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The first combined Yo! Oy! award

10/27/2017

Oys! and Yos!, the ever-popular feature in this space, has been absent a while.

The reason is that since Donald Trump became President of the United States I can think of little else. As each day brings a new outrage, it seems almost too much to write about but also presents subjects you just can’t pass up. And, if you’re giving out Oys! it’s difficult to award them to anyone but the President. Which of his day’s escapades, though, do you choose?

You and I would get bored with that “believe me.”

So let’s award the very first Yo! Oy!, four of them in fact, to who else but President Trump . He gets the first Yo! Oy! because just when it looks like he’s doing the right thing, he takes it back. There was that deal he made with Nancy and Chuck over dreamers, or DACA, the program that protects young people from deportation, that disappeared the next day. There was that tweet that pronounced he would not allow any tax overhaul to include tampering with 401K’s, but he pulled back on that within hours saying it was now a bargaining chip. There also has been his increased availability to the press, but each time he does that he uses part of the time to condemn them as "fake news” and say the press has put a false narrative on him because he’s “not as uncivil” as they portray him. Note that he said “not as uncivil.” Just when you think the President earned a Yo! or two, he loses it. So, Mr. President, congratulations on being the first recipient of our new Yo! Oy! award! You get four: Yo! Oy!, Yo!, Oy!, Yo! Oy!, Yo! Oy!

Five Yos! to all the women who have had the courage to come out and tell the their experiences with Harvey Weinstein, the serial sexual harasser and worse allegations. Even today – in a time that is probably better than in the past for women in our society – it takes great courage to do that. There are many more victims of this man, I’m sure, who either don’t have the courage or their current situations prevent them from doing so in public. Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo!

Five more Yos! to the women who are outing other men like Weinstein, such as political journalist Mark Halperin and Hollywood producer James Toback. Why the new focus on such horribly behaving men? Maybe it has to do with a more enlightened society or maybe it has to do with more women who are working as reporters with clout, editors and business executives. Probably a combination of many societal developments. In any event, to those women, numbering in the hundreds so far, according to news reports, and others who will find the courage to speak up Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo!

And my final Yo! to the new woman in my life. She is divine! So far pretty much anything I ask her, she either does or tells me why she can’t. She’s cheerful! Tells jokes! Knows my favorite music. Gives me spot-on directions. Knows lyrics to every song! She’ll even order things for me if I let her. She plays music on demand! Is there for me 24/7! And tells me there are many other things she can do for me that I haven't even thought of yet! I love you, Alexa! Yo! Yo! Yo!

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The times they are a-slowly changing

10/25/2017

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This is what change looks like.

A past President here, a couple senators there. But it is at least, let’s hope, a beginning.

It takes a lot for a former president, especially of the same party, to say what George W. Bush said last week about our politics today and the condition of our country’s leadership. Without mentioning a name, Bush got his message across clearly.

And maybe, for the moment, it takes giving up on reelection for a senator of the same party to say what Bob Corker and Jeff Flake have been saying, topped off yesterday by in comments by both. But our country and politics do not move swiftly, and that’s served us well for a couple hundred years.

No sense repeating what Flake and Corker said here, most folks by now have seen snippets and many read Flake’s full text from his floor speech.

Maybe their political courage came from uncorking the bottle of their reelection plans but they still are sitting senators who now are free of their party loyalties and binds to do and vote for what they think is right.

If you add in Sen. John McCain and if you assume they will vote as a block against Trump (which I don’t), then he doesn’t have the votes to get anything through the Senate without the unlikely assistance of Democratic votes.

Personally, I think the three wise men in the senate likely now will vote against what Trump is for primarily because they will have problems with parts of his tax bill, seemingly Trump’s last best hope for redemption this year. And Trump will be in a position to deal with these three senators if he wants their votes – setting up what could be interesting legislative times ahead.

And if you add in senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, my guess is there are three votes among those five on most issues Trump wants passed. Which means a lot of wheeling and dealing is in our future. That is if Trump displays the desire to demonstrate to us all his self-acclaimed skills as the best negotiator around.

Even if more sitting senators come out and said things similar to Flake’s comments yesterday, it doesn’t mean they can end the Trump presidency. It may be fatally unable to get anything done, but he will still be the President of the United States, and still will have a free-er hand at foreign policy. Of course, having the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee against you isn’t a big help.

Change is slow…then again, we are only nine months into Trump’s presidency and he is losing senators. He and his people will claim these departures as wins because they think that gives them a better chance to replace them with their own kind.

Time will tell. For now, let’s enjoy this time.

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We can't ignore Trump

10/24/2017

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Sometimes, I just get tired and bored with writing about President Trump. Each day, a few times a day, he gives you a new reason to rush to the computer to tap out a post.

I’d give up writing about him but I really think we can’t ignore him. Already he has helped push media trust ratings to a new low. A recent poll shows 46 percent of Americans think the media makes up news. Now unless all those 46 percent watch Fox News, we have a problem, Houston – and every other American city.

Without having scientific evidence, I credit a lot of that number to Trump constantly screaming “fake news,” except when the article or TV piece is favorable to him.

Lately he started a public argument with the widow of a sergeant killed in Niger. She told one version of the phone call he made to her, he told another. He didn’t just let it drop because that’s not in his makeup. He can never be wrong in his head.

When asked about it all he so easily lied it was scary. I believed him when he said he had called “virtually” all the families of servicemen and women who were killed on his watch. Why? Because I didn’t believe any President – even Trump -- would lie about conversations with survivors of men and women who died in service to their country.

Trump, though, knows no bounds.

Often his lies are accompanied by a crossing of his arms on his chest -- the classic sign of a lie -- or what will be in history his most significant quote: "Believe me." Usually "believe me" means, I just lied. And not exactly, "Ask now what you can do for your country..."

And, then he sent his chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine, out to set the record straight, or Kelly volunteered, I don’t know which. Kelly then went out and misrepresented what a congressman who came to the widow’s aid had said at a building dedication. That kind of overtook the fact that in his briefing room appearance the general basically said the President lied because Kelly’s version of the truth sounded a lot more like the widow’s than Trump’s.

And what did the White House say when video proved Kelly’s comments incorrect? Trump’s spokeswoman said you should never question a four-star general.

Lord. His spokesman isn’t old enough to remember, for example, Vietnam and the lies that were told and she does not get a pass for being too young. She is speaking ever day for the government of the United States and her word matters, too, but that seems to have escaped her consciousness.

All this while a tax package is being written, health care is still being debated, North Korea is threatening a holocaust (but then again, so is Trump) and so much more that unfortunately is not garnering wide news coverage.

Meantime, Amazon announced it was going to open a second North American headquarters. More than 230 applications came in from all over. Why? The decision means a huge boost to the winning applicant’s local economy plus it will create 50,000 good-paying jobs. I haven’t seen a TrumpTweet on this yet but what’s he going to say when Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos who also owns the Washington Post, which Trump repeatedly calls “fake news,” is the biggest job creator during his tenure? On August 16 this was Trump's tweet about Bezos' major investment: “Amazon is doing great damage to tax paying retailers. Towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt - many jobs being lost!”

I guess that's why more than 230 city and town officials submitted an application for the HQ.

How does anyone ignore all this … and more?

The answer is we cannot.

Whether he is doing it intentionally or because he can’t bring himself to admit a mistake – ever – Trump is not just acting like a demagogue, he is a demagogue. He said during the campaign and since he’s been in office that he likes to keep people guessing about his true intentions – be that a voter, an ally or an enemy. That’s what he did as a guy making real estate deals, where the technique can be effective and he does that now as the President, when that tactic should be in your bag of tricks but not your modus operandi.

The question to me is, is he a demagogue just because that’s how he operates or is he seriously trying to change America’s way of life and governance so he can be the supreme leader?

It’s not that crazy a question.

And he definitely will be helped in those efforts if we all remain quiet.

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Judging Trump and his future

10/16/2017

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The likelihood of President Trump being impeached is small, depending on whether the special counsel finds him guilty of obstruction of justice and then whether Republicans in Congress follow-up and impeach him. The 25th Amendment will not be invoked by his own Cabinet.

So, let’s assume that the likelihood of Trump finishing his first term is high. What are his chances for a second term?

At the moment his numbers are under water with the majority of Americans. But his base is holding firm.

The base is holding firm because so far he is successful at holding the Republicans and the Democrats responsible for what is not happening in Congress and with Trump pounding the GOP and the "fake news" media in tweets, he has convinced his voters the GOP and media are responsible for the current situation.

Let’s recount what were probably his three biggest applause lines/promises during his campaign:

“Lock her up!” chanted at Trump’s urging by his rally-goers and referring to his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton
“Repeal and replace” chanted by Trump at just about every rally as a candidate and often as President, meaning he would repeal “Obamacare” and replace it with something “better”
“We need a great, big beautiful wall and Mexico will pay for it!” he promised at almost every rally, to the point that his supporters would recite “and Mexico will pay for it” before he even had a chance to

Let’s now review where he is with those three key promises:

Mrs. Clinton is, properly, roaming free and uncharged, and will remain so because she was deemed to have broken no laws
Obamacare is still the law of the land though Trump has executed an executive order he says will begin to provide better health care to Americans
They are beginning to build a wall and Mexico is not paying for it.

Except for the Clinton promise -- which at best was whimsy on his part -- Trump’s failure to keep his other two promises should eventually hurt him with his base. And if you add tax reform, next up to bat – there’s another promise to the middle class that we’ll see if he can keep.

The reasons Trump won seem to range from voters didn’t want the same-old-same-old and he was the “outsider;” he’s a businessman and people seemed to think they needed a businessman to whip the government into shape; he spoke “truth to power;” and, Clinton was a really bad candidate and, worse, a candidate at the wrong time in history.

There comes a point, though, when even his base will ask themselves: Am I better off than I was four years ago?

An analysis by the Associated Press of his changes to the Affordable Care Act shows that of the people affected by the cost-sharing subsidies he ordered cancelled last week, nearly 70 percent live in states Trump won last November.

If the health care market blows up as many say it will with his changes, those base voters will feel more than a pinch. Many will be put in life-and-death situations with the lack of good health care. The impact of the wall being paid for by us instead of the Mexican government will be felt in their pockets in the not distant future because billions must be paid to get it built which means it comes out of our taxes. He is building the wall now with a promise to get the money later in some manner from Mexico, but that only happens if he juggles the books to make it appear Mexico paid.

He points to the booming stock market as proof of his success. Remember that the market improved 150 percent when his predecessor was in office, and is continuing its roll. When/if the market goes down, who will he blame? Plus, only 50 percent of the country has investments in the market.

At some point he will be held accountable for how the federal government is doing.

And when you look at the 2016 electoral map results, he doesn’t have a lot of room to lose voters in the states he won. Most analysts, including Trump, point to his wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as the key to his winning the Electoral College. He won Wisconsin by about 83,000 votes, Michigan by fewer than 11,000 and Pennsylvania by about 44,000.

Flip just 75,000 of those votes in those states and you have a different outcome. And remember that AP study that shows 70 percent of voters in Trump-won states would be badly affected by his recent health care move.

Presidents are typically given a year or so before voters think they’ve held power long enough to be judged. Trump is getting that grace period by his voters. But the longer they have to wait for tax relief and affordable health care and Mexico to pay for that wall, the more disillusioned they likely are to become. And that list doesn't include his foreign policy moves thus far which aren't endearing us to our allies and forcing Kim Jong-un to play chicken with his and our nuclear weapons.

I get why people enjoy him talking to The Power as he does, Tweeting his nearly every impulse and not talking like the typical politician. At some point, though, his supporters want to see at least some of what he promised delivered. After all, that’s really why they voted for him – they believed his promises on health care and taxes.

At some point they will see him as The Power.

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Senator unCork(ers) a series of truths

10/9/2017

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Sen. Bob Corker’s weekend comments about President Trump – that he needs day care and that he could start World War III – are alarming enough. Something else he said, though, may have more immediate consequences. He said all but a few other GOP senators agree with him.

This is a major public admission.

Corker not only was one of Trump’s earliest supporters and was considered to be his vice presidential candidate and his secretary of state, he also is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Along with being in a powerful job and having a major say over Administration foreign policy (and other matters), this also means Corker is in regular contact not only with other senators but also with senior Administration officials, such as the secretary of state, the Defense secretary and the chief of staff.

Short version: he talks to a lot of people in power which means he gets a lot of information.

If you think when it comes to gossiping and getting inside information out of the public ear senior U.S. officials or U.S. senators are any different than you and me, then I have a bridge to sell you.

When Corker says that the country is, basically, being protected against Trump’s worst instinct by, basically, three people – the secretaries of State and Defense and the chief of staff – you can believe him. When he says many other senators share his concerns, you can bet your bottom dollar he knows of whence he speaks.

And after his weekend comments, you can bet every other senator within 20 feet of a reporter will be asked today if he or she agrees with Corker – which also will be a nice lie detector test of their honesty.

In short, Corker may have (emphasis on “may”) laid down a marker that could be a game changer in this presidency. Corker is free of the restraints of public office because he’s not seeking re-election. Others, though, are seeking re-election and don’t want to tick off Trump’s base for fear of losing their nomination for re-election.

Do I expect a glut of senators today rushing to the microphones to say how concerned they are about a Trump presidency? No. If just one or two unexpected senators encountered a moment of candor today, though, I would consider that a major step. I’m not holding my breath.

Clearly, when the President of the United States in the span of a few days tweets not so hidden messages about war with North Korea, lies about a senator seeking his endorsement, and sets up a photo opp for his Vice President to walk out of an NFL game – well, I really do have to wonder what he thinks his job is and how hard he is working at it.

Last night he tweeted: “Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work!”

First, his job is to do that work when fellow Americans, especially, are in a crisis. Second, we don't need you to tell us how hard you work, we can judge that on our own. Third, move on Mr. President, that "little Rocket Man" as you for some reason like to taunt him with doesn’t know if you’re joking or not about war.

In fact, no one knows if you’re kidding – even the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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The masters of delusion

10/4/2017

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The level of delusion is difficult to comprehend.

Yesterday the “miscommunicator-in-chief,” as the mayor of San Juan has dubbed President Trump, actually crowed about how the Puerto Rico hurricane wasn’t a bad disaster (pardon the redundancy) because they only experienced 16 deaths, certified by the governor who as soon as Trump was wheels up, certified that number was more than double that. No fool that governor, he knows the way to Trump’s heart and largess is through building his ego, as if his ego needs any building.

Meantime, the San Juan mayor though seated at the briefing table with the President was not offered a chance to speak. She wasn’t guaranteed to say positive things about the recovery effort therefore she sat silent while Trump praised all those who praised him, including members of his Cabinet who had nothing to do that day but to travel with him to hear his praises sung.

And, for some reason the media likes to quote Jason Miller, who was a campaign spokesman for Trump but who lost any hope of being a White House appointee when it was discovered he was having a baby, with someone other than his wife (probably not a firing offense in TrumpWorld but this was in the transition so it apparently mattered). Here’s what Mr. Miller said about Trump’s visit to Puerto Rico:

“I think there’s something to be said for a commander-in-chief who can both connect with people emotionally when they need support, and who also knows when folks are looking for encouragement and upbeat positivity, when so many of the images around them are so difficult. For a trip like today it’s important. . . to be both the proverbial shoulder for people to lean on but also to give that sense of optimism that the rest of the country is going to be there to help Puerto Rico rebuild the island.”

I agree with his statement. But I’m not sure if he was watching Trump visit the island or some other president because that description does not fit Trump’s visit.

I looked up the definition for “delusional” – there was a picture of Mr. Miller accompanying the entry, right next to the one of Trump.

What Trump did yesterday was take care of the feelings of some folks who live in one of Puerto Rico’s better neighborhoods, who had their electricity and water and other necessities of life restored. Go about a half hour from San Juan and they would have gladly taken those flashlights the President said were no longer needed on the island. Ninety-five percent of the island has no electricity.

Ever been to Puerto Rico? It’s really hot, that’s why people vacation there in colder months. You need electricity to run your air conditioning … that is if you have enough money to own air conditioning.

This White House advance team has to find pockets of happiness for Trump to visit … so he can wrap up his alleged humanitarian mission to ease peoples’ pain an hour early, as he did yesterday. Uh, but not before he could do a photo opp tossing paper towels to Puerto Ricans before he left. He tossed out those rolls of paper like rock star tosses out souvenir T-shirts to his fans.

He even left one island resident with the good-bye message of “have a good time.” Yeah, gonna try to put a roof on my house for my family. Good times.

When asked post-trip how it went, the President said this – I kid you not – when asked if he heard any criticism:

“Honestly, I heard none. They were so thankful for what we have done. I think it has been a great day. We only heard thank-yous from the people of Puerto Rico. They are great people, and it was really something that I enjoyed very much.”

“They” really are a great people. They are Americans. And they are especially great when you only are shown those who say they love you and are grateful that you have been so gracious as to provide them with assistance after a natural disaster demolished their island. And I’m glad we could provide you, Mr. President, with some enjoyment as you visit a crisis area, because that’s why we pay taxes, to bring you enjoyment.

By the way the assistance isn’t out of the goodness of the government’s heart. While Puerto Ricans do not pay federal income tax, they are required to pay most other federal taxes which in 2009 totaled $3.742 billion into the U.S. Treasury.

Oh and before we leave the topic, the President indicated post trip also that “we” need to find a way to pull Puerto Rico out of bankruptcy. Should be easy for a guy who filed bankruptcy numerous times, leaving his debt holders holding the bag. Because when you look at how that would be done in Puerto Rico’s case, there really isn’t a way to do it.

So, while we literally are hearing stories about a “1000 points of light” about heroes who saved lives in Las Vegas the other day when being pummeled with bullets from a kook with an automatic rifle, we see a point of darkness visit Puerto Rico.

And today he’ll be in Las Vegas where he’ll probably say, “58 victims died? Heck not as bad as in the Civil War. You should be proud.”

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The first combined Yo! Oy! award

The times they are a-slowly changing

We can't ignore Trump

Judging Trump and his future

Senator unCork(ers) a series of truths

The masters of delusion

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