Don't get out the popcorn yet: The Wheels of Justice Grind Slowly

"Delay, Delay, Delay: From pre-trial motions to negotiations over security, the master of legal stalling has many tactics in his arsenal." Politico, 8/16/23

Forget the popcorn and the celebrations. The Indictments are in the legal system, which means the trials could take months and years to start, let alone reach any verdicts. Many months and years. 

Now begins a tortuous process of making sure Due Process is honored and the trials are fair. That means discovery, plea bargaining, pre-trial hearings, motions and delays of one legal kind or another. As Politico notes, Trump is a master at it. So are the other co-conspirators. If you are waiting with bated breath for some action, you'll be disappointed.

I'm starting to realize it is a waiting game I'm not up to. I'm not going to sit in front of the TV hoping something is going to happen. It's not going to happen for a while. 

Maybe after a long break from Indictment news, I'll wake up in ten years (if I'm still going) to learn justice has been served. That's the "exceedingly fine" part of the wheels of justice.  The "turn slowly" part puts me in the mindset of a groundhog. "Waiting for Godot" would be faster. 

Some legal experts, for example, are predicting that the Georgia RICO trail could take at least two years before it begins. "Racketeering cases are not built for speed," the Seattle TImes notes.  Fani Willis is proposing a March 4, 2024 trial date, but Mark Meadows has already filed a motion to move the case to federal court. Trump is just getting started. Then there are the 18 others indicted. Imagine the twists and turns. Hopefully some of them will drop off one way or another. 

Then there's the other three criminal cases that will complicate schedules, and I wouldn't be surprised if more are coming. Is an Arizona fake electors' case on the horizon?  "The schedule of likely Donald Trump criminal trials in 2024 is turning into the criminal justice equivalent of a multi-car pileup," The Hill opined.

I'm hoping Jack Smith's trial will go first. He brilliantly fashioned his indictment to make a speedy trial possible. Time magazine argues that Jack Smith needs a speedy trial faster than Fani Willis. I'm all for that.

"If Trump reclaims the White House, he could potentially exert executive power to inoculate himself from federal criminal vulnerability, such as attempting to pardon himself or appointing an attorney general who will quash the charges against him. That may be why Smith brought forth a lean indictment that he hopes can get to trial quickly, according to former federal prosecutors. “There’s a race against the clock,” says Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. Attorney, referring to Smith’s case. “In Georgia, that’s not really the case. No attorney general of the United States can shut down a state court investigation. So this case can proceed, even if Trump is elected.”

Getty image captures the horror ofJ6.

I think the talk about tRUmp reclaiming the White House is all hogwash, but the rest of the argument is well taken. "There's a race against the clock," as Barbara McQuade put it.

A race? We'll see. Maybe we'll see something in early 2024, but for now it's too soon to get out the popcorn. 

Some Sources:

1. In Georgia case against Trump, a trial within 6 months could be a stretch | The Seattle Times, August 16, 2023. 

2.  https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4151748-there-wont-be-time-for-four-trump-trials-before, by Gregory Wallance.

3. Why Jack Smith Needs Speedy Trump Trial More Than Fani Willis | Time by Eric Cortellessa, 8/15/23.

4. "Will Trump Get a Speedy Trial?," 8/16/23, Russell Berman. The Race to Put Trump on Trial Begins - The Atlantic

5. ‘Delay, delay, delay’: How Trump could push his trial into the heart of campaign season - POLITICO, by Josh Gerstin and Kyle Cheney. 

6. Former Trump White House lawyer says ‘no chance’ Georgia trial happens within two years (yahoo.com). I think lawyer Ty Cobb is right.

7. UPDATED: Insurrection Timeline — First the Coup and Then the Cover-Up – BillMoyers.com

Refik Anadol and AI Art: Beyond Imagination

 

Unsupervised, Refik Anadol exhibit at MoMA

What would a machine dream about after seeing the entire collection of The Museum of Modern Art in one fascinating digital exhibition? For that matter what do humans dream after seeing Refik Anadol's exhibition, Unsupervised, which art reviewer Vincent Tully of the New York Times calls "the new avant garde?"  

For Unsupervised, Los Angeles artist Refik Anadol, born in 1985, uses artificial intelligence to interpret and transform more than 200 years of art at MoMA. Wow, really?

Known for his groundbreaking media works and public installations, Anadol has created digital artworks that unfold in real time, continuously generating new and otherworldly forms that envelop viewers in a large-scale installation. Tully put it this way: "It’s the museum’s collection digitized into roiling shapes..."

Photo  by Anadol

This artist and his art are new to me. I am fascinated by it. This is art for the 22nd century and beyond. I can hardly imagine it, hardly understand how this art is made. And controversy about the implications of AI development have me a little scared of it. 

I am quoting Anadol's description to try to get my arms around it. That might not be the right anology for something so monumental, but the scope of it, and the consequences, stun and amaze. Something tells me, deeply, that we need to try to understand it. Here's what the MoMA exhibit catalogue says: 

"Unsupervised is a meditation on technology, creativity, and modern art. Anadol trained a sophisticated machine-learning model to interpret the publicly available data of MoMA’s collection. As the model “walks” through its conception of this vast range of works, it reimagines the history of modern art and dreams about what might have been—and what might be to come. In turn, Anadol incorporates site-specific input from the environment of the Museum’s Gund Lobby—changes in light, movement, acoustics, and the weather outside—to affect the continuously shifting imagery and sounds." (Note 1)  

MoMA's collection swirling around in computer waves

"AI is often used to classify, process, and generate realistic representations of the world. In contrast, Unsupervised is visionary: it explores fantasy, hallucination, and irrationality," creating an alternate understanding of how art is made. The installation is based on works that are encoded on the blockchain, a distributed digital ledger, which stands as a public record of Anadol’s art."(Note 1) 

What does that mean, Anadol?

“I am trying to find ways to connect memories with the future,” the artist has said, “and to make the invisible visible.”  

It seems to have started in 2021, with Anadol's exhibit "Nature Dreams" at the Konig Galerie in Berlin. This Los Angeles artist is changing "the way we see," reviewers noted.  I can see that. 

This art actually transforms the "Zen of Seeing" into the Zen of Artificial intelligence.  Remember the 1973 art book, calling us to not only look, but "to see," to meditate, focus, be present and mindful. Anadol's unique approach is certainly changing the boundaries of art, "changing art-making itself," in Refik Anadol's words. (Note 1) 

Vincent Tullo in his review of the exhibit (note 3) raised a question that stirred in the back of my mind: Does "the impulse to make computers do something “artistic” speak to our anxiety around what makes us human — if software can create art, then what’s left for us?"   

Refik Anadol, Quantum Memories, 10M x 10M x 2.5M AI Data Sculpture Custom software, quantum computing data, generative algorithm with artificial intelligence (AI), real time digital animation on LED screen, 4 channel sound, Courtesy RAS via ARTnet

Note 1: Refik Anadol: Unsupervised | MoMA

This exhibit was Organized by Michelle Kuo, the Marlene Hess Curator of Painting and Sculpture, and Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture and Design and Director of Research and Development, with Lydia Mullin, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture.  Refik Anadol: Unsupervised | MoMA

Note 2: MOMA’s Newest NFT Exhibit Proves You Can’t Even Give NFTs Away For Free (forbes.com)

Note 3: MoMA’s Daydream of Progress - The New York Times (nytimes.com), calls Unsupervised  "The next avant-garde."  Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

Running Away from Russia and Russification: An Unintended Consequence of Putin's Vicious Revanchist War in Ukraine

A protest outside of parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Symbol of a new world order, with the flags of the country of Georgia, Ukraine, and NATO united?

"Ukraine Can Win," The Atlantic Monthly, July 2022,
by Richard D. Hooker, Jr. Ukraine can win - Atlantic Council
 "It is far better to confront the threat now while Russia is reeling from high casualties, depleted stocks of high-tech munitions, low morale, severe losses among senior commanders, and inferior generalship."

Putin's war in Ukraine is having a ripple effect on all the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) and countries in Eastern and Central Europe that were once in Russia's orbit. It's a fascinating development, an unintended consequence of the war Putin started to exterminate Ukraine. Russian aggression is exposing its revanchism and weaknesses and, in the process, creating an evolving new world order that is shrinking Russian influence forever. 

The bottom line: Former SSRs (shown and listed on the above Wikipedia map), as well as countries once in Russia's orbit, do not want anything to do with Russia. Putin's war has assured that. 

 What country can look at what Putin is doing in Ukraine and not   think the same thing could happen to them? 

They know what it's like. They know from experience the criminal excesses, the violence, the relentless Russification designed to propagandize their citizens and liquidate their histories and culture.

And today, right now, look at the places Russia is occupying in the Donbas, in Bakhmut, Mariupol, the village I served with the Peace Corps. Look at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, where workers describe beatings, torture and looting. Look at Crimea, once-beautiful, diverse, peaceful, now Stalinized, militarized and terrorized.

Everything Russia touches turns into Soviet-style gulags and reigns of terror. Wastelands. Everything. Putin's unjust, vindictive, vicious war proves it. The world is seeing it.

This is why more former SSRs and Eastern and Central European countries are lining up to join NATO. 

Why, for example, did Finland join NATO? 

"We reacted to Russia, actually," Kai Sauer, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, told CBS News. "It was a reaction to an action by Russia, and the action was Russia's aggression on Ukraine."  

Same reason the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, are members of NATO. They fear Russia will attack them next. They see what's happening in Moldova and Georgia, where Russia is working to destabilize those countries like it did in Crimea. Same playbook. It's why they are sending arms, too. Latvia is sending all of its Patriot air defense  systems. In fact, Poland, Slovakia and Romania, most all the neighboring states of Ukraine, are sending all the help they can. 

These fiercely independent nations understand all too well the risk a Russian victory poses, and they fear the consequences that the loss of Ukraine would have on their security, in their own countries and across the world. 

Protest against Lukashenko in Belarus

So Putin's war is having the direct opposite results he intended, exposing how backward his thinking, how old and worn his perspective, how out of touch he is with ever-changing modern international relations. 

Russia is now a pariah state. Who wants to join Putin's revanchist bandwagon? They want to look ahead. The Belarus government is an exception, but its people are soundly against the war. Does Belarus really want to be a vassal state of Russia? 

Same with countries once fully aligned with the Soviet Union. Bulgaria is an example. Bulgaria’s foreign minister Nikolay Milkov, echoing Finland's Kia Sauer, told the Kyiv Independent that the Russian invasion of Ukraine "has accelerated his country’s efforts to eliminate Russia’s influence." Bulgaria is struggling to find its footing in the post-Soviet world. It's not easy. So are countries like Georgia, still fighting Russia's hybrid war, still fighting to rid itself of Russian influence. Even the Central Asian states are starting to pull away, especially among the younger generations. 

Protestors wave the Ukrainian, Georgian, and European Union flags outside Georgia's parliament in Tbilisi on March 8, 2023, amid a demonstration against the Georgian government's plan to introduce a "foreign agent" law reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. (Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin's war is birthing a whole new order. It will be his downfall. It will be Russia's loss. Zelenskyy has warned him: Get out now or be destroyed. He means it. Putin's deliberately destroyed Ukraine village by village, city by city. Reduced them to ashes. Annihilated them. War crimes upon war crimes against the people, infrastructure and landscape of Ukraine. It's given Ukraine a whole new goal, a new mission: To take back its territory in the East, in the South, and in Crimea. To get Russia out. Putin's loss will be his humiliation and his end. Ukraine can win.

Sources/Notes: 

1. How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia | Journal of Democracy. by Kathryn Stoner, July 2022. Excellent article.

2. ‘I Cry Quietly’: A Soldier Describes the Toll of Russia’s War - The New York Times (nytimes.com). The saddest video, the saddest war, the death and dying.

3.  Russia’s Assault on Daily Life in Ukraine - bellingcat. See Bellingcat's TimeMap of harm done to civilians at bustops, train stations, schools, hospitals, and places that Ukrainians use as part of daily life. The map documents verified war crimes upon war crimes. 

4.  Batu Kutelia: Lessons from Georgia of geopolitical procrastination (kyivindependent.com)

5.  Finland doubling NATO's border with Russia in blow to Putin (yahoo.com)

6.  goog_779994558Why you should care about Belarus (yahoo.com)

Protest in Minsk against 2020 election results.
Lukashenko despised. He's reduced his country into a RU minion 
rather than build the modern state ordinary Belarusans desire.

7. ‘They’ll kill me if I come back’: Abduction, torture become routine in Russian-occupied Melitopol (yahoo.com).  This experience is true everywhere Russia occupies.  

8.  Nuclear workers describe beatings, detention, and looting by Russian soldiers to force them to keep a Ukrainian power plant running (yahoo.com).  

9.  Ukraine war latest: Defense Ministry says 'complex measures’ of counteroffensive ‘underway’ in the east (kyivindependent.com).  

10. What does membership mean for NATO newcomer Finland? (yahoo.com)

11. ‘I was naive about Russia’: Central Asians on the Ukraine war | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera. Article by Mansur Mirovalev, 17 February 2023.  Views are changing. Younger people no longer support Russia. China is supporting these nations to reduce Russian influence, another developing story. “The younger those polled are, the worse is their attitude towards Russia” because they have access to independent and diverse online media, he told Al Jazeera./ Another sobering factor is regular threats from Russian political figures to annex northern Kazakh regions that have a sizeable ethnic Russian minority./And that is where Beijing, whose economic clout in Kazakhstan has already surpassed that of Moscow, stepped in./In September, during a visit to Astana, the Kazakh capital, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to protect Kazakhstan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty."

12.  Wikipedia. 

According to the United Nations definition, countries within Eastern Europe are Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and the western part of the Russian Federation (see: European Russia map).

In most definitions, the countries of Central Europe are Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary.In some definitions, Switzerland and Croatia would also belong to Central Europe, as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania. All these countries are in the Central European Time zone (CET = UTC + 1 hour).

The Central Asia region (CA) comprises the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It is a diverse region with a mix of upper middle and low income countries with major strategic importance due to their geographic location and natural resource endowments. They are all former Soviet Socialist Republics, still pro-RU but all in the process of change.  

Woke and Kicking up a Storm: The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 2021 Medals Just Awarded

  Henrietta Mann, 2021 NEH Humanities Award recipient.
A Cheyenne, she taught Native American Studies at the University of Montana,and gives voice to the stories
of Indigenous Americans. Photo she provided NEH. 

Underneath all the bad news, life goes on. Some positive things are happening, and they are making a difference.  That's why I was glad to read news that the public humanities are alive and well. 

Just a few days ago, President Biden presented the 2021 National Humanities Medals, delayed by the COVID pandemic, in conjunction with the Medals of Arts, at the White House. The 12 Humanities medal recipients include writers, historians, educators, journalists and activists. Jill Biden attended, as I remember Hillary Clinton doing when Bill Clinton presided and I worked with the DC humanities council.  The cherry blossoms were usually in bloom and it was a gala event. Rebirth was in the air.

Although NEH wouldn't put it this way, I am happy to note that the public humanities are "woke" and kicking up a storm. They may be somewhat hidden under the political noise, so full of drama, rage and thunder, but they are doing great work in every state across the country. Google the state humanities councils to see how their ongoing programs and grants are strengthening our democracy while extremists tear it apart, fraying our social fabric. There's hope.

Shelly Lowe, NEH 

Shelly Lowe, a Navajo and the first Native American to head NEH, praised the recipients. "They have enriched our world through writing that moves and inspires us; scholarship that enlarges our understanding of the past; and through their dedication to educating, informing, and giving voice to communities and histories often overlooked."   

In short, these talented, gifted and dedicated Americans are "woke" and working to enrich our intellectual and cultural lives. They are aware. They know what's going on around them, sensitive to issues of racism, the authentic history of our country,
who's been left out, who's worked for change to realize the promise of America. They are fearless in the realm of thought. They question and they are engaged in civil life. They welcome discussion and civic discourse.

So who are these "woke" individuals who are asking questions about the kind of world we live in and the kind of world we hope to leave to our children? 

.

There's Richard Blanco, born in 1968, son of Cuban immigrants, an award-winning poet, author and professor whose "storytelling challenges the boundaries of culture, gender, and class."  He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, and the first openly gay person to be an Inaugural poet, reading his poem "One Today" at Barack Obama's second inauguration. Some of us remember it with nostalgia for the e pluribus unum, "Out of many, one," that it evoked. 

There's the amazing Johnnetta Betsch Cole, born in 1936, anthropologist, humanities leader, former Spellman College president, then Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art from 2009-2017. Her life work about the contributions of Afro-Latin, Caribbean, and African communities have advanced American understanding of Black culture. I had the good fortune to meet Johnnetta Cole at various NEH and Smithsonian Institution functions, and I learned something new every time. 

As you can see, woke.  

I was especially glad to learn about the contributions of Henrietta Ho’oesto’oona'e, Mann, a Cheyenne, an elder of her people, and a citizen of Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. She is a pioneer professor of Native American studies, "honoring ancestors that came before and benefiting generations that follow." Her story is moving. Another recipient, Native America Calling, is an interactive show on public radio and online that educates us about Indigenous issues, amplifies native voices, introduces us to Indigenous artists, poets, writers, and activists. This program complements Mann's work and the research and teaching of other scholars in Native American Studies. 

There's also Walter Isaacson, journalist and author, past president of the Aspen Institute and a former head of CNN. According to NEH, his work "bridges divides between science and the humanities, and between opposing philosophies... elevating discourse and our understanding of who we are as a Nation."  Born in New Orleans in 1952, he has an incredible record of accomplishments in public and private affairs, truly a Renaissance man.  

Rounding out the awardees are Ann Patchett, award-winning novelist and owner of Parnassas Books, and Amy Tan, daughter of Chinese immigrants, author of The Joy Luck Club and many others;  Bryan Stevenson, advocate for the poor, incarcerated, and condemned, who also chronicles the legacy of lynching and racism in America; Tara Westover, for her memoirs of family, religion, and the transformative power of education; Colson Whitehead, novelist, "who makes real the African American journey through our Nation’s continued reckoning with the original sin of slavery and our ongoing march toward a more perfect Union." And Earl Lewis, a social historian, Black history scholar, and academic leader who's a leading voice for greater diversity in academia and our Nation. 

Woke. All these fabulous recipients of the Humanities Medal. Anecdotes to the toxicity of the latest anti-intellectual furor over the progress made toward realizing the American ideals of equality and justice under the law. 

Woke and kicking. To be aware and engaged. To be open to education, books, learning and growing in knowledge and understanding. To be informed. To care, to care deeply about American ideals, values, traditions, and promise.

These are, indeed, the hallmarks of an informed citizen in a democracy.  Supporting and honoring the humanities in education and in our public life, amplifying the voices of these Humanities Medal recipients, will ensure we have what it takes to keep it. 

Sources:

1. Henrietta Mann | The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov) one of 12 recipients of the 2021 National Humanities Medal bestowed by Biden on March 21, 2023.

2. 2021 National Humanities Medals | The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov), Washington, DC (March 20, 2023). As noted above, the 2021 medals were delayed due to the COVID pandemic. NEH like the rest of the nation is catching up.

3. Google Wikipedia and press coverage of the award ceremony at the White House to learn more about each Humanities Medal recipient. They are amazing.

4. Native America Calling | The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov)

About NEH: Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation that support research in the humanities, nurture humanities infrastructure, and expand the reach of the humanities. Since 1965, NEH has awarded nearly $6 billion to cultural institutions, individual scholars, and communities. The Endowment serves and strengthens the country by bringing high-quality historical and cultural experiences to large and diverse audiences in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five jurisdictions; providing opportunities for lifelong learning, access to cultural and educational resources, and strengthening the base of the human stories that connect all Americans.

Kay Smith at 100: Artist Laureate of Illinois, Painter Laureate of America

 

Kay Smith, Artist Laureate of Illinois, Fire Works behind the Statue of Liberty,
from The American Legacy Collection.

 

"Watercolors have brought Kay Smith from the hills of Mount Rushmore to the stall of the esteemed racehorse Secretariat, as she’s spent her life depicting U.S. history with her paintings."    Vanessa Lopez, Chicago Sun Times, February 2023. 

The White House in Winter

Valley Forge

What a fascinating American artist. The mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, has declared today Kay Smith Day in honor of her 100th birthday. The Mayor's proclamation recognizes Smith's Illinois roots, her teaching and community contributions, and the various thematic collections that make her art meaningful and popular: The American Legacy Collection, which includes 250 beautiful watercolor renditions of our monuments, battlefields, historic homes, and special places; and the America Horseracing Collection that includes an award-winning portrait of Secretariat. 

Morning Bliss

It made me think how fun it would be to teach American History using her collections.  I also love her flowers and gardens, all so pretty, positive and bright.

Smith's studio is in her home.

Kay Smith says that her passion for painting  is what keeps her going. It certainly has. She is still painting at her home in Lincoln Park, surrounded by the art she's created over the years. There are also paintings in process, just waiting for her to take her brush and do what she loves, what she has always loved. 

She started when she was six years old. She startled her mother then by saying, "I'm going to be an artist." And that's what she became.  Chicago, America, the world are fortunate she did. 

Monticello

Sources:

1.  Renowned Artist Kay Smith Turns 100 Monday. She's Spent The Past Century Depicting US History In Watercolors (blockclubchicago.org)

2.  Artist Laureate of Illinois Kay Smith says her passion for painting keeps her going - Chicago Sun-Times (suntimes.com), by Vanessa Lopez. Pat Nabong photographer

3. Artist Kay Smith Still Lifes, Gardens and Landscapes (kaysmithartist.com) Kay's blog, Kay's story