Before Donald J. Trump became president of the United States, his claim to fame was as a successful real estate tycoon. That was the public image. His real success (and it was real success) was branding his name to a point that he made lots of money from licensing agreements where he sold his name which meant investing only his brand, not his money.
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For those who think people telling you the sky (may soon) be falling, it isn’t just political blather.
Listen to conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter Jack Prosobiec at CPAC the other day: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here. After we burn that swamp to the ground, we will establish the new American republic on its ashes and our first order of business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America.” Listen to Trump supporter and former White House Counselor Steve Bannon as Prosobiece delivered those remarks: “All right! Amen!” Listen to their leader, Donald J. Trump, who called his political opponents: “Sickos…evil..Stalinist…executioners thugs and tyrants…fascists…scoundrels and rogues.” Trump told his supporters not to accept an electoral defeat, claiming, without evidence, that any Trump loss would be illegitimate. This, before even one general election vote is cast. And if you think he too is just tossing out blather, think back to Jan, 6, 2020. He also said: “Nov. 5 (Election Day) will be our new Liberation Day … but for liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their Judgement Day.” Trump’s time as president presented a learning curve to him, clearly a man who doesn’t believe in the Constitution and only believes in himself. Now he understands better what he would need to put in place to provide him leverage to try to become a dictator. I used to hold out hope that Trump couldn’t achieve what is his obvious goal – achieving and never relinquishing power in this country. I believe and still hope that our balance of powers will protect our democracy from another term of an enlightened (about the tools of power) Trump. But the best way to protect our democracy from a would-be tyrant is to use the power that the Constitution gives us -- the vote. To my friends who support Donald Trump, please take a step back and think about just two things.
Vladimir Putin opponent Alexei Navalny was killed last week because Putin wanted him dead. Nineteen years in a Russian prison wasn’t enough of a sentence for Putin. He needed him to stop breathing. As of this moment, Sunday around lunchtime, Donald Trump has said nothing about Navalny or Putin. Trump did find time last week to let it be known that if any of our NATO allies “don’t pay up” he would tell Putin to “do whatever the hell he wants” to them. NATO is probably the most successful alliance in world history. It works because we all stand together, which has kept dictators, including Putin, from attacking a member country. The former and wannabe future President, Donald Trump, though would literally invite Putin to attack a U.S. ally if they don’t “pay up.” Talk abut a protection scheme. Saying something positive about Navalny and negative about Putin is a no -brainer when it comes to looking good in domestic politics. But Trump isn’t criticizing Putin and is not praising Navalny's bravery. Please, take a step back. Why would he miss an opportunity to look good domestically as he’s running for President? It might even help him appeal to those independent voters who will decide this year’s election. Maybe he’s playing to an audience of one in Russia? I’m not being snarky when I say that. I’m dead serious. Why has he said nothing? Trump also has recently been found responsible for a sexual attack and ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages. Donald Trump is on tape – broadcast to the world – telling Billy Bush on Access Hollywood that when you’re famous, you “can do anything” to women, even grab their genitals and “they let you” he said. Now, a court has found him guilty of a just such an attack. And you still think he’s not guilty? He’s led his life that way, making sexual attacks on women. He fricking admitted it, proudly! In today’s world of “me against you-ism” I know my Trump supporting friends are now saying in their heads either “yeah, but what about Biden’s age?' or, "there he goes, writing in favor of Biden.” What I’m doing, or trying to do, is what I said at the beginning – asking you to take a step back and think about just those two things. I’m not pimping for any other candidate right now. But I’m definitely speaking in strong opposition to Donald J. Trump. Taylor Swift.
There, that should be good for, minimum, adding 10,000 to my readership. While I’m on the subject, though, the crazy right-wing conspiracy theorists have this theory/belief that Swift is a government plant! They believe she is being used to, eventually, endorse Joe Biden (again). That she and her equally Deep State Plant boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, coupled up not out of love, but to draw attention to themselves (as if they needed any more) so that, at the right time (halftime of the Super Bowl at the 50-yard line?) they will endorse Joe Biden! That will, the theory goes, push Ms Swift’s 284 million Instagram followers to vote for Joe Biden!!!! (the conspiracy theorists apparently believe no Swifties are Republicans). But wait, there’s more! Kelce was selected to be her partner because he too was working, for the Deep State, as a Pfizer pitchman to push more people to get vaccines! Dastardly bastard! And, one more (at least) just as the 2020 election was rigged, the Super Bowl is rigged for the Kansas City Chiefs to win!!!! Following this path (if anyone can) and thinking maybe out of the box (but maybe not) it means all those subscribing to these theories/beliefs should/will bet on the Chiefs! Thus, this theory is all about what America is really all about – money. Hmmmm. (Only facts were used to compose this post because you just can't make this stuff up.) I was talking to an old friend from Republican working days not long ago about the current presidential campaign.
He had no difficulty saying he was not a Trump supporter but had great difficulty trying to articulate who he could vote for. I offered that it is a binary choice: Democracy or tyranny. He agreed. But, when we attached names to each category he had more difficulty. Being a hard-core, old-style Republican, he has trouble voting for a Democrat. He offered up Sen. Tm Scott and Nikki Haley as good candidates. Scott is no longer running and Haley is very good at talking around her true political positions (like abortion or Trump) so is coming across to some as a moderate, which she is far from. It was a good discussion. Not an argument. Like the old days of politics. We could disagree but we weren’t disagreeable. We parted still friends but still not settled precisely on the issue. It got me to thinking that people struggling with who to support because of long-held ideological beliefs, do have it rough. But Trump is the antithesis of those beliefs -- he has no beliefs. He believes only in himself. He appointed three justices to the Supreme Court who, as he promised, would overturn Roe v. Wade. And they did. Now, he backs away form any real credit there because he knows it plays horribly with the general electorate. Just look at the mid-term election results. Worse, though, he seems to be running as Adolph Hitler, a statement I don't make lightly. Until now. Donald Trump says it more clearly than he did even in his two most recent runs for president: immigrants are poisoning the blood in this country, he says. If you haven’t read Mein Kampf, Hitler’s manifesto, among the quotes from his book:
The Encyclopedia Britannica says of Mein Kampf: “In style, Mein Kampf has been appropriately deemed turgid, repetitious, wandering, illogical, and, in the first edition at least, filled with grammatical errors—all reflecting a half-educated man. It was skillfully demagogic, however, appealing to many dissatisfied elements in Germany—the ultra-nationalistic, the anti-Semitic, the antidemocratic, the anti-Marxist, and the military.” Sound like anyone we know? Trump’s updated version relies on applause lines to his audiences of:
This is not hysteria. This is not Trump hate. These are his words. If you like electing a tyrant, he’s your man. If not, the other choice will be Joe Biden, like it or not. That’s what it comes down to. Do I think Biden has been the best president in history? No. But he hasn’t been the worst either. We experienced that with the administration that preceded him. If we elect Trump, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Personally, I get the entertainment value of Trump. But this isn’t entertainment. This is reality. We can’t give him the chance to do exactly what he’s saying he will do. Never again. You see that picture? That’s my wife’s box of shoes, primarily Allbirds. Allbirds, which we both love, are basically wool shoes from a company that’s trying to reduce its carbon imprint. They are comfortable as all get out. But that’s now what this post is about. Chris Black, my wife, has several pair of Allbirds as do I. We buy them on eBay where you can find good prices for them. But that’s not what this post is about either. This is what the post is about: Chris lost a (one) shoe. You see that, as George Santos would say, blue-ish one on top, the one missing its “other?” She’s looked all over the house trying to find its mate and so far – nada. How do you lose one shoe from a pair? You take them off - together. You put them away – together. Yes, we looked in the freezer. I have a lifelong history of not being able to do anything with my hands (stick with me, there's a point coming), meaning, drive a nail into the right place of something, fixing a faucet leak. You know, the basic things almost every competent human being can do. (When I was moving into a new apartment years ago, a couple of friends and I were ready to repaint it. One was giving instructions – Roy you do the living room, Richard will do the bedroom. I was waiting for my instruction and it didn’t come. I said what do you want me to do? They said in unison “the closets.”) I have the nick name “Thumbs” because I am all thumbs when comes to this kind of thing. Chris, on the other hand, comes from a long line of plumbers in her family and knows how to fix things like a professional handy-woman. I also can be forgetful at times. Thus, I’m kind of loving that Chris is unable to find the shoe. I keep calling her “B. Jay” because losing a shoe is akin to something I would do (but, for the record, I’ve never lost one shoe). I mean, where the heck can it be? It’s not that fancy-schmancy a shoe that it can walk off by itself. We have a running gag because often Chris, probably unknowingly, will tease me by using a standing joke I've used on her. My response is always, “get your own shtick!” (I even programed Alexa to say it. Yes, THAT I can do.). Now, continuing her transition into me (sort of), she has: Lost. A. Shoe. One. Anyone done that? If so, where should we look??? Thoughts on yesterday’s election, next year’s election and getting older.
Instant reactions on yesterday's election is that it was a good day for Democrats and, importantly, less government in people’s lives because of the results of abortion issues on the ballot. Interestingly, less government used to be the Republican Party mantra. But that was in the old GOP. Of course, the Democrats held the Kentucky governorship (and, birthed another immediate potential presidential candidate because that’s what happens to governors who win elections -- they become the new flavor of the week), gained control of Virginia’s legislature, thus giving Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, a slap in the face to his agenda (and also finishing off the flavor of last week to run for President. Younkin is young though. There will be other cycles). Many hurrahs are being given for what yesterday means for the 2024 presidential race but not so fast. Former President Trump’s name wasn’t on the ballot, so it's hard to really know how this will play a year from now. His base is, if nothing else, loyal and will turn out for him. Did those folks turn out yesterday? That’s another thing, that New York Times poll over the weekend showed Trump ahead in key battleground states – take another poll today and you’ll see different numbers, just as you will until citizens actually cast ballots next November. They did cast actual ballots yesterday and that day goes to the Democrats. Sill there’s a lot of time to go, a lot of campaigning to go and a long way until the choice is binary: Joe Biden or Donald Trump. That’s a different question because those are the two probable choices. You need to pick just one. Plus, speaking for myself, I can’t tell you how many times in my life I cast my ballot for the lesser of two evils. That may hold true in the presidential next year for many people. But abortion clearly was on the ballot yesterday and won big-time. Trump is the guy who, he’ll tell you, delivered the overturning of Roe v. Wade by putting three additional conservatives on the Supreme Court. Now Trump, seeing how that issue is playing out, is saying Republicans shouldn’t be so strict on abortion and need to allow some reasons for abortions to be legal. A view not held by many who support him, like the Evangelicals. One would assume the Biden campaign will, soon, be talking all about Roe v. Wade being overturned again and pinning responsibility on Donald John Trump, where it truly belongs. How will that play with all the other issues next year. Dunno, I don’t think abortion lessens as an issue but it will be one among issues like the economy and jobs that will be more of concern on the ballot in a national election. Which brings us to getting older. Republicans are doing a good job of painting Biden as too old and weak to be reelected, and ignoring the fact that Trump is younger only by three years. Clearly, visually, Biden looks older largely because his gait is affected from a combination of arthritis in his back, neuropothy in his feet and the long-term effects of breaking his foot in 2020 while playing with his former dog, Major. And Trump’s face looks younger – that tanning machine works well except for the goggle area. Seriously though, his health should be an issue too, based on his weight and eating habits alone. And, yes, I too would love younger candidates next year, but that ain’t gonna happen. My cohorts are 73 years old (okay that makes me the same age and I still feel pretty good). We all think we look the same as we did in high school, right? I'll let you in on a secret, we do not. My mind seems to be working okay, the body less so but mostly that means I can’t reach the basket when I attempt a jump shot at the YMCA. Embarrassing but I can live with it. Biden seems to operate just fine as we watch him on the news and as he deals with huge issues like the economy and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. That’s the job, though. Name a president that didn’t look years older after a term in the job. Problem is, Joe started older than any of those presidents. For me, not comparing myself to a president or former president, the main thing I notice lately is my memory isn’t what it used to be. BUT, I can still sing the lyrics from most hits from the 60s and 70s not to mention Broadway shows you know (Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls) and some you may not remember (Milk and Honey). Maybe I can be the flavor of some week? There is no way – none – that House Republicans can elect a Speaker of the House. End of sentence.
No one in that caucus can put together the 217 votes he or she needs on the floor. That’s pretty much been proven by the fact that Steve Scalise, a conservative, experienced House leader couldn’t get the votes. That’s been proven by Kevin McCarthy being driven from the Speakership by a handful of Republicans. It was proven when Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan couldn't get the votes to win. Left to on their own, Republicans cannot elect a Speaker. Blame the Democrats all they want; the out-party never supports the in-party electing a Speaker. Which means nothing will get done in the House – nothing. The government will be shut down in less than a month causing all kinds of problems. Aid to Israel and Ukraine won’t be approved which means Russians will keep killing Ukrainians and Hamas will keep doing despicable things to Israelis, and Israelis will keep bombing Gaza. It’s time for true bipartisanship. One has to believe that Democrats can join moderate Republicans and elect a speaker. The numbers are there. It’s the right thing to do for the country. And, those moderates get elected in districts that support moderates, so their risk of loss is small. The Freedom Caucus doesn’t want government to work. Just look at their record. Matt Goetz just likes to raise money and his “brand.” Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Crazytown) and Lauren Boebert (R-Public theater embarrassment) just want attention. The only way is for Republicans to join Democrats and elect a Speaker. Anyone who knows me knows I'm no Polyanna. But there is no choice but for Republicans to join with Democrats and elect a Speaker. For the good of the country. And right away. This post is only for those readers who are getting older. (See what I did there?).
As the aging process (thankfully) continues, the signs of old(er) age also continue. I earlier reported that I now have a team of medical doctors and others. My team includes doctors (primary care, neurologist, ophthalmologist, optometrist, podiatrist, gastroenterologist, hand surgeon, surgeon, dermatologist, a chronic care nurse (she checks on me monthly and cuts through any medical red tape I may (do) face), an audiologist -- OK, not a doc but on the team -- and probably others I’m forgetting in the moment. My health is fine, but it does take a village. There are a couple of age spots. My hair is grey but that's been going on a while. Talking about hair, it's growing where it never grew before. And if you’re old(er), how about those feet and how much uglier they can get? The hand surgeon is new. I had what I thought was arthritis in my right thumb so my primary sent me to him. He said it's "trigger thumb" (more later). I talk to friends I've had for decades (I won't say "old" friends) and we wind up talking about our health issues. Something I never thought I'd do. But here I am. My oldest daughter is a grandmother thus I am not just a great-granddad but the father of a grandmother. She will be 50 next year (aren’t I 50?). I won't out which daughter but, trust me, she doesn't look her age (nor do the others). I was in Walgreens the other day to get a couple of vaccinations (RSV and COVID) and while waiting I noticed a woman standing who also waited and there was no chair for her. I, of course, offered mine and she said quote “On no, you’re older you sit, I’ll stand.” If she ever had a shot at the Christmas card list, she doesn’t anymore. The neighbor across the street uses his snow blower on our driveway, because he wants to help me out since I'm, well, you know. Words and phrases start to creep into your language you never heard before. Words like “trigger thumb,” which is what’s been causing intense pain in my thumb joint. I thought it was arthritis. When I told my ever empathetic wife, she said: “I guess you’ll have to get rid of that Colt 45.” And, no, I’ve never owned any gun let alone a Colt. Well, a fake one in my childhood cowboy days. My reward for finding out what the real problem was with my thumb? A cortisone shot in the thumb. I didn’t even know getting a shot in the thumb was a thing. (It's working though) I now wear a hearing aid. Saw my audiologist last week and she said it's time to get one for the other ear too. It's not just the vanity element here, they ain't cheap! I also learned, after wearing eyeglasses for close to 70 years that ophthalmologists don’t do a test for the amount of prism needed in your glasses (I've had a weak eye since early childhood, prism controls the double vision). This ophthalmologist told me it is optometrists that do prism tests. I always thought ophthalmologists did everything. I’ve since cancelled ophthalmologist visits and will just see the optometrist unless there’s a serious issue. Then, she'll refer me back to the ophthalmologist. So, I'm not tossing the ophthalmologist off the team. She's just temporarily benched. I thought knew everything about my eyes. No wonder I thought I could shoot that Colt 45 and never get trigger thumb. Thank goodness, though, the aging process continues. I won’t use the cliché "it’s far better than the alternative." But it is. Been a while since the Oy! Yo! Committee has met but meet they did recently. The results, nearly all Oys!:
Oy! To the pollsters. Polls show majorities think President Biden is too old to seek reelection. He is. And/but he is going to be the candidate and his opponent is likely to be former President Donald Trump. Trump? Biden? People who think Biden’s too old will certainly vote for him over Trump. Thus, these early polls, as always, mean zilch, nada, zip. Speaking of his age, he does have a vice president, Kamala Harris, who has been getting great experience because Biden has kept her closely involved. Trust me, we can do far worse than Vice President Harris. Oy! To Republican House members. Well, at least the Freedom Caucus, that small minority that seems to be in control of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Picture a group of people standing a circle with guns in their hands, shooting at their kneecaps. That’s the Republican caucus when it comes to the budget. Just days remain before the government runs out of money (that would be Sept. 30) which means federal employees out of work and other essential services stopped cold, hurting the taxpayers they were elected to represent. Over what? The government does spend too much but this isn’t the way to cut it back. Plus the spending that created the huge deficits were run up by both parties over the years. Yo! To AG Garland. Attorney General Merrick Garland took on Republicans in the House the other day in a hearing that they focused on alleged Department of Justice bias against conservatives and other matters. Garland is a former judge and who would be on the Supreme Court now if not for the team of former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Garland showed his emotions (anger) just once when he was attacked for his department allegedly being anti-Catholic. The GOP hit a sensitive and understandable nerve because Garland lost family in the Holocaust. “The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous, so absurd,” Garland said. (I used to attend hearings with my then-boss Commerce Secretary Mac Baldrige. After one hearing, during which he took arrows from Democrats over an issue I can’t remember, I asked how he could sit there, take it and be so calm. He told me, “It’s politics. They attack me, get quoted and that’s all they want from a hearing.” Some things never change. That hearing was over 40 years ago. The only difference is now the politicians count the clicks and “likes”) Oy! To Cong. Paul Gosar (R-Gonzo) for his comments about soon-to-be former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. Among other things, Gosar said, in a tax-dollar paid newsletter that, “In a better society, quislings like the strange sodomy-promoting General Milley would be hung.” Gosar, who reportedly sought a presidential pardon (though he hasn’t been charged to this day) for promoting former President Trump’s lies about a rigged 2020 election, also promised to launch an investigation into “the effort to attempt a coup between traitor Gen. Mark Milley and [then-House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi.” That’s based on, well, nothing. He also was the first House member to be censured in a decade in 2021 after he tweeted an anime clip of himself murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Oy! To the insults to couture. This is an Oy! shared by twice-indicted Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez’ (NJ) wife and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The Committee tries not to pick on what are really such trivial matters and cheap shots…but…Mrs. Menendez, who also has been indicted in the bribery indictment with her husband; well, while voting for this Oy! The Committee chose not to include the details of such a cheap shot but if you’ve seen the pictures of her as the media have reported the story, you’ll understand. Schumer gets it for changing the Senate floor dress code to, well, anything anyone wants to wear. The Committee unanimously aid that dress codes never appealed to its members but the decorum of the U.S. Senate does. This partly to accommodate Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) who likes to wear shorts and a hoodie. So far, no Oys! about former President Trump but the committee felt awkward not including him…so… Oy! To former President Trump for turning against just about everyone who worked in senior jobs in his Administration for his appointments to people in senior jobs in his administration. Trump has said he likes a person to look like the job (think his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerman). The Committee decided that even a narcissist like Trump must have never looked in the mirror. |
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March 2024
B. Jay CooperB. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office. |