Renouncing Facts for Feelings

Yale History Professor Timothy Snyder recently commented that "fascism always begins with clearing the horizon of factuality."

During a December 2019 speech for a Turning Point USA conference in Flordia, President Trump talked about the Green New Deal, and made a number of disjointed declarations about wind turbines and wind energy. In Florida he remarked,

“… I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. I’ve studied it better than anybody I know. It’s very expensive. They’re made in China and Germany mostly, very few made here, almost none. But they’re manufactured — tremendous, if you’re into this, tremendous fumes, gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amount of fumes and everything — you talk about the ‘carbon footprint’ — fumes are spewing into the air, right? Spewing. Whether it’s in China, Germany, it’s going into the air. It’s our air, their air, everything, right? So they make these things, and then they put them up, and if you own a house within vision of some of these monsters, your house is worth 50 percent of the price.” In previous remarks this year about wind turbines he said they reduce the price of nearby properties by 65% and also claimed that wind turbines cause cancer.

If my neighbor made a similar speech at the local bar after one too many, I wouldn’t pay much attention. But Trump is the president of the United States, and his continual distortion of reality has purpose and impact worldwide.

Victor Klemperer, who kept a diary while living under the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the German Democratic Republic, noticed that one way totalitarianism is expressed is hostility to “verifiable reality. ” Lies are frequently presented as undeniable facts. Trump’s comments on wind turbines are one of many examples of his distaste for facts. And the false or misleading claims he makes have been accelerating each year. At this point, journalists have documented more than 15,000 false or misleading statements by Trump during his presidency.

Why is this important? Because as historian Timothy Snyder points out, “If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so.” This is the reason Trump has branded America’s free press as the “lying press” (Lügenpresse). There must be no truth except the one he declares.

Trump’s windmill speech is also an example of another sign of budding totalitarianism. Since he’s become president, Donald Trump has declared himself an expert on everything from windmills to nuclear arms to ISIS. He’s made statements such as:

"I know more about renewables than any human being on Earth..." (April 2016.)

"Nobody in the history of this country has ever known so much about infrastructure as Donald Trump." (July 2016.)

“I know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest C.P.A.” (December 2017)

"I know more about drones than anybody. I know about every form of safety that you can have." (January 2019.)

To believe that Trump is a leading expert on renewable energy, infrastructure, taxes, drones, nuclear arms, ISIS, and much more, one must abandon the world of reason and devote oneself to an almost religious faith in Trump. Victor Klemperer, who survived the Nazi reign in Germany, wrote that one of his university students urged him to “abandon yourself to your feelings, and focus on the Fuhrer’s greatness, rather than on the discomfort you’re feeling...”

To continue to support Trump, one must embrace the lies, and simply believe. Accept that Trump knows more “than any human being on Earth.” Afterall, as he’s told us, he is “the chosen one.”

*First published as a column by Quest Lakes in the RJG and MVN on Dec. 27,2019

Bill Barr and the Great Crucible of Crisis

*First published as a column in Nov. 2019 by Quest Lakes in the MVN and RGJ with the title "Information Bubbles and the Death of Irony."

This may come as a shock, so prepare yourselves. I listen to Tom Gresham's Gun Talk on KKFT FM 99.1 on Sundays. I watch Democracy NOW and the PBS Newshour. I listen to the Larry Elder Show on talk radio and programs on Capital Public Radio 90.5 FM. On Twitter, I follow people like Dr. Sarah Kendzior, whose research focuses on the authoritarian states of the former Soviet Union and how the internet affects political mobilization. I also keep an eye on what people like Charlie Kirk and Cassandra Fairbanks are tweeting. I go to lectures at UNR by people like Dr. Angela Davis, and watch lectures online, such as recent ones by Attorney General Bill Barr for Notre Dame and the Federalist Society.

I do this to keep myself from becoming a case study in epistemic closure. In “epistemic closure”, people in a closed environment get most of their new information only from one another. It’s like an “information bubble” filled with limited information and/or misinformation.

What I've noticed by using this method is that there's an alarming asymmetry of information. This lack of symmetry is part of what allowed some to cheer when Attorney General William Barr, a fervent defender of President Trump, delivered a speech at Notre Dame recently that laid out arguments in direct opposition to this country’s First Amendment.

The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Yet in his speech on October 11th, Barr declared, “we see the growing ascendancy of secularism and the doctrine of moral relativism...The consequences of this moral upheaval have been grim.Virtually every measure of social pathology continues to gain ground…I will not dwell on all the bitter results of the new secular age. Suffice it to say that the campaign to destroy the traditional moral order has brought with it immense suffering, wreckage, and misery. And yet, the forces of secularism, ignoring these tragic results, press on with even greater militancy. Among these militant secularists are many so-called “progressives.” But where is the progress? We are told we are living in a post-Christian era. But what has replaced the Judeo-Christian moral system? ...In the past, societies – like the human body – seem to have a self-healing mechanism – a self-correcting mechanism that gets things back on course if things go too far... The opinion of decent people rebels. They coalesce and rally against obvious excess. Periods of moral entrenchment follow periods of excess. This is the idea of the pendulum. We have all thought that after a while the ‘pendulum will swing back..’ But today we face something different that may mean that we cannot count on the pendulum swinging back...Secularists, and their allies among the ‘progressives,’ have marshaled all the force of mass communications, popular culture, the entertainment industry, and academia in an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values.”

If you do not know why this is an attack on the First Amendment, and if you do not see any irony in Trump’s right hand man delivering a speech rallying against “the unbridled pursuit of personal appetites at the expense of the common good,” you might be trapped in an information bubble.

*Postscript: Speeches like recent ones by AG Bill Barr serve a purpose, and it’s not a holy one. The New Zealand mosque shooter, who murdered 50 people and injured many more in 2019 while they were at their place of worship, left behind a manifesto. He wrote, “The change we need to enact only arises in the great crucible of crisis.” He hoped that his cowardly rampage would “add momentum to the pendulum swings of history, further destabilizing and polarizing Western society in order to eventually destroy the current nihilistic, hedonistic, individualistic insanity that has taken control of Western thought.” The New Zealand attack in March was followed by an attack targeting Latinx people in a Texas Walmart and an attack on on a Pennsylvania synagogue, both by shooters who named the New Zealand killer’s manifesto as inspiration. If you don't see how any of this is related to the worldview Bill Barr is pushing, you might be a case study in epistemic closure.

See also, this video of Patricia Hackett, an adjunct professor at Notre Dame Law School, delivering a theological and jurisprudential response to Attorney General William Barr's recent speech on religious freedom at Notre Dame Law School. Hackett confessed that after she read Barr's talk, she felt a persistent nudge, a personal responsibility to "correct the record." She titled her talk, "Contempt of Grace: The Theological and Legal Error of William Barr's Understanding of Religious Freedom." Patricia Hackett earned her B.A. in government and theology, and an M.A. in theology from the University of Notre Dame. She holds a J.D. from Notre Dame Law School. https://youtu.be/qQQ_WyGzYqs

Silver City Arts’ Holiday Show and Sale With Music, Craft Making, and Treats

Silver City Arts group's Saturday December 7 holiday event from noon until 4pm includes music by cellists Diane Kotik and Becky Crowe, a free holiday craft activity for all ages, and complimentary sweets. The event also includes opportunities to buy unique gifts made by Comstock artists and artisans. Some of the items for sale include:

Prints of Larry Kotik’s beautiful paintings. Kotik’s best known work may be his 12 foot by 84 foot mural inside Dayton Elementary School showing historic Comstock scenes. Here's your chance to have a print of his remarkable artwork.

Multi-talented artist Marielle Toll’s handcrafted jewelry. Toll incorporates wood, wire and bone into her unique creations. Her artwork has been selected for exhibitions such as the Wild Women Artists “Many Moons” show in Reno, and she was awarded an artist residency in Silver City in 2017.

Silver City Nightlights. Silver City native Theo McCormick takes photos of the town and uses a 3D printer to create images that he attaches to night lights. The night lights could be the perfect gift for someone who loves the Comstock region.

Greeting Cards by Robert Elston.

Make Your Own Ornament: As an added treat, people of all ages are invited to join Erich and Chali Haugen at their craft making table. They'll provide everything you need, plus instructions, for making your own Christmas ornament.

Where: The annual show and sale is at the Silver City Schoolhouse (community center) at 385 High Street, Silver City, Nevada 89428. Silver City is located on the Comstock, 3 miles from Virginia City, 7 miles from Dayton, and 12 miles from Carson City.

Shop the Comstock: Silver City Arts group members suggest making a weekend of shopping small and local up and down the Comstock, from Virginia City to Silver City to Dayton. Three miles up the road in Virginia City, St. Mary’s Art Center’s big holiday faire is December 7 and December 8 from 10am-4pm. Storey County Senior Center's Annual Craft & Bake Sale is December 7 (9am-4pm) and December 8 (10am-3pm). Silver City Arts group also encourages shoppers to drop by Community Roots & Shoots’ holiday open house in Dayton on Saturday, December 7 from 11amto 6pm. The nonprofit’s event includes complimentary hot cocoa and treats and a visit from Santa (he’ll make an appearance from 2pm-6pm). Christmas trees, wreaths, floral centerpieces, and locally made crafts will all be on sale. Santa will also be at the Dayton Valley Branch Library from 1pm-4pm for photos on Saturday December 7. There will be holiday snacks, and Mrs. Claus will read stories. The library invites people to bring canned food to donate to their holiday food drive.

Sound and Fury

*Column by Quest Lakes originally published in the MVN in Oct. of 2019. A poem by Pulitzer Prize nominated poet David Lee from his new book, Mine Tailings, has been added to the version of the column that appears here. Lee's book is dedicated to Silver City, Nevada.

There’s quite a bit of confusion about the initial stage of the impeachment inquiry of President Trump. To put it simply, this stage of the process is like presenting a case to a grand jury, which is not done in public. However, eventually there will be a public presentation in which Mr. Trump’s lawyers can cross examine the witnesses and challenge them. These facts don’t stop Mr. Trump from complaining about the impeachment inquiry process, tweeting things such as, “Do Nothing Democrats allow Republicans Zero Representation, Zero due process, and Zero Transparency[sic].”

On October 23, Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz and a few dozen fellow House Republicans barged into the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, interrupting witness testimony in the House impeachment inquiry of Mr. Trump. They declared that having closed-door depositions is a "Soviet-style process.” Mr. Trump reportedly knew about the plan to violate SCIF security, and afterward praised the action as “tough” and “smart.”

President Trump was happy with Gaetz and friends performative stunt because it achieves the goal of making people believe that the initial stage of the impeachment inquiry has been carried out in“secret” and in contradiction to long-standing rules. However, as Fox News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano explained on Fox and Friends the following day, “the hearings over which Congressman Schiff is presiding is consistent with the 2015 House Rules.” Those rules were signed by Republican speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, and enacted by a Republican majority. Republicans, while they were in the majority in 2015, gave themselves unilateral subpoena power to all 14 committee chairs, plus permission to take closed-door depositions.

So… the rules say that this initial level of inquiry can be closed-door. While the hearings have not been public, neither have they been “secret.” Members of both parties are on the committees holding the hearings (Oversight, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs) and have been able to attend the depositions and ask questions.

There are 234 Democrats and 197 Republicans in the House. Nine Republicans are on the Intelligence Committee, 21 are on Foreign Affiars Committee (including Vice President Mike Pence’s brother Greg Pence), and 17 are on the Oversight Committee. There are, then, a total of 47 House Republicans who can be in the room for the closed door hearings.

In other words, Republican committee members have been able to attend and ask questions all along.

In fact, of the 41 people Gaetz himself named as participants in storming the SCIF, more than a dozen of them can participate in the hearings they claim aren't transparent enough (no one of any party is allowed to bring in cell phones as they did though, because it is supposed to be a secure setting).

In his appearance on Fox and Friends, Judge Napolitano went on to explain that Congressman Schiff, following the set of rules written in 2015 that were signed by Republican John Boehner and enacted by a Republican majority, chose to do the initial interviews in a closed-door setting.

To repeat: eventually there will be a public presentation in which lawyers for Mr. Trump can cross examine the witnesses and challenge them. This is the process.

It looks like the GOP members who violated the security of the SCIF with cell phones, halting Laura Cooper’s testimony for several hours, aimed to distract from recent previous testimony from Bill Taylor. Taylor is a West Point graduate and former military officer and career diplomat with the rank of ambassador under the last four presidents. Taylor’s testimony was that U.S. aid to Ukraine, a country trying to defend itself against Russia, was explicitly tied to Ukraine’s willingness to investigate President Trump's political rivals.

Mr. Trump responded to Taylor’s testimony by suggesting that Taylor is a “Never Trumper,” tweeting, “Never Trumper Republican John Bellinger, represents Never Trumper Diplomat Bill Taylor...in testimony before Congress!... Never Trumper Republicans... are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats [sic]. Watch out for them, they are human scum!"

However, the facts of the matter are that this year Secretary of State Mike Pompeo personally recruited Taylor, who was retired at the time. Taylor was then appointed by President Trump to serve as the chargé d'affaires for Ukraine (or a charge-D, a diplomat who heads an embassy).

First Person Temple of Narcissus Credo

upon being told I automatically disagree
with anything any Republican ever says

That, Sirrah, is absolutely untrue:
two of the most powerful and influential Republicans
on this planet are Rupert Murdoch
and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
and both have been heard and then quoted
(with no subsequent denial)
as stating, "Donald Trump is a fucking moron,"
and there is no statement in my lifetime
with which I agree more than that.

-David Lee

Resident Artist Program Welcomes Allison Rasmussen

The Fall 2019 visiting artist with the Resident Artist Program in Silver City is Allison Rasmussen of Carson City.

Valedictorian of the 2018 graduating class at Argent Preparatory Academy, Rasmussen studied art at Western Nevada College through their early college entry program and completed her Associate of Arts degree at 18.

Her artwork has been in shows including the 2018 "True Grit" themed exhibition at Western Nevada College that included work by emerging Nevada artists, as well as by established Nevada artists such as Zoe Bray, Deon Reynolds, Carol Brown and Joan Arrizabalaga.

This is Rasmussen’s second time as a visiting artist with the Program in Silver City. Theo McCormick, co-founder of the Program, notes that in 2018 Rasmussen “made a gorgeous sign for the Resident Artist Program, based on a Nevada logo my father designed.” This Fall, she’s working on a mural inspired by David Lee’s poem “Silver City Dawn Psalm.”

Some of the Program’s alumni resident artists include Utah Poet Laureate David Lee, internationally acclaimed photographer Frances Melhop, opera librettist David Cote of New York, and London-based artist Stewart Easton, whose work has been on view around the U.S. and in England at the Tate Modern, the V & A Museum, and the University of Oxford’s Ashmolean museum of art and archaeology.

What Is the Resident Artist Program?

The Resident Artist Program in Silver City provides a venue for those from other parts of the U.S. and the world to engage with the people of northern Nevada through the arts. Those creating in the performing, visual, or literary arts reside for up to 3 months in the historic Comstock region at McCormick House, a geodesic dome designed in the 1970s by artist and University Nevada, Reno professor Jim McCormick. In exchange, visiting artists offer exhibitions, readings, concerts, workshops, etc. in Silver City and other Nevada communities. The Program is privately funded and directed. For more information, contact director Quest Lakes at quest@theodata.com.

Resident Artist Program Summer 2019 News

Silver City, Nevada - The Resident Artist Program in Silver City hosted remarkable visiting artists this summer from the United Kingdom, New York City, and Philadelphia.

Stewart Easton and Claire Scully of London sketched and photographed Silver City scenes while they were here in June. Claire, who is an illustrator and author, as well as an instructor at University of Brighton in England, was invited to speak during Carson City’s artists lecture series at the Brick. Stewart, who works in thread, ink, paint and digital, has shown his unique artwork at the V & A and Tate Modern in London, and the Ashmolean at Oxford University, as well as in galleries in New York, LA and beyond since he was last at the Resident Artist Program in 2016.

Philadelphia-based artist Morgan Craig toured historic mills in Silver City and the Comstock in July and hopes to complete new paintings based on what he saw here. We hope he’ll come back to show the new paintings. He was also invited to speak during Carson City’s artists lecture series this summer, and was interviewed by Joe McCarthy for a piece appearing in Nevada Capital News and KNVC radio. During the interview Morgan explained that he uses “painting as a tool to get people to question … what the 1%, corporations, and capitalists have done to this planet in the name of profit, with no moral compass whatsoever." Morgan Craig has received numerous awards for his work, including the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant. From Silver City, he went immediately to a Residency in Zambia, Africa.

Playwright, opera librettist, and theater critic David Cote is based in New York City. His latest opera, Blind Justice, was sold out for 5 months and received glowing reviews. His opera libretti have been in operas at Nashville Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Chicago Opera Theater and beyond. He's written companion books for several hit Broadway musicals, including Wicked. David was also invited to speak during Carson City’s artists lecture series, and was also interviewed by Joe McCarthy for a piece appearing in Nevada Capital News. While here, he offered playwriting workshops for locals, and contributed a sketch that skillfully satirized “the greed and delusions of companies trying to capitalize on the mythologies of the past.” He also began and completed his own play titled “S’Aint Joe” during his residency!

The Program was also delighted to host Siena College sociology professor Dr. Beverly Yuen Thompson this summer while she was working on her latest book. Her previous book is "Covered in Ink: Tattoos, Women and the Politics of the Body" (NYU Press, 2015). Her research as a sociologist centers on gender; drug policy; subcultures; and activism. From McCormick House, Dr. Thompson went immediately to Australia, and then to Hong Kong. She was quoted at length in a Sept. 2019 article. Albany, New York’s Times Union reporter Rebecca Carballo wrote, "While the protests [in Hong Kong] are a deterrent for some people to return, Beverly Thompson, a sociology professor, purposely scheduled her recent trip in the midst of the demonstrations. She’d read about the protest all summer long, but she wanted to see them for herself. The unity among the protesters and the turnout is what struck her the most...Thompson said she witnessed people from all different walks of life come together to protest.”

Silver City Arts Group News

Silver City, Nevada – Although the founder and facilitator of the Silver City Arts group, Dr. Carol Godwin, recently moved to be closer to her grandchildren, she left the community with years of her carefully kept agendas, minutes, and e-newsletters on the group so it could continue with a record of its history.

After a lively arts townhall conversation in Silver City in February 2014 hosted by the Nevada Arts Council, Godwin led locals to form the Silver City Arts group. Since then, the energetic group of volunteers from all walks of life have hosted music, visual arts, and poetry events and programs. They draw on the community's own rich resource of artists, artisans and musicians and arts groups, and they also connect with regional and statewide nonprofits to bring in visual and performing artists from other parts of the U.S. and the world.

Sometimes the group organizes its own events, such as a pop-up show with Danish artist Nes Lerpa or exhibitions featuring local artists such as Larry Kotik. But often, the group acts as a sort of Coalition of local arts and culture groups, working collaboratively to organize music concerts, workshops, poetry readings or art shows with the Silver City Historic Preservation Society, the Resident Artist Program in Silver City, Yellow Truck Productions, Evangeline Presents, etc.

At the latest Silver City Arts meeting on September 11,2019 the enthusiasm continued. The group is brainstorming about the possibilties for funding murals that celebrate the strengths of Silver City.

They're also interested in communicating with the other arts groups across Nevada, perhaps creating exchanges in which artists from other parts of the state visit and attend our events, and/or share their art with Silver City, while artists from Silver City visit other towns to attend their events and/or share their skills through lectures, shows or projects.

Also discussed: possibilities for a temporary, and then a permanent and public home, for the beautiful ship model art piece locals worked with Oakland-based artist Scott MacLeod to build in 2016 while he was at the local artist-in-residence program.

Finally, the group intends to continue with development of a new play by locals about the community of Silver City, and its past, present and desired future. This summer, New York -based playwright/ opera librettist/theatre critic/arts journalist David Cote led play writing workshops at the Schoolhouse during his time with the Resident Artist Program in Silver City. He supported locals in brainstorming possible structures for a play about the town. They liked the idea of a play set within a town meeting, with transhistorical characters from the 1860s to present (and maybe even future) giving "public comment" in the form of songs, soliloquies, or monologues.

Cote contributed a stellar sketch of his own in which a mine owner dubbed "Al Dorado" gives a rousing song and dance to the townspeople that exposes the "greed and delusions of companies trying to capitalize on the mythologies of the past." Cote even offered to expand upon it for inclusion in the full play locals are developing about Silver City, if wanted. You can find his first reading of the sketch at this link: https://www.facebook.com/silvercitynevadaresidentartistprogram/videos/334753703904247/

Silver City Arts group's next meeting is Thursday, October 10 at 7 pm in the Silver City Schoolhouse. Come be part of this group of inspired volunteers who put on great concerts, art shows and fun events!