04 Monday Jul 2022
Posted in The United States
Happy 4th of July to all my American readers and friends. These are not our most okay days: pandemic, inflation and war in Ukraine, but better days are just around the corner.
Much love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
4th July 2022
WordPress
28 Saturday May 2022
Posted in Gun Control, The United States
I sent this post to thrash after hearing that Uvalde police officers stood in the hallway outside the murder scene, as children dialled 9-1-1 begging for help. My story had changed. The officers now say that they made the “wrong decision.” Not quite! They were facing a gunman and could not make a decision. It was a case of analysis paralysis. Uvalde tells, in horrid terms, the story of police officers shooting unnecessarily or not shooting because they suspect or know the person they are attacking is armed.
Outside the building where the NRA (National Rifle Association) convention is taking place, one can read in large letters “acres of guns & gear.” Given that a teacher and 18 young students were killed by gunshot, that sign is offensive. Moreover, the gunman was eighteen years old and may have been mentally unfit when he shot his victims. Why are eighteen-year-olds sold a weapon?
Former President Donald Trump told members of the National Rifle Association to “arm law-abiding citizens” in response to “evil.” Given that the gunman took the life of 18 children and their teacher, and coming from the mouth of a former president of the United States, that statement is inappropriate.
There are many conclusions to be drawn from this latest American tragedy, but two will suffice. Ban the wearing of firearms and enable police officers (the “militia”) to act when they must. In Uvalde, 19 children and 2 adults died who might have been saved.
RELATED ARTICLE
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Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
28 May 2022
WordPress
12 Tuesday Oct 2021
Posted in The Debt Ceiling, The United States
Tags
2006 & 2021, 6 January 2021, Charles Schumer, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Partisanship, Sisyphus, The Debt Ceiling
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“Republicans played a dangerous and risky partisan game, and I am glad that their brinkmanship did not work,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader. “What is needed now is a long-term solution so we don’t go through this risky drama every few months.”
The New York Times, published on 8 October 2021 and updated on 9 October 2021
Debt Ceiling Bill Approved by Senate – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The “risky drama:” Sisyphus
The above quotation is an excerpt from an address by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer of New York. What could happen in early December is a repetition of last week’s refusal, on the part of the Republicans, to raise the debt limit. What could also happen in December is a repetition of the tempoary stopgap Republicans agreed to. It is a “risky drama” happening “every few months.” Such an endeavour would be Sisyphean, i.e. both futile and absurb (see Absurdism, Wikipedia). Sisyphus would carry the boulder up the hill, but it would fall downhill over and over again. Therefore, the goal is “a long-term solution” to prevent not only a default, the first ever, which would be calamitous, but also to end the perpetuation of debt ceiling crises.
Partisanship
Partisanship has grown to such an extreme that it has blinded certain Republicans. Die-hard Republicans do not view their refusal to raise the debt ceiling as potentially calimitous. They do not see default as harm inflicted on themselves, the citizens of the United States, and a global economy. It seems that all they see is a target they must eliminate: President Joe Biden and his administration. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has stated that they, the Republicans, nearly “defeated” their opponent, but that their leadership, which would be Senator Mitch McConnell and others, failed them. No, Senator Mitch McConnell did not fail Republicans. Senator Mitch McConnell did what he had to do as a representative of the people of the United States. We may suspect that the temporary deal was reluctant governance, but it was governance. The ship was sinking.
“We were on the verge of victory, but we turned that victory into defeat,” Mr. Cruz said in a lengthy speech on the Senate floor, calling it a “strategic mistake by our leadership.” But, he added, “Chuck Schumer won this game of chicken.”
Debt Ceiling Bill Approved by Senate – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
6 January 2021
The deal was a blessing, but it is Sisyphean. It would threaten a currently fragile American democracy. In Mr Trump’s eyes, his defeat was “fake news.” It was news so fake that he is still planning to take over the Presidency of the United States, an attack on democracy. Mr Trump has denied that he incited rowdy supporters to assault the Capitol, but he did invite rowdy supporters to walk down “Pennsylvania Avenue,” which seems Unamerican. Moreover, he “savaged” Senator Mitch McConnell warning that the stopgap was a “terrible deal.”
“Making matters trickier for Republicans, former President Donald J. Trump chimed in on Wednesday to savage Mr. McConnell for “folding to the Democrats,” suggesting that Republicans should instead force a showdown on the debt limit, which economists, business leaders and government officials have said would be disastrous. Less than an hour before a scheduled vote, Mr. Trump again urged Republicans not to vote for ‘this terrible deal.’”
Debt Ceiling Bill Approved by Senate – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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As Senator, Joe Biden Opposed GOP Debt Ceiling Votes and Mitch McConnell Hasn’t Forgotten (msn.com)
In 2006, the Republicans, Senator Mitch McConnell was No. 2 in George W. Bush‘s administration. The Republicans lacked the two votes that would enable a rise in the debt ceiling. So the United States was engaged in the Iraq War (2003-2011). Future President Obama and senator Joe Biden opposed a rise and have since faced criticism for doing so. If a country cannot pay its debt, one suspects a degree of carelessness. Americans, however, are confronted with a fiscal problem arguably rooted in the Confederates‘ defeat in the American Civil War (1861-1865). President Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves (Proclamation 95) and the North (the Union) won the Civil War, not the Confederates. There was a time when slavery was acceptable, but now, the rich often look for tax havens and they oppose social programmes. Therefore, the national pot of gold is not as replete as it could be. Would that the perennial debt ceiling crises always reflected a bad year but, to a certain extent, they also reflect fiscal impediments and flaws in the system.
As Senator, Joe Biden Opposed GOP Debt Ceiling Votes and Mitch McConnell Hasn’t Forgotten (msn.com)
But the year 2021 was a bad year. Twenty years after the United States entered Iraq, the Taliban took over the government of Afghanistan, which led to the rapid and costly evacuation of Afghanistan. Covid-19 and the evacuation of Afghanistan proved extremely costly. So will the debt ceiling crisis: self-inflicted harm.
I will close by saying that, in the year 2021, there were several assaults on democracy. Last week debtceiling crisis was the epitome of futility and absurdism, but it may not happen again. “What is needed now is a long-term solution…” (Chuck Schumer)
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Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
11 October 2021
WordPress
28 Tuesday Sep 2021
Posted in The Debt Ceiling, The United States
≈ Comments Off on Politicking the Welfare of a Nation
Tags
Anti-vaxxers, Charles Schumer, D-Day, Destroying President Biden, Division, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Janet Yellen., Republicans politicking, Samuel Barber, Self-harm, The Civil War, the debt, The Debt Ceiling
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Republicans in Congress are opposing a rise in the debt ceiling, which they cannot do if they care for the citizens of the United States. It has been a terrible year. The Pandemic is costing a fortune; storms have bedevilled the United States and, after the Taliban takeover, the United States chose to leave Afghanistan. The debt has grown.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/23/government-shutdown/
Americans do not seem too frightened. In my opinion, they are used to the government rescuing itself. Based on experience, they perhaps feel that Democrats and Republicans will raise the debt ceiling. What if they don’t? They would be acting against their best interest, but it appears that polictiking brings immense pleasure. So, they will do it at the expense of Americans, and at their own expense. Their behaviour ressembles that of anti-vaxxers. Anti-vaxxers are, albeit unknowingly, in the process of destroying themselves.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a Tuesday letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that if the debt ceiling is not raised, “it is uncertain whether we could continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date.” (The New York Times, 28 September 2021.)
In the sorry days of Covid-19, glitches are possible. It seems that Republicans want to make United States President Joe Biden look as though he is destroying the United States. Everything he does is criticized. All Presidents make mistakes. They are human beings. If they make mistakes, good presidents apologize and go on to rectify matters, if that is possible.
But not raising the debt ceiling would be a big and largely “intentional” mistake that could affect an entire generation or two and spread abroad. Among Republicans, many have not recovered from the United States’ Civil War. The North won the Civil War (12 April 1861 – 9 May 1865), depriving the South (the Confederacy) of free labour, its slaves. But slavery had to be abolished. Republicans know this. The Civil War, however, happened a relatively short time ago and the past lingers in the mind of those who lost. Plantation owners were royalty. However, although the Civil War divided Americans, there is more to the United States’ mindset than the Civil War. Politicking is a source of pleasure, but the pleasure Republicans seek is greater power, and greater power alone. If they do not allow the government of the United States to raise its debt ceiling, there will ensue a financial debacle that will spare no one, which is nonsensical.
In the days of Covid-19, one can expect a death. As well, climate changes are leading to major storms. Hurricanes, floods, and other calamities have plagued the United States. But it is clear that a game is being played aimed to make United States President Joe Biden look as though he is at fault in every instance. All Presidents make mistakes, some more consequential than others. They are human beings. If good presidents make mistakes, they apologize and go on to correct matters, if that is possible. But Joe Biden is not the source of all evil. Republicans use him as scapegoat, revealing a wish to replace him. That is politicking and an offence to the nation.
Americans should remember that on 6 June 1944, they landed on the beaches and cliffs of Normandy to liberate Europe. They then marched North and ended the War and thus the persecution of millions of Jews and other “undesirable” populations. Canadians were part of that operation.
Remembering “great days” is inspirational. Republicans have a memory. They and all Americans are proud of Roosevelt‘s gift to an occupied Europe. After the war, Americans also set about rebuilding Europe. Today, the world is being tested by a catastrophic pandemic, climate changes, natural disasters, and other catastrophes. Better years will come, if we promote them. Americans must help themselves. They can and they will.
Love to everyone 💕
Congress must raise the debt ceiling.
© Micheline Walker
28 September 2021
WordPress
26 Monday Jul 2021
Posted in Quebec history, The French and Indian War, The United States, War
≈ Comments Off on An Update: the French and Indian War
Tags
Confession doubtful, Coulon de Jumonville, Coulon de Villiers, Fort Duquesne, Fort Necessity, French and Indian War, George Washington, The Ohio Country
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Dear readers, I had to rearrange my post on the Battle of Jumonville Glen. I added quotations I could no longer find when I finished writing on the Jumonville Skirmish, and I deleted repetitions. I did not rewrite my post.
After the action, Washington retreated to Fort Necessity, where Canadien forces from Fort Duquesne compelled his surrender. The terms of Washington’s surrender included a statement (written in French, a language Washington did not read) admitting that Jumonville was assassinated. This document and others were used by the French and Canadiens to level accusations that Washington had ordered Jumonville’s slaying.
The Battle of Jumonville Glen, Wikipedia
We will never know whether Washington admitted Jumonville was assassinated. Coulon the Villiers, Coulon de Jumonville’s half brother may have written the confession.
There is information that may never be disclosed. Monceau, the man who escaped, did not see the assassination. So, we do not have a witness. Monceau ran to newly-built Fort Duquesne. However, I found quotations I could no longer locate when fatigue “hit.” I have now retrieved the information I required.
We will never know irrefutably what happened at Jumonville Glen. However, Coulon de Jumonville was assassinated. There was, seemingly, an ambush, a skirmish, and a massacre. George Washington was only 22 years old. He recovered, but always remembered the battles of the Ohio Country. Coulon the Villiers, Coulon de Jumonville’s half-brother, avenged Coulon de Jumonville‘s murder. Fort Duquesne (1754) had just been built and so had Fort Necessity (1754) and Washington was defeated at Fort Necessity. The British were also defeated at Battle of Monongahela (1755), but it was a disorderly battle and a massacre.
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Sources and Resources
Love to everyone 💕
25 Sunday Jul 2021
Posted in Britain, France, Nouvelle-France, The French and Indian War, The United States
Tags
Aubert de Gaspé, Conflicting information, Fort Duquesne, Fort Necessity, Jumonville Skirmish, Tanacharison, Washington
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Writing the Battle of Jumonville Glen was very difficult. I had conflicting sources. For instance, I could not determine whether Coulon de Jumonville was killed as the skirmish ended or later. He was killed at Jumonville Glen. It was a skirmish, and he was alone.
Moreover, my text kept being revised. So, I nearly destroyed the post. It seems that Coulon de Jumonville was killed by Tanacharison. But, the Jumonville affair cast suspicion on George Washington and no one witnessed the event. Our only certainties are that Jumonville was killed.
I should have mentioned that George Washington (February 1723-December 1799) was only 22 at the Battle of Jumonville Glen. Tanacharison, who was 54, died soon after Jumonville Glen, an ambush and skirmish. It is now called a skirmish.
My conclusion is that wars are absurd. The people of New France are still fighting to retain their identity. As well, France lost the Seven Years’ War. Yet, the starting point was an ambush. That an ambush should lead to wars, including a world war, is disorienting. So is an entry stating that Washington started the wars. As noted above, Washington was 22 or 23 years old, probably 22, in 1754.
WHEN YOUNG GEORGE WASHINGTON STARTED A WAR.
I inserted a source, but I could not separate the source and the videos it shows. It is a learned source and the gentleman we hear does not throw stones. The link is the Jumonville Skirmish, but I am now shown Error 404 and the information given to readers is in French. If one speaks French, the site is available. I’ll search again. The following link may take a reader to information. One must pay.
George Washington in the French & Indian War on Vimeo
Washington was ordered to remove the French from the Ohio Country, which may have given him latitude.
Aubert de Gaspé is pointing out the absurdity of war. France lost New France and New France lost its motherland. These consequences are not glitches. The Battle of Quebec) 1775) was an early battle during the American Revolutionary War.
Many seigneurs were sent back to France, but Aubert de Gaspé was not. He had descendants.
Through his novel, Aubert de Gaspé suggests that one can adjust to changes. Jules did. Aubert de Gaspé also suggests that the enemy may be an adopted brother. Jules and Arché are reunited. It is as though, the seigneurs of New France had been in the military. Jules’s father looked old because he had fought battles.
The George Washington in the French & Indian War on Vimeo is a fine link. So is Tanacharison. No one looks very good, except Aubert de Gaspé. I have ordered two books so I can learn more.
Sources and Resources
Bluhm, Raymond K. “Battle of Jumonville Glen”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 May. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Jumonville-Glen. Accessed 25 July 2021.
Jumonville Glen Skirmish · George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
25 July 2021
WordPress
08 Sunday Nov 2020
Posted in Baroque, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Molière, The United States
La Critique de l’École des femmes
I am nearly done, so please be patient. La Critique de L’École des femmes is an extraordinary play but life has slowed me down. Moreover, confinement takes its toll. I have been indoors since early March.
The American Presidential Election has also been on my mind. It was a close race, but I am proud of the American people. We need to put an end to the pandemic. Wearing a mask is essential. Gatherings are out of the question, and one must wash one’s hands.
So I return to my post. Whoever is reading my post must not delete paragraphs to make it shorter. I can delete what is not essential, but we are reading the play. A mere description will not yield good results. The quality of La Critique de L’École des femmes stems mainly from its dialogues.
Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
8 November 2020
WordPress
31 Saturday Oct 2020
Posted in The United States
Tags
About my last post.
I have made small changes to yesterday’s post because it could be misinterpreted. I would not encourage a woman to have an abortion, even if a pregnancy would kill her. That would be her decision.
Second, Presidential candidates take a “pro-life” stand to look morally superior and earn votes. It is, in many cases, a mere ploy, but it offends women. It makes them look irresponsible and less credible then men.
I deeply resented being considered a “cutie pie” by a Dean who asked that the minutes of departmental meetings be taken to him by a man, not a woman, me. When I tried to return to work, a Vice-President told me he would not let me re-enter a classroom. He doubted my sanity.
Yet, I was expected to fill gaps in the programme and prepare courses in areas I had never studied, or leave. It was also reported that I discussed personal issues in the classroom. My students knew I had a little cat named Mouchette. They otherwise knew very little about me.
What about environmental concerns? We’ve hurt the planet. Poverty is spreading. Gunmen shoot children and the Black. The cost of medical care and medications is much too high, etc.
A Presidential candidate’s moral superiority does not depend on whether he states that he will not tolerate abortions. Decriminalising abortions does not translate into the advocacy of abortions. Moreover, being pro-life does not guarantee that a candidate is morally fit for the Presidency of the United States. However, it most certainly sheds suspicion on the behaviour and character of women.
Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
31 October 2020
WordPress
30 Friday Oct 2020
Posted in Medicine, The United States
Tags
Abortions, Covid-19, Fooling voters, Mr. Trump's Role, The Status of Women, Women's Health Issues
The choice of a President of the United States may be based on such issues as abortion.
The health of a woman should not be used to sway voters. Besides, women are being insulted. They are full-fledged citizens of the United States and they know right from wrong. They are responsible individuals and cannot be looked upon as frivolous.
Abortion and birth control are not a clear “yes” or “no” issue. A person may be against abortions, but find herself needing an abortion. There are women whose health and life preclude a pregnancy, and women who are taking medications that may endanger the health and life of a fetus. The fate of these woman and the fetus is not for the White House to determine. Nor should Washington interfere with a doctor’s duties towards his patients.
Millions of women would like to have a child, but cannot conceive. As for women who are fertile, they have a right to control their fertility.
Our society has given abortions a bad name, which is very wrong. Our society has also been intolerant of sexual orientation. As long as no one is forced into sexual intercourse, and children are protected, sexual intercourse is a gift to mankind. It must be consensual, even in marriage, but it is pleasurable, comforting, and it allows a woman to bear and give birth to little ones.
It is very painful not to have the child one thought one would have. Childless persons do not have a family.
Canada has decriminalized abortions. Women were resorting to the use of coat hangers or went to charlatans who could cause their death and whose fees were unacceptably high. They had turned the government’s failure to protect its citizens into a lucrative but secret industry. That is unacceptable. Women also committed suicide.
The time has come for governments around the world to look upon women as responsible citizens who would not resort to frivolous abortions. It is a matter of education. At this rather late day, women are on the same footing as men.
President Donald Trump downplayed the novel coronavirus. He had to listen to Dr. Fauci and other experts in epidemiology. He didn’t. He also kicked the WHO, the World Health Organization, out of the United States. I hope he will pick up hospital bills as well as funeral costs. He was not there when he should have been and he let thousands of Americans be infected .
In short, politicians who use their stand on abortion are seeking votes and, in the case of Mr. Trump, this stand does not represent his genuine feelings. Politicians are merely using women. They are not qualified to decide whether a pregnancy is physically and emotionally safe or unsafe. Most are not medical doctors and they are not one’s personal medical doctors. Besides, if one candidate to the presidency uses his stand on abortion to gain a vote, first, he may be lying and, second, he may be forcing an opponent to take a stand on a medical and very private issue.
I lost fourteen brothers and sisters to a congenital blood disease. My mother was pregnant knowing the child she bore was unlikely to survive. Religion was a factor. I have always wondered whether giving birth to children who would die was morally right or wrong.
When one of his sons died, I saw my father collapse. His friends, both medical doctors and dear friends, led him out of the room. He never recovered.
Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
30 October 2020
WordPress
16 Sunday Aug 2020
Posted in Spirituality, The United States, Underground Railroad, Voyageurs, Winged Creatures
≈ Comments Off on The Negro-Spiritual
The Negro-Spiritual is a genre in music, created by Black slaves before emancipation, and which has endured. As you know, Frederick Douglass’ textbook was the Bible. The Bible is not easy to read but it offers a “paradise lost,” a very humble saviour who rewards those who are in pain. Such themes are precious to oppressed people. Heaven also offers winged beings: angels. They can fly, which one cannot do if one is in shackles. Uncharitable owners kept their slaves in shackles or punished them by putting them in shackles. It was extremely painful and it could break a person’s body. The word anamnesis is linked to the Negro-Spiritual. One goes back in time and remembers that there is a promised land.
The poor, or those whose life has been broken, know they will be saved. Life eternal awaits them and those who suffer often commit suicide. There is life eternal and they may be reborn. Rebirth is a central theme in world literature and the arts. Nature awakens when Spring arrives. Those who cannot read know that there is a circle and a cycle. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons makes so much sense. The fourth movement contains a restful melody. In Winter, nature rests. The music suggests a form of suspension.
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is also Paradise regained. The desperate poets of 19th-century France looked upon man as remembering paradise. He cannot, therefore, find a comfortable place on earth. Baudelaire’s Albatros looks clumsy on the deck of ships. Sailors laugh. In full flight, he is divine. This is a powerful image. Le Souvenir, remembering is an important theme in 19th-century French literature, beginning with Lamartine. Le Lac is an essential poem. Lamartine has lost the woman he loved. She has died, but he asks nature to remember. To be remembered is an option. My favourite line in Lamartine is:
Un seul être vous manque, et tout est dépeuplé ! (L’Isolement)
[Only one being is missing, and all is gone!]
Black slaves turned to religion, mixing the music of Western Africa and Christian themes. (See Negro Spiritual, simple English, Wikipedia). It is music one sang while working. The voyageurs of New France sang as the paddled their Amerindian birch bark canoe. One had to be a singer to be hired. The favourite song of voyageurs was À la claire fontaine. It ended with the words I will never forget you: Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
The Blacks also knew French fables based on Reynard the Fox. These are told in Uncle Remus, by Joel Chandler Harris. Such narratives can be seen as African-American, because Br’er Rabbit, brother rabbit, outfoxes the Fox. He is the trickster. Yet, Uncle Remus bears considerable resemblance to Reynard, the trickster. Many Acadians deported in 1755, made their way to Louisiana. They walked through Georgia. They had lost everything. Some walked back to Acadia. However, their land had been settled by the British. I gave a paper on Reynard, in Hull, England, in 2001. I saw the tombs of my husband’s ancestors at Beverley Minster. David died in August 2001.
Black slaves found sustenance in the Bible, and created a repertoire of songs that speak to the soul. The negro-spiritual is one of the United States’ most important legacies. It is unique and expresses both despair and hope.
RELATED POSTS
Créoles, Cajuns & Uncle Remus (22 January 2014)← the music
Uncle Rémus and “Tar Baby” (21 August 2012)
Évangéline & the “literary homeland” (24 January 2012)
Love to everyone 💕
© Micheline Walker
16 August 2020
WordPress
Micheline's Blog 
