“Volunteers for America”

“He rarely left home without his pet church.”

Last week we were halfway to St. Patrick’s Day.

God save the Queen!

The ground around Ballyoughter, Ireland is about to shimmy and shake with the grandest of grave spinners as this Cavanaugh (Caomhánach) herein states he’s glad Scotland is staying with the Brits in a United Kingdom. There’s been too much separation in this world of late.

In a vote that went virtually unnoticed here in the States until only days before balloting last Thursday, Scots went to their polling places and turned down an opportunity to divorce England after 307 years of union by a respectably definitive margin of 55% to 45%. The election forsaking independence saw an extraordinary turnout of 84.5%, a degree of participation which should make all of us emerald green with envy, particularly here in Madera County where our June Primary with a number of hotly contested races churned up a relatively apathetic 30% of those registered to vote.

Antipathy toward Britain by the Caomhánach clan is easily demonstrated by this bitter notation recorded by my Great-Grandfather and namesake in his own hand from the flyleaf of an old, worn book on Irish history passed down to us through time:

“Cavanaugh
Diocese of Fern
County of Leinster
Town of Ballyoughter
Irish Nobility
Evicted by The English
And Abandoned by God.”

But as Ireland was both England’s first and last colony, having endured over 800 years of often brutal tyrannical rule, the undeniable truth is that we now live in a whole new world, brave or not, where getting along together has become critically imperative for the very survival of our species. That’s not hype.

Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only the absolute guarantee of complete mutual destruction through a full nuclear exchange has kept the globe free from a Third World War. Now we have cult-led crazies promising ultimate enshrinement to penniless illiterates and psychotic misfits all too willing to embrace martyrdom in pursuit of eternal glory — complete with a 72 virgin pay off. Ukraine is torn in two and no one really knows where all those silly bombs might be. Genocide is increasing exponentially around the planet. Even backward North Korea, where satellites show the lights go out at night, has atomic weapons. All in all, this is no time for rational folks to get disorganized.

We desperately need world government. I always thought it would be us.

Watching Ken Burns’ superb new film series on “The Roosevelt’s” last week from PBS convincingly brought to mind the unmatched contributions of this one family to our collective progress through the 20th Century, leaving Kennedys, Clintons and Bushes quite behind.

“The Square Deal.” “The New Deal.” Labor legislation promising fair hours, wages and working conditions. The Pure Food & Drug Act. The Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote. The Conservation Corps. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Security and Exchange Commission. The Agricultural Adjustment Act. The Tennessee Valley Authority. Social Security – and much else — ever onward.

I remember growing up fascinated by American History, not only due to my own alliance and allegiance, but because our story is such an amazing evolution in the phenomenon of man. An indivisible nation – “E pluribus Unum” – “One out of many.” Those espousing “exceptionalism” need search no further. We are utterly unique.

I’ve written that our national “Pledge” has often been more a prayer than a promise and nothing herein should be construed as excusing undeniable early expansionist horrors committed in our name and the unintended consequences of lofty ambitions gone astray, but our most fundamental political game plan remains war-won, time-tested and rock solid.

September 17th, in addition to marking the halfway point to Patrick, was also Constitution Day, celebrating the 1787 ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America, our supreme law of the land — offering proven institutional mechanics to peacefully expand collective territory theoretically without limitation.

If Hawaii and Alaska are American states, why can’t we contemplate adding more willing and qualified volunteers to — sign up?

There may be millions of reasons why this seems an absurdly ridiculous idea.

But that’s what George the Third thought way back when.

“This is the biggest band you’ll find.
It’s as deep as it is wide.
Come on and join together with the band!”

“Join Together” – The Who (1981)

“More from Moore”

It was a great morning.

Denny’s was wall to wall with more views presented than a Yosemite bus tour for the September monthly meeting of the Oakhurst Democratic Club when Art Moore came to town.

Art is hoping to replace Tom McClintock as our Fourth District Congressional Representative and none too soon.

So there we had Republican candidate Moore facing not only a wild, generally progressive band of vocal Democrats, but also an energized, extra conservative group from the Central Valley Tea Party led by my friend, John Pero, upon whom Art called for the first question when Q & A time arrived. There were a number of folks somewhere in between, but everyone got to chime in while Major Moore was present and following his departure, when we spent some time discussing the six statewide propositions we’ll be voting on November 4th. Know what these are? That’s why we have our meetings.

Art was well received and quite candid about his commitment to individual liberty, limited government and personal responsibility. He also spoke extensively about enforcing our immigration laws and better managing our borders. Moore, a combat-hardened veteran and Bronze Star recipient, discussed the necessity of handling ISIS and other threats to our collective security with conviction and determination, but spent much of his time stressing the imperative need to join together politically regardless of party affiliation in addressing critical needs above and beyond national defense, such as not taking Yosemite National Park hostage in an effort to punish oppositional perspectives.

So Art has pledged to try working with Democrats. Shocking. This particular commitment would seem to be the source of enormous concern on the part of Mr. McClintock’s reelection team.

Matt Reed, President of Sacramento State College Republicans, works for the campaign and has successfully attempted to infiltrate and video record Moore’s appearances before “suspect organizations” such as Democrats, provoking unpleasant confrontations in the process.

On August 7th, Reed set up a tripod and video camera toward this end at an Amador Progressive Women’s Lunch, occupying space at the front table for this purpose without permission. On August 21st, Mr. Reed snuck in a back door and assembled his gear without consent for a gathering of Sun City Lincoln Hills Democrats, instigating a subsequent parking lot confrontation in the process. Wisely, he avoided Oakhurst.

Amador County is looking like a tough place for Dems. In January, The Amador Democratic Club had to change locations for a showing of Robert Reich’s excellent film, “Inequality for All,” when their office were broken into and most of the club’s electronic equipment was stolen.

Amadorgate?

In February, Mr. Reed spoke at this year’s Amador County Republican Club Lincoln Dinner with Congressman McClintock.

But the Amador Progressive Women should be pleased to note that one issue
dramatically separating Moore from McClintock deals with their positions on the Violence Against Women Act. McClintock has passionately voted against the measure three separate times. Major Moore unequivocally states for the record, “This Act elevates the issue and provides resources to fight for victims. My opponent was wrong to oppose it and I would have voted differently.” Moore adds, “ Tom McClintock’s legacy in politics is not to fight for others, but only to feather his own nest while feeding at the public trough.”

This brings to mind an astounding announcement by Madera County Sheriff John Anderson at our September meeting. Sheriff Anderson, about to leave office after seventeen years of outstanding service to the community, publicly observed that his personal efforts to obtain assistance and/or intervention from Congressman McClintock in the ongoing disputes over Chukchansi tribal control have been in vain. Moreover, Sheriff Anderson reports that McClintock has never even displayed the professional courtesy of returning any of his calls. I suggest this revelation by one of our county’s most respected and trusted public servants says it all.

For this column, I need write no more.

“Beatles! — Fifty Years Ago!”

This Saturday, September 6th, 2014 marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of The Beatles playing Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

This historic occasion afforded WTAC with an opportunity to “crash” a Beatles Press Conference backstage following the afternoon performance and conduct an exclusive interview with all four Beatles.

The event was described by Peter Cavanaugh in his book, “Local DJ.”

Thanks to Jim Baade of Townsquare Media in Flint, the following wild audio discovery has just emerged from the archives of WKNR in Detroit in time for our celebration!

After our WTAC interview, a number of other media folks from Detroit were allowed to join us, primarily consisting of newspaper and TV reporters and a gentleman from WKNR who also talked his way in, “Keener” being Detroit’s #1 Top Forty Station at the time.

In this 16:59 MP3, You will hear Peter Cavanaugh questioning the Beatles at 7:21 about what British bands they liked besides themselves and at 10:05 asking for a comparison between American and British radio at the time. At 9:29, that’s WTAC Program Director Bob Dell with a sports question.

Buddy Holly was right.

WE WILL NOT FADE AWAY!