It is a movie, but it could be our future

Stefanik still mum on why she voted against Ukraine aid

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The response was stunning. There is no other way for me to describe it.

After asking why Rep. Elise Stefanik voted against more military aid for Ukraine on Monday, a reader responded, "Because most of America is tired of funding Ukraine when our own country is under invasion."

She went on to write, "Her (Stefanik's) constituents don’t want Ukraine to be funded anymore."

Women and children are dying in Ukraine at the hands of Russian missiles, drones and tanks.

Women and children are dying at the southern border from exposure and drowning in rivers while trying to find a new life in America. Our freedoms, our history of welcoming immigrants to our country is still the ideal around the world.

The two cannot be compared.

There are too many Americans who make those false equivalents. They cannot imagine living in a world where death rains from the sky, where there is little to eat and day-to-day living is about surviving.

We are a rich nation.

We are a spoiled people.

Stop for a second the next time you visit the supermarket. Consider the variety of food at your disposal and even with the higher prices few of us go hungry. More often than not it is the opposite.

Look around your neighborhood and consider the quiet.

Consider the safe confines you enjoy, the freedoms that are guaranteed.

And the reality is that very few of us could ever imagine this idyllic life will ever be threatened to the extent we see in places like Ukraine or Gaza.

So I went and saw the new movie Civil War at the mall Monday.

It's the number one box office draw in the nation right now, but I was the only one there for a Monday matinee.

It's a war movie. It follows a group of journalists making their way around the countryside from New York City to Washington, D.C. while trying to make sense of the violence, the atrocities and the random killing.

But here's the gimmick, here is what makes this war movie different.

It's taking place in the United States.

It's the second Civil War sometime in our near future.

There is no back story.

  We are not told how it started.

We are not told why the Western Forces (Texas and California) have seceded from the Union and joined by Florida.

We are not sure who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.

There is no talk of politics.

There is one scene where the photojournalists are pinned down by a sniper along with two soldiers.

"What is going on?" one of the journalists asks.

"Someone in that house... they're stuck," one of the soldiers responds. "We're stuck."

"Who do you think they are?"

"No idea," the soldier responds indicating he doesn't care.

"Who is giving you orders," the journalists asks.

"Nobody is giving us orders, man. Someone is trying to kill us and we are trying to kill them."

It's kind of the essence of all wars.

Often, they are not about anything more than one side is trying to kill the other.

The movie ends with a siege of Washington, D.C. by one of the armies. Seeing our national monuments as the backdrop for a destructive battle is sobering, yet still seemingly impossible.

Then you remember the events of January 6.

Then, it all becomes possible again.

Real again.

Just one side trying to kill another.

And you can't help wonder if that is indeed our future.

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Stefanik mum on Ukraine

Rep. Elise Stefanik has still not addressed why she voted against Ukraine aid by Tuesday afternoon. The same day she voted against Ukraine aid, she voted for aid to Taiwan and Israel.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reached out to Stefanik and wrote this:

"Asked why she voted against the aid to Ukraine over the weekend, Stefanik did not respond for comment by deadline Monday. Stefanik had not issued any official statement on her vote against the Ukraine aid by deadline Monday."

But her social media was filled with statements about support for Israel and college protests at Columbia, but nothing about the war in Ukraine.

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Jury duty

I've always wanted to serve on a jury. I believed it would be a good experience. Part of me wanted to be a good citizen as well.

Getting called for jury duty is inconvenient, but necessary for our democracy. We should never try to get out of it.

Over the years I've been called to jury duty three or four times. The first couple times I reached out to the court to ask whether working at a newspaper disqualified me from serving. I was told it did not.

When I called the night before I was to report the first time, I was told we did not have to report. Apparently, there were no pending cases.

The second time, I made it all the way to the court room where a couple dozen of us sat for a couple hours waiting. We eventually learned the case had been settled and we all could leave.

The third time was an odd experience.

I was called to serve on a grand jury. That requires a greater commitment. You have to appear monthly or as needed. I expected to be questioned and wondered if my position as editor of the local newspaper would disqualify me.

But there was no questioning.

We were eventually told there was one juror too many so they were going to put everyone's name in a hat and the person selected randomly could leave.

My name was selected. I often wondered if my name was the only one in the hat.

It was disappointing because I thought being a grand juror would be interesting and important work.

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Library getting back to normal

It was great to see that the Rockwell Falls Library is getting back to normal.

Six months ago, it closed when its small staff quit because of threats over a drag queen story hour. When the majority of the board quit as well, state officials had to step in and appoint three new board members.

The new members have righted the ship.

Ted Mirczak, who was appointed chairman of the board, said two of the three board members will be running for re-election to keep the momentum going.

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Across the pond

I had a visit from my cousin Paul and his wife Chrissy last week. We had not seen each other in years.

Paul is the son of my mother's younger brother John. Paul was born and raised in England and made a midlife move to France years ago. When we visited the beaches in Normandy 13 years ago, we paid a visit to them as well.

While catching up, references were made to Donald Trump.

I asked Paul what the people in France thought of the former president and our politics in general.

Paul thought for a second, then said, "Well, I supposed we are a bit bemused by the whole thing."

If I didn't live here, I might be bemused, by the juvenile nature of our politics, too. Instead, I told my cousin we were terrified.

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Across the Pond, Part 2

Because of my Irish heritage, I regularly check the newspapers in Belfast.

I couldn't help but notice that Donald Trump's trial was the number two story on The Irish Times website Tuesday morning.

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Mark you calendars

Battenkill Books in Cambridge will be hosting a discussion between former Schenectady Gazette Editor Judy Patrick and myself about my new book The Last American Editor, Vol. 2 as well as general discussion about journalism, newspapers and the play I am developing for the Adirondack Theater Festival.

The event will be held Thursday, May 16 at 6 p.m. at Battenkill Books.