Excerpts From My Camping Diary (Sept. 18-20, 2019)

Dear George, 

We only had a little time left before the start of Autumn quarter classes and still hadn’t taken a summer vacation.  I suggested to Katja that my favorite choices were a Florida beach or a camping road trip up the Lake Michigan coast.  Florida was an unlikely choice because of hurricane rumblings in the Caribbean, and Katja reminded me for the fifth or sixth time that she doesn’t do camping any more.  I thought about going camping by myself but had mixed feelings.  Katja suggested gently that maybe it was time for me to give up the camping part of my life.  That seemed to trigger a decision.  Twenty minutes later I was lugging my gear up from the basement, getting ready for a trip to my favorite Southwestern Ohio park.  Here are a few anecdotes from my camping diary.

Fiscal Awakenings

What?  $35 a night?   For a campsite?  That’s more than we used to pay at the Red Roof Inn. 

Setting Up

It was hot at the campground.  Close to ninety.  I’d brought my six-person Gander Mountain tent ($2.50 at the thrift store) and my 10x12 foot screen house ($6 at CVS at their 90% off summer clearance sale).  There’s a lot of unaccustomed physical labor to putting up a tent.  Bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, pounding.   After 45 minutes I was sweating profusely but my stalwart tent was finally up and looking good.  Unfortunately the screen house proved even more troublesome.  Every time I put up a pole at one corner, all the rest of it fell down.  After five or six collapses, I managed to arrange a network of bungee cords that held the whole thing together.  Experienced campers, as you know, are scornful of screen houses, but I wanted to get a return on my investment.  I turned it into my personal den where I solved Suduko puzzles, read chapters from E.B. White, drank Merlot wine, wrote in my camping diary, and contemplated the vagaries of nature.

Working Out in the Forest

Our park has the best forest trails.  Since I was last there they have added a series of Par Cours exercise stations so that hikers can combine a workout with their hike.  The first station was called “Hand Walking”.  There were two five-foot-long parallel bars, about chest-high.  The challenge is to step up on a platform at one end, grip the bars with both hands, let your body hang down toward the ground, and then “walk” with your hands to the opposite end.  Something like gymnasts might do at the Olympics.  I stepped up, gripped the bars, let my body hang down, and immediately plummeted to the ground.  That was it for hand walking for me.  I think it’s meant for stringy youth who weigh eighty pounds or less.  Forests aren’t gyms anyway. 

Cuisine

All my meals were full of surprises.  At home my specialty is microwaving Lean Cuisines, so camp cooking expands my repertoire.  Breakfast was my forte: French toast — burnt black on one side, soggy on the other; char-fried Indiana bulk bacon; canned fruit cocktail; instant coffee; and a cup of nutrition-free Sunkist Diet Orange Drink (a tasty orange juice substitute). 

 Beasts in the Night

Campfires are the perfect way to end to the day.   When it turned dark at 8 p.m., I lit my fire and settled back in my camp chair.  After an hour I called Katja on my cell phone.  I told her it was kind of scary.  The campground was deserted and it was pitch black except for my fire.  Just as I said that I heard a growling noise.  I looked to my right, and there were two raccoons staring at me, about thirty feet away.  Startled, I screamed, “Get out of here!  Get out of here!”  They did scurry off.  Katja, nervous on the other end of the line,  said raccoons can be rabid and that I should get in the car immediately and lock the doors.  Just then another raccoon appeared from behind my picnic table.  “Get away!  Get away!” I screamed.  Shortly afterward I retreated to my tent, leaving the campfire and my worldly possessions to the raccoons.  

Plenty of Sleep

I have five or six air mattresses stored in our attic.  I brought along the one that has a handwritten tag on it that says, “Best available but goes flat.”  That proved to be an accurate description.   Since I lay motionless in my sleeping bag from nine p.m. to nine a.m., I did get at least six hours of sleep per night.    

Exit Encounter

On the last morning I got up late, had a leisurely breakfast, and began breaking camp and packing up my gear.  Checkout time was twelve noon, and it soon became clear I wasn’t going to make the deadline.  It made my nervous because I knew from past trips that park rangers make their rounds shortly after noon.  I worried about being late and maybe even charged for an extra day.  I finally had everything in the car at 12:50 p.m., but just as I started to pull out of my campsite the park ranger’s car drove up.  I stopped, hoping he would go by,  but he stopped too and got out of his car.  This is how our conversation went:

            Ranger: Just arriving, are you?

            Me:  Oh no.  No, I’m just leaving.

            Ranger: Just leaving?  Are you o.k. then?

            Me: Oh yes, I’m o.k.  I’m just really hot from packing up my gear.

            Ranger: (inaudible)

            Me:  I’m sorry, I don’t hear well.

            Ranger (repeating himself): Did you have a tent then?

            Me: Oh yes, I had a tent.  I just took it down.

            Ranger:  Oh.  And you’re sure you’re o.k.?

            Me: Oh, yes.  I’m just fine.  I know I’m late getting out.  I’m sorry for that.  I overslept.

            Ranger:  Oh, that’s all right.  I just wanted to make sure you were o.k.

            Me:  I appreciate that.  I am definitely o.k.  Thank you, sir.

            Ranger:  And you have a good weekend then.

            Me:  Thank you.  You too.

I was relieved to escape without any further interrogation, but the whole encounter was unnerving.  Perhaps the ranger was suspicious because of my nervousness.  Or maybe he is not used to seeing elderly husbands camping by themselves.  He might have thought I was one of those old guys that are listed as “Missing Adults” on the digital billboards over the expressway.  I’d been planning to stop for a Dairy Queen sundae, but instead I made my way back to home and civilization.   

Postscript

Overall, I had a good time.   Not everything went perfectly, but that’s why they call it “roughing it”.   It’s such a dramatic change from my everyday urban world.  Trees and flowers and squirrels instead of restaurants and baby carriages and fire engines.  I grew up in the woods, and I’m always nostalgic about returning.  When I was twelve years old camping offered a sturdy sense of independence, self-sufficiency, and mastery.  The same holds true nowadays.

Love,

Dave 

Impeachment: What's the Story?

Dear George, 

Whispers of impeachment are flitting in the wind.  This is one of those currently significant topics that I decided I should know more about.  Thanks to the internet, that’s easy to do.  Here are my questions and its answers.

Love,

Dave

What exactly is “impeachment”?

Impeachment is defined as “the formal process of bringing charges against a high-ranking government official, in a bid to remove him or her from office.” (7) [note: #’s in parentheses refer to sources at end.]  Impeachment does not refer to removal from office, but rather to bringing charges which may or may not subsequently result in removal.  In the U.S., the President, Vice President, judges, legislators, cabinet members, governors, and all other federal and state civil officials may be subjected to impeachment.  (7, 10) 

What are the grounds for impeachment?

The Constitution lists “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” as justification for impeachment.  The wording of “high crimes and misdemeanors” is quite vague.  Many question, for example, whether Bill Clinton’s lies about Monica Lewinsky were a “low” crime or a “high” crime. (1)

How is the presidential impeachment process carried out?

Impeachment and subsequent removal from office are a two-step process.  The impeachment process begins in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Any member of the House can suggest initiating impeachment proceedings.  It’s then up to the Speaker of the House (currently Nancy Pelosi) to determine whether or not to proceed with an impeachment inquiry.  If there is a decision to proceed, the Speaker decides if the House Judiciary Committee handles the impeachment inquiry or if a separate special committee should be formed.  In either case, a simple majority committee vote in favor of approving an article or articles of impeachment is sufficient to proceed to a vote by the full House.  A majority vote (i.e., at least 218 out of 435 members) means that that House has impeached the president. (1)

Has the House begun impeachment hearings?

                The House leadership agreed in July 2019 to begin impeachment proceedings without a formal vote.  Judiciary Committee chair Jerrold Nadler stated on both CNN MSNBC that such proceedings had begun and that an impeachment hearing would begin in September.   He reiterated on Sept. 9 that his committee’s actions are an “impeachment inquiry,” but he did not refer to it as formal.  (4, 21) 

What is the Senate’s role?

If the House impeaches the president (or other federal official), the Senate then conducts the impeachment trial.  The chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial.  While a simple majority is needed in the House, a two-thirds majority (67 of 100 members) in favor of conviction is needed in the Senate.   If the Senate votes to convict, the president is removed from office.  If the Senate fails to convict, the president will have been impeached but not removed.  (1, 15) 

What punishments are associated with conviction?

Removal from office is the sole punishment in presidential impeachment.  However, a president can face later criminal charges, subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment.  (1)

How common is impeachment?

Impeachment is rare at the federal level.  The House of Representatives has initiated impeachment proceedings only 64 times since 1789.  The House voted to pass articles of impeachment in only 19 cases, and only 8 of these resulted in removal from office (all federal judges). (22)

How many U.S. presidents have been impeached?

Only two.  Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 by the House and was one vote shy of being convicted by the Senate.  The charges had to do with his firing of his secretary of war (violating a tenure act that required congressional authorization).  Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice due to his cover-up of his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate was 22 votes away from conviction.  No U.S. president has ever been removed from office by an impeachment (although Richard Nixon resigned before the House voted). (6) 

Besides Johnson and Clinton, what other U.S. presidents have faced the possibility of impeachment proceedings?

There have been calls for impeachment of most U.S. presidents.  In addition to Johnson and Clinton, eleven other presidents have had resolutions introduced in the House to initiate impeachment proceedings.  These were: John Tyler (1842; for vetoing a tariff (bill without congressional authorization); James Buchanan (1860; for corruption); Ulysses S. Grant (1876; for corruption and various scandals); Herbert Hoover (1932; for 26 offenses); Harry S. Truman (1951; for abuse of power in firing General Douglas MacArthur); Richard M. Nixon (1973; for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress in connection with the Watergate coverup); Ronald Reagan (1987; for his alleged role in the Iran-Contra affair); George H.W. Bush (1991;  for starting the Gulf War); George W. Bush (2008; for starting the war in Iraq based on false information);  Barack Obama (2012; for the CIA drone program in Afghanistan and Pakistan); and Donald Trump (2017; foreign emoluments, collusion with Russia, obstruction of justice, and “associating the Presidency with White Nationalism, Neo-Nazism and Hatred”). (6, 21, 24) 

Can the Supreme Court reverse a Senate decision to remove a president?

Trump has said that he would turn to the Supreme Court for help if he were impeached.  However, the Senate’s decision is final, and there is no appeals process. (14, 23) 

Can a president be removed from office any way other than impeachment?

The 25th amendment empowers the vice president to take over as acting president in the case of the “inability (of the president) to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”  It’s not clear who decides this, and the 25th amendment is mainly applied when the president is temporarily incapacitated, e.g., during surgery. (11)  Various sources have suggested that high-level officials in the Trump administration have discussed the possibility of the 25th amendment being invoked against Trump.  (18) 

What are reasons to impeach President Trump?

The Washington Post recently concluded that there are ample grounds for Trump’s impeachment.  They list seven potential articles: (1) obstruction of justice (e.g., attempting to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller); (1) failure to defend America from foreign election interference (e.g, welcoming Russian intervention in the 2016 election); (3) attempts to investigate and prosecute his political opponents (e.g., asking the Justice Department to investigate Hillary Clinton); (4) failure to produce papers and testimony as directed by Congress (e.g., tax returns); (5) violation of federal campaign finance laws (e.g., payments to porn star Stormy Daniels); (6) misuse of emergency powers to spend funds on a Mexican border wall;  (7) violation of the emoluments clauses (e.g., benefiting from business dealings with foreign and state governments).  The Post concluded: “Trump has committed more criminal and unconstitutional conduct than any previous president in U.S. history.”  (20)

Who would be president if Trump were removed from office?

Vice President Mike Pence would fill out the remainder of Trump’s term until Jan. 20, 2021.  If Pence were also impeached, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, would become president. (11)

 What Democratic presidential candidates have expressed support for impeachment proceedings?

As of August 1, 2019, thirteen Democratic presidential candidates (including 4 former candidates) had publicly come out in favor of beginning an impeachment inquiry against Trump:  Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Corey Booker, Joe Biden, John Hickenlooper, Kirsten Gillibrand, Julian Castro, Beto O’Rourke, Tim Ryan, Seth Moulton, Eric Swalwell, Amy Klobuchar, and Jay Inslee.  In addition, 137 of 235 House Democrats support an impeachment inquiry. (3, 5, 12, 17) 

How many Republican House members have supported an impeachment inquiry?

                One current Representative, Justin Amash of Michigan, called for impeachment in May 2019 on the grounds of obstruction of justice.  He has since left the Republican party and declared himself an Independent.  (21) 

What does Fox News have to say about impeachment?

According to Sean Hannity, there is no justification at all for Trump’s impeachment.  Hannity claims the Democrats’ efforts are based on “three years of lies.”  The left-wing Democratic majority is disinterested in passing legislation that will help the country.  Their sole focus:  “Destroying Donald Trump and everybody that supports him.”  (9)  

What has been the Speaker of the House’s stance?

                Nancy Pelosi initially resisted calls for impeachment, although in May 2019 she said that Trump’s obstruction of justice and refusal to honor congressional subpoenas might make an impeachment investigation necessary. (21)  Recently (Sept. 12) she said: “I support what is happening in the Judiciary Committee (regarding their impeachment inquiry), because that enables them to do their process of interrogation and investigation.”  (13) 

What do public opinion polls say?

                Recent polls show divided opinions.  A NBC/WSJ poll in March 2019 found that 17% viewed evidence as sufficient to begin impeachment hearings, 32% favored continued investigation, and 48% opposed impeachment.  A Reuters/Ipsos poll in March found that 45% favored impeachment and 42% opposed impeachment.  Fox News released a poll in June 2019 showing 50% of registered voters supporting impeachment, with 48% in opposition. (21)

A Hill-HarrisX poll conducted shortly after Robert Mueller testified before Congress in late July found support for beginning impeachment proceedings by 67% of Democrats, 17% of Republicans, and 34% of Independents.  (11a) 

Why do some Democrats prefer not to pursue impeachment? 

Most Democratic congresspersons from red-leaning districts that voted for Trump over Clinton have not endorsed impeachment, saying that their constituents are interested in other issues.  Some Democrats believe that trying to remove Trump from the presidency would be too divisive and could trigger a dangerous backlash among his supporters.  Removing Trump via the ballot box in 2020 is seen by many as a more feasible option.    There is virtually no possibility that Trump’s impeachment by the House (if it did occur) would result in his removal from office by the Republican-majority Senate.  (16)   

  

What does Donald Trump say about his potential impeachment?

                In Jan. 2019 Trump tweeted: “How do you impeach a president who has won perhaps the greatest election of all time, done nothing wrong (no Collusion with Russia, it was the Dems that Colluded), had the most successful first two years of any president, and is the most popular Republican in party history 93%.”  On Dec. 11 Trump told Reuters: “I’m not concerned, no.  I think that the people would revolt if that happened.”  Various commentators have suggested that Trump actually wants to be impeached in order to boost attention and increase his electoral advantage. (1, 21).

END-NOTE (this author’s opinion):  I think there are many credible arguments that Donald Trump is unqualified and is unfit for the office of president.  On the other hand, many of the charges — e.g., ignorance, lying and distortion, self-delusion, arrogance, terrible appointments, faulty policies, climate change-denial, even sexism and White Nationalism — don’t fall under rubrics like treason or high crimes and misdemeanors.  To the best of my knowledge, no prominent figures from the political left or the right have suggested that impeachment will succeed in removing Trump from office.  Continued investigation seems essential, but, voting Trump out in the 2020 election looks like the most workable option to me.  

SOURCES:

(1) abcnews.go.com, Meghan Keneally, “How the impeachment process works,” Jan. 29, 2019;

(2) bbc.com, Anthony Zurcher, “Donald Trump impeachment debate”, June 8, 2109;

(3) businessinsider.com, Grace Panetta, “Democrats who want to begin an impeachment inquiry against Trump,” Aug. 1, 2019; 

(4) cbsnews.com, Grace Segers, “House Democratic leaders divided on how to describe impeachment inquiry,” Sept. 11, 2019; 

(5) fortune.com, Erin Corbett, “To Impeach Trump or Not,” July 30, 2019; 

(6) historyextra.com, “A brief history of presidential impeachment,” July 15, 2019;

(7) investopedia.com, Will Kenton, “Impeachment”, May 9, 2018;

(8) theglobepost.com, Alex Graf, “Trump’s Criminality is Blatantly Clear.  The Time to Impeach is Now,” July 2, 2019; 

(9) hannity.com, Hannity staff, “Hannity: Democrats Still Pushing Impeachment After ‘Three Years of Lies’”, Sept. 10, 2019; 

(10) litigation.findlaw.com, “Who Can be Impeached?”, n.d.;

(11) newsweek.com, Asher Stockton, “GOP Support for Impeachment Nearly Doubles”, Aug. 2, 2019; 

(11a) newsweek.com, Eve Watling, “How Can a President Be Removed From Office,” Feb. 5, 2019; 

(12) oregonlive.com, Douglas Perry, “Donald Trump’s impeachment will happen this fall, key House Democrat says”, Sept. 4, 2019;

(13) Jake Sherman et al., “PLIITICO Playbook PM: Pelosi rebuffs impeachment questions,” Sept. 12, 2019; 

(14) politico.com, Katie Galioto, “Trump says he’ll turn to Supreme Court if Congress begins impeachment”, Apr. 24, 219; 

(15) reuters.com, Jan Wolfe, Richard Cowan, “Explainer - What does it take to remove a U.S. president from office?”, Apr. 26, 2019; 

(16)  slate.com, Ben Mathis-Lilley, “Impeach-O-Meer” After Impeachment August, It’s Judiciary Procedure”, Sept. 11, 2019; 

(17) theguardian.com, Lauren Gam(3no, “2020 Democrats renew calls for impeachment,” July 24, 2019; 

(18) usatoday.com, Maureen Groppe, “What to know about the 25th Amendment”, Feb. 14, 2019; 

(19) washingtonpost.com, David A. Fahrenthold, “Five things to know about impeachment,” Apr. 20, 2019; 

(20) washingtonpost.com, Max Boot, “Here are seven reasons Trump should be impeached,” June 3, 2019. 

(21) wikipedia.org, “Efforts to impeach Donald Trump”, n.d.

(22) wikipedia.org, “Impeachment”, n.d.;

(23) wikipedia.org, “Impeachment in the United States”, n.d.;

(24) wikipedia.org, “Impeachment investigations of United States federal officials”, n.d.; 

Fifty-Nine and Counting

Dear George, 

Last Thursday was our fifty-ninth wedding anniversary.  Lots of it is still fresh in my mind.  We were married in the tiny Quaker chapel on the Antioch campus in Yellow Springs,  My family drove down from Menominee; Katja’s came from Philadelphia.  The minister’s name, oddly enough, was Howard Johnson.  Antioch students typically composed their own wedding ceremonies in those days, and I stayed up till 4 a.m. the night before, struggling to find some inspiring wording that would last for eternity.  Since the wedding was on the hottest day of the summer, I went to the local drugstore to get pills to control my sweating.  The pharmacist explained that there wasn’t such a thing as anti-sweat pills.  Katja’s parents were convinced that I was the wrong choice for their firstborn daughter, and they were less than enthusiastic about the wedding.  I think her father must have said something because my father took us aside the night before and told us in no uncertain terms that members of our family never get divorced.  His speech was very convincing and is probably a major reason that we celebrated anniversary number fifty-nine.

Everything about our marriage was a bit of a miracle.  I first saw Katja from a distance at the freshman mixer on our first day of college orientation.  I’d just turned eighteen; she was still seventeen.  She was standing across the Birch Hall dormitory lawn in a white dress, talking and laughing with several fellow classmates.  She was beautiful and beaming with joy.  I was smitten on the spot and said to myself that this was the girl I would marry someday.  Of course, I was much too shy to do anything about it.  I’d see her around campus now and then but never had the courage to say hello.  In the winter quarter she had a role as a nanny in a Jean Anouilh stage play, and I felt she was a superstar. One night I passed through the common room of the freshman women’s dormitory, and Katja was alone, playing a melancholy song on the piano.  I just kept on walking through. 

In our second year I did my first coop job in Madison, Wisconsin.  Two of my freshmen hallmates had their first job assignments in Milwaukee, and I went by Greyhound to spend the weekend with them.  Much to my astonishment, Katja was also working in Milwaukee and hanging out with my friends.  We were actually introduced.   On my next visit I invited her to Madison, and she stayed in a UW dorm with one of my high school friends.  We had our first date, and I told her about wanting to marry her from the moment I first saw her.  She got very angry and said that was the worst line she had ever heard.  But we did share a good night kiss, and at the quarter break she came home with me to the Upper Peninsula to visit my family.      

Life as young marrieds was not easy.  After a one-night honeymoon in downtown Dayton, we packed our belongings and left for graduate school.  Graduate studies were a grind, and couples we knew were splitting up left and right.  Our combined annual income was $4,500.  After six years I took a faculty job at the University of Cincinnati, and that involved even greater pressure.  As students we had been peers and status equals (however lowly), but now I was a professor and Katja was stuck with being a faculty wife.  A depressing, troublesome arrangement.  Early in our Cincinnati years Katja organized a women’s liberation consciousness-raising group.  As far I could tell, the group’s main topics were the horrors of marriage and the failings of traditionalist husbands.  Except for Katja, every member of her group divorced within the next two years.  I’m still not sure why we survived.  Probably luck of the draw.  

In 1969 Katja gave birth to a baby boy.  I was shocked to learn she was pregnant because she had been taking the pill, but she said she’d discontinued it when I asked if we should get maternity insurance.  Parenthood turned out to be the best thing we’ve ever done.  We were entranced with our infant son from the beginning, and being parents together — a constantly challenging and rewarding task — gave our marriage a new meaning and significance.  

Now we find ourselves in the midst of growing older together.  We each have our respective bugaboos, and we look out for one another.  Every couple of months we get to be grandparents with our New Orleans family.  Participating in the younger generation’s growing up gives us a new extension into the future.  A few days ago I asked Katja what stage she thought we were in.  She said with a frown, “The end-stage.”  I laughed but I didn’t agree.  I’m looking ahead to our sixty-fifth anniversary.  It will be a memorable occasion.  

Love,

Dave