Fall is often considered the best time of year to plant new trees. Late August, September and October have good gardening weather, here. There may be rain for the new plants, and still mild days and sun. The hottest days of summer are past, and the ground isn’t frozen yet.

This is the season gone to seed. The fluff of milkweeds on the wind, the rattling seed pods of the indigo plant, the plumes of blooming grasses, and all kinds of burrs and sticker seeds!

For oak trees, this is the season of acorns. And maple seeds fly in the air like tiny helicopters. These are called samaras, and they are a delight for  children of any age. The samaras are so good at flight, they have been studied for aeronautic designs. You may find acorns and maple seedlings along the city parkways, or in your yard, if you’re fortunate enough to have one.

What are some good trees to plant now? Maples, crabapples, oaks and ginkgo, to name a few. Ginkgo are especially resilient to road salt and pollution. They are slow-growing, but they can live a very long time. Some trees in Japan are reported to be over 1000 years old. You can read more about  the ginkgo here.

When is the best time to plant a tree? The old saying is–twenty years ago.  But what we can do now will shape the future, the climate, the earth we share with the trees, breathing in and out with them. The best time to plant a tree is now.

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More than four decades after Roots: The Saga of an American Family was published and became a sensation, I finally read the book by Alex Haley. It tells the stories of six generations of Haley’s ancestors, starting in the mid-1700s with Kunta Kinte, a 17-year-old African captured into slavery.

Roots spent 46 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and won both a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1977. It was adapted that year into an eight-part ABC miniseries that was the most-watched series in television history.

The television series inspired my lifelong interest in genealogy. I was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin in 1977 and had to pull myself away from the State Historical Society’s genealogy collection to write my master’s paper. I had a much easier time finding my first American ancestors than Haley did his because records exist for whites. It took Haley more than a decade of researching to trace six generations back to Kunta Kinte’s West African origins in Juffure, the Gambia. In doing so, he inspired and empowered descendants of enslaved Africans who thought that any attempt to trace their ancestors would be fruitless.

Reading Roots, I was tempted to skip ahead to Kinte’s kidnapping until I realized why Haley devoted almost 200 pages to Kinte’s early years in Africa. By lingering on the rich culture and customs of the Mandinka people from which Kinte sprang, Haley debunked the notion that Africa is the uncivilized “Dark Continent.” I don’t believe it lessened Haley’s impact that later scholarship found discrepancies in his research. The exact identity of his African ancestor is not as important as Haley’s locating his roots in a particular civilization in which he gained pride. Inaccurate details of his African-American forebears’ lives do not invalidate his portrayal of life in slavery: toil from dawn to dusk, demeaning submission to the “massa,” beatings and torture, and perpetual fear of loved ones being sold away, never to be seen again.

While Haley did not downplay slavery’s horrors, Roots is ultimately hopeful. His ancestors were not mere survivors of oppression. Brave Kunta Kinte, his foot chopped off after four attempts to escape, made sure that daughter Kizzy knew about her proud African lineage and would pass stories and words down to succeeding generations. The special skills of cockfighting expert George and blacksmith Tom elevated their standing on the plantation. Their dreams, ambition, and tenacity were fulfilled in the freed generations, which included the owner of a lumber business, a college professor, and journalist Haley.

Is Roots as important today as it was in the 1970s, when few works of art had examined slavery through the lens of victims? Does its message still inspire when polls find that Americans think that the state of race relations is plunging? A&E and the History Channel thought so in 2017. They aired a four-part update with slicker production values to appeal to modern audiences, especially younger people. Like the earlier series, reviews were good.

Discussion of racial issues often focuses on contemporary circumstances without enough attention to their source. The racism of today’s America originated in slaveholders’ stigmatizing people from Africa as an inferior race. Four centuries after the first enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia, Black lives are still not valued as much as whites’. We see that not only in the obvious example of police killings of unarmed Blacks but also in disparities in wealth, education, employment, and healthcare, in the impoverished conditions in which many Blacks live, and in the disproportionate number of Blacks in prison.

Interviewed by Mother Jones about the remake of Roots, LeVar Burton, a producer and the star of the original series, said, “America today is directly related to America of the antebellum South and the slave trade. And some of the issues that we still grapple with have their roots in slavery and its attendant legacy of racism.”

Forty years ago Roots had the country talking about slavery. The conversation continues. As the seminal element in US history, slavery will always be a relevant topic.

*****

ANTI-TRUMP COMMENTS: 131ST IN AN ONGOING SERIES

A psychopath, a narcissist?
Your insults are such bores
And here’s the most tremendous thing:
My sickness is now yours.
— from “A Poem about Donald Trump,” Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, September 27

Top-rated weight loss and nutrition app MyNetDiary is currently launching several advances for Fall 2020. New offerings include keto-, low-carb-focused and Mediterranean diets and functionality, along with hundreds of Premium Recipes. Users of different lifestyles can choose from a variety of diets based on their preferences and further customize diet and tracking options from measuring carb and protein intake to calorie distribution and macronutrient targets. For each diet, the app provides premium features, including personalized guidance and feedback, access to diet libraries, extensive nutritional information and advice developed by registered dietitians. For time-pressured people, the new premium recipes are fast and easy with the majority clocking in at about 20 minutes of preparation and cooking time. As a response to current diet trends, MyNetDiary will also be rolling out vegetarian, vegan, and intermittent fasting plans and recipes later this fall.

With the holiday season on the horizon, many users, including an uptick in younger consumers, are turning to tech to track their way to fitness, getting into shape for fall and beyond. MyNetDiary has seen an increase in app engagement during COVID-19, as stress, emotional eating and working from home highlight the need for customizable, DIY weight-loss and weight-management solutions.

“The coronavirus has been reshaping how consumers eat, shop, pursue physical fitness and seek out expert nutritional advice,” says MyNetDiary CEO and founder Sergey Oreshko. “Our goal from day one was to build the most comprehensive diet app. It’s more important than ever to empower our users with the ability to customize their diet plans and provide them with the knowledge and support they need to look and feel their best.”

Launched in 2007, MyNetDiary is one of the original online and mobile (iOS, Android) calorie and exercise trackers with over 11.5 million members worldwide. Focus on easy customization, data-backed advice, an interactive community and delicious recipes helps members turn good intentions into long-lasting, positive change. The app covers all aspects of following a diet, from planning to tracking and results analysis. By offering healthy and scientifically-proven approaches to weight loss, MyNetDiary’s average active member loses 1.4 pounds a week.

While core functions such as calorie counting, daily analysis and tips from a top-level team of registered dietitians are available for free, Premium membership features wearable tracker integrations along with specialized diets and recipes. A dietitian-moderated forum encourages interaction, allowing members to ask questions, import recipes and connect with others.

MyNetDiary’s food catalogue offers a complete and up-to-date nutrition database, with over 1,000 foods added or updated daily, and the PhotoFood Service allows for missing items to be uploaded by members via barcodes or photos. MyNetDiary also maintains a growing library of articles written by their team of registered dieticians, featuring diet-specific advice and guidance. The app can be added to exercise and fitness devices. Premium membership can be activated for 8.99 per month or 59.99 per year.

Tina Knowles Lawson, mother of Beyoncé, featured an interview with longtime friend and IVP author Juanita Campbell Rasmus on Thursday, September 17, on her Instagram Live Talks with Mama Tina. The interview, with special guest Michelle Williams, kicked off the launch week for Juanita’s highly anticipated book Learning to Be: Finding Your Center After the Bottom Falls Out.

Tina Knowles Lawson and her family were some of the first members of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, which Juanita and husband, Rudy, started in 1992. St. John’s is also where Beyoncé grew up singing in the choir. Thousands have joined the St. John’s family over the past twenty-eight years, making it one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country.

Tina penned the foreword for Learning to Be and wrote,

“I’ve experienced this light in my faith walk and with powerful, resilient people like Juanita Campbell Rasmus, a woman I met in 1986 when I opened my first salon, and she became a faithful client. She set an example for the power of prayer and worship, and I later became one of the first members of St. John’s Church. Over the years, I’ve witnessed Juanita navigate the highs and lows of marriage, motherhood, ministry, and womanhood. I’ve seen her journey from the self-professed ‘good girl’ to a leader who wholeheartedly seeks God with a level of authenticity, transparency, and grace that is unmatched. And in this book, she inspires us to do the same.”

After the official launching of Learning to Be on Tuesday, September 15, Juanita was featured on Black Authors Matter TV that evening at 8:30 p.m. CDT. Juanita also has a TED Talk on the topic of her book titled Learning to Be: Why Is It So Difficult?

In Learning to Be Juanita describes what she called “the crash” and what her counselor labeled “a major depressive episode.” This experience landed Juanita, a busy pastor, mother, and community leader, in bed. In addition to exhaustion and depression, she experienced a spiritual dark night of the soul. When everything in her life finally came to a stop, she found that she had to learn to be—with herself and with God—all over again.

Juanita wrote,

“I chose to share my story because all too often in Western culture, and especially in the church, we are reticent to discuss mental health along with the related spiritual implications. It is my hope that telling my story will shed light on the resources available to someone in the aftermath of a mental health diagnosis . . . and provide courage to wait in the darkness, because often that’s where the real treasures are stored.”

In addition to co-pastoring St. John’s, Juanita cofounded Bread of Life Inc., a nonprofit corporation, with Rudy in 1992. They began serving meals to the homeless in the sanctuary at St. John’s. Juanita most recently teamed up with Tina and Beyoncé to help forty thousand flood victims recover in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in Houston. In addition to addressing issues of health and disaster relief, Juanita launched the Temenos Community Development Corporation in 2006, which recently completed over thirty million dollars in housing development projects for the previously homeless in downtown Houston. She also founded The Art Project, Houston to empower the city’s homeless to become hope-filled painters and artisans who craft their own livelihood and create lives filled with new possibilities.

For more about Juanita visit JuanitaRasmus.com. 

Note to God: Please forgive me for doing this work today.  If you’re really up there, I know you’ll understand.

Today is the tenth day of the Jewish year 5781, the end of a period of intense guilt known as the Ten Days of Repentance.

Who else but Jews could dedicate ten consecutive days to guilt?

Sure, Catholics got their shame, but they can whack three guys before lunch on Friday as long as they toss a C-note into the collection plate on Sunday.

Guilt can be a powerful thing.  Some 9 million Jews were forced to evaluate their lives when almost half of their number was erased by Hitler.

“Why me?” can also plague warriors returning from combat, questioning why they lived while others died.

For some Jews, just living in America carries its own kind of guilt.

Today is also Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when we ask forgiveness from God and our fellow man.  It’s one of two holidays where we say, Next year in Jerusalem.

The other holiday is Passover.

Jerusalem is a special place for Jews, just as it is for Christians and Muslims.  Ironic, huh?

By not being in Jerusalem (Israel), we feel a certain betrayal, both to our homeland and to those who have gone before us.

Israel though, can take care of herself.  As Americans, our first loyalties should be to this country, to our children and to their children.

This cultist support for man you THINK is Israel’s friend is just plain meshugah.  Donald Trump doesn’t care about Israel because Donald Trump only cares about Donald Trump.

He and Netanyahu are two beleaguered leaders who will do anything to help each other fend off legal and political attacks.

If you think that Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem for Israel, then you are a schlemiel.  He did it for the evangelicals because it’s a part of their Revelations, end-of-days scenario.

That’s where Jesus returns and all the Jews die.

That’s why Trump sent Robert Jeffress, high priest of evangelism to consecrate the embassy.

It was a transparent move that cost us nothing, but garnered support for Trump among both Jews and evangelicals.

As for his so-called “peace accords,” they’re nothing more than trade agreements, signed with Sunni regimes that pose no threat to Israel.

Both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have shared military intelligence with Israel for years and conducted surreptitious trade, as well.

Israel’s real enemy is the Shia rulers of Iran and their proxy armies like Hezbollah, who are now stronger than ever. 

Trump has raised the existential threat to Israel exponentially.

Abandoning Syria has given Iran a land bridge to move it’s strike abilities 600 miles west, right to Israel’s West Bank.  If that doesn’t keep Bibi up at night, it should.

When Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, two bad things happened.

1. He gave Iran carte blanche to restart its nuclear program.  Without the U.S. in the deal, real enforcement weakened dramatically.
2. We lost our window into a pretty opaque regime, making intelligence gathering that much more difficult.

The past four years have proven that Trump is NOBODY’S friend.  He is willing to throw ANYONE under the bus and he will do it to Israel when the time comes.

Trump has repeatedly shown that he can not put America’s interests ahead of his own.  How can anyone think that he can be relied upon to protect Israel’s interests?

Only Vladimir Putin can have that level of assurance.

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Illinois’ gerrymandered 4th congressional district. (U.S. Department of the Interior)

Three cheers for the Democrats who are fighting mad about how some states have gerrymandered their legislative districts.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee is making a big stink about  gerrymandering, the undemocratic and unfair practice of drawing legislative district lines to gain a nearly insurmountable advantage over opposition candidates

“The political system is broken. The fight to fix it is now,” declares a fundraising email, asking support for its campaign “targeting 13 states during the 2019-2020 election cycle, including 3 gubernatorial races, 17 state legislative chambers, and one down-ballot race.”

Wow, I thought. Finally, some bi-partisan support for efforts to reform Illinois congressional and legislative districting, a system that has skewed the map into laughably “compact” and “contiguous” fiefdoms. In Illinois, gerrymandering so solidly guarantees that incumbent and and politically subservient candidates are elected that sometimes no one runs against them.  Efforts to reform the corrupt system have been stymied by the very lawmakers who benefit from gerrymandering.

So, I  went through the committee’s list of endorsed candidates, to perhaps in some small way give them a boost in the coming election. Except for this:

There are no Illinois Democratic candidates on the list. Not a single Democrat is willing to stand with the group’s chairman, Eric H. Holder, former attorney general in the Obama administration in making the pledge:

For too long, partisan gerrymandering has been used as a tool to manipulate electoral districts to benefit political parties instead of the voters.

I believe every elected official should be accountable to the people they represent, which means we need to end gerrymandering.

I pledge to support fair redistricting that ends map manipulation and creates truly representative districts.

Obviously, the group is interested only in stamping out gerrymandering when it’s done by Republicans. The group has twisted a meritorious campaign into a partisan assault. (If it’s not clear, I oppose gerrymandering conducted by either Republicans or Democrats.)

NDRC allies itself, as do I, with liberal Supreme C0urt Justice Elena Kagan who dissented from a high court decision that held partisan gerrymandering is a political issue  not to be decided by the courts. In a dissent, Kagan correctly warned that partisan gerrymandering allows politicians to entrench themselves in office and could “irreparably damage our system of government.” She said. “Voters should choose their own representatives, not the other way around.”

Indeed.

But not in Illinois, where Mike Madigan, the House speaker who runs the state with an iron hand and the chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, controls the redistricting process. Not a single Illinois Democrat to my knowledge has the guts to stand alongside the national party leaders who agree with Holder that, “The biggest rigged system in America is gerrymandering.”

How interesting that the current Democratic screed is about how “democracy is in danger” as never before because of the autocratic President Donald Trump and his nomination of Appellate Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Any Illinois Democratic who now takes up that warning about how democracy is in danger while ignoring the mess that gerrymandering has created in Illinois is a shameless hypocrite.

After the completion of the current census, redistricinting will become another hot issue in Illinois. And voters who want to do right by themselves and other Illinoisans should ask the legislative candidates where they stand on the issue.

Related: Virginians can fight gerrymandering by voting yes on Amendment No. 1 But not in Illinois.

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I voted yesterday! In Will County, IL (county seat is Joliet), ballots were mailed on Thursday. I received mine on Friday and deposited the completed ballot at the local library in a box installed by the county clerk and monitored by security camera. We have been provided electronic security codes to track our ballots.

A traditional story is told of the man who murdered both his parents and then begged the judge for leniency because he was an orphan.

That’s Trump. Trump is trying everything he can think of to undermine the election and then plead for the courts to re-elect him.

His primary reason—by far—for pushing through his Supreme Court nomination is to assure that the Court favors him as an individual and keeps him in the Oval Office. There is no reason to believe that he cares about any moral or societal issue from any perspective at all (as he has so richly demonstrated in his own life).

I believe that in-person voting on November 3 will be a disaster.

Right-wingers will be on hand without masks to intimidate people who wear masks and practice six-foot safety. They will claim some kind of right to get as close to others as they wish and challenge the system if they are evicted from lines. There is also the prospect of armed vigilantes “helping” the police.

There may not be enough polls open with enough staffing to accommodate the lines, in part because many potential poll workers will avoid virus exposure. (See previous paragraph.)

I chose not to vote by mail because I do not trust the post office. I have no doubts about the vast majority of postal workers, but Trump has already demonstrated that he will corrupt the system to his advantage. One possibility is to ban overtime pay to stall the mail and there are other possibilities as well.

Trump always has another surprise up his sleeve, but actually there are no surprises with him. It is what it is.

The real surprises are from the Republican Party, which very much wants to stay in control when they essentially have no issues (see the Republican non-platform).

Wherever you stand, please vote.

Amy Coney Barrett in 2018 (Seventh Circuit Court)

President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett has launched a fleet of progressives into orbit from where, high above we mere mortals, they see the demise of democracy.

The crew aboard the Washington Post orbiter includes E.J. Dionne Jr. who, in all seriousness, nay in a virtual panic, warns that “The Supreme Court struggle is about democracy.” He puffs:

Allowing President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to complete a judicial coup and install a 6-to-3 conservative majority will be, in both form and substance, a triumph for anti-democratic forces and anti-democratic thinking.