Checking The Trump List

Whether it's picking fights with senators from his own party, being labeled a "moron" by his own Secretary of State or questioning the legitimacy of a nuclear weapons treaty, President Donald Trump has a knack for cheesing off everyone if it suits his agenda.  Whatever that agenda happens to be.

Herewith, a quick review of recent events.

• Trump announced his intention to decertify the treaty the U.S. made with Iran's nuclear weapons program, citing their alleged lack of compliance.  Then he leaves the pact alone, passing the whole thing to Congress, which has a dubious recent history of getting anything done.
• He feuded with Republican senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and John McCain of Arizona when they took shots at his leadership.  Silly men.  Don't they know that Trump can crush them with a tweet or three, depending on his mood and the time of day?
• After an attack in Niger that killed four American soldiers, Trump allegedly tells one of the soldier's widows that he knew what he signed up for.  That might be true, but it's not something you would normally say to someone who is grieving.  Then again, we've learned to expect things like this from the new Consoler-In-Chief.
• He threatens NBC's broadcasting license because they aired a report that he wanted to double the number of nuclear weapons.  NBC isn't required to have a license, but TV stations owned by their parent company Comcast do.  And it takes years to get that through the Federal Communications Commission.
• The President also wants equal time from late night hosts who rip him a new one every night.  Didn't the Fairness Doctrine go away decades ago?
• Trump signs an executive order to stop funding cost sharing subsidies for Obamacare, leaving some states in the lurch over how to keep their health care plans afloat.  Meanwhile, there's a bipartisan agreement to restore the subsidies for a two year period that initially met with Trump's approval.  Until it didn't. 
• After movie mogul Harvey Weinstien's banishment from Hollywood due to an all-star cast of women accusing him of sexual harassment, it's fair to ask what's going to happen to another alleged sexual predator named Donald Trump.  Well, we've already elected Presidents who fit the profile without our knowing it.  John Kennedy had so many women coming and going during his term, which we didn't know about until long after he was dead.  Bill Clinton was almost impeached because of his dalliances with other women.  Now that Trump's been in the White House for a few months, and his liberties with women are well known, what makes you think this is going to be any different?

Obviously, there's more to come.

What Happened In Las Vegas

Mandalay Bay-Hotel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So it's happened again.  Another individual of questionable character and an agenda to tend to makes a name for himself by shooting up as many people as possible, sometimes before turning the gun on himself.  And a nation points fingers at who or what should take the blame for the carnage, while nothing gets done.

An outdoor country music concert Sunday night in Las Vegas that began with Jason Aldean performing ended abruptly half an hour later, when flying bullets from a nearby hotel that definitely weren't part of the entertainment left thousands to either scramble or take cover.  To date, 59 people are dead and hundreds wounded.

Jason Aldean, meet Ariana Grande.  Your lives and careers will never be the same after this.

The suspect, according to police, had a small arsenal of weapons in his hotel room overlooking the concert area.  We don't know why he did it, nor do we know what kind of connections he might have had with known terrorist groups.  We may never know the whole story because the suspect killed himself.

The news media has been careful to tell us that what happened in Las Vegas was the worst mass shooting in modern American history.  What do they mean by "modern"?  Is it post-World War II?  Dallas in 1963?  Columbine in 1997?  Because nothing that's occurred in the past 50 years or so, short of war and terrorism, begins to compare with the carnage racked up by events such as Wounded Knee and others where people of color suffered the consequences of running afoul of the white man.

To those hoping that what happened in Las Vegas will finally, finally result in a "national conversation" about guns and the misuse of them, they can forget it.  The debate was settled long ago, when Americans decided they'd rather have their weapons and Second Amendment rights pried from their cold, dead hands.

For President Donald Trump (who, by the way, is against any new gun law), this is one of the most unsavory parts of his job, which is having to be Consoler-In-Chief  to a grieving nation when things like this happen.  Barack Obama had to play that role so many times during his presidency.  Can Trump approach tragedy with the same dignity and class Obama displayed without calling attention to himself?  Or is that too much to ask?

Life goes on in Las Vegas.  Even though there's been a massacre, hotels, casinos and other attractions are all open for business.  The tourists and convention-goers will still come.  What happened here will stay here, at least until the next person tries to break the modern day record for a mass shooting.  And we get to do this all over again.

Big Trouble In Paradise

Flag of Puerto Rico (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It's been a couple of weeks since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, leaving 24 dead (as of October 1) and plunging the island into darkness.  There's no power, little food and approximately $85 billion worth of damage to the 3.4 million who live on this American commonwealth.  And there won't be much improvement for months.

Help has been slow in coming from Washington.  President Donald Trump, when he's not tweeting about athletes who don't salute the flag or why negotiating with North Korea is a waste of time, has insisted that FEMA is doing a wonderful job and that he's satisfied relief efforts are going well.

But not according to Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of the island's largest city San Juan, who was seen on TV begging for help from the seemingly indifferent federal government.  What the mayor got for her trouble was a series of tweets from the President, accusing her of poor leadership, and Puerto Rico of wanting everything done for them.  As if Cruz didn't know, insults on Twitter are now considered typical behavior for Trump.

Because it is a commonwealth, Puerto Ricans are by law considered American citizens.  They can't vote for President or Vice President, but they do have a non-voting representative in Congress.  Which makes it hard for anyone in Washington to take them seriously.

Some are saying this is Trump's Katrina, the storm that helped sink George W, Bush's presidency, with his poor decision-making.  Let's compare.  Katrina destroyed New Orleans, a major American city with history and culture on its side.  Puerto Rico has history and culture too, but they're a tiny archipelago in the middle of the Caribbean Sea (and not just in the middle of a great big ocean, as the President referred to it), alongside other island nations that got hit by hurricanes.  You can't get there unless it's by boat or plane.  But that's true of any flooded area.

Complicating matters is the fact that the government has already doled out billions in the past month to revive areas of Texas and Florida, which have had their own bouts with hurricanes.  They also happen to be places where retirees and rich folk like Trump tend to reside.  Life is slowly coming back to normal for them.  As for Puerto Rico, they're full of the kinds of people Trump would like to see deported.  So it's no surprise that they're getting the short end of the stick.

Trump is scheduled to visit Puerto Rico this week, presumably to see for himself what Maria had wrought.  He'll either be moved enough by the relief efforts to promise more federal aid, or declare everything to be in tip top shape before moving on.  Or else it'll be one big photo-op.

You want an indication of how seriously President Trump is taking this humanitarian crisis?  He dedicated the President's Cup, an international golf tournament won by the United States this past weekend, to the hurricane victims.  That's nice, but the survivors of Harvey, Irma and Maria need more than trophies right now.  They need help.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

speaking at CPAC in Washington D.C. on February 10, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the past few days, President Donald Trump has alienated professional athletes, two countries with nuclear weapons programs and the United Nations.  If this were a football game, the President would be penalized 15 yards and tossed from the field for taunting.

In reality, no one tells the President to shut up and to take down his Twitter account.  So he can say anything he wants, even to the point of encouraging racial hatred and starting a war.  And all we can do is to watch him lead his country to implosion.

At the United Nations last week, Trump used undiplomatic language as he spoke to the body dedicated to keeping world peace.  He threatened North Korea with death and destruction if they didn't stop testing their nuclear weapons, then referred to that nation's leader Kim Jong-un as "Rocket Man" (which he obviously cribbed from the Elton John-Bernie Taupin songbook).  He wants to rescind the nuclear deal between the United States and Iran because of alleged violations.  And he wanted the UN itself to pay its own way and get rid of the deadwood, much like what he tried to do with NATO.

With the U.S. on the brink of nuclear war, Republicans threatening to repeal and replace Obamacare (and failing) for what seems like the umpteenth time, and Puerto Rico being added to the list of areas devastated by hurricanes and earthquakes, Trump decides to take on . . . the National Football League.

Giving new meaning to the term "political football", the President told a rabid crowd in Alabama that NFL owners should fire or suspend players who disrespected the American flag or did anything but stand during "The Star Spangled Banner".  The NFL and its players responded not only by taking knees during the anthem, but also by linking arms or staying in the locker room.

Ignoring the fact that this "taking a knee" business began when quarterback Colin Kaepernick did it before a game to protest racist white cops who get acquitted for killing African American men, it has somehow become an attack on America's manhood.  The anthem and the Stars and Stripes, which has become the symbol of fealty to the military, police and the GOP instead of being the symbol of freedom and equality for all, was brought to its knees by a pro football player who just took one?  No, we can't have that.  Not by someone the NFL has refused to hire since.

This same attitude also resulted in Trump disinviting the NBA champion Golden State Warriors from the White House.  But hey, the NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins are available.  Darn few Americans on the team, but there's plenty of hardworking Canadians and Europeans to make the President look good.

Trump, who used to own a pro football team (the USFL New Jersey Generals in the 1980s), hasn't gotten it through his head that freedom to disagree with your leaders is a cherished right.  That he continues to stand with white supremacist groups while making his travel ban stronger only makes dissenters out of all but his most fervent supporters, which are dwindling in number as they learn more about the man they helped elect.

Meanwhile, how's the Russian investigation going?  Not a day goes by without some kind of revelation Trump and his minions would prefer you didn't know about.

This all makes you wonder what's going to come first--nuclear war or Trump's resignation.  Either way, it's game over.  Everybody loses.

The 2017 Emmys' Tale

Stephen Colbert in New York City at Border's signing copies for his book I Am America (And So Can You!) The photographer dedicates this portrait of Stephen Colbert to Wikipedia editor Pete Forsyth of Portland, Oregon, who has improved Wikipedia in immeasurable ways. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was expected that the 69th Emmy Awards, held Sunday evening in Los Angeles and televised on CBS, would be an ongoing roast of President Donald Trump, what with the presence of host Stephen Colbert and the prevailing mood of defiance in Hollywood.  It was also expected that the proceedings turned out to be, well, expected if you know anything about the history of the Emmys.

The political tone was set early when Sean Spicer, the former White House press secretary, turned up to make fun of himself.  Unfortunately for Spicer, Melissa McCarthy won an Emmy for a guest supporting role on "Saturday Night Live" by doing a better job of lampooning him than he ever could.

It continued when Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon won for supporting roles on "SNL", mainly for their sendups of Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively.  The night ended with "The Handmaid's Tale", another one of those dystopian shows that depress the hell out of people, taking home the Emmy for best drama.  In between were comedy sketches and acceptance speeches driving home the point that--yes, we get it--Hollywood hates Trump.  So does most of America. 

Moving right along . . .

"Handmaid's Tale", a Hulu show which won the most Emmys overall this year (six), benefited from not having to compete with "Game of Thrones", which was not eligible this year.  For its star Elisabeth Moss, who won for actress in a drama series, this must have been payback for all those times she was denied an Emmy for her role in "Mad Men".

Julia Louis-Dreyfus continues to own the comedy category, winning for the sixth time as best actress.  Her HBO show "Veep", in which she plays a fictional vice president, won for best comedy for the third time.  What, no term limits?

The other big winner was the HBO miniseries "Big Little Lies", which won for best limited series.  Movie actors Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern won Emmys for best actress and supporting actress, respectively, giving credence to the notion that TV has always had an inferiority complex when being compared to films.  Once your name is in lights on the marquee, anything you did on the small screen pales considerably.

Trying to prove how much more diverse the Emmy are than, let's say, the Oscars, here's a partial list of winners:  Lena Waithe got a writing award for Netflix' "Master of None".  Donald Glover got two for acting and directing the FX comedy "Atlanta".  Riz Ahmed won for actor in a limited series for HBO's "The Night Of".  And Sterling K. Brown was rewarded as best actor in a drama for his role in the NBC weeper "This Is Us".

Brown did not get to finish his acceptance speech on stage because (A) some of the night's winners got more time to say their thank-you's than others, and (B) CBS didn't want to extend a show that was already three hours long.  Would this have happened if the Emmys were on NBC?

And a couple more things:

• Why does it take more than two people to present an award or to introduce an act?  Is is really that important to have reaction shots from the celebrities in the front row?
• Why do awards shows try to entertain us with pop stars crooning while the otherwise somber In Memoriam segment is in progress?  And isn't it inevitable that the producers would leave somebody out?
• You'll notice that many of the shows that won Emmys come to you from streaming services and HBO, which charge a fee for their exclusive content.  If you're considering cutting the cord, how much do you think you'll be paying for all that compared to cable?
• The Emmy telecast finished a distant second to NBC's "Sunday Night Football".  Why watch an awards show that nominates TV shows and actors you've never heard of, or could afford to watch?

Random Thoughts--Hurricane Edition

1978 Atlantic hurricane season (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To date, Hurricane Irma has damaged much of South Florida, the Keys and the Caribbean islands, causing millions to go without power for days and possibly weeks, and is on track to make this the most expensive hurricane season in American history.  Though the numbers could change by the time you see this, a total of at least 60 people have died because of Irma.

Before that, Hurricane Harvey struck southeastern Texas and Louisiana, leaving 71 dead and at least $70 billion in damages.  And Jose is currently spinning around in the Atlantic, unsure if it wants to wreak havoc on the east coast or just fizzle out.

So, after the storms go away, they leave behind a few things that need to be mentioned:

• After a major storm, who gets priority in getting the electricity back?  You would think nursing homes would be near the top of the list, especially in a place where even in September it is still hot and humid.  But on Wednesday, eight people died in a Broward County facility that had no power, thus no air conditioning.  Police there are investigating.
• They say politics makes strange bedfellows.  Perhaps that was why President Donald Trump made a deal with Democratic leaders in Congress to not only increase aid for Harvey (and maybe soon Irma), but also to take care of the debt ceiling so that the government can remain open until the end of the year.  Obviously, the Republicans aren't thrilled that a President of their own party would make such a deal with the other guys..  But Trump and the GOP aren't seeing eye to eye these days.  And any attempt at bipartisanship in a divided country is an unusual sight.
• Events like Harvey, Irma and wildfires in the west will do nothing but clarify that climate change is more than just a theory.  No, it's a reality.  But those who don't worship Al Gore will say "it's just weather", then move on with their lives.  They won't change unless they're forced to.
• In watching the destruction and misery following natural disasters like Hurricane Irma on TV, we usually say to ourselves "oh those poor people".  Well, those "poor people" chose to live in hurricane-prone areas on a peninsula of sand, with million-dollar mansions and condos with a great view of the ocean.  Once the wind and rain takes care of them, they can always be rebuilt.  Save your tears for those who don't have that kind of money, and whose lives will never be the same.
• Have you noticed that every TV network and advertisers like Walmart has been beseeching its viewers to part with their hard earned money to support disaster relief?  So-called non-profits like the American Red Cross (the go-to charity for Corporate America) have been accused of promising more than they could deliver when it came to blood donations or disaster relief.  If you must spend money on charities, choose one where ALL the money goes to the victims.  
• Can we have a moratorium on the use of the term 'first responders' when describing emergency personnel?  'First responders', which dates back to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, is such a politically-loaded term that belongs in the dustbin of history with the George W. Bush administration.  Just call them 'emergency workers'.
• Finally, if you're a TV reporter sent to cover a hurricane or other natural disaster. shouldn't you (A) wear enough protection that makes you look like a United Nations peacekeeper, and (B) stop lecturing your viewers on how dangerous it is outside while you're trying to stand in gale-force winds, butt-deep in flood waters?

Homeland Insecurity

English: World Trade Center, New York, aerial view March 2001. Français : Le World Trade Center à New York. Vue aérienne datant de mars 2001. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the 16th anniversary of the day when planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and a field somewhere in western Pennsylvania, which collectively killed around three thousand people, America has become more insecure than ever.

We don't hear much these days about the Islamic State or Al Qaeda planning attacks in this country like the ones in Europe that were attributed to them.  But we don't just need those guys to instill fear in the hearts of Americans.  Plenty of other 'threats' to the so-called "homeland" are coming up to join them:

Homegrown Terrorism  With President Donald Trump's tacit approval, hate groups like neo-Nazis, the KKK and other white nationalists are allowed to flourish because he considers them "very fine people".  Does this mean it is now open season on minorities, women, gays, lesbians, transgenders and anyone else who's not in lockstep with the new fascism?

North Korea, whose attention-seeking dictator Kim Jong-un has allegedly exploded a hydrogen device, shortly after tossing a test missile over Japan.  It would be nice if Kim responded positively to such things as economic sanctions and global isolation, but that's not happening.  It also doesn't help that Trump is making threats of his own, putting the rest of the world in nuclear peril.

Children of Undocumented Workers, who are currently going to college, serving in the military and otherwise involved in gainful employment as de facto citizens of the United States.  That is, until the President announced his intention to phase out DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), a Barack Obama-era executive order that legitimized all those now-grown-up offspring of undocumented parents, who apparently had the foresight to cross the border from Mexico long enough to make sure their newborn kids became U.S. citizens.  This is really the fault of our laws, which stipulate that anyone who was born here is automatically an American.  Which comes at the expense of all those who have waited years to enter this country legitimately only to see this going on.

In a sign that the President is having second thoughts about what he just did, he's turned the matter over to Congress, where he gave them six months to turn DACA into law.  Given Congress' track record on legislation in the past few years, good luck with this one, Dreamers.

President Trump, as much as he wants to make America great again, is proving to be just as much a real-or-perceived security risk as anything else we've mentioned here.  He and his cronies are under investigation for his alleged pre-election dealings with Russia.  He speaks (and tweets) before he thinks.  He doesn't get along with the leaders of his own party, let alone the media.  And, well, you know the rest.

The people who died on a September day in 2001 were just going about their business, not knowing they would help usher in an era of war, racism, violence and fear.  They also didn't know there'd be years of extreme political partisanship, resulting in a President who's a threat to national stability and world peace.  It's up to us to prove their deaths were not in vain.