Milky Ways, &c.

On education policy, Ukraine, Venezuela, Greenland, the police, a jazz singer, and more

Photo by Brian Suman on Unsplash

You’re familiar with an advertising slogan: “Got milk?” Well, I have a little milk to start today’s column—in the form of a news story:

Whole milk is heading back to school cafeterias across the country after President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday overturning Obama-era limits on higher-fat milk options.

I think this is a good idea. I think whole milk should be an option in schools. But I also think this: Education policy should be set locally, not by the federal government.

That is the old-time religion: the old-time conservatism, or classical liberalism. But, by golly, I subscribe to it.

(I also use expressions such as “by golly.”)

P.S. I drink 2 percent milk—at least that’s what the carton says. But, in this brand, the 2 percent is so rich and creamy, it might as well be whole ...

***

I must turn, now, to something very grave: “Ukrainians endure freezing temperatures at home as crews rush to restore power.” That report is from the Associated Press. And it is accompanied by photos—including this one, by Dan Bashakov, of Raisa Derhachova:

I admire the Ukrainian people. I admire their patriotism, their resilience, their courage. I think they deserve the admiration, and support, of the entire world. And I think their brutalizers deserve universal opprobrium.

***

“She’s a terrific person,” said President Trump. He was speaking of Delcy Rodríguez, the chavista who has replaced Nicolás Maduro as boss of Venezuela (if Trump himself is not the boss).

(He circulated a meme that designates him “Acting President of Venezuela.”)

“A terrific person” rang bells in me. Trump called Putin “a terrific person.” (And “a great guy” and “a good person.”) He also said, “President Xi is a terrific guy. I like being with him a lot, and he’s a very special person.”

If you would like chapter and verse, I have it in a piece called “Trump and Dictators,” published in October 2020, as the president was nearing the end of his first term.

Of course, there has been a lot since . . .

***

You saw this?

Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter, according to people with knowledge of their decision.

I’m of two minds. We need good and conscientious people in government. At the same time, one can understand why good and conscientious people feel they can’t continue.

Damn.

***

One of the most loaded words in the English language—well, our country’s language—is “un-American.” It has been loaded at least since the establishment of HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee.

I don’t use the word lightly. I regard the below as un-American:

The president is the head of one branch of the federal government. He is a public servant in our democracy, our constitutional republic.

We rejected Caesarism long ago. Let us reject it still ...

***

Fun ’n’ games over Greenland—it is really fun ’n’ games?

I am grateful to Mitch McConnell—who, Wednesday on the floor of the Senate, said,

America’s recognition of Denmark’s political and economic interests in Greenland dates back to World War I. The Danes have been close partners in the Arctic since World War II. And brave Danish soldiers fought and died in America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is no ambiguity here. Close ties with our northernmost allies are what makes America’s extensive reach in the Arctic possible. And I have yet to hear from this Administration a single thing we need from Greenland that this sovereign people is not already willing to grant us.

Unless and until the President can demonstrate otherwise, then the proposition at hand today is very straightforward: incinerating the hard-won trust of loyal allies in exchange for no meaningful change in U.S. access to the Arctic.

Yes.

***

The relationship between law enforcement and the citizenry is an interesting one—a contentious one, always. On one hand, we’re a law-abiding nation (in theory). On the other, there’s “Don’t tread on me” and “Come and get me, copper!”

Lately, Republicans have been very pro–law enforcement, or at least very pro-ICE. (The Capitol Hill police on January 6 are a different matter.)

Here is one GOP congressman: “The bottom line is this: When a federal officer gives you instructions, you abide by them and you get to keep your life.”

How republican! (Note the small “r.”)

Here’s another GOP congressman: “People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil.”

I have a memory of 1995. In a fundraising letter, the head of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, described federal agents as “jack-booted government thugs” wearing “Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.”

One citizen who objected to the letter was George Bush (the 41st president, whose son George W. would become the 43rd). He resigned his membership of the NRA over it. To remember—to read his letter of resignation—go here.

This general issue will continue. Indefinitely? I would think so.

***

There is a publication called Michigan Enjoyer. Isn’t that a wonderful name? It has published a piece by my fellow Michigander John J. Miller: “Your Post Office May Be an Art Museum.”

JJM is a bard of Michigan, and of much else.

***

Care for a little language? And do you mind if I quote the Bible? There is a subject, a problem, we have visited and revisited: “I” and “me.” Many people are tripped up by “I” and “me.” I have written about this problem too often for a revisiting now.

But Mark 1:7, in the King James Version, provides a neat illustration: John the Baptist “preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”

Yes—“mightier than I [am] after me.” Perfect.

Recently, a young friend of mine said (something like), “Could you look into it for Ann and I?” A person would never say, “Could you look into it for I?” Never. Never in a million years. He would say, “Could you look into it for me?” But when he throws in another name—e.g., “Ann”—he loses his marbles, grammatically.

Ah, English, you vexer!

***

Let’s end on some music: “Rebecca Kilgore, 76, Dies; Acclaimed Interpreter of American Songbook.” (That obit is here.) She was so pure—vocally, musically, and mentally. “My goal,” she once said, “is that when someone hears me sing a song, they say, ‘Wow, what a beautiful song,’ rather than, ‘Wow, what a great singer.’”

But she was. You want, like, an hour and a half of her? Just letting the tape roll? Try this.

And bless you all.