Stefanik isn't lost to Trumpism

Kids get excited about nature, thanks to Debbie Peck

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In the wake of Elise Stefanik’s attempt to help Donald Trump subvert the 2020 election, staff members at the National Endowment for Democracy objected to her continued presence on the organization’s board of directors.

The NED promotes democracy abroad through private sector funding of organizations, such as trade unions, that strengthen democratic representation. It does not aim to export the U.S. model of democracy but to help advocates in other countries make their own political processes more democratic.

No interpretation of democracy, however, includes attempts to overturn a free and fair election. That was the modest point being made by staff members at NED.

Nonetheless, her fellow board members at the endowment decided to appoint Stefanik to another term, which she is now serving, and I’m  glad they did. I’m glad she is spending time a little bit of her time with highly educated and accomplished people, working against autocracy in countries around the world.

I want people who are converts to Trumpism, like Stefanik, to hold onto a piece of who they were beforehand. At the NED, she associates with folks who appreciate the studious, hard-working, pragmatic politician she was until 2016 and, maybe, that makes it more likely she’ll return someday to being that person.

Stefanik’s bio on the National Endowment for Democracy site says this: “As the first member of her immediate family to graduate from college, Representative Stefanik graduated with honors from Harvard.”

She’s proud of that. 

Unfortunately, another moderating influence — Harvard’s Institute of Politics — kicked her off its advisory committee after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol because of her false statements. She eventually called her removal “a badge of honor,” but at first, when she was asked to step down, she refused.

If she hated hobnobbing with the academics and CNN anchors and members of the Kennedy family who sit on the Harvard committee, she would have quit on her own. She wanted to stay, and I wish Harvard had let her.

It’s harder for someone like Stefanik to close her mind to reason when she’s outside the MAGA bubble, chatting with smart people and raiding the cheese plate together.

But it’s easy for her to attack those she associates with rejection, as she did in December when questioning Claudine Gay, Harvard’s now ex-president, in a congressional hearing on campus protests over the war in Gaza.

Some Trump allies, like Trump himself, cannot be recalled from the land of grievance and lies. But Elise Stefanik (and many others) turned to Trump opportunistically and can just as easily turn away. She has called herself “ultra-MAGA,” but as long as she sits on the board of an organization as conventional as the National Endowment for Democracy, her conversion is not complete.

Natural fun

When they were 8, two of my kids were led one summer (maybe two) in explorations through the paths of Cole’s Woods and into the ponds of Crandall Park by Debbie Peck, nature educator extraordinaire. Now those children are 28, and Debbie is still at it, thrilling local kids with her knowledge of tadpoles and crayfish, exciting them with her excitement. She loves it and the children love it, exploration and education going hand in hand. Bella and Ringo and I found Debbie and a gang of kids earlier this past week, roaming the islands of Crandall Park pond. Here she is, interacting with a couple of kids and a tiny crayfish:

Here she is again:

You can see immediately how comfortable the kids are with Debbie, and how engaged in what they’re doing.

More ugly buildings planned

The Chronicle’s website is reporting that Chris Patten, who has already put up a gray shoebox of a building between Union Street and Goodwin Avenue, is going before the city Planning Board on Aug. 6 to propose construction of two three-story apartment buildings and a one-story recreation and fitness center in the same area, across Washington Street from the Traveler’s Building.

Patten is already putting up two other apartment buildings, comprising 28 units, along Washington Street, across from the Traveler’s Building. If these new ones are approved, one of the busy blocks of our little downtown will be crowded with and dominated by unsightly boxy buildings.

Three houses would be removed for the proposed project, according to the Chronicle story. Quite a few trees are growing on the site, also, and I assume most or all of those would go, too.

Here are the houses that would be demolished:

These two houses at 399 and 391 Glen St. are targeted for removal to make way for Chris Patten’s project.

Here is a side view of the house at 391 Glen St.

And here is a side view of the apartment building Patten put up on Union Street.

Here is the third house Patten would demolish for the new project:

This house at 10 Harlem St. would go down as part of Patten’s new project, according to the Chronicle.

And here is a view of the other side of Harlem Street, showing one of the two apartment buildings Patten is currently building there (the other one obstructs the view of Temple Shaaray Tefila):

This apartment building on Harlem Street isn’t quite finished, but its unattractiveness is already plain.

Not all of Glens Falls’ buildings are in perfect condition. But many of the once-fine houses that had grown decrepit have been renovated and restored in recent years. The city’s diverse, appealing housing stock is one of its treasures. Walking through Glens Falls neighborhoods and looking at the homes is a great way to spend a morning or an afternoon. But I will be averting my eyes from the north side of Washington Street if city officials allow Chris Patten to go ahead with his latest project.

Camouflage

In Cole’s Woods recently, we noticed this insect (I don’t know what it is, and because it blends in so perfectly, I can’t get it identified online) among the plants along the trail:

The green of this beautiful creature is a perfect match for his surroundings.