Reparation...Redemption...or Atonement?

 

“It is not impossible that in some unrecognized channel of his being he was aware of the destiny that was to be his.” 

- from "The Susquehanna" by Carl Carmer (1955)

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Yesterday afternoon I attended a gathering of the Conestoga-Susquehannock Tribe in a church basement in Lancaster, PA. These folks are direct descendants and/or related to those individuals that survived the Conestoga Massacres of December 14th and December 27th, 1763. 

Another discussion for another day.

On my way home, traffic was very light thanks to the recent snowstorm. As I was doing a mental replay of my time at that gathering, I spotted a bird circling overhead a few hundred feet ahead of me. Within a second or two I realized 1). It was large and 2). It was not a Turkey Vulture and - as if almost on cue - it turned broadside to reveal a white head and white tail.

Another chance (?) encounter is now forever etched in memory:  At approximately 3pm @ mile marker ~32 on Rte. 222N, for only the 2nd time in my life while driving on a highway in a relatively urban/industrial setting, I saw what I consider to be - for me personally - the ne plus ultra of spiritual (not religious) harbingers.

Still ruminating on this one, but for now I'll leave it as: Way. too. cool...times 444.

Mitakuye oyasin.

IN REQUIEM * 1763-2025

Once again, I find myself here...and as I have for over 25 years, I am posting a reminder of one of the darkest days in Pennsylvania's history.  

The link directly below will take you there. 

     Lancaster’s Darkest Chapter: The Massacre of the Conestoga – Uncharted Lancaster

Earlier this year, while spending a few days in the Lancaster area, I visited the sites of both the December 14th and the December 27th massacres. 

More to follow in a few days. 

Peace. 

Floods Across Time: 2003 - 2025

 I started blogging in ~1997, primarily to stop a proposed inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River. Until we deep-sixed the project in 2008, ~90%+ of my posts here dealt with hard science as it related to the environmental issues associated with damming a river. I won't take the time to explain my qualifications to have done all of that. 

I was then and still am overly qualified. 

In light of the recent tragic flooding events in Texas, and all of the finger-pointing going on by the clueless and uninformed in Washington and elsewhere, I'm bringing back a post on this blog - verbatim - from 2003. Putting it kindly - I've forgotten more than they know. All of them. 

Did then...do now.   

Whether it be in Pennsylvania - or Texas - rivers will continue to flood. And, as time passes...it will get worse as long as the inmates are running the asylum and people are led to believe climate change isn't real.   

Here's my take on the subject of flooding from over two decades ago. 

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---- Original Message -----
From: "Don Williams" <djw@netcarrier.com>
To: <editorial@citizensvoice.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: Levee Completion


 To: Jim Gittens - Here's a text copy as requested. I'd appreciate having the letter printed as written. If you want to adjust the punctuation a little, be my guest.

 Thank you for your response.

 Don

**********

Dear Editor:

Floods happen. They are an integral and permanent part of a river's natural cycle. Even with dams, levees and all the engineering innovations of the past, the present & the morrow...rivers will continue to inundate their floodplains until the end of time. Man may delay the outcome, but nature always prevails.

People construct homes and buildings of commerce on floodplains. After each flood, these same people cry for more protection. "Raise the levees - dredge the river"...not realizing neither action will prevent future floods.

Prior to the 1700's, Pennsylvania - "Penn's Woods" - was covered by forests from the Delaware River to Lake Erie. It was once written that a squirrel could travel from the Atlantic shores to the Mississippi River without ever having to touch the ground. And amidst the forests were the swamps, a.k.a. wetlands. More than half the wetlands are gone, and even today the forests are sold to the highest bidder behind closed doors.

Think about the travels of a raindrop back then. It would first contact the upper reaches of the arboreal canopy maybe 150 feet above the forest floor. Layer upon layer of pine, oak, hemlock and maple would slow its descent. When it eventually reached the ground, which was cooled by almost constant shade, it would slowly seep into the dense humus-rich soils and percolate into and become part of the water table. Any dust or impurities were removed either by chemical or physical processes. The forests & wetlands acted as buffers, reservoirs and filters. How was water quality back then?

You can't even imagine.

Picture that same raindrop hitting a parking lot, driveway or city landscape of today. Surface runoff - storm drain - sewer system - stream. It gets to the nearest waterway a lot faster, dirtier and warmer than its counterpart of yesteryear. Envision that same area covered by thousands of umbrellas  at various levels, with the ground itself covered with sponges wrapped in fine, porous filters. A very simple example, yes. But that's what is missing today. The forests and wetlands were nature's flood protection and water purification system for hundreds of thousands of years. Today, we pay for a far inferior substitute that once was perfectly free.

The Army Corps of Engineers knows it...they just won't tell you. As more land is developed, as more forests are felled, wetlands filled and streams  channelized...floods along the Susquehanna are going to increase in  magnitude. If an event equal to Hurricane Agnes in 1972 occurred  today...the newly raised levees in the Wyoming Valley would not provide the level of protection anticipated. In the last 30 years, people have been very busy upstream - and they have not been planting trees and saving wetlands.


Regards,

 Don Williams
 H*******, PA

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For all those who think some guy & his sycophants with no background or regard for science whatsoever know better than the NOAA, the NWS and, humbly, yours truly...consider yourself significantly misinformed. 

Pic above is from the summer of 1972 after a neighbor and I (L) spent a day cleaning up flood mud from Hurricane Agnes in the Wyoming Valley. 

A Simple Question...

 

...is everyone lying EXCEPT Donald J. Trump?

If you answered yes...consider yourself clueless. 

Are all the numbers provided by PA's governor via his FB post accurate? 

I don't know.

But...what I do know is that: 1). If not for Medicaid, my Mom would not have been able to stay in an assisted living facility for the last ~3 years of her life and I - as being financially responsible for paying those ($10K+/month) bills - would probably have found it necessary to file for bankruptcy - and 2). Donald John the Lesser is a habitual liar.

They're trying to jam the "Big Beautiful Bill" through quickly for a reason.

Here are but a few. 

From PA Governor Josh Shapiro (FB) on 29 June 2025: 

The bill Donald Trump and Republicans in DC are trying to ram through Congress right now does the following (according to Congress’ own independent, nonpartisan authority):

Knocks 11.8 million people off of health care — including 310,000 Pennsylvanians who get their health care from Medicaid. And for those who try to justify their votes by claiming “we’re just knocking ‘illegal immigrants’ off and eliminating ‘waste fraud and abuse’,” note that in Pennsylvania, it is against the law for an undocumented immigrant to get Medicaid and we lead the nation in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.

Takes food assistance away from more than 7 million people — 2 million children — including 140,000 Pennsylvanians. These people are working and just need a bit of extra help to feed their families. This is cruel to them and to our farmers who do the noble work of growing crops to feed their neighbors.

Adds $3.3 TRILLION to our national deficit — limiting our freedom, harming the generation that has to clean up the mess long after Trump is gone.

Threatens 26,000 Pennsylvanians’ jobs — including thousands of union Building Trades members who work in our energy industry — who will lose their jobs because the bill raises taxes and eliminates funding for affordable energy development. As the second largest net energy exporter in the nation, this will crush the fastest growing parts of our energy sector. As an added insult to all Pennsylvanians, you’ll see higher electricity prices that will more than offset the important work my Administration has done to control electricity bills.

Ironically, this bill betrays the very people Trump vowed to help. Think about it — Trump and his fellow Republicans campaigned on reducing the deficit, vowed not to cut Medicaid, and cozied up to the Trades and promised to protect their jobs. They lied to win the election in the short term and the damage this will do here in Pennsylvania and across America is staggering and will be felt for years to come.

You have to ask, knowing just how harmful and unpopular this bill is: Why are they rushing to do this? Why are they pushing so hard to screw over so many people who voted for this President?

*****

 

MADE IN THE USA...or not?

Perhaps, someday, I'll clearly understand the level of intellect required to be a tried-and-true supporter of Donald J. Trump. As far as #47 himself is concerned...Rex Tillerson said it best.

Don't recall that one? Look it up yourself.

Hint: Rhymes with boron. 

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* Remember the wall that Mexico was going to build?

* Remember ending the war with Ukraine within 24 hours?

* Remember grocery prices coming down on Day One?

* And the latest: The recently-announced (June 16, 2025) gold T1 phone would be made in the USA.

*****

Guess again.

So...in just 10 days, another outright lie on full display. 

Let me guess: More fake news? 

Quo Vadis, America? 

Deja Vu (1998-2025): A Primer

 

Strains of "Deja vu all over again" started popping up in my thoughts last week as talk about attacking Iran and 'bunker buster bombs' began to increase in frequency.

Lest we forget (I didn't) - from 25+ years ago:

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"On December 16, 1998, President Bill Clinton announces he has ordered air strikes against Iraq because it refused to cooperate with United Nations (U.N.) weapons inspectors. Clinton’s decision did not have the support of key members of Congress, who accused Clinton of using the air strikes to direct attention away from ongoing impeachment proceedings against him.

Just the day before, the House of Representatives had issued a report accusing Clinton of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, in which Clinton had—and then lied about—an illicit sexual liaison with an intern in the Oval Office." -from History.com - This day in history

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Hmm...let's see. Bad press or dismal polling numbers? I got it: Let's bomb somebody to create a diversion!!

"Those Who Cannot Remember the Past Are Condemned To Repeat It" - George Santayana 

As I wrote to (then) U.S. (PA) Senator Pat Toomey in ~2018:  'The man needs to be removed from office as quickly as possible and by any means necessary.'

Quite a few folks in Washington need to grow a pair...and quickly. 

Quo Vadis, America? 

Summer Soldiers and Sunshine Patriots...

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

- from The American Crisis by Thomas Paine, December 1776.

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Happy Friday the 13th to all the triskaidekaphobics out there! 😲

I'm sure by now that most of you - except those who view Fox News as your sole source of (mis)information - have seen the footage of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla being "placed" on the floor and handcuffed yesterday while attempting to exercise his rights as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment during a press conference.

I was stuck in a major backup on the Schuylkill Expressway in center-city Philadelphia yesterday afternoon while all of this was unfolding. From Senator Padilla clearly identifying himself by title and name - followed by DHS Secretary Kristi "I Shot My Dog" Noem clearly stating (a/k/a lying) he did not identify himself on (where else?) Fox News - I listened in darn near total disbelief at the audio recordings of the incident and all that followed including the evasive and intentionally obfuscatory comments from Speaker Johnson and many others in response.

My take? Pathetic cowardice on full display.

Hundreds of "No Kings" protests are planned throughout the country tomorrow. I'll be attending the one in my hometown, and I hope everyone stays safe out there.

Even you, Holden. 😍

1. DNA 2. Fingerprints and 3. ---

 

...writing styles. 

I recently received a comment on my latest post. It was submitted under a fictitious name. 

The person does. not. exist. 

As I read it, and then read the revised comment, I could say the writing style and vocabulary sounded somewhat familiar. 

And that. would be. a lie. 

Just like evidentiary DNA and fingerprints, writing styles are very, very difficult to disguise and/or refute.

Actually...dam (sic) near impossible. Remember how the 'Unabomber' was eventually identified and caught? 

And he had an IQ of 167. 

Do better and/or try harder, my friend. Your choice.

And as for me "dialing it back"? 

Not possible. 

Peace. 

 

Trail of Tears, Kristallnacht...and ICE

Unless you are a true student of history, you more than likely cannot recognize the parallels between the 'Trail of Tears', Kristallnacht and the modern-day ICE raids taking place in broad daylight in our country today. 

And if, by chance, you are a red-blooded MAGA supporter...you'll turn a blind eye to those parallels until, perhaps, they come knocking on your door.   

If you're following current headlines, you cannot help but notice that more folks are getting directly involved by interceding in these events as they unfold. 

Eventually, someone trying to help may be hurt or killed. 

Once again, history is repeating itself. 

*****

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

- George Santayana

*****

Golf balls...anyone?

For 40+ years, I worked for some of the largest financial services corporations and law firms on the planet. Looking at financial statements, crunching numbers and assessing risk were a part of what I did every single day. 

At one point, I had $1.0M mortgage lending authority. My signature alone. Been there, done that and I could write a book about what I've seen. 

So...it boggles my mind just a tad to understand how someone could blow through a net worth of $330 million in four years. Four Years!

Or better yet, why a purported billionaire needs to hawk golf balls for $35.00? 

C'mon Trumpeteers...help me out. 

I'll wait. 

Later.