The Art of Sucking Up and Selling Out

President Donald Trump has just come back from Europe, burning bridges with America's remaining allies while kissing up to a dictator to whom he owes his job.  Is this the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency, or is this just another day at the office?

Trump's summit in Helsinki, Finland with Russian president Vladimir Putin was an excellent display in the art of sucking up and selling out.  After meeting one-on-one with only interpreters present, the news conference that followed saw Trump going on and on like a teenage crush about what a great guy Putin was, and how he didn't believe his own government's intelligence concerning Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election and their latest cyber attack on the U.S.  Putin didn't have to say a thing.  He was content to let Trump act like a fawning idiot in front of the whole world.

For some time now, Trump has been hollering "no collusion" in the face of Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into the matter (which now includes indictments against 12 Russians) in the same way Richard Nixon insisted during Watergate that he was not a crook.  But the President wasn't ready for the barrage of criticism from both sides of the political aisle (even--horrors!--Fox News) for his summit performance, which ranged from "disgusting" to "treasonous".

Trump tried to correct himself by claiming he "misspoke" about his support for American intelligence agencies, and walking back other such comments as the week went along.  But it's too late.  We heard you the first time.

Earlier, in another gathering with European leaders, Trump walked all over them when he briefly considered getting the U.S. out of NATO and for calling the European Union a "foe".  In England, as a giant blimp of "Baby Trump" sailed (or is it soiled?) over London, he dissed Prime Minister Theresa May and broke protocol with Queen Elizabeth II.

After all this, Congress is still at their wits' end in figuring out what (if anything) they should do about the President's apparent betrayal of his country.  For the Republicans who currently control both houses, they keep getting burned by the man they say they support.  It's going to take more than the midterm elections for the GOP to get it through their thick skulls that Trump is a national security risk.  Short of impeachment (which nobody really wants to deal with in an election year) or voluntary resignation, does he need an intervention by party officials?

And then there's The Base, Trump's loyal followers who still blame Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for their problems, and who have more or less shamed their GOP representatives into supporting the President if they want to get re-elected.  Will they still love him, even though he's sold them out?

The more Donald Trump lies and deceives his fellow Americans and their allies, the more he paints himself into a corner.  The more he paints himself in a corner and someone calls him out about it, the more ways he finds to get out of that corner.  Dissing your country while patting the dictator's back should (among other things) be grounds for removal under the U.S. Constitution.  But nobody has the guts to use it.

So it is just another day at the office.

The Supreme Court: Making It Right

Brett Kavanaugh is the second choice President Donald Trump has made for the U.S. Supreme Court since taking office, and he seems to fall into a pattern.  He's a white male, has an Ivy League law school degree, and is young enough (at 53) to steer the Court in a conservative direction for the foreseeable future.

Kavanaugh's bio reads like this:  He's a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.  He once clerked for Anthony Kennedy, the man he hopes to replace on the High Court.  He used to work for Kenneth Starr, who you might recall was breathing down President Bill and Hillary Clinton's necks during the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations as special prosecutor.  And he also worked for both George Bushes (H.W. and W.) during their presidencies.  In other words, he's the political insider Trump is not.

Senate Republicans want to get Kavanaugh confirmed before the first Monday in October (when the new Supreme Court term opens) and before the midterm elections, provided they don't find too many skeletons in his closet.  The Democrats, still smarting from having been denied the opportunity to put Merrick Garland where Neil Gorsuch now sits, do not have the numbers to block or delay Kavanaugh's confirmation.  But they're sure going to raise a lot of hell over it considering what's at stake:  Abortion, gay and lesbian rights, guns, health care, political line-drawing, immigrant reform, etc.

There is also the argument that sitting presidents like Trump who are in legal trouble shouldn't be picking any kind of justice until the investigations are over.  (Too late.  He already did that with Gorsuch.)  Kavanaugh is on record as saying that presidents should be immune from lawsuits while they're in office, unless it's about impeachment.  With this president, that's a possibility.  As it stands, Kavanaugh might be Trump's "get out of jail free" card, as Maryland's Democratic Senator Ben Cardin put it.  Which may not be what the framers of the U.S. Constitution (or for that matter, the creators of "Monopoly") had in mind, but there it is.

Whatever happens to Brett Kavanaugh on the way to his nomination, the liberal wing of the Supreme Court has been put on notice.  As long as Trump or any other Republican is in the White House, they could be replaced any day by assembly-line conservative judges who might make life harder and meaner for the rest of us.  It's something to consider as the United States evolves into a majority-minority country with white men still in control.

Being Civil in the Real World

Civility is defined as being polite and courteous in our daily life and activities.  Try finding that anywhere in President Donald Trump's America these days.

Incivility in politics has been around for as long as there's been a United States.  It didn't start with Trump, who struts around fancying himself a martinet with a smartphone in one hand and a raised clenched fist on the other.  It didn't start with Republican lawmakers in Congress who shot down everything President Barack Obama was trying to do from the moment he took office.  It didn't start when President George W. Bush after 9/11/01 declared you're either with us or against us.

But Trump and his enablers are setting a new standard for lowering the bar on civility in office, which is having a negative effect on international relations and invites questions over whether democracy will survive him.  He and his fans have been behaving like loudmouthed schoolyard bullies, frightening and intimidating anyone who crosses their path.  It has taken until now for Democrats, progressives and everyone else to wake up to what's going on.

During the "zero tolerance" crackdown on undocumented migrant families who were trying to cross the border from Mexico, the dominant image was of children being ripped from their parents and put into cages.  Another dominant image was that of First Lady Melania Trump wearing a message on the back of her jacket that read:  "I really don't care.  Do U?"  The President tried to explain it as her being on board with his anti-media message, but it meant so much more.

This has led to incidents where Trump staffers like press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Homeland Security chief Kirstjen Nielsen, who were harassed while trying to eat dinner or are no longer welcome at certain restaurants.  There have also been protests across the country concerning the alleged conditions of the migrant families, as well as reports of detainees who claimed that they were treated like animals.

Also, five employees of the Capital Gazette, an Annapolis, Maryland-based newspaper, were gunned down in the latest attack on our society by a disgruntled individual with a gun.  The President, who has made the terms "fake news" and "enemy of the American people" synonymous with his dislike of any media that isn't Fox News, expressed his condolences to the victims' families and had to be convinced to lower the flag to half staff.  Few people think Trump was really sincere about it, and will probably go back to bashing the media in another Twitter rampage soon.  Meanwhile, the Gazette did put out the damn paper the day after the attack.

We have constantly been reminded that the most civil thing you can do to combat the excesses and pettiness of the Trump administration is to vote for Democrats to take over Congress this fall.  That may be true, but it's a long way from July 4th to Election Day in November.  Until then, everyone has to decide (in the words of TV's "Real World") whether the time has come to stop being polite and start getting real.

The Swing Vote Stops Here

Anthony Kennedy, who has served as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1988, has announced his retirement effective at the end of July at the age of 81.  Which means President Donald Trump has another shot at trading in one conservative justice for another, just like he did with Neil Gorsuch a year ago.

Kennedy was the so-called "swing vote", a moderate who sometimes sided with liberals on decisions involving abortion and gay and lesbian rights--which is why they wanted to keep him on as justice for as long as possible.  But Kennedy had been reliably conservative on most issues on a Supreme Court that already is, and will be for the foreseeable future regardless of whom Trump (or any other president) chooses as his replacement.

During the past session, Kennedy and his colleagues on the Court were confronted with numerous issues of national interest before them.  Here's how they decided (or not):

• Upheld Trump's travel ban on those living in Muslim-majority countries.
• Ruled that public sector unions can't force non-members to pay contract negotiating fees.
• Punted on gerrymandering in Wisconsin.
• Ruled that law enforcement must get a warrant before searching your smartphone data.
• Legalized sports betting.
• Ruled that a Colorado baker can refuse service to gay customers on religious grounds.
• State taxes must be paid on internet purchases.

So now the Senate must decide if Trump's choice for the Court is worthy enough to join the other justices.  You will recall that back in 2016, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to schedule so much as a hearing for President Barack Obama's choice, Merrick Garlund, because they claimed that election years are not the time to decide on someone for such an important decision.  Which is BS, of course, because Senate Republicans were really biding their time before a GOP president could be elected.  They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

Senate Democrats hope to take a page out of the GOP playbook and delay the nomination of Trump's choice for as long as possible, preferably until next January when the new Congress is seated.  But right now there are more Republicans than Democrats in the Senate, and the whole thing might become moot by the time November rolls around.

So the pendulum on the Supreme Court is stuck on the right, just like it always has.

Alienated Nation

In the past week and a half, President Donald Trump has managed to alienate his Canadian and European allies at the G-7 summit in Quebec, jets off to Singapore to make nice with his new best friend, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and to threaten trade wars against anybody he thinks has ripped off the United States' economy.

Right about now, he's offending the sensibilities of most Americans, Democrats and the five living First Ladies (including his wife Melania) with his latest solution to the immigration problem:  Detaining, then separating, families at the Mexican border for the crime of crossing over illegally.  The men and women are being herded like zoo animals into cages, while the children (around 2000 of them so far) are taken to an old Walmart in McAllen, Texas, not knowing if they'd ever see their parents again.

The President has been ranting and raving ever since Campaign 2016 about building a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border, which would be designed to keep out the drug lords, terrorists and other riffraff who might do this country harm.  Unfortunately, it might also keep out those who want to escape the crime and poverty of their native lands, believing they can't afford to wait months for the proper credentials to enter this country legally.  So they just sneak in across the border.

Those who have seen images of children being ripped apart from their mothers' arms are demanding that Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who has quoted the Bible to defend all this) to reverse the policy, since it's really not the law they claim it is.  But the President would rather talk tough and blame Democrats than do the right thing.

This latest detention of human beings has everyone asking themselves, "Is this who we are as a country?".  Well, let's see . . .

• Our European ancestors arrived here to escape political and religious persecution, only to gradually exterminate tribes who were already on the North American continent and putting the rest in reservations.
• Africans were brought here through no fault of their own, and are still being mistreated long after slavery ended.
• Europeans who weren't WASPs (Italians, Irish, Russians, etc.) and Asians were routinely discriminated against once they got off the boat.
• Jews have been turned away, even if the alternative was a one-way ticket to a Nazi death camp.
• Germans and Japanese have been interned during wartime.
• Those of the Muslim faith have been viewed with suspicion since 9/11/2001.

And on it goes.

So yes, this is who we are as a country.  We can do better, though.

UPDATE (6/20/18):  President Trump has signed an executive order rescinding, at least temporarily, the administration's policy of separating undocumented immigrant families at the border while keeping the zero tolerance measures in place.  This, of course, doesn't help the families who have already been split up with traumatized kids scattered all over the country.  Now all Congress has to do is to pass a law that fixes the problem.  Good luck with that.

Bourdain, Spade Leave For Parts Unknown

The world of entertainment, fashion and food were rocked this week by the deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade.  Both chose to leave this world voluntarily.

Bourdain (1956-2018) was a chef who gained notoriety among foodies with his controversial tell-all book "Kitchen Confidential".  He then moved into TV with "No Reservations" and "The Layover" for Travel Channel, followed by "Parts Unknown" for CNN.  All of those shows found him traveling the world while sampling the local cuisine, uncovering insights as to why people are the way they are.  "Parts Unknown" has been on the air since 2013, and is in its 11th season.  Bourdain was filming an episode in France at the time of his death.

Spade (1962-2018) was a designer who created the line of unique handbags that bore her name, then made millions from it before selling the company.

The Centers for Disease Control tells us the number of suicides in this country are on the rise.  The generally accepted reason is that depression and mental illness is being misdiagnosed.  The real reason this is now getting attention in the media is because some celebrity decided to take his or her own life.

We're not going to speculate on why Bourdain, Spade or anyone else chose to do what they did.  How are we to know?  Should we?  Maybe those who chose suicide either had a very good reason or have had enough of living, and there was nothing we could do to stop them.

Taking your own life is not much different than any other kind of sudden death.  It can also happen among the terminally ill, when all the medications and chemotherapy aren't making your life any better.

This is the point where we're supposed to give you the national suicide hotline number, as well as contact information for mental health services.  Well, you can go look that up yourself.  Why make the lives of people obviously intent on doing away with themselves harder than it already is?  Trying to convince them that life can still be worth living, or to think about the ones they might leave behind might fall on deaf ears.

Just so you know, we don't condone or advocate suicide.  Most of us have come through dark periods without ever considering ending it all, because on the other side the tide turns in their favor.  But what if it doesn't?    Then suicide becomes a very real, if extreme, option.  That was the option Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade and millions of others have chosen.  All we can do is to wonder why.

More Dispatches from Trumpland

The longer President Donald Trump remains in the White House, the further he gets from reality unless it suits his own purposes.  And we're the ones suffering for it.  Some recent examples:

On the Russian election investigation, the President and his attorneys are doing all they can to avoid being questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller, who has been looking into the matter for over a year now.  Trump has mentioned ignoring subpoenas, shutting down the investigation and even pardoning himself to prove that this whole thing is nothing but a "witch hunt".  This is not a man who wants to be President of the United States.  He wants to be King of America.

Speaking of pardons, the President has so far given high-profile ones to early 20th century boxer Jack Johnson and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza.  Johnson was the first African-American man to win the heavyweight title.  D'Souza is one of those conservative firebrands who, like Trump, wants to see certain liberals eradicated from the face of the earth.  (We see this all the time on Facebook.)  Now the President wants to give "get out of jail free" passes to Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor (and former "Celebrity Apprentice" contestant) who has been in Federal prison for various acts of corruption, and to lifestyle media mogul Martha Stewart (who used to host her own version of "The Apprentice") for serving time for committing securities fraud.  Is this really a good thing?

The North Korea summit is back on, a week after Trump canceled because of some misgivings he had about whether leader Kim Jong-un was as serious about this as he was.  It's now scheduled for Singapore on June 12.

On trade, Trump thinks the rest of the world is disrespecting America's policies to their advantage.  So he raises tariffs on steel, aluminum and other products on Canada, Mexico and the European Union because of  'national security' concerns.  And he seems to want to take German-made cars off America's roads.  You don't really expect the other countries not to fight back with their own tariffs, do you?  One also wonders if the President is disrespecting his own people by cutting jobs and making things more expensive.  Isn't this what happens during trade wars?

Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, but it turns out the initial death toll of 64 as reported by the government was overly optimistic.  A Harvard study found that at least 4600 people lost their lives in the storm and its aftermath, which is worse that what happened after Katrina.  Looks like Puerto Ricans are going to need a lot more than paper towels.

Samantha Bee, a comedian who hosts TBS' late night program "Full Frontal", has apologized for calling Ivanka Trump the C word during her monologue.  That's not enough for President Trump, who wants to see TBS fire Bee.  It's one thing for him to defend his daughter, but quite another for having yet to say one word about Roseanne Barr losing her ABC sitcom over a racist tweet other than demanding to know why the network has never apologized to him.  The C word is to women what the N word is to African-Americans--something so radioactive that it should be avoided in normal conversation.  But Trump's been known to use the C word in the past to help describe the women he's been with.  Can he pardon himself over that?

And so it goes in Trumpland.