts, or perhaps you do live here but feel it isn’t worth thinking about, is that four of the five counties/boros of New York City are actually on islands.

These are:  Queens, Manhattan (what most people think of as New York City, with its Wall Street and Times Square), Kings (which everyone calls Brooklyn – 2.5 million – more later about that), and Staten Island — all islands free of connections to mainland U.S.A. – only the Bronx is “attached”.  (And millions commute into the Manhattan Island for work every day.)

Queens and neighbor boro Brooklyn are on Long Island. Two suburban counties are to the east on the island (Nassau and Suffolk – what locals refer to as Long Island).

“Queens” can be just Queens to locals. No boro, no county. “Queens”. You’ve probably been here if you landed at LaGuardia or Kennedy International airports.

Some folks may say their neighborhood name and Queens, like “I live in Jamaica, Queens”.   Not the island of Jamaica.  Or Astoria, Queens.  Like Anthony Dominick Benedetto, who you know as Tony Bennett.  But I digress.

You do see Queens many nights on CBS dramas as many shows (Blue Bloods, FBI, Bull and many more are regularly shot in the county). Queens was the original home of the movie industry long ago and even today there are major film studios here (Silvercup, Kaufman-Astoria).

Oh, and Archie Bunker, the lovable bigot (played by actor Carroll O’Connor) was set in Queens.  That tells you something, I think, about some of the neighborhoods.  The actor was born in Manhattan but grew up in Queens.

It’s a historic American place:  Queens was settled by the Dutch back in 1624 and a bit of it by the English; it was part of New Amsterdam for 40 years until the English fleet sailed in and said “it’s ours.”  (And named the place for the Duke of York, the brother at the time of the English king.)

The Dutch and English settlers displaced the small Native American population (the local Algonquin nation clans) and then came the wave-upon-wave of immigrants from all over the glob — to Queens.  And the newcomers today continue to pick Queens as their new home.  Hundreds of thousands of newcomers.

For example, one of the largest Asian-American settlements is Flushing (near to the national tennis center) – it was named for Vlissingen, The Netherlands — home of the first Dutch immigrants. Now it is home to folks from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, and other Asian centers.

Queens, proudly, is America’s premier melting pot.

#   #   #

It’s 2020:  The Queens Boys Are in Charge!

And so to the Guys from Queens.  One of the immigrants coming to New York Harbor was a German from Bavaria, Friederich Drumpf (anglicized to “Trump” – when & how is of course debated).  He was an entrepreneur, and through ambition built a small fortune.

His son, Fred Trump, became a very prosperous homebuilder, in Brooklyn and Queens, had five children and his son became…that Donald Trump, also a developer and then, President of the U.S.A.  The Trumps were apparently wealthy from the first generation born here onward..

Nearby to the Trump home but really a world away, lived another set of early 20th Century immigrants – Andrea and Immacolata Cuomo, who sailed to New York from Salerno (near Naples) Italy, and settled on the wrong side of the tracks in South Jamaica.  They opened a small, local grocery store and the couple and their three children lived in back of the store. They were not wealthy at all. The couple struggled to speak English.

Their son, Mario Matthew Cuomo, described his childhood neighborhood as Italian-Black-German-Irish-Polish.  Mario grew to be a man of towering intellect and great ambition, a liberal and progressive recognized early on by the local Roman Catholic clergy, who arranged for him to attend prep school and then to gain a university education. (At St. John’s University, in Queens, established by the Vencentian Brothers. You probably know the school today because of its prominence in March Madness playoffs.)

Mario Cuomo became a greatly admired and respected constitutional law professor at St. John’s University and led a few widely-praised civic campaigns in Queens on behalf of everyday citizens and the working class.  Often going up against powerful forces like the patrician, Mayor John Lindsay of New York City and park and road builder Robert Moses in his crusades for the local residents and business owners.

He and wife Matilda (nee Raffa, classmates at university, she became teacher) moved to a home way above the poor South Jamaica neighborhood that he grew up in and where they raised five children in Jamaica Estates.

In the hills where the well-to-do lived — above the streets of Jamaica and Jamaica South.

Their home was very near to the Trump household in Jamaica Estates.  And from there, both Donald and Mario and his children Andrew and Christopher began their climb to prominence!  (Mario’s daughter Maria would marry designer Kenneth Cole. Another daughter became a doctor.)

The head of the clan, Mario Cuomo became governor of the State of New York and served three terms (1983-1994).  You might remember his thundering cadence at the 1984 Democratic convention (nominating speech) as he took on the Republicans.  Or his Notre Dame speech.  Or many of his progressive-but-pragmatic campaigns while in office.

It is his son – Andrew — who you see now every day on TV.  He today is Governor Cuomo, following dad’s footsteps.  Into politics. (He was his father’s campaign manager and later served as President Clinton’s Secretary of HUD; became attorney general of New York and on to the governor’s office).

As Donald Trump followed his father into the real estate business, Andrew followed his father’s path to become governor. (Andrew Cuomo was married for a time into another powerful political dynasty, to Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and wife, Ethyl. They have three daughters.)

Politics, politics..it’s in the Queens blood, we could say.  Dynasties – it’s also in the blood in Queens. 

And as Governor Andrew Cuomo told us in his updating on the situation in his state..New York is strong, tough and caring.  Strong enough to be caring.

That is in the New York State blood!

Brother Christopher – On Our TVs Every Night!

And another Queens guy we must mention here is Chris Cuomo, the CNN commentator — Governor Andrew’s younger brother — he was an ABC-TV newsman earlier. Now he is the nightly host on CNN, keeping the nation updated.

Often the Cuomo brothers are on TV together trading news & quips and “ranking” each other out, to use a 1950’s Queens phrase.

Father of the Clan Mario Cuomo was brought to public prominence by another Queens kid — journalist and author Jimmy Breslin, who created a media presence for the civic crusader.

Jimmy was a journalist colleague of mine when I was new to the newspaper business.  He started out at the Queens-based newspaper, The Long Island Press and then moved on to national fame at larger papers and magazines.

(A word later on about the Jimmy and Mario relationship.)

When we watch the TV coverage of Washington and national news, i keep thinking that it is all about these hometowns of men and women who by and large rose from modest beginnings to the seats of power in these United States of America.

Of course, there are substantial differences in styles and substances and behavior toward others.

One Queens guy argues with journalists he doesn’t like and insults them and yanks their White House press credentials.  The other today schmoozes New York-style, engages in lively back and forth banter, and has regularly met with journalists over the weeks rather than hiding behind press office staff.  Jousting:  And I really like the appearances of the very-human governor and his brother on the Chris Cuomo CNN program.

As Bill Clinton used to say — they (the Cuomos) can feel our pain.  

One man is the son of a man who throughout his life took the side of the poor, the politically-helpless, those he identified with from his early days south of the LIRR tracks.

The other with his wealth builder father discriminated against people of color that the pair did not want living in their rental apartment houses in Queens and Brooklyn (the federal government brought charges).

Facts:  UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT F. # EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, – against – FRED C. TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP and TRUMP MANAGEMENT, INC., – – – X Defendants.

You can check that out at:  https://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/FH-NY-0024-0034.pdf

The New York governor was Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development looking after the needs of many low-to-moderate income families.  And on and on.

I mentioned Brooklyn early on.  This is the other New York City boro or county on Long Island’s west end. It was named for the Dutch hometown of farmer-settlers who immigrated from Breucklen back in the early 1600s.

#   #    #

Brooklyn Today

Today Brooklyn is also populated by a wonderful, rich mix of ethnic and nationality and faith backgrounds.  People here (including my family members) don’t talk of “Kings County” — they only seem to speak of Brooklyn,

Brooklyn at the beginning was a very small farming settlement across from Manhattan Island that grew to a populous city itself, competing with across-the-river Manhattan/New York City.

The Statue of Liberty in the great harbor welcomed immigrants sailing by to “the twin cities” (New York and Brooklyn).  The welcoming message (partly) reads…

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

In the late-1800s a beautiful bridge across the East River – the Brooklyn Bridge! — linked the two cities.

Many Queens kids’ families had moved “out” from Brooklyn (that is, Kings County) over the years — but of course not everyone.  The guys who were born and raised in Brooklyn are very visible to us every day, especially during the coronavirus emergency.

#   #   #   #

These days we’re watching Dr. Anthony Fauci, a Brooklyn boy, son of a pharmacist who is head of the National Institutes of Health’s infectious disease center.  And on our TV sets every day with powerful, accurate, comprehensive sharings about the virus.

And another Brooklyn kid — still living there – often jousts with President Trump and his Republican counterparts.  That’s Senate Minority Leader Charles “Chuck” Schumer.

Representative Hakeem Jeffries represents New York’s Eight Congressional District, which takes in Kings and Queens counties (a Democrat, he lives in Brooklyn/Kings on the Queens line).  A respected member of Congress, he was prominent in the Trump impeachment hearings and other Washington political dustups.

Then there’s the presidential candidate with very enthusiastic followers — Senator Bernie Sanders.  Born and raised in Brooklyn, he fled to Vermont and then on to national fame.

We’re from Queens — and some from Brooklyn — for many of us, feeling your pain is in our blood. You see it in our politics. Most of us. 

On a personal note…

For me, a kid born and in early days a kid from Queens, I am fascinated by rise of the people guiding the nation today through the virus crisis, and by the wondrous little piece of land in the Magical City (New York) from whence much of us came.

On a personal note, one of the boys of Queens who rose to prominence who had great influence on my life as a young writer was William J. Casey — attorney, author, publisher — and my first boss in journalism and a friend and early mentor.

You might remember him – he helped Ronald Reagan sail to electoral victory in 1980 and became head of the CIA. (Casey was early in his life a leader of the OSS battling Nazi Germany in WW II!)

And you know a little bit more of this corner of these United States of America and the bright, resilient, influential men and women who are in the news.  Those Queens guys.

For whom some things, and some characteristics, and some crusades…it’s in the blood – they are from Queens. OK, and from Brooklyn,

#   #   #

P.S.  You can read my remembrances of Governor Mario Cuomo when he passed in January 2015, here: https://www.hankboerner.com/staytuned/tag/queens/

#   #   #

And if you are not tired of reading yet, here’s some more notes on this magical city:

Great New York City Comes Into Being – Including Queens

Back after the American Civil War and the beginning of the astonishing wave after wave of immigrants coming into New York harbor, there began a movement to create a very large, consolidated city. Manhattan Island would be the city center, with the nearby Bronx, Kings County (Brooklyn), Staten Island, and Queens incorporated in the confederation. This city would come to be the most populous in the country.

The eastern townships of Queens County were then rural farmlands with small villages — and heavily Republican in politics.

So the deal was struck — those areas to the east would become new county ( and Republican!) and the western portion of Queens (more settled and heavily Democrat) would join New York City.

The new county of Nassau was created – President Teddy Roosevelt was the prominent “R” living there.  He was governor of New York – then VP – then President of the United States.

And the political divide lasted close to a century!  (And the divide still exists — we are two nations in so many ways in these parts, just like the rest of America.)

“Nassau” was the Dutch royal house; the Roosevelts are among the prominent Dutch descendants.  This area is all about immigrants – that why it is so magical to me.

Rural Queens exploded in population growth after World War One (100,000 people a year moving in) and again after WWII.  Many newcomers were moving east from Brooklyn, as my family did, and others were newly arrived on our shores from Europe.

Queens today is a totally minority county and one of the most populated counties in the U.S.A.  And that gives it its rich flavor.  Immigrants – the working man and woman – those struggling to make a better life for themselves and their children.

Queens is in the blood that is replenished by those coming from all over the world to this special corner of New York. 

#   #   #

I mentioned Jimmy Breslin and his connection to Mario Cuomo.  Breslin’s coverage of Mario Cuomo began when Mayor John Lindsay asked Cuomo to help settle a housing dispute tinged with racial overtones.  This was “The Crisis of Low Income Housing” in the Queens area, Forest Hills.  Mario Cuomo was the volunteer mediator working to resolve the issues with local citizens.

At the time, Mario Cuomo was generally unknown to the public, a partner at a Brooklyn law firm, serving as adjunct professor at his alma mater, St. John’s University of Law.

In 1974 Mario Cuomo wrote a book about the classic set off of middle class residents and proponents of low-income housing coming to the neighborhood – “Forest Hills Diary”.  It’s a classic today about mediating (or attempting to) the divide along racial, ethnic and wealth lines. Such as in housing and education.

In the late 1960s, Mario Cuomo was asked by a group of homeowners in Corona, Queens, to help when New York City government planned to build a high school and condemn their homes to make way for construction.  Mario Cuomo defended “the Corona Fighting 69” and stopped the displacement.  Jimmy Breslin and other journalists covered the battle and helped to make Mario a well-known crusader locally and beyond.

And here is what Jimmy Breslin wrote in the preface to Forest Hills Diary:  At a meeting of the residents, a local public official came in and asked who was helping the 69 — a “little local lawyer” someone said.  Cuomo got up and spoke.  Jimmy, covering the meeting for The Long Island Press, was asked who Cuomo was.

He remembers saying: Cuomo.  And then, Breslin remembered the that Congressman Hugh Carey telling him months earlier this:

“I got a genius nobody knows about. He’s a law professor at St. John’s. Brilliant sonofabitch. Nobody knows him. I begged him to run with me (when Carey campaigned to be governor). The first time they ever hear of him, they’ll be right there in his hands…”

Soon, Hugh Carey would appoint the little local lawyer Mario Cuomo to be Secretary of State. Then Cuomo became Lt. Governor.  In 1982 Mario Cuomo was elected Governor of New York State and went on to be re-elected two more times.

Mario Cuomo died in January 2015. Vice President Joe Biden said the governor “…was a forceful voice for civil rights, for equal rights, for economic opportunity and justice.  He had the courage to stand by his convictions even when it was unpopular…”

#    #     #

Thank you for reading all of this if you got this far in the essay.  Fascinating folks, the Queens and Brooklyn Guys.  And now if you did not know much about them…you do.

 

Independence Day – July 4th – The Special Meaning of This Day

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by Hank Boerner

Happy Birthday, USA Independence!

Every year by order of the U.S. Congress we set aside this day to celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 by the courageous leaders of the 13 original states along the Eastern seaboard of this continent.

This was an action taken by the Second Continental Congress of the 13 “United States of America” gathered in Philadelphia — [a]n unanimous decision by “the Founding Fathers.”

The First Continental Congress had met in Philadelphia in September and October 1774 to arrange for a mutual resistance to British rule.

The first skirmish would be in April 1776 at Lexington and Concord and the War of American Independence was on.

In May 1776 the Second [meeting of the] Congress would instruct the individual states to start putting new constitutions together for self-rule.

Meeting in Philadelphia in July (2nd to 4th), the Congress would declare American Independence and adopt the Declaration.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” the Declaration’s text boldly states,”that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain un-alienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

The text noted that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Just Powers from the Consent of the Governed…56 representatives from the various states would sign their names.

Some of course familiar: John Hancock. Thomas Jefferson. Robert Morris. Benjamin Franklin. William Floyd. Richard Stockton. Samuel Adams. John Adams. Roger Sherman…and many more.

The first major battle of the war would be in what is now Brooklyn, Long Island, New York (Kings County), the Battle of Long Island — with masses of British army and naval forces coming close to defeating the small Revolutionary American Army, and the long and brutal War of Independence (from the rule of England) would ensue, continuing until 1781.

Early in the war, the Delegates of the States assembled (November 15, 1777) to agree to a “confederation” of the 13 states and to a “Perpetual Union” between the states.

The War of the Independence of America would end at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781. The Treaty of Paris would finally end the war in September 1783.

On March 1, 1781, the members of the American Congress would agree to “ratify” The [1777 drafted] Articles of Confederation (13 in all), to officially create these “United States of America.” The powers of the Congress are spelled out in these pages.

And then came one of the most momentous of documents of humankind: The adoption of the Constitution of the United States of America, with Articles hammered out and set before the assembled Congress on September 17, 1787 and on March 4, 1789 the Constitution was formally adopted in the new nation’s capital, New York City.

Along with certain Amendments (which we know as the Declaration of Independence) — Amendment #1 being that Congress will make no law regarding [establishment of] religion; nor prohibit free exercise of religion; or abridge freedom of speech; or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble; or to petition the Government for a redress of grievance.

These are echoes of the 1776 grievances embodied in the Declaration of Independence firmly “amended” to the Constitution. Over the years the first 10 have been expanded to 27, the last adopted May 7, 1992 (dealing with Congress establishing compensation for the members).

How bold/courageous/inspiring:  “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union…”

When I was in grade school, after World War Two ended and the peacetime returned to the United States, the State of New York assembled many of the important documents that explained the long, arduous steps to American (and state) freedom, and took these around the Empire State by train.

The railroad cars that I visited in my hometown station had facsimiles of state charters, minutes of the legislature over the years, letters of leaders (like Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman), and the New York State ratification of the Constitution of the United States on July 26, 1788 — with the first 10 amendments which were suggested by the state (not included in the Constitution but also as the first of the amendments).

We youngsters were shown the Federalist Papers; the original draft of the Pledge of Allegiance (1892); documents relating to the Freedom of Religion (the Flushing Remonstrance); the transcript of the Trial of printer John Peter Zenger (1734 – helping to establish the principle of Freedom of the Press in New York City); the newspaper published in 1849 in Seneca Falls, NY by Amelia Bloomer — The Lily — the first to be owned, edited and published by a woman…lending support to the fight for equality in voting by women); the document from the legislature in March 1799 — AN ACT FOR THE GRADUAL ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, taking effect the following July 4th, 1800!

And more: the documents establishing Freedom of Education (in New York State); others advancing Science and Manufacturing (which included establishing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Freedom of Labor (establishment of Civil Service Law; 1945 anti-discrimination law signed by Republican Governor Thomas Dewey, who would stand for election as President of the United States two times).

The idea for the New York State Freedom Train began in November 1947, when the National Freedom Train came to Albany, the state capital city. The National Train was on tour with its collection of important documents and in the city for one day only.

The state librarian was so impressed that the office began assembling the collection of Freedom Documents that would be put on a bright blue and gold, 6-car state train and taken all over New York State beginning in January 1949 (three cars were full of the documents). As I said, we school age children were taken for our “official tour,” and reading the many documents was something quite impressive and that I remember to this day.

How many children in America — or adults! — are exposed to these important documents that are related in so many ways to the Declaration of Independence, whose signing we celebrate today with fireworks displays?

How many families would go visit the assemblage of such documents – or on a national of state basis – in these busy times?

Maybe…we need another Freedom Train (where rail lines still exist) to help to tell the story of American Freedom, and the part that each of the original 13 states played in establishing these great United States of America.

Happy Birthday, America!

# # #

Postscript from Hank Boerner – July 6, 2017 – the Washington Post on July 5th:

“Some Trump supporters thought NPR tweeted propaganda. It was the Declaration of Independence.”

The story:  As it its tradition on July 4th, the staff of NPR’s “Morning Edition” program tweeted out the Declaration of Independence, Since 144 character is a challenge, this took 113 consecutive posts for the entire text. Then the blowback began, explains Post writer Amy B. Wang. Quite a few people took issue with the “propaganda,” thinking it was about President Trump.

Hmmmm….very interesting!  The parts that attracted real blowback included…

…He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.”

,,,”A Prince who character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unit to the ruler of a free people.”

Was this about Trump?  NO — King George III of England was the subject of the Founding Fathers’ complaints in the Declaration!  The Post writer points out that the text and purpose of the Declaration would likely be recognizable by those who have applied for U.S. citizenship — since questions about the document are on the naturalization test.  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has a list of study materials in case you or someone you know might be interested.

But a lot of people seem to be un-familiar with our foundational documents (that’s why I took the documents as the theme of my commentary on America’s Birthday).

The Post had four thousand-;plus of Tweety-bird responses to the story and NPR staff said “the tweets were shared by thousands of people and generated a lively conversation.”

My post above is based on facts — the actual document (our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution with our Bill of Rights — and I guess some might consider this propagandizing.  Guilty as charged.

You can read the Post’s story and some of the responses, and comments on the  the NPR Tweets at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/05/some-trump-supporters-thought-npr-tweeted-propaganda-it-was-the-declaration-of-independence/?utm_term=.14470aa78db8&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

 

 

 

 

The Presidents and the Press – a Contentious Relationship

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By Hank Boerner

The relationship between the President of the United States of America and the free press of our nation is very often a contentious one. Print me good news, and spare me the bad is often the wish of the nation’s leader (and we should include this as views of corporate CEOs and others not sitting at the Resolute Desk at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue).

As the Founding Fathers debated the future government of our country, and shaped our Constitution and Bill of Rights, the man who would become POTUS #3 — Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, observed: “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the People, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter…”

Of course, even President Jefferson (serving 1801-1809) had his issues with the press of his day. And that has been a constant tone for most-if-not-all of our heads of states for yea, these many decades back to the time of our Founding Fathers and Mothers.

The man credited with creating the modern presidency, President Theodore Roosevelt (#25, serving 1901-1909) was a writer himself, a prodigious book author and magazine contributor, and he used the technology of the day (the printed press) to get his points across to friends, allies and enemies.

Behold, The Muckrakers!

Five years into his presidency, and beginning the second year of his second term, the Crusader-in-Chief (fiercely battling monopolies, Big Business, fraudulent food and drugs, and more) delivered a speech in which he targeted the media of the nation.

This was April 1906, as “TR” celebrated the setting of the cornerstone of the Cannon Office Building up on Capitol Hill. President Roosevelt famously termed his position as the nation’s highest office holder as having possession of the “Bully Pulpit” — bully at the time meaning something of celebration and victory rather than today’s popular meaning as a bully picking on the vulnerable.

And so from the Bully Pulpit, TR held forth, targeting the media of the day who (he charged) made up stories and dug and dug for “dirt.” These, he said, were the “muckers with rakes,” a takeoff of the description in the Pilgrim’s Progress (a late-1600s Christian allegory by English author John Bunyan). The allegorical “muckrakers” were (men) who looked down at the bottom of the bay, rake in hand, tackling the muck at the bottom.

Sounding eerily reminiscent of January 2016 and the lively dialogue going on about the President and The Press and their relationship: These men (TR charged) were selling newspapers and attacking mean and women and society should not flinch from seeing what is vile and debasing. Wow!

The journalists of the day were mostly delighted by this! They began to call themselves muckrakers (the term comes down to us today) and their ranks grew as these investigative writers poured out magazine articles and books.

You may know some of their names and certainly know of their works: Ida Tarbell, and her crusades that led to the breakup of the monopolistic Standard Oil (the Rockefeller interests); Lincoln Steffens (also taking on Big Oil interests); Jacob Riis (a Danish immigrant and chronicler of the fate of poor immigrants in New York City); S.S. McClure (an immigrant), publisher of the populist magazine of the day, McClure’s. And, Ray Stannard Baker, Edith Wharton, Finley Peter Dooley. Later came such muckrakers as the legendary I.F. Stone, the nemesis of president-after-president.

And even later (more recent, that is) successors to their legacy include the CBS team of “60 Minutes“‘ the writers at Mother Jones; at The Nation; at The Progressive; of Rolling Stone (like Matt Taibbi).

Master of The Media – Especially The Radio

One of the Masters-of-the-Media residing in the White House was the sixth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, the four-term President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945).

There’s an important point to make here: the media covering the White House has leveraged the technology of the day to communicate the news (and opinion) to the masses. And so have presidents.

President Donald Trump’s expert use of social media (call it “citizen publishing” to be correct) is a parallel to the expert use of “The Radio” by #33, President Franklin Roosevelt.

Upon taking office, FDR delivered his first “Fireside Chat” from the White House (the media applied the name soon after).

On March 12, 1933 he spoke to the nation on :”the Radio,” — the nation was deep into the crisis of the Great Depression (with one-of-four households having no income). He began….”My friends, I want to talk for a few minutes with the People of the United States about banking…” (He was declaring a “bank holiday,” a wonderful phrase about shutting every bank in the US to determine which ones could open later with solid finances to protect customers.)

Keeping the Words Flowing from the Chief

FDR would deliver some 30 chats (the number is disputed with some saying 27 or 28 is more accurate). He spoke to the nation during war time, when his administration was taking steps to address this or that crisis of the day, such as why we had to be the Arsenal of Democracy to save democracy around the world, and more. Commercial radio was created in 1924, so “The Radio” was as new to FDR as Twitter is to President Trump.

And press conferences — FDR would gather “the boys” around his desk to chat about this and that. Some 337 press conferences in his first term and more in the second term.

Earlier in the 20th Century, President Teddy Roosevelt used the media of his day — especially mass readership magazines. (He himself often wrote for “Century,” the influential thought leadership mag of the day.)

Press Freedoms – Guaranteed

It’s January 23rd today (in the glorious year 2017, approaching 229 years since that day in June 1788 when our beloved and very durable U.S. Constitution went into effect with the vote of the ninth state, New Hampshire).

The very first Amendment, we all have to remember, was this: Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…

And so, these many years on since the first president assumed the office (George Washington, April 1789 in New York City, then the capital), the to-and-fro of the media-White House relationship continues in time-honored tradition of each party!

And so back to President Thomas Jefferson, who long after leaving office observed publicly: “The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”

And privately he complained to a successor, President James Monroe (#5): “”From forty years’ experience of the wretched guess-work of the newspapers of what is not done in open daylight, and of their falsehood even as to that, I rarely think them worth reading, and almost never worth notice…”

In composing this, I thought about the communicators-in-chief and their origins. New York is considered to be the Media Capital of the nation. And Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and now President Donald J. Trump — all New Yorkers. Maybe it’s something in the water here….

Let that be the last word for today!

# # #

If you want to hear a magnificent orator addressing the nation, tune in to President Franklin Roosevelt’s radio speeches, courtesy of his library at Hyde Park, New York. Link: http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/collections/utterancesfdr.html

FDR’s “Chats” are here: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/fireside.php

Teddy Roosevelt’s famous speech launching the Muckrakers movement is interesting: The Man With the Muck Rake: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/tr-muckrake/

 

 

The Cyber Attacks on America — Today, Identifying Russian Civilian and Military Intelligence Players as the Culprits

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December 29 2016

FBI, Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the White House — speaking out today on the issues.  The pros and cons are vigorously debated!

by Hank Boerner

The headlines roared forth today:  President Barack Obama’s Administration announcing sanctions on Russian interests — President-Elect Donald Trump saying he’s not so sure the Russians were involved.  Prominent Republican U.S. Senators (John McCain and Lindsay Graham) demanding action against Russia.  Back and forth it went all day and on into the nightly news and the chattering cable class.  Russian leadership immediately chimed in promising retribution for any U.S. action taken against their country.

So what is going on?  We’ll see a flood of comments here in the U.S. (pro and con, certain and questioning) on this and that and whatever, about the Russians hacking, whether that affected the recent election outcome, who thinks they did and who thinks they did not…and on and on.

Take a deep breath.  For context, let’s begin with the official announcements from the U.S. government agencies on the front lines of the attack/defense/retribution. (I know, I know — not everyone will trust the official government explanations!)  To the extent that you trust government agencies and leaders of those entities, at least understand what it is that they are saying on the record.  And what information they put forth to support their opinions.

The President today authorized actions in response to the Russian government’s “…aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election in 2016…”

The President-elect has been communicating (in various ways as is his style) that he is not so sure that it was the Russian government.

Some people are not getting past these conflicting views to get to the rest of the story. (We do know that President-elect Donald Trump apparently bristles at any mention of less-than-a-triumph-for-him-at-the-ballot-box — just watch the tweeting. So the idea that there was outside influence could undermine the confidence in his win – not good.

The White House today emphatically said the cyber intrusions — yes, attacks — were intended to attempt to influence the 2016 election (the main story the media picks up on).  AND they were intended to erode faith in U.S. democratic institutions; and, undermine confidence in the institutions of the U.S. government.  That part should make every American anxious — and angry — and give pause to think about the consequences of this, if true — no matter their political and personal beliefs (left/right, liberal/conservative, Democrat/Republican, etc.)

The Obama Administration is taking action in response, and what we know at least publicly tonight is:

  • Nine Russian entities and individuals are now officially sanctioned. These are the two Russian intelligence services (GRU and FSB); four officers of the GRU; and three “companies” providing support to the GRU.
  • The U.S. Treasury Department identified two Russians who used cyber-enabled means to steal funds and personal identifications.
  • The U.S. State Department designated two Russian compounds (in New York and Maryland) used by Russian intelligence agencies, ordering them shut overnight and entrance barred to Russians.
  • 35 individuals identified as Russian intelligence operatives are declared persona non grata – they are accused of violating their diplomatic duties and must leave the U.S. (and cannot enter if they are out of the country).  The individuals are in the Washington, D.C. Russian embassy and the San Francisco Consulate.  They have to be out of the U.S. (with their families) in 72 hours.
  • The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released de-classified technical information on Russia’s civil and military intelligence services cyber activity to help American network managers identify, detect and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber attacks.
  • The Obama Administration will deliver a report to the U.S. Congress soon detailing the Russian efforts to interfere in the November presidential election and what the Russians have done in past elections.  This should create more headlines (and cable chatter) as it lands on Capitol Hill.
  • The White House pointedly reminded us today that President Obama, back in April 2015 — long before the 2016 election — signed an Executive Order (#13964) creating a new authority for the U.S. government to more effectively respond to Russian (and others’) cyber threats.  This enabled the U.S. government to harm or compromise the abilities of “entities” attacking the U.S. — this could be via a distributed-denial-of-service (“DDOS”), for example.
  • And, the U.S. government could cause a significant misappropriation of funds or economic resources, trade secrets, personal identifiers, or financial information for commercial or competitive advantage or private financial gain.  Watch this!  There’s three weeks to go in the tenure of President Obama.The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security today issued a “white bulletin” (publicly available information) on “Grizzly Steppe” (Russian Malicious Cyber Activity).  The 13-page document is a “Joint Analysis Report” (JAR) that says this:  Russian civilian and military intelligence services (“RIS”) have been attacking the U.S. government, private sector entities, political entities (the Democratic Party), and attempted to interfere with the presidential election.

Think about this:  Attacked / hacked in the USA:  critical infrastructure entities; think tanks; universities; political organizations; corporations in the private sector.

Today’s document provides detailed information for American network security managers to protect their systems. Watch out for “Energetic Bear,” “Fancy Bear,” “Grey Cloud,” “HammerDuke,” “Tiny Baron,” “SEADADDY,” “WaterBug” — and many more Russian operators in your IT systems!

As for the election season attacks, the U.S. government officially confirms that two different “RIS” actors penetrated the Democratic National Committee systems.  They were identified as “APT 29” and “APT 28” — Advanced Persistent Threats.  The successful attacks started in summer 2015 and continued into spring 2016. The attacks are detailed in the JAR — you can read it (it’s publicly available) here: https://www.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/publications/JAR_16-20296.pdf

And to make sure the American public understands the Federal government’s position on the Russian attacks, the FBI, Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said the following:  The intelligence community is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, and that the disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks are consistent with the Russian-directed efforts.

Government officials said this activity by Russian intelligence services is part of a decade-long campaign of cyber-enabled operations directed at the U.S. government and its citizens.

As we know, a great deal of information — such as analysis and forensics — related to Russian government activity has been published by private sector security companies.  The U.S. government today confirms that the Russian Government conducted many of these activities as reported by the private sector firms over the recent months. (The U.S. government says the attacks have been going on for a decade or more.)

And so, the U.S. government is now arming computer network defenders with tools to identify, detect and disrupt Russian cyber activities that can do harm.

Over the coming days there will be lots of back and forth on who did what / or didn’t / or who should be tracked down and punished / or “we should move on and forget all this talk about the election, etc. 

Remember that Executive Order 13694: It was issued in April 2015 and updated (amended) today by the President.  This is an Executive Order Taking Additional Steps to Address The National Emergency With Respect to Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities.

The update adds entities and individuals to the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). Russian individuals are named as well as these Russian entities:

  • The FSB / Federal Security Service of Russia
  • The Main Intelligence Directorate
  • Special Technology Center/St. Petersburg
  • Zorsecurity / Esage Lab / Tsor Security
  • ANO PO KSI — The Autonomous Noncommercial Organization of Professional Association of Designers of Data Processing Systems

Stay Tuned:  Watch the rollout of the activities authorized by the Executive Order — including naming names and related personal financial information that could roil Moscow, depending on the details to be released.

There’s still more than 20 days to go for President Barack Obama to order action. Silent or announced.

You can read the Executive Order update here at the U.S. Department of the Treasury: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20161229.aspx

 

 

 

 

America – The Great Melting Pot – The Crucible

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America – The Great Melting Pot – the “Crucible” of Humankind

A commentary by Hank Boerner

At least until recently, many of us took pride in the idea that our great United States of America was “a melting pot,” where immigrants from many nations, of varying religious and ethnic backgrounds, could figuratively “come ashore” as many of our ancestors did via Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

Lately, listening to the presidential and congressional campaigns and now the post-campaign rhetoric, the “Golden Door” of America (as attributed by numerous writers to the essence of our Statue of Liberty astride the gateway) is in danger of being sealed up and replaced by the promised wall along the 2,000-mile border between Mexico and the U.S.A.  (As one author told us of the door, “…it is the entrance into liberty and freedom from oppression that is the promise of America, a land, a people, a way of life…”

You might recall the words of poet Emma Lazarus, firmly inscribed on the base of the statue:  “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” (“The New Colossus,” 1883.)

I grew up in New York, and have lived and worked here most of my life, with brief interludes in Washington, D.C. and Florida.  Riding on the city subway system most days, it is clear that at least in this bustling urban center, we here are still an example of the melting pot.

Where did this concept come from?  “The Melting Pot” was the title of a 1908 play by Israel Zangwill; it depicts the life of a Jewish-Russian immigrant family that survived an early-1900s pogrom in the Old Country and escaped to safety in America. The play was staged in Washington, D.C., and then-President Teddy Roosevelt (#26, a Republican) was in the White House and attended the debut performance.  (TR was born in New York City and lived most of his life in the Empire State.)

From this stage drama came the familiar phrase, “Melting Pot” to describe America…the “glory of America, where all races and nations come to labour and look forward…”  In the play, author Zangwill has his hero, David, write a musical symphony, “The Crucible,” with the dream of ethnicity disappearing in America.

In the early-1900s theatrical work, the phrase “Melting Pot” quickly gained in popularity to describe the American immigrant experience.

Thinking about this recently, I consulted the National Geographic (NG) magazine, mid-1914 issue, published just as the Old World (Europe, Near East) plunged into the worst armed conflict ever — the Great War, now known to many of us as World War One (which began in summer 1914).  One consequence of WW I for America would be that immigration to our shores would slow to a trickle.  That was a dramatic societal change when we consider what preceded the war.

In 1914, NG reported, one-in-seven people in the U.S.A. were born outside of our borders (13-and-a half-million), equal to the population of Belgium and The Netherlands combined, or Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Switzerland combined. (Of course, all of those nations were the former homelands of millions of new Americans.)

The magazine writers tantalized the readers with lively descriptions:  We had more Germans than the City of Berlin; enough Irish to populate four Dublins; enough Italians to populate three Romes.

Immigration Pushing Westward

The American civil war between the north and south states involved 23 slavery-free states and five border states supporting the Union and 11 states of the south forming the Confederacy.  That five-year long war that killed 600,000 Americans ended in April 1865.  In May of that same year, the transcontinental railroad was completed, linking America’s east and west coasts, and cementing our notion of “Manifest Destiny.”

Europeans (primarily) poured into these once again-United States of America — some staying in coastal cities, many more flowing westward.  The Erie Canal helped to move goods and people westward through the Great Lakes.  Railroads began to criss-cross states, old and new.  Vast agricultural lands were settled (Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and on and on).

As the swelling American population began moving from farm-to-city to work in the factories of the new Industrial Age, many more immigrants poured into the cities.  Five million-plus arrived on our shores between 1900 and 1910 (when Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House).  Actually, eight-and-a-half million arrived, but three million-plus turned around and returned to their home country.

The American Dream was sought by those “huddled masses” from: Germany, Russia, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Austria, England, Sweden, Hungary, Norway, Scotland, Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Greece, Wales, Japan, Turkey-in-Asia, Portugal, China, Belgium, the Atlantic Islands, Cuba, Bulgaria, Australia, the many nations in South America, Montenegro, Newfoundland, India, Serbia, all of Africa, Luxemburg, Pacific Islands, and Central American nations.  In that descending order of origins — the German-born in the lead.  Perhaps your ancestors are included in the tidal wave of people that reached our shores before WW I.

But even in the early-1900s there was a slowing of certain nationalities — notably, Germans and Irish.  But those earlier waves of immigrants were having families, and so by 1914 there were 19 million people whose parent or parents were foreign born.  And so an astounding 32 million of our citizens — one third of the total population — was either foreign-born or children of first generation immigrants who were foreign-born.

Stats Tell a Story

The earliest reliable statistics tracking immigrants to the U.S. are from 1820 forward.  In 1887, there were almost 500,000 new arrivees.  As the 19th Century turned to the 20th, the one million mark was reached (in 1905); heading toward 1914, the flow had reached 1.2 million — and then dramatically declined to 100,000 by 1918. The Great Migration to our shores was ending.

In 2016 we are a nation of three-plus times the population of those years (100 million then / 324 million today).

And the migration of the legally-admitted today is …. still about one million (2014 data).

What About The Un-Documented Among Us

The issue that irks many Americans, as evidenced in the political campaigns, is the presence of the “illegal or undocumented or illegally-admitted ” non-US citizens” among us.  That could be as many as 11 million (but dropping), according to The Washington Post  story earlier this year, citing the data of the Center for Migration Studies (of course, it’s a New York-based think tank.)  Trending Down: illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America with sharper declines from South America and Europe.

Today’s Immigrant Population

With changes in American law, “immigrants” today include such classifications as those who are lawful residents; tourists, students and workers admitted on a temporary basis; those who apply for asylum or refugee status; and the “naturalized” of the foreign-born.

The Immigration and Naturalization Act governs immigration policy.  There is a limit  set of 675,000 permanent immigrants allowed per year (with some allowance for close family members).  Non-citizens are also allowed on a temporary basis.

Our public policy accommodates family-based immigration; employment -based immigration; and, permanent immigration. There are country ceilings (limits).  And allowance for certain refugees and asylees, and vulnerable populations (think: today’s Syrians, Iraqis, etc.) The latter totals just 85,000 per year.

There is a Diversity Visa Program. Remember the German and Irish and Italian flows more than a century ago? They are not coming in such numbers now, so the Immigration Act of 1990 created a system of allowing immigrants from low-number countries to immigrate to the U.S. — about 55,000 persons per year.

Remember the excitement about President Obama’s “Dreamers,” a program designed for immigrants who might become eligible for citizenship? There are about 1.8 million eligible, including many who are between 15 and 30 years of age.  The Dreamers are mostly young, of various ages up to 30 and are those brought here as children by their parents entering the country without permission (“illegally” here in popular rhetoric). Half of the Dreamers live in California and Texas; New York has 89,000; Florida, 106,000.  About half are female.  Seven-out-of-10 came from Mexico.  They anxiously await the changes that may take place in public policy when President Obama leaves office.

As We Await the Trump Administration

All of this is interesting to say the least for us to think about, as we await the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress coming to Washington — with immigration reform high on the agenda.

One element of the running conversation on immigration is that of the Muslim population. Should those applying to come here who are of the Muslim faith be denied admittance if they come from certain majority-Muslim nations?  Should Muslim citizens (and non-citizens) among us be required to register and a special database kept (their whereabouts, activities, and so on to be tracked and charted)?

We had somewhat of the same question raised a century ago, back in that 1914 era, when people of German origins comprised a very large part of the American population. (Donald J. Trump’s grandfather among them).  If America went to war with the Kaiser’s Germany, the discussion of the day was, would the German-Americans / or / American-Germans be trusted in the U.S. military?  Would they fight their cousins on European battle fields?

 Loyalty of New Citizens

This was an important question.  The American ambassador to Germany at the time, James W. Gerard, delivered a speech on the subject in April 1918 – a few months before we went to war with Germany.

The German-Americans embraced their new nation’s cause unconditionally, he told the German leadership. And he warned them of what would happen to any German-American who betrayed America.  The German foreign minister had told the ambassador that [Germany] had 500,000 “German reservists” in America who would rise in arms against the United States if our country made any move against Germany.

So, the ambassador said in his comments:  America would have 500,001 lampposts in where the “reservists” would be hanging the day after they tried to rise.  And if there were any German-Americans who were so ungrateful for the benefits they received that they are still for the Kaiser (the German leader) there is only one thing to do.  Give them back their wooden shoes and the rags they landed in, and ship them back to the Fatherland.

And for good measure he added:  “I have traveled over all the United States — through the Alleghenies, the Catskills, the Rockies (etc.).  And in all these mountains, there is no animal that bites and kicks and squeals and scratches, that would bite and squeal and scratch equal to a  German-American, if you commenced to tie him up and told him that he was on his way back to the Kaiser [and the former homeland].”

The Question Arose Again in 1941-42

The question was again raised in 1941 as the military-led Empire of Japan attacked the U.S. military bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and declared war on the U.S. (and we immediately declared war on Japan).  In what is now acknowledged by many to be a shameful period in American history, Japanese-Americans (“Nisei”) were rounded up and sent to internment camps — up to 120,000 men, women and children.

But the young men joined the military to fight for their country, the United States of America. More than 30,000 Nisei served in the U.S. Army, a good number fighting bravely as members of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, one of the most decorated units in all of U.S. military history.  While they fought in Italy, the young Boy Scouts back in the internment camps in the U.S. conducted memorial services for the fallen.

The Nisei were Americans first in the 1940s, as were the German-Americans before them in the early 1900s.  Oh, and the Nisei soldiers were among those liberating Jews at the Nazi slave camps, including Dachau.  Wonder what they were thinking as they remembered the fate of their families back home in western U.S. internment camps.

About America, the Melting Pot, America, the Crucible

The originator of the “Melting Pot” and “The Crucible,” Israel Zangwill was a British-born teacher, author and playwright (1864-1926) who was an ardent supporter of 19th Century “Zionism.”  While championing a Jewish homeland, he had strong thoughts about America.  Look at the words his character says in the famous play:

“America is God’s crucible, the great Melting-Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming!  Here you stand, good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand in your 50 groups with your 50 languages and histories, and your 50 blood hatreds and rivalries.

“But you won’t be like that, brothers, for these are the fires of God you’ve come to — these are the fires of God.  A fig for your feuds and vendettas!  Germans and Frenchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen, Jews and Russians. Into the Crucible with you all!  God is making the American.

“The real American has not yet arrived.  He is only in the Crucible, I tell you.  He will be the fusion of all races, the common superman.”

 Lessons for 2017

What are the lessons of all of this for we Americans in the last weeks of the year 2016 — and looking into what might happen in 2017?   When the first European explorers reached the North American shores, the land was sparsely settled — estimates range from 7 to 18 million indigenous peoples were here.  America as we know it is an immigrant nation.

Of course, every nation must be able to secure its boundaries, its borders.  We are a nation of laws, based on our wonderful Constitution and Bill of Rights as foundation, and it is not unreasonable to expect that people arriving here will do so within the framework of the law — “legally,” if you please.

The questions to be addressed going forward are:  (1) what should our legal immigration policies be? (2) What do we do — humanely — about those that did not follow the rules but now live among us?  (3)  What do we do about asylees and refugees who want to come to our country?  (4)  What do we do about citizens born here, and protected by our Constitution, if their parents came without permission when they were children?  (5) What should our conversation be about immigrants and immigration and so on, so that those we welcome here….feel welcomed!

Stay Tuned — the answers should be coming in early-2017.

* * * * * * * *

Check out The Washington Post story about illegal immigration at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2016/01/20/u-s-illegal-immigrant-population-falls-below-11-million-continuing-nearly-decade-long-decline-report-says/

About author Israel Zangwill:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Zangwill

More background on “The Crucible” and playwright: “American Crucible:  Race and Nation in the 20th Century” by Gary Gerstle (published by Princeton University Press, 2001).

I’ve commented in this blog about immigration and the wonder of our Immigrant Nation — see my Thanksgiving 2014 post:  http://www.hankboerner.com/staytuned/happy-thanksgiving-tomorrow-yes-it-will-be-heres-my-why/

“Values” And Political Candidates — How to Evaluate What You See and Hear This Election Season

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This commentary was originally posted in May 2017 as the political season moved into high gear.  I updated this in late-Fall 2017 as Secretary Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were about to square off at Hofstra University for their presidential debate.

And it is worth reading again after last night’s State of the Union presentation to the Congress by President Donald Trump (January 30, 2018).  This was a different persona for the chief of state, not the harsh tones of the Twitter-ing that he does every day; not the campaign rally insults and pointing out the dangers posed “by the other” of us; not the nastiness in general of his off-the-cuff commentary.

The “SOTU” was polished, well presented, with some flourishes here and there, and with some policies laid out with details and others brush-stroked for the lawmakers (to fill in the blanks).  Overall for President Trump, a good night.

The Democratic Party response by Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III was also excellent and perhaps a good example for us in the context of the Aristotelean model that I outlined in 2017 in the commentary i re-present here.

Given all of the above, I think the content is worth re-reading and keeping in mind as we move into the campaigning for the November 2018 election.

Commentary by Hank Boerner

Back in May 2017, as the primary season was in full roar, the two main contenders were steadily emerging in the leader position in their respective parties —  Donald Trump and Secretary Hillary Clinton. Tonight the two square off at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York (about 20 miles east of Manhattan).

Are you tuning in? Estimates are that perhaps 100 million people will be watching on broadcast, cable and social media. We are a long, long way from the first televised presidential debate, between U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy and then-VP Richard M. Nixon. That was a very polite and real debate, with issues front and center and the two contenders exchanging compliments (about the other).

The two contenders today are absolute opposites and lightning rods in their own right  for serious criticism — and at the same time heaped with praise by their fiercely fervent followers.

So how do we cut through the bombast and probably the insults hurled, and barbs exchanged and other snide-ery to take the true measure of each of the contenders?

For sure, both are strong-minded, power-projecting personalities whose first names are front-of-mind in every corner of our country.

Back in May, as the two contenders were moving ahead in the polling, I shared thoughts on how to judge the “values” of the Republican and Democratic front-runner.

Update: Here is my May 2016 commentary — hope that it is helpful for you.

The nation is being perceived at home and abroad perceived as being deeply divided on many issues. Labels abound — signifying “I’m right / you are wrong” on many issues.

Labels:  Right-Left. Liberal-Conservative. New York City & Hollywood and the rest of the USA. The One Percent and the rest of us (the 99%).  Republican-Democrat, or at least by the labels of what that used to mean.

Look at the messages we have been hearing:

Let’s put up a big wall (a beautiful wall, 60-feet tall with a beautiful door) to keep “them” out [vs.] a more liberal immigration policy.

No Muslims allowed [vs.] we cannot discriminate and the basis of religious or ethnic origin. (Remember that powerful First Amendment!)

Tear up NAFTA [vs.] those advocating for free trade polices.

Free tuition – for all in public universities. No more student loans. [vs.] everyone should pay their own way.

And on and on and on. If you own stock in ABC-TV (that is, in parent The Walt Disney Company stock, the corporate owner)– or perhaps CNN (parent Time Warner) — or MSNBC (Comcast) or Fox (News Corp), you should be pleased.

The ad campaign dollars have been flowing in and the best is yet to come in the general election cycle.

If you are the “average” American (whatever definition that is today), and you are trying to decide who to vote for, perhaps volunteer for, maybe click the payment button on the candidate web site to send money…well, you are not alone if you are anxious, confused, angry, disappointed, disgusted, hopeful, and more.

So I will briefly share some of my speech-coaching techniques here that may help you to better evaluate “who” is deserving of your support and vote. (And DO vote this November; a lot is at stake!).

About “The Rhetoric” — Not a Bad Word

We often toss around the term, “rhetoric” (as in, oh, that’s just political rhetoric) but the concept is very important. Here’s why.

Over the years in my professional life, and even in my personal dealings with leadership (when I volunteer to do so), my coaching for speech-making and more effective campaigning goes back about many centuries, to Ancient Greece and in the years of  300’s B.C.

We owe thanks to Ancient Greece for introducing us the first western concept of democracy. Think Demos — in Ancient  Greece  the People.

Greece was a direct form (not representative form) of democracy.

Rhetoric was as a system devised by the wise men to help the citizens (and not everyone was one) to understand politics and politicking (Polity, derived from the Greek word for citizen…politics should be all about the work of citizens in governing themselves in the democracy.)

The perfecter of the system of rhetoric was the great teacher,  Aristotle, He was born about 384 B.C. and died at age 62 in 322 B.C. He is credited with greatly influencing western philosophy, Islam and Judaism, and many philosophers and deep thinkers who would follow.

Aristotle is often credited with being the first true scientist; creator of “logic” as we know it; was one of the most honored citizens and teachers of his time.

The important teaching relevant to this essay is about rhetoric  —  in the the Ancient Greek, the making of magnificent orator, a teacher.

Here are brief highlights of what my partners  and I  adopted in our leadership coaching from the Aristotle’s teachings on rhetoric.  Aristotle believed there were three means of persuasion in the democracy:  reason, character and emotion.  These are all on display in campaign 2016 in the U.S.A.

Ethics and Values Come First

First — consider ethos – from this our modern day term ” ethics” has descended. It’s about the values of the orator. What are his/her personal values, beliefs, actions, ethical behaviors? They are on display in the speaker up there on the podium, derived in great measure from the actions (walking the talk) as well as the pronouncements.

Second — consider pathos — from this we get modern day sympathy, empathy. It is about the connection with the audience (the “hearer,” the receiver of the oration]. Is the speaker connecting with the audience? Are they feeling connected with him/her?  Do they share values?  Do you share the values of the candidate(s) that you prefer in 2016?

Third — consider logos — the word comes as well from the Ancient Greek. We think of “logo” in terms of the familiar corporate branding but it means more. It is the word/words — the signs — coming from the speaker to the audience.  And other signals sent, some silent. (Does she look you in the eye?  Does he seem uncomfortable up there?  Do you have a feeling that what the speaker is saying isn’t ringing true with you?)

Putting It All Together

So simply put, does the orator (1) demonstrate the values that the audience appreciates, agrees with, shares with the speaker? (2) Is the speaker connecting with the audience in powerful ways? (The best of our preachers know well how to do this on Sunday mornings.) And (3) are the words coming forth (the logos) resonating…creating empathy…”ringing true” with those listening?

This is the system of persuasive rhetoric. And in the end, if all this works, we achieve mythos…a powerful, memorable, moving story that will ripple out way beyond that immediate audience. In the Ancient Greek, it was about a teaching a fable. But we clearly remember childhood fables, don’t we? The turtle and the hare. Jack and the Beanstalk. Little Red Riding Hood and “grandma” Wolf.

And the mythos created by a candidate is very powerful. Think of President Ronald Reagan — the Great Communicator. President Theodore Roosevelt – Speak Softly and Carry the Big Stick. Give the Common Man a Square Deal!  

President Franklin Roosevelt — We Have Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself!  Give the Common Man a New Deal.

President John Kennedy — Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You!

These logos became the enduring embodiment and capture the legacy of many presidents.

And so whether conscious or not of the power of the system of rhetoric, we the listeners will no doubt be making up our minds on candidates in 2016 based on their rhetoric.

The two front runners now — Donald Trump and Secretary Hillary Clinton — have mastered some forms of rhetoric, whether by conscious means or not.  You can like them or not — based on the system of rhetoric I’ve just set out for your use.

I am writing this summary for you, dear friend and voter, not the candidates. They have their own advisors. I’m sharing this so that you can watch and listen to the candidates and the campaigns as these unfold, and put the ethos-pathos-logos together and see if the mythos (story) adds up and matches your own story. (Every one of our lives and those of our loved ones, near and departed, is a story, right?  A story we tell over and over in various ways.}

It may be that you think you will have to hold your nose or avert your eyes and cast your vote. Or, happily, a candidate may really touch you and their mythos resonates with you and others.

So far, the two political party outsiders — Senator Bernie Sanders and The Donald — have done a really good job of creating their stories, mostly anti-establishment, anti-status quo. Their rhetoric is resonating with enthusiastic, cheering audiences.

What are your issues? What keeps you up at night? What are your daily worries? Think about the ethos — the values of the candidate(s) — and think hard: do they match your feelings about key issues, etc.?

Having coached corporate executives, public officials, heads of activist organizations, and others in the Aristotlean method of the rhetoric, I must listen to the candidates through this lens. And so can you.

And, (sigh) since we are a very divided nation on so many issues, I am finding it challenging to nail down the mythos that most appeals to me. I think that many Americans are in the same boat.

As my colleague and friend Larry Checco (a brilliant essayist) writes, this year it’s not about political party anymore — it’s about COUNTRY! in this election cycle.  You can see his essay at Accountability Central .com

And the 40% of the electorate that is reputed to be “independent” of party label or affiliation will be the determining factor in November.

When you hear “rhetoric,” keep in mind now that it is an ancient yet very powerful system to motivate you, the voter.  Use this guide in evaluating who should get your very precious gift in November – your vote!

Good luck to us all!

Personal footnote: My growin’ up hometown is Hempstead, New York (and semi-rural East Hempstead). How great it is for this hometown boy to see Hometown Hempstead and Hofstra University in the headlines ’round the clock!