THE FIRE BRIGADE

 

THE FIRE BRIGADE

By Jack Random

Jonas waited for the call.  As nervous as the day his father took him to a Texas brothel to become a man, he fought to hold back his anxiety.  He considered himself a patriot and a warrior.  After two tours in America’s war in the Middle East, he grew tired of taking orders from a commander who was not committed to victory.  He walked his own path – a path that led to sorrow and desperation.  He married and divorced before the vows could go cold.  He wandered from job to job and town to town with the aimlessness of a gambler on a losing streak. 

He found redemption and purpose in a group of like-minded individuals in the Northern California town of Redding.  The town had burned to the ground some years back.  They rebuilt with a mind to survive the next fire.  Jonas got a job as an auto mechanic and spent most of his free time shooting guns at the local range and riding his old Harley in the hills. 

The Brigade spotted him from his online presence.  He hated the government.  He hated Republicans almost as much as he hated Democrats.  He loved guns and fast cars and hot women.  He liked drugs, beer and whiskey.  He never went to church but he still considered himself a God fearing man.  He liked NASCAR and football and Harley Davidson.  He was one of them. 

#

They were individuals dedicated to their mission.  They received no salary or wages for their labor – though they did receive a stipend to cover expenses from the national organization.  They worked on weekends and holidays and their numbers were growing.  They now had an active membership of over fifty trained firemen and a hundred more unskilled volunteers.  Some women were among them but they made it a point to call themselves firemen.  They didn’t believe in political correctness and went out of their way to defy the liberal standards of polite society.  They used language that would make a bartender blush.  Their jurisdiction ran from the Canadian to the Mexican border. 

For the last decade wildfires ravaged much of the west coast forestlands.  Every fire erupted like a volcano and spread through the dry brush like the chain reaction of a split atom.  The Fire Brigade did not believe in global warming.  They did not believe that human activity had any real impact on the planet’s climate.  The climate was in God’s hands and the ravages of fire were the will of God.  Those who perished or lost their homes, their belongings and loved ones deserved to be punished. 

The Brigade protected their own people.  Everyone else could go to hell – and surely would.  They had chapters in four states but most of them were in California – the most liberal and godless state in America.   They were on constant alert and stood ready to answer the call of any and all emergencies.  

Their leader was a man named Willy Johnson – a rail of a man with a full unkempt beard.  He came from North Carolina with a message for anyone willing to listen:  The world would soon confront what he called The Great Reckoning.  It was time past time to choose sides and get right with the Lord.  His Lord was the Old Testament Lord, the vengeful fire and brimstone Lord, the God of wrath and destruction.  His God was merciful as well but only if you were blessed with His divine sanctity. 

##

Willy first called Jonas when conditions for a major fire arose along the Rogue River in Southern Oregon.  The drought that plagued California for decades had moved north.  Land that was once known for its rich plant life and thick green brush fed by a constant supply of rain and river water was suddenly parched and dry as an instruction manual.  The rivers ran low and sucked up all the water the clouds could release.  The land along the Rogue became a tinderbox waiting for a spark.  The Pacific wind that flowed through the canyon that the river carved would carry a flame a hundred miles before the local firefighters could react.  The fire would spread through protected forestlands including the liberal tourist Mecca known as Ashland. 

###

Jonas was having second thoughts.  He had fought fires with the Brigade in Paradise and Pine Mountain.  Though they faced opposition from officials, none could deny their effectiveness.  They were willing to go where others would not go.  They took chances and, yes, they lost lives but they saved exponentially more than they lost.  The local papers described them as heroes but they refused to take credit.  On the rare occasions when Willy spoke to the media he stuck to the script. 

“We’re only doing what anyone would do.  We see people in trouble and we try to help.  We fight fires.  That’s what we do.” 

Willy instructed Jonas to scout the area.  He spent a week on site from Bandon to Ashland.  He got to know some of the people along the way.  They were good people.  A lot of them had their heads on crooked but you can’t blame them, can you?  People are as people are taught.  People believe what they’re told to believe.  The people in the Brigade were exceptions.  Some people – the chosen few – rise above their upbringing to become leaders and trailblazers like the pioneers that settled the American continent.  Others – like the savage tribes that were here before the Christian landing – had to make way.  It is the nature of progress that it always comes at a price. 

####

Magdalena ran the Italian restaurant at the beginning of the main drag in Ashland.  She inherited the job from her mother.  Though the restaurant changed hands a number of times its management remained in the same hands for over two decades.  She knew all the locals and treated everyone who entered the doors with respect.  Some of the tourists were demanding and difficult but they all soon yielded to her grounded charms. 

Jonas discovered Gepetto’s on his first visit to Ashland and made it a point to eat there every time he returned.  He would sit at the small bar and chat with Magdalena when she wasn’t busy serving customers.  The food was excellent and he enjoyed watching her interact with the locals.  They were like a family and it aroused a vague sense of jealousy in him.  He didn’t know what to make of it.  His upbringing was difficult on the good days.  His father was a mean drunk and his mother was not a whole lot better.  They had time enough to take care of their own needs and not much left for the needs of their children. 

Magdalena must have thought Jonas had a crush on her but the truth was:  He would have been happy with her friendship.  He sometimes fantasized that she was his sister.  They would enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas at a long table of siblings and relatives.  They would joke and laugh and sip glasses of wine while basking in the ambiance of familial love.  His own family was less than accepting of his ways.  His parents split up when he was in diapers and his siblings – there were four of them – he no longer knew.  They wanted nothing to do with him and he felt pretty much the same. 

#####

Maybe the important lesson Jonas learned from the Brigade was that skilled firemen knew how to steer the flames.  That was why they lit fires to cut off a wildfire’s path.  The Brigade drove a fire like cowboys drive a herd of cattle.  Every fire had a distinct personality.  Some were easily led while others were stubborn.  You had to push and pull and slap them around like a mule with his mind made up. 

Jonas became one of them when he demonstrated the ability to steer a stubborn wildfire.  He took a lead role in the Pine Mountain fire and earned his marks.  He was fearless.  He crawled inside a raging fire and ripped out its heart. 

That was why Willy chose him for an even more prominent role on the Rogue River project.  Together they studied satellite photos and live footage revealing how the river carved the land and the land guided the forest.  Their mission was twofold:  Guide the fire away from the good working folk of Medford to the godless liberal elites of Ashland.  It would not be easy but with the help of the Brigade they were certain they would succeed. 

######

Jonas received the call while dining at Gepetto’s.  A logging operation sparked a fire down the river at Crooked Bend.  His crew of seven men – six men and one woman – would be ready inside thirty minutes at a safe house in Medford. 

When Jonas threw a twenty and an extra five on the bar, Magdalena asked if everything was okay.  He shrugged and said it was but his expression conveyed the opposite message.  He told her more than he should have.  He said their was a fire and warned her that if it got close she should consider getting out. 

She smiled and said thanks.  In the decades of her family’s residence in Ashland, a wildfire had never threatened them. 

He knew in that instant that she would not heed his or anyone else’s warning.  She would remain with her friends and family.  She would rather die than live without them.  He wanted to explain but time escaped.  His crew was waiting. 

#######

They were tried and true believers.  Four of them grew up in Redding.  They went to church at Easter and Christmas.  They voted Republican but only in presidential elections.  They hated Democrats and loved baiting longhair hippie types in the local bar.  They recruited Jonas and believed in him and in his ability to lead.  One was a biker from Reno, Nevada, one was from a Sacramento white supremacy group and the woman was Willy’s girlfriend.  She was willing and able but relatively new in the field. 

When Jonas arrived at the safe house their preparations were all but finished.  They showed him on a map where the fire sparked south of Grants Pass and where it was headed.  He broke them into teams of two and assigned them precise positions where they could guide the fire.  Willy’s girlfriend, Alice, would go with him. 

They climbed into their four-wheel drive vehicles and headed directly to their assigned places along the Rogue River Canyon.  They would stay in contact by phone, make camp and begin the hard work of establishing control of the fire.  Jonas and Alice took their position outside Jacksonville at the turning point where the fire could be directed north above Medford or south along Ashland Creek to the heart of Ashland. 

########

By midday they were making steady progress.  The main branch of the fire grew stronger and headed straight to Jacksonville.  He ordered his team to converge on the turning point.  He directed Alice to meet them in town and wait for his word.  Alice seemed reluctant to leave him and Jonas wondered if her purpose was to keep an eye on him.  Did Willy doubt him?  Was this his final test as a leader in the Brigade?  He had to admit he did not know which way he would turn.  He wanted to secure his role in the group.  It was his family.  He was honored when Willy chose him to lead this operation.  But he also wanted to protect Magdalena and the people he came to know and regard with warm affection.  They were the family he wished he had. 

“Willy told me to stick with you and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Alice. 

“Willy put me in charge of this operation,” Jonas replied. 

“That’s right.” 

“Then follow my orders, damn it!  That fire’s heading home and it’s bearing down fast!  It aint going to wait for us to work things out.” 

“Willy told me…”

“I’m telling you:  The best place to organize the Brigade is in the center of town.  Now someone’s got to stay here and watch it coming.  The rest of us need to be ready to take positions and you need to be there to explain the situation!” 

They were stationed at a viewpoint overlooking the canyon.  The fire could move in any number of directions.  It was fast, hot and unpredictable.  If they had people in town they could react to any contingency.  If they were all at the viewpoint, their reaction would be delayed and the local firefighters could establish control.  It made sense and Alice knew it. 

“Okay,” she finally conceded.  “You keep me posted,” she added as she climbed into her jeep and headed for town. 

Jonas took a deep breath and braced himself for what had to be done. 

#########

Magdalena watched the reports on the local television station.  The fire was burning hot and moving down the Rogue River Canyon.  The fire chief was certain they could stop it before it hit any major towns or cities.  They’d handled fires like this before and they wanted people to remain calm. 

She wouldn’t have thought too much about it except for the words of warning by a man she hardly knew.  There was something in the way he said it and the look in his eyes.  Of course the fire wouldn’t reach Ashland but still it worried her.  Most of the people who worked in their town lived in Medford or Talent and she worried for them. 

She had little choice.  Even if she wanted to get out she would have to leave behind the people she loved – including her own children.  No one in Ashland was panicking so she wouldn’t either.  The stranger was just trying to show his concern.  Like so many other tourists and people passing through, he liked her – maybe he fell just a little in love – and he wanted to impress her.  She smiled at the thought and got on with the business of serving the next customer. 

#

From his perch on the overlook, Jonas saw the fire carving its way toward him.  He saw the position of the Forest Service and its official fire fighting force on the north side of the river.  He saw them slowly branching out and preparing to take positions on both side of the river.  Their movements were slow as molasses and as predictable as Pavlov’s dogs.  They intended to stop the fire’s southern route before fighting it on the north.  His job was to distract them by creating a flare-up to the north and leading them to believe that there was little danger in the fire branching to the south.  The primary branch of the fire was north, meaning it had to jump the river to take the southern route. 

The first thing Jonas learned about fire is that it hates water.  Water in the air, in the ground, in the trees or in the brush on the forest floor thwarts fire and pushes it on a different path.  The second thing Jonas learned is that fire loves fire.  Just as a fire will avoid water at all costs, it will go to great lengths to find and join fire to fire.  It will cross highways, streams and rivers to find its own kind.  If a flame sparked on the south side of the river, the main fire would jump the river to find it. 

All options were on the table.  His team in Jacksonville awaited his instructions.  They were all capable firemen and they could move three times faster than the forest service or the local firefighters.  The official teams had to observe protocol: they gathered information, analyzed the data and consulted with each other before their people could react.  His team operated on his word and his word alone. 

##

Unknown to Jonas, Willy Johnson was monitoring the situation from Medford.  He had a team of loyal soldiers and a handful of drones to track the fire and the position of the firefighters.  He knew where the forest service and the local firefighters were camped.  He knew when and where they moved.  He knew where the fire was moving and how fast it was going.  He also knew where his people were. 

Alice called him from Jacksonville to update him on the situation.  She didn’t trust Jonas and she didn’t hide it. 

“The son of a bitch has the hots for some broad in Ashland,” she said. 

“That don’t mean he’s not with us,” he replied.  “Let’s wait and see.” 

Willy liked Jonas.  He admired his bravery and skill.  He was always two steps ahead of his colleagues in the Brigade.  He knew this was a critical point in his training.  They all faced the turning point.  He remembered well his own turning point.  Back in North Carolina he was called upon to delay his team of volunteers and let a fire consume a church of predominantly black worshipers.  He knew some of them.  He broke bread with some of them.  He had a drink or two with some of them. 

He chose the Brigade but it wasn’t easy.  Until the last moment he didn’t know whether or not he could go through with it.  That decision changed his life.  It tortured him for months but he survived it.  It made him stronger.  It solidified his commitment to the cause.  He would give Jonas a chance.  He would wait and observe until there was no stepping back.  It was the least he could do for the man he hoped would succeed him as the leader of the western branch of The Brigade. 

###

Jonas saw an opportunity and he grabbed it.  He called the Forest Service anonymously and informed them there was a renegade operation of firefighters intent on sabotage.  He then called Alice with instructions and coordinates.  He would send two teams to the north side of the river and two to the south.  It would seem reasonable to them and Alice would bury her suspicions.  But the coordinates he provided would take them into the enemy camps.  They would be captured and questioned.  If they were allowed to operate at all, they would be under official supervision.  They would be unable to carry out their mission. 

He told Alice to meet him at the overlook.  Together they would watch the operation unfold.  They would observe the Forest Service sending their firefighters to the north to counter the flare-up.  They would watch as their people lit fires on the south side of the river, attracting the flames of the primary fire.  Before nightfall the raging fire would be speeding south toward Ashland. 

That was the Brigade’s plan.  But Jonas had another plan.  He would watch long enough to be certain that Brigade’s plan was foiled.  Then he would head out.  By the time Alice arrived at the lookout he would be long gone. 

####

Magdalena was stunned to hear on the news that the Rogue River fire had taken an unexpected turn.  Still raging out of control, it turned south at Jacksonville and was now headed straight to Ashland.  A warning was issued to all residents:  Evacuation was advised.  Mandatory evacuation was under consideration. 

She thought of the stranger who had foreseen this development and wondered what he knew that others did not.  Just then he walked in the door but his eyes did not find hers as they normally would have.  He stared with unmistakable fear at the tall, thin bearded man who was sitting at the counter. 

Willy turned and smiled. 

#####

Jonas learned what took place on the drive to Ashland.  The radio reported that the Rogue River fire had taken an unexpected turn to the south.  He didn’t have the time or resources to go back and change what was happening.  The fire would hold its course.  He figured that Willy’s doubts went deeper than sending Alice along to monitor his actions.  Willy oversaw the operation from somewhere nearby. 

The Brigade would be after him now.  They were capable of killing and he was their target.  But all he could think about was Magdalena.  It seemed strange.  He had never slept with her.  He had never kissed her.  Hell, he had never even gone out with her.  Still, at this critical moment, the turning point of a journey that could mean life or death, she dominated his thoughts and his affection grew.  Was she a witch?  Did she hold unnatural sway over his heart?  It didn’t matter.  The only thing that mattered was that she was safe.  He would do whatever he had to do. 

Midway down the mountain and through the forest he realized that the Brigade posed a threat not only to him but to Magdalena as well.  If Willy had observed his behavior over the last week, they knew about Magdalena.  If they knew about Magdalena, they wouldn’t think twice about taking her hostage. 

He called the Ashland police and told them he was one of the saboteurs who steered the fire south.  He asked them to confirm his story with the Forest Service.  He said he’d be waiting outside Gepetto’s to turn himself in. 

######

“Hello, Judas,” said Willy.  “Surprised to see me?” 

“The name’s Jonas,” he replied.  “Nothing surprises me.” 

“Maybe you’d like to say hi to your woman before we take leave.” 

He motioned to Magdalena who stood frozen like a bronze statue in Lithia Park.  She had no idea what was going down but she realized she was in the center of it. 

“Her name is Magdalena and she’s not my woman.  She’s got nothing to do with this.” 

“Of course not,” said Willy.  “But here you are, risking your life for a woman you hardly know.  Was it worth it?” 

It was a question he had asked himself many times.  He had turned it over and over on sleepless nights and it always led to the same conclusion: worth it or not, he had no choice.  A man can no more control his heart than the moon can control the sun. 

“Let’s take this outside,” said Jonas. 

Willy hesitated and looked back and forth between Jonas and Magdalena, calculating whether it was worth it to take her captive if only to exact his revenge on the young man who rejected his paternal affection. 

“It’s your lucky day,” he said to Magdalena as he rose and followed Jonas out the door. 

#######

Four officers of the Ashland Police force were waiting to take them both into custody.  Willy was stunned.  His chosen one had outfoxed him in the end.  He gave him a hard look and winked. 

“I always knew you was a step ahead of the rest of us.” 

########

Over the course of the next seven days, the authorities rounded up the remaining members of the Fire Brigade that sabotaged the Rogue River fire fighting campaign.  Over the next seven weeks they closed down all chapters of the organization across the states of California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. 

The Forest Service and the local firefighters managed to contain the fire before it reached the town of Ashland.  Jonas went to jail with special consideration for his action and cooperation in saving the residents of Ashland and turning evidence on the Brigade.  He would serve six months before being released. 

Despite a powerful yearning, he never saw Magdalena again. 

[With regard to Arthur C. Clarke and his classic story Fahrenheit 451.]

Copyright 2018 Ray Miller

GOLDEN INFERNO: CALIFORNIA ON FIRE

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES:  RADICAL SOLUTIONS FOR RADICAL TIMES.

CALIFORNIA IS BURNING

By Jack Random

“We’re going to have to adapt.  We’re going to have to change our technology.  But in the meantime, we’re going to spend a hell of a lot of money and there’s going to be a lot of unpleasant events.” 

Jerry Brown, Governor of California

I watch the news and muse about the issues of the day but from where I sit in the center of the Great Central Valley, the agricultural garden of the planet, there is only one issue of the day every day for as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. 

California is on fire.  Most days the sky is more brown than blue.  The only relief we get from sweltering triple-digit days is caused by smoke blocking the sun.  In July the appropriately named Death Valley marked a record average temperature of 108 degrees – meaning every 100-degree day was offset by a 116-degree day.  Yosemite National Park, John Muir’s gem of natural wonder, is closed to the public.  The people of Redding – 120 miles south of the Oregon border – have lost much of their town.  The people of Lakeport and Mendocino wake up each day wondering if it’s their turn to evacuate.

California is burning and it’s nothing new.  Last October the Tubbs fire decimated the city of Santa Rosa, destroying over 5,000 structures including 2,800 homes and claiming twenty-two human lives in the most destructive fire in California history.  The financial cost was estimated at over a billion dollars.  By the time summer comes to a close, this year may be worse. 

More than a dozen major fires are currently raging across the state, turning our golden hue to bronze and threatening to transform a bright future into a hazy toxic mess.  Sixteen fires had burned 320 acres, displacing more than 32,000 residents by the end of July.  Some thirteen thousand firefighters have been summoned to the battle. 

Governor Jerry Brown warns that this phenomenon of yearly inferno will continue to cost the state and its residents billions of dollars in destruction and who knows how many lives – not only from the fires but also from the poison it spews into the air.  Ironically, the state that has done more to combat pollution than any other may be fighting a losing battle. 

While the folks in Washington and on the major media news channels discuss the daily theatrics of America’s former mayor, pouring through presidential tweets and trial transcripts, the fires mark a trail of destruction like Sherman’s Civil War march through the South and we all are whistling Dixie. 

Welcome to the world of Global Warming!  Yeah, I said Global Warming.  We’ve all been instructed to call it Climate Change so the idiots who choose to deny reality can’t get away with refuting science every time a cold front comes through.  The fact is:  It’s fricking hot.  Not most summers but every summer it’s too hot to venture outside for more than a few hours without risking your health and well-being.  Unless you’re lucky enough to live by the coast – increasingly reserved for the wealthy – you have to limit your time in the sun and drink plenty of fluids.  Even the coastal residents have to worry about fires spreading and destroying whole cities and towns.  Who will be next to face the earth’s revenge? 

The Carr fire up north has taken six lives and destroyed 1,465 structures.  That makes it the sixth most destructive wildfire in California history and it’s still burning.  In Mendocino County – some of the most beautiful land in a state teeming with beauty – two fires had wiped out over 90,000 acres and they’re still burning.  The Ferguson fire scorching Yosemite, claiming over 60,000 acres is predicted to spread eastward into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  If you haven’t yet seen Yosemite, it’s a damned shame.  The Ansel Adams photographs are stunning beyond belief but the real thing is even more so. 

The Ferguson fire has already burned for twenty days but experts are worried it may get worse as a pressure system lifts and ignites “a massive number of dead trees than have been killed off by five years of drought and a bark beetle infestation.”  [1] 

The calendar has just turned to August and a distinct possibility exists that it will only get worse as the summer unwinds.  It will certainly get worse as the years unwind and politicians like our president continue to pretend it has nothing whatsoever to do with the toxic stew we inject into our atmosphere every day. 

It is too late for the party of denial to escape accountability.  We burn oil, gas and coal and pretend that natural gas is the solution when in fact it only transfers the problem from the air we breathe to the water we drink.  Why do we still not have solar panels on every home and building not only in the Golden State but in every state where sun still shines?  (Wake up, Arizona! You are wasting the most valuable resource you have and you’re worried about immigration?)  Why do we still not have an infrastructure that can accommodate a vast array of renewable clean energy?  Why is it still cheaper to burn the most harmful fuels on the planet?  Why haven’t we developed for mass deployment pollution-free vehicles? 

It is undeniable.  The world is getting hotter.  Earlier this summer, record temperatures were recorded across the globe from Los Angeles and Denver to New Hampshire and Vermont, from Ottawa and Montreal to Glasgow and Belfast, from Tbilisi and Yerevan in Eastern Europe to Quriyat in the Middle East.  There is no hiding from this phenomenon short of leaving the planet. 

California’s fires join tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes on the east coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, cyclones and tsunamis in the Pacific and extreme weather events throughout the nation and the world as powerful reminders that we have failed to effectively address the most pressing problem of our times.  This is a failing that will outlive us all. 

It is no longer worth arguing about.  It is happening to everyone in every corner of the globe.  The earth doesn’t care if we believe or disbelieve.  There will always be deniers.  When the rising ocean turns Miami into Venice, Italy, and Venice into a memory, there will be deniers.  When hurricane season decimates Baltimore, New York, New Orleans and Houston, there will be deniers.  When powerful twisters mark a path of destruction through St. Louis, Kansas City, Nashville and Atlanta, there will be deniers.  When violent storms knock out our vulnerable energy grid, there will be deniers.  But there will also be rational human beings who wake up and take action. 

The most critical action we can take is at the ballot box. 

Until then, California will burn. 

Jazz.

“California fires rage and Gov. Jerry Brown offers grim view of fiery future” by Jaclyn Cosgrove, John Myers, Louis Sahagun and Sonali Kohli.  Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2018. 

“Red-hot planet:  All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week” by Jason Samenow.  Washington Post, July 5, 2018.  

Jack Random is retired and living in central California.  He is the author of the Jazzman Chronicles and other works, most recently Pawns to Players: The Chess Series – a trilogy of political novels. 

TRUMP, COHEN & MANIFORT: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES IN THE AGE OF TRUMP

THE CARDINAL LIE:

A SELF-FUNDED CANDIDATE

By Jack Random

“By self-funding my campaign, I am not controlled by my donors, special interest groups or lobbyists.  I am only working for the people of the U.S.!” 

Donald J. Trump, Facebook September 5, 2015

Does anyone still remember the promise Donald Trump gave when he first announced that he would run for the highest office in the land?  It was one of a number of points that actually seemed to make sense:  Why elect a rich man?  Because he doesn’t owe anything to anyone. 

Like so much of what Trump said or promised, it was not true.  It was always a lie.  From the very beginning Trump solicited contributions from the elite of the Republican Party.  In the beginning he did not get contributions from the elite because they didn’t want him to be their candidate.  After he clinched the nomination, however, they fell in line and Trump’s promise of self-financing became the lie it had always been. 

Trump spent an estimated $66 million of his own money on the 2016 campaign.  According to Open Secret, he had twelve corporate donors of one million or more.  The largest by far was the giant hedge fund firm Renaissance Technologies at over $15 million.  Other big donors included the professional wrestling organization McMahon Ventures, Disney, real estate broker GH Palmer and assorted corporate entities in finance, entertainment, banking and gambling. 

In typical pay-to-play fashion at least six big time donors were rewarded with executive appointments, including restaurant executive Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor (since departed), wrestling magnate Linda McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration, charter school promoter Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, TD Ameritrade’s Todd Ricketts Deputy Commerce Secretary, Steven Mnuchin of Goldman Sachs, Secretary of the Treasury, and billionaire investor and Bank of Cyprus executive Wilbur Ross, Commerce Secretary. 

This is not how you drain the swamp.  This is how you populate the swamp with the vilest creatures on earth. 

As of July 2018 Trump had raised $88 million for his 2020 campaign.  While most of it came from small donors – the self-flagellating fools known as Trump’s base – large donors (over $100,000) included Texas banker Andrew Beal, real estate baron and Kushner partner Stanley Chera, Los Angeles real estate baron Geoffrey Palmer and casino executive Cherna Moskowitz. 

Whatever you otherwise think of Donald Trump, his campaign is not and never was self-financed or free of obligation to big-time donors.  In fact the evidence suggests that Trump and family run the White House as a money-generating operation.  Those who wish to curry favor or buy a few minutes with the leader of the western world are encouraged to stay at one of the president’s luxury resorts.  Big time donors might get a round of golf with the Donald at one of his championship golf courses. 

In the first year of his presidency, according to a report by Public Citizen, no less that 64 politicians, interest groups, corporations and entities affiliated with foreign governments spent hundreds of thousands at Trump properties.  Foreign entities included Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.  Domestic entities included the coal magnate William Koch, a private prison corporation and the Chamber of Commerce. 

The Donald told the nation he divested interest in his company and business interest, handing control to his sons and promising not to discuss business with them for the length of his presidency.  We are compelled to take his word for now.  The Trump real estate empire sold over $35 million worth of properties in 2017 to anonymous buyers – that’s right, anonymous buyers.  How is that even possible? 

Those who have dealt with Donald Trump as a businessman know that he’s always been a con man and a hustler.  He’s gamed the system for all its worth as a casino owner and real estate developer.  His son-in-law Jared Kushner is sitting on one of the worst investments in recorded history: 666 Fifth Avenue – a tower of offices bought at the peak of the real estate bubble. 

It is not a coincidence that no American banks will loan Kushner or the Trumps money – even those who contributed to his campaign.  If they were ever held to account on their properties they might find themselves in bankruptcy court once again. 

Is it possible they would attempt to use the power and prestige of the White House to pull out of debt and turn a profit?  There is nothing in their history to suggest they would not.  There’s a lot to indicate they fully intend to make as much money from Donald’s accidental presidency as they can.  Never waste an opportunity. 

If Trump goes down -- and I am among those who believe he will – it will probably not be the Russian spymaster connection but his life-long crooked financial dealings.  There is a reason Trump attempted to draw a red line for the Mueller investigation:  Stay out of the family finances.  It is not by coincidence that Mueller hired a team of experts in money laundering and corporate fraud – Trump family specialties.  It is why Mueller successfully subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank – one of the few institutions to work with Trump and family.  The German bank has reportedly loaned Trump’s real estate ventures hundreds of millions of dollars, while extending generous lines of credit to the Kushners. 

In 2014, long before anyone considered the man a serious politician, Trump bought a couple of golf courses in Scotland and Ireland for $79.7 million, an estate in Scotland for $12.6 million, a winery in Virginia for $16.2 million.  Trump’s confidential adviser, sketchy attorney and sometimes fixer Michael Cohen sold four buildings in Manhattan at three times their buying price three years prior.  Cohen appears to have used a shell company for the deal. 

The deals are shady for a number of reasons:  First, Mr. Trump went on his spending spree during a global real estate crash?  He was reportedly buried in debt so where did the money come from?  Second, why did Trump use Cohen and a shell company to sell his Manhattan properties, who was the buyer and why did they overpay? 

Trump and company suffers from an apparent duck problem.  He covers his deals with layers of deception, fake companies, false names and unnamed investors.  If it looks crooked and walks crooked, it probably is crooked. 

According to former Treasury agent John Cassara:  “Real estate is a big issue for money laundering.  It has been for a long time.  If you’ve got a condo or a shopping center or a golf course…the authorities aren’t going to look at that.  Once you see property, it’s assumed that’s good, that’s a legitimate investment.” 

Why did you think the Kushners and the Trumps went into the business?  It was a natural fit.  In a strange way I feel sorry for Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen.  They’re the little guys.  The two-bit cons who got caught up in the big boy’s game.  They’re the guys who are supposed to take the fall.  Layers and layers of big money deniability protect the Trumps and the Kushners.

In the end it will not even matter whether Trump conspired with the Russians to game the American election.  It will only matter that our president is a crook.  He has made a great deal of money over a great length of time by nefarious means.  He has engaged in money laundering, fraud, tax evasion and who knows what other financial crimes. 

If he didn’t want us to know about it, he should not have run for president.  If he didn’t want to be exposed, he should not have won the presidency.  In his heart of hearts, I think the president knows as much.  He wasn’t supposed to win. 

Jazz.

“The real reason Donald Trump self-financed his primary campaign,” Vox, 18 July 2016. 

“Six donors that Trump appointed gave almost $12 million with their families to back his campaign and the party” by Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy.  Washington Post, 9 December 2016. 

“$88 Million and Counting: Trump Amasses Huge Head Start for 2020 Campaign” by Kenneth P. Vogel and Rachel Shorey.  New York Times, 15 July 2018. 

“Trump Properties Earned a Fortune from GOP and Foreign Governments During President’s First Year: Report” by Grace Guarnieri.  Newsweek, 16 January 2018. 

“Point of View: Regarding the Trump-Russia probe, follow the money” by Jennifer Rubin.  Palm Beach Post, 12 January 2018. 

“Want to Bring Down Donald Trump? Follow the People who Follow the Money” by Rebecca Gordon.  Tom Dispatch, 30 April 2018. 

“If Trump is Laundering Russian Money, Here’s How it Works” by Garrett M. Graff.  Wired, 11 May 2018.

DEHUMANIZING ASYLUM SEEKERS

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES IN THE AGE OF TRUMP.

SEEKING ASYLUM IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY:

THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE

By Jack Random

The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting

The oranges piled in their creosote dumps

They’re flying ‘em back to the Mexican border

To pay all their money to wade back again

From Deportee or Plane Wreck at Los Gatos by Woody Guthrie 

Once upon a time it was all about the Mexicans.  Farmers in California, Texas, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico opened their arms to welcome the hard-working migrants from below the border.  Whole families worked long hours at minimal pay for as long as the picking season lasted.  Then they returned to their homes. 

On occasion, when the farmers got greedy or their expenses ran greater than expected, they called in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service to round them all up for immediate deportation without collecting their final paychecks. 

Usually they made it home to their friends and families.  Though disappointed at how they were treated, they would head north again when the time came.  It was a way of life.  It was the way of their fathers and mothers.  It was the only life they knew. 

Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye Rosalita

Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria

You won’t have your name when you ride the big airplane

All they will call you will be deportees

The farmers knew it was wrong but they did it anyway.  They did it because they could.  They did it because they knew their migrant labor force would return next harvest.  Many were the same people and the same families.  They knew the jobs and could do them better than anyone else. 

The truth is the farmers didn’t consider them equal human beings.  They were illegals.   They had no rights.  They had feelings, sure.  They cared about their families and friends.  Some of them might even care about the farmer and his family.  But when it came down to it, they were something less than true American.  They were Mexicans.  They were wetbacks.  They didn’t belong in this country beyond the picking season. 

But every once in a while something would happen to remind the white folks that they were real human beings and they deserved better than what they got. 

The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon

A fireball of lightning that shook all our hills

Who are all these friends all scattered like dry leaves? 

The radio says: They are just deportees

It’s not about the Mexicans these days but in many ways it’s the same story.  It’s about how we regard other human beings. 

Those who are familiar with Central America call it the Northern Triangle.  Consisting of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the United Nations estimated it was the source of some 294,000 refugees in 2017 alone. 

They scatter over the borders and migrate to neighboring Belize or head south to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia or north to Mexico and the United States.  For a time some nations like Belize and Mexico offered shelter and made some effort to accommodate their needs but the wave of migrants keeps coming and coming. 

They are fleeing a place where the police and the government cannot be trusted to protect them.  Too often they are in the pocket of the gangs and cartels that run the streets and neighborhoods.  If they ask you to join them you have a choice:  join or face the consequences.  They will take whatever money you have.  They will rape your daughter.  They will decapitate your son. 

The American Department of Justice has ruled that facing terror and oppression from gangs and cartels is no longer grounds for asylum.  If you are a woman, being raped and beaten by your husband is no longer grounds for asylum. 

To qualify for asylum you must belong to a victim class – an oppressed race or religious group.  Strangely, the Justice Department does not seem to consider that same status grounds for special treatment of any kind within our borders but it is essential to foreigners seeking refuge in our country. 

A former British colony, Belize has a population of 360,000.  Its official language is English.  The first wave of refugees, fleeing wars fueled by American imperialism and corporate interests in the 80’s and 90’s, increased the country’s Spanish-speaking population by some 30,000. 

The new wave began around 2011 and intensified in 2014, spurred by an explosion of violence, extortion, rape, kidnapping and murder.  It includes street gangs like MS-13 of El Salvador (by way of Los Angeles) that are trying to establish a foothold in Belize.  The authorities in Belize are resisting.  They do not wish to assimilate any more refugees so the asylum seekers move on. 

Mexico expected 20,000 asylum applications in 2017.  Beyond that they too are unable to accommodate the wave.  But the wave keeps coming. 

After a long hard journey coursing thousands of miles, some of the refugees finally reach the southern border of the United States of America – a nation that once took pride in being a nation of immigrants – only to find that they are no longer welcome.  The American president has warned us that this wave of refugees consists largely of criminals, rapists, killers and kidnappers posing as asylum seekers. 

They are no longer considered equal human beings deserving of fundamental human rights.  They are to be treated as animals, the children separated from their parents and shipped hundreds of miles away with little hope of being reunited. 

The Trump administration ordered the border patrol to turn away asylum seekers at the ports of entry so that everyone crossing over to American soil would be considered criminals – having broken the law by crossing the border.  The Trump administration ordered a policy of “zero tolerance” so that everyone crossing would be arrested and detained.  The Trump administration ordered its agents to separate the children from their parents and informed the disbelieving American public that they were not really parents. 

Fortunately, some enterprising journalists took pictures and recordings of the children so victimized by this inhumane treatment and the people reacted as people do.

This is not America!  This is not what we stand for!  This is not what Americans do!  We will not tolerate separating a child from her parent.  We will not place a toddler in a cage.  We will not imprison people for the crime of fleeing intolerable conditions. 

The sound and images informed our hearts what our minds could not process.  Our minds are obstructed by our prejudice.  Our minds did not object to the president’s hardcore policies but our hearts did.  Our hearts reminded us that we were not dealing with scum as the president misinformed us.  We were dealing with real, feeling human beings – parents, children, families and friends. 

The policy of zero tolerance was rescinded but the attitude of intolerance remains.  Now that public attention has shifted – as it inevitably does – the administration will be inclined to return to its former policies.  Reuniting families will give way to mass deportations. 

We need to delay action until the November election.  We must hope that the new congress will be inclined to new policies and a new approach.  Constructive recommendations include the creation of Safe Zones strategically located in Central America so that refugees have somewhere safe to go while they await adjudication of their status.  We should provide funding for Mexico’s asylum program along with any other nations willing to accommodate legitimate candidates.  We need to expand the criteria for asylum to include spousal abuse and gang violence.  We need to provide asylum for worthy candidates. 

Fundamentally, we need to regard the people of the Northern Triangle as human beings deserving of justice and freedom from harm. 

Jazz. 

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES AND PAWNS TO PLAYERS: THE CHESS SERIES – A TRILOGY OF NOVELS.

“Central Americans flee homes in record numbers: ‘The level of violence is brutal’” by Tom Phillips, The Guardian, 22 May 2018. 

“Central America’s refugee crisis fuels anti-Hispanic backlash in neighborly Belize” by Nina Lakhani.  The Guardian – US Edition, 31 May 2017.

“What I’ve Learned Living on The Border Between the US and Mexico” by Alex Zaragoza.  BuzzFeed, June 30, 2018. 

Deportee Lyrics:  Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. 

TRUMP'S VERY BAD WEEK

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES: RADICAL SOLUTIONS FOR RADICAL TIMES. 

THE ROAD TO HELSINKI:

HANDSHAKE DEALS & KNEE JERK DIPLOMACY

By Jack Random

Donald Trump touched down in Singapore, had dinner and announced he had a deal with Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea.  Kim had agreed to unconditional denuclearization.  Trump had only offered a handshake and agreed to call off military exercises.  Problem solved.  North Korea no longer posed a threat to the United States or its allies. 

This diplomacy thing is easy.  Golf is hard.  Standing over a five-foot putt with the match on the line: that’s pressure.  Somebody show me the way to Jerusalem.  We’ll solve this whole Palestinian problem in a weekend.  What do you say? 

No, Mr. President, we’re not going to Jerusalem.  There’s no one on the Palestinian side that would sit down with you – even for a photo op.  And Netanyahu has a court date.  It wouldn’t look good. 

Last August Trump suggested in an Oval Office meeting that we invade Venezuela.  He persisted with the idea for weeks, raising it again with Latin American leaders who expressed universal opposition.  No word on whether Trump was surprised at their position but he seemed to forget about Venezuela and all of Latin America until the refugee crisis arrived at our southern border. 

We recently learned by executive tweet that our president thought the joint statement he and Kim signed in Singapore was a binding agreement.  How long before we find out that Trump believes he received the blessings of Latin American leaders to bomb the hell out of Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala to stem the flow of refugees?  Not that he needs anyone’s blessings to bomb someone or invade a country. 

This diplomacy thing is easy.  Fire all the diplomats and let the chief negotiator take over.  Fuck Canada and who needs NATO?  Germany is Putin’s puppet and Angela Merkel will pay the price of open borders.  She can start by boosting military spending to 4% of gross domestic product.  Do it!  Do it now or do without American military might! 

Trump doesn’t seem to understand that Chancelor Merkel is not a dictator.  She cannot raise her nation’s military budget or its contribution to NATO with a wave of her hand any more than he can. 

Trump tried to persuade French President Emmanuel Macron to dump Europe and follow Britain’s lead in exiting the European Union.  After all, it’s worked out so well for Teresa May as she watches her Brexit implementation team implode the week before welcoming the American version of blundering Boris Johnson to Britannia.  The beleaguered prime minister must be filled with trepidation as she is compelled to display public hospitality to the least popular American leader since Thomas Paine. 

Come on, Manny!  Dump the bastards!  We’ll take care of you.  Vlady has a soft spot for Paris.  He always has. 

Not one to miss an opportunity for dramatic climax, the Donald saved his last stop for his closest and most trusted friend:  Vladimir Putin.  They will meet on foreign ground in the city of Helsinki, Finland.  There will be no other dignitaries and no transcribers.  Only the two leaders and their interpreters will know what words or transactions flow between them behind closed doors.  Of course the possibility of eavesdropping always exists – especially with the former head of the KGB and current boss of the FSB-GRU. 

It’s just you and me, right Vlady?  Man to man. 

That’s right, Donald.  We can talk with complete confidence!  Believe me! 

The secrecy has of course given birth to a wide range of theories about what might transpire between the two leaders.  Those who believe the whole Putin-Trump collaboration is a hoax generally believe nothing is amiss.  Why shouldn’t two of the world’s most powerful men and those at the heart of an ongoing investigation meet in confidence?  Why shouldn’t they encourage the most imaginative conspiracy theorists?  The American people are so sick of hearing the endless speculation they are turning a deaf ear.  Trump’s followers have always believed the mainstream is out to get him – by any and all means, legal or illegal. 

Those who believe there is something greater than puff behind the Putin-Trump connection have long expected the two lead conspirators to find an opportunity for private dealing.  Those who believe Trump is indebted to Putin and his oligarchs both financially and politically expect this closed-door meeting to initiate a payback. 

Trump dignified Kim Jong-un with a handshake, a photo op and compliments in front of the cameras before canceling long-scheduled military exercises.  These were gifts that the North Korean leader treasured and for which he gave nothing in return. 

Would it be surprising if Trump had a few gifts for Mr. Putin?  How about an agreement not to enforce the Magnitsky Act?  That’s pretty much where all this conspiracy speculation began in earnest, right?  That’s why the Russian connection gathered for a meet and greet in Trump Tower while the presidential campaign was still raging.  For the first time in history international sanctions hit the Russian leader and his circle of corrupt friends where it hurt the most: personal bank accounts.  It opened a window for a hard look at crooked Russian money laundering operations at the Bank of Cypress and Deutsche Bank – the banks that cater to Russian mobsters.  Oh, and by the way, soon to be Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross was a proud vice chairman at the Bank of Cypress.  Imagine that. 

No sanctions had ever been so effective and Vladimir Putin was pissed enough to invade a sovereign nation.  Who can doubt that he was pissed enough to sic his GRU hackers at Hillary Clinton?  Why wouldn’t he invest a few million in fake news disseminated by Facebook – America’s free source of targeted propaganda? 

Who knows why Putin did what he did?  Maybe his hatred for Obama and Clinton was sufficient.  Maybe he needed no additional motivation to mess with American democracy.  Maybe he’s pissed off that America still has the reputation of a democracy when in fact it’s fast slipping into an autocracy controlled by the most powerful corporations in the world. 

Who knows what Putin has on Trump?  Maybe he just wanted an amateur to slap around on the international stage?  Mission accomplished. 

Smile for the cameras, baby!  Me and you against the world! 

What we do know is that Putin is winning this game.  Despite a floundering economy, the Russian Federation has restored its reputation as a world power.  He has succeeded in blowing a hole in the European Union with his promotion of Brexit.  His man in Washington has created discord in NATO via public humiliation. 

Pony up, Angela!  And you too, Macron!  No one gets a free pass! 

Putin had to be laughing when Trump derided Europe’s most powerful nation as “captive” to Russian energy. 

There may be an element of truth to Trump’s insulting observation.  Germany needs imported energy to fuel its economic machine but Russia needs a European market to buy its natural gas.  Germany imports nearly equivalent amounts from Norway and the Netherlands.  Do they hold Germany captive? 

It has been speculated that Trump wants Germany to buy American natural gas at an inflated price.  That would seem particularly unlikely to happen at this point.  For one thing, it would be detrimental to Russia. 

Trump appears to be reorganizing the world order with Putin and himself at the top, Britain and Israel on the second tier and Europe somewhere below and on par with Indonesia and North Korea.  China appears to be the new chief adversary with minor adversaries in Iran, Mexico, Venezuela and other assorted nations – Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador – that pose problems or take more than they give.  

Judging from the befuddled looks on the faces of Trump’s advisors when he derided Germany, no one really knows what the president is going to do.  I seriously doubt that Trump knows what he is going to do except in that fraction of a second before he does it.  If there is no one to talk him out of it, then we enter a twisted new world where fake facts and distorted realities begin to make sense. 

They say he’s KGB!  He’s fine!  Putin is fine!  We’re all fine! 

Here’s my prediction for the Trump-Putin summit:  Something will follow that benefits Putin.  The question is:  What does Putin want?  A weakened NATO?  Already accomplished.  Drive a wedge in the British-American relationship?  Accomplished.  Weaken the British government?  Accomplished.  Maybe he wants payback for the counter-intelligence agent that exposed one too many of his operations. Maybe Trump could drain the talent pool out of the State Department.  Already done. 

Who needs diplomats?  I’m the only diplomat we need!  What’s a diplomat anyway?  It’s a negotiator, right?  Who’s the greatest negotiator ever born?  Right here, baby!  Smiling at you. 

Maybe Putin wants acceptance of a Russian Crimea.  Maybe he wants a hands-off policy in Ukraine.  Maybe he wants the CIA to pull out of Eastern Europe.

Nobody but the man in Moscow knows for sure. 

Jazz. 

“Trump is trying to destabilize the European Union” by Josh Rogin.  Washington Post, 28 June 2018. 

“US indicts 12 Russian spies in 2016 DNC hack that used malware, bitcoin and phishing” by Kyt Dotson.  Silicon Angle, 13 July 2018. 

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES AND AN ARRAY OF NOVELS, SHORT STORIES AND MEMOIRS.  HE SERVED MANY YEARS AS A COMMENTATOR FOR GLOBAL FREE PRESS.