Trump: Whatever It Takes

President Donald Trump turned 73 recently.  To celebrate, his staff rented an Orlando basketball arena to announce to some of his adoring fan base that he's running for re-election in 2020.  Isn't that what he's been doing since taking office in 2017?

As is his wont, the President entertained his audience by slamming Democrats, the news media, Hillary Clinton (who's not running this time), and anyone else he could think of.  Trump even promised cures for cancer and AIDS, as well as a manned landing on Mars--all in his second term.  To this crowd, he could walk on water if he wanted to.

Miracles aside, Trump did some things in the name of America that caused Americans to wonder why they are still Americans.

1) The Mueller Report was supposed to be a call to arms to get Congress to get off their tails and start impeachment hearings.  Robert Mueller, who spent years of his life interviewing and investigating whether or not Trump and/or the Russian government meddled in the 2016 presidential election, came to the conclusion that he could not indict the President even if he wanted to.  Trump took this to mean he was exonerated, which he really wasn't.  Mueller has said he wouldn't be much help to Congress beyond releasing the report, even if he were compelled to testify.  All the evidence you'll ever need is in that report--if anyone bothers to read it.

If Trump had this kind of investigation outside the White House, chances are real good he wouldn't be President.  He'd be in prison.

The Democrats are still in a dither over how to proceed with impeachment, given that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would rather use the go-slow approach.  But as the evidence against Trump mounts, the pressure is growing to hold hearings.

Congressional hearings are going on, but the White House is making things difficult for the committees doing the investigating.  Apparently, their idea of blunting the effectiveness of the hearings include (A) refusing to let witnesses testify, (B) going behind closed doors if they do, and (C) declare even the most trivial evidence (such as Trump's tax returns) as executive privilege. 

2)  Patrick Shanahan, who was acting Secretary of Defense, declined a chance to take the job full time because he's under investigation for alleged domestic abuse.  Which makes you wonder about other members of Trump's Cabinet, whose titles begin with the word "acting".  Doesn't anyone want to work for this man?  Besides Kellyanne Conway, that is?

3)  Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the woman who did more to strain relations between the White House and the media while sucking up to the boss, is resigning effective at the end of the month.  She will not be missed.

4)  Being butt hurt about China allegedly ripping off the U.S. economy, Trump declared a trade war.  He almost did the same with Mexico unless they improved their border security.  Doesn't the President realize that the American economy would take the biggest hit, with higher prices and loss of jobs?

5)  Meanwhile, a real war might be brewing with Iran.  Reportedly, they are working on nuclear materials that were prohibited by a previous deal with the U.S. and other countries.  The deal that Trump turned his back on.

6)  The President, who when traveling abroad is supposed to represent the best and brightest of America.  Not this President.  During his recent trip to England and France, Trump took to Twitter and Fox News to talk about his dislike of John McCain (who's been dead for several months), the mayor of London, Democrats, Bette Midler and Meghen Markle (aka the Duchess of Sussex).  There was a sigh of relief on both sides of the Atlantic when he returned home.

7)  Some of Trump's own pollsters showed he was trailing former vice-president Joe Biden and other Democrats in the key states he won in 2016.  So what did the President do?  He fired the pollsters.  No sense being the bearer of bad news.

8)  In an ABC interview with George Stephenopolous, Trump said he wouldn't mind receiving  political intelligence about his opponents from foreign governments.  After what happened in 2016, Trump tried to backtrack that comment, but the damage is done.  This President has shown that he'll do whatever it takes--even if it means breaking the law--to win another four years.

On July 4th, thousands of people usually crowd Washington to celebrate the country's birthday and to watch the fireworks.  This year, President Trump plans to insert himself into the festivities by making a speech which might compel the networks to televise, whether they really want to or not.  Some fear this could turn a feel-good event into a partisan political rally.  Just like the one that happened in Orlando.  Does the President care?  Where have you been the last four years?

Whatever it takes, right?

"Jeopardy!": The Reign of James Is Over

If you have been recently watching "Jeopardy!", the game show whose syndicated version with host Alex Trebek is now in its 35th season, it's likely for two reasons:

(1) James Holzhauer, a pro sports bettor from Las Vegas, became the second contestant ever to earn more than two million dollars on the show.  His reign spanned 32 episodes between April and June (with a two-week break for a previously scheduled teachers tournament), ending his run with more than $2.4 million added to his bank account (before taxes, of course).  Only Ken Jennings, with winnings of over $2.5 million in 75 appearances, has won more.

Holzhauer rewrote the "Jeopardy!" record book as often as Wayne Gretzky did during his hockey career, which included winning the most money on a single program 15 times,  He usually started the round at the bottom of the board (where the high-value clues are), then bet big when the "Daily Double" appeared, usually leaving his opponents in the dust by the time the "Final Jeopardy" category appeared.

On the telecast of June 3, the person who finally beat Holzhauer at his own game was a librarian from Chicago named Emma Boettcher.  But you'll still see James Holzhauer in special tournaments in the near future.  He won't soon be forgotten.

(2)  Holzhauer's success was a welcome distraction for the show and its fans, with the announcement a few weeks earlier that Trebek had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Trebek is 78, and has said he plans to keep working through the treatments.  He's done more than 7000 episodes of "Jeopardy!", and is signed up through 2022.

In recent media interviews, Trebek has said his cancer is currently in remission.  Though it wouldn't hurt for the show's producers to have a Plan B in case Trebek can no longer continue, longtime viewers are wondering if their favorite show really is in jeopardy.

The Mueller Report: No Collusion, No Exoneration, Big Problem?

The big reveal of the long-awaited Mueller Report, after two years of investigations and painstaking work by special prosecutor Robert Mueller and his staff, turned out to be 400 pages of testimony and black boxes preceded by an unnecessary warmup act by Attorney General William Barr.

The result was much the same as when Barr made his controversial summary a few weeks ago:  President Donald Trump did not collude with the Russian government, though there is evidence that they did hack their way into the 2016 presidential election, and no obstruction of justice either.  But Mueller refused to exonerate the President, nor did he indict him.  That, he said, is for Congress to decide.  But first, they'll want Mueller and Barr to appear before them and help fill in the blanks.

Even in its redacted form, the report still packs a punch.  In it, Trump avoided the obstruction of justice charge when White House staff were brave enough to persuade him not to fire Mueller or otherwise impair the investigation.  But Mueller missed a golden opportunity when he decided against interviewing Trump, believing he and his attorneys would not want to do it.  Mueller should have asked first.  What's the worst thing he could say?  No?

This was a hollow victory for the President.  After initially celebrating the verdict prematurely, he took to Twitter and lashed out at the report in the same manner as he does with everything else he doesn't like.

Now it falls to Congress, particularly Democrats, who have to decide whether it is worth spending time and money to impeach a man who's up for re-election in 2020.  There is also no consensus among the 20-odd candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination, who would rather discuss bread-and-butter issues as a way of distinguishing themselves from Trump.

At this point, the Mueller Report won't have much impact among voters, because presumably they've already made up their minds about Trump.  If this were the first time anyone's heard of the President's alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, this country would be in a coma of shock.  Instead, thanks to leaks and reports in what Trump likes to call the "fake news" media, most of this should come as no big surprise.

What it comes down to is this:  The report tells us of Trump's reaction to Mueller being selected to investigate his administration's alleged misdeeds.  "This is the end of my presidency.  I'm (bleeped)."

No, Mr. President.  You're still here, aren't you?  We're the ones who are (bleeped).

The Mueller Report: Is That All There Is?

After two years and millions of dollars in taxpayer money invested (some would say wasted), Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of possible influence by the Russian government into the 2016 presidential election has apparently determined that (A) there was no collusion between President Donald Trump and the Russians, and (B) no conclusion was made on whether Trump obstructed justice or not.

We say "apparently" because that is the interpretation of Attorney General William Barr in his four-page memo.  It is likely the best information we're going to get, unless Congress succeeds in getting Barr (Trump's hand-picked choice for the AG job after Jeff Sessions left) to release as much of Mueller's report as legally possible.

Because there's still too many questions about what's in the report and what isn't, this is not going to stop Democrats in the House of Representatives or the Southern District of New York from investigating alleged wrongdoing by Trump, his family and his cronies.  Barr and Mueller are expected to testify under oath before Congress.  But the report's apparent conclusions certainly takes the heart out of any momentum or significance it might have had, given that a sitting President can't be indicted, according to the Justice Department.

For the President, he can tweet and shout "NO COLLUSION" all he wants.  But he won't be magnanimous in victory, attacking enemies like the Democrats and the media just like he did with John McCain and "Mr. Kellyanne Conway".  (He did say nice things about Mueller, but only after the report was done.)  Trump will still take advice from dictators than his own intelligence people, ramble on in front of adoring audiences, and play golf at his own resorts.  The legal messages he still has to navigate might still bother him, but it won't be enough to affect his reelection plans.  He now has a new incentive to stay in office for the next four years:  Staying out of jail.

For the Democrats, they can investigate Trump all they want.  But even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has conceded it's not worth the trouble to impeach him.  As long as Democrats have the House, they might as well get back to the issues that resonates with voters:  climate change, improving health care, immigration, etc.  It might even help them in the 2020 election by running on those issues, and not harping so much on Trump's record.  But the crowded field of presidential candidates, which so far includes mostly has-beens and newcomers, does not inspire much confidence as real challengers to Trump.

For the Republicans, they need to grow a spine.

For the rest of us, after two years of intense scrutiny by Washington, the media, and Trump's constant heckling, we have to ask if the result was all worth it given the amount of material Mueller had to work with.  We ended up expecting more and got less.

Pundits liberal and conservative have been telling us over the past few days that it is good for the country that Trump was not charged with collusion.  It doesn't feel that way.  Instead it was more like Trump has bamboozled the American people once again.  And not for the last time, either.

Schools for Scandal

If you're making out your brackets for the upcoming men's college basketball tournament, you might want to take a second look at them.  Some of those fine schools have been named in a scheme in which wealthy individuals--CEOs, attorneys, Hollywood actresses, etc.--allegedly had documents and test scores altered for thousands of dollars so their kids could get into the best institutions for learning money could buy.

This stuff has been going on for as long as anyone can remember.  The only surprise is that now people are getting caught for it, but will likely not see much (if any) prison time.  And the kids who might be just as guilty as their parents are the ones who had mediocre academic records, and who'd rather be social media stars than scholars anyhow.

This leaves all of those deserving students--the ones who don't have rich parents or connections--out in the cold as far as getting into prestigious colleges is concerned.  Instead, they're forced to make do with State U and/or their local community college.  Nothing wrong with them.  It's just that they're not Duke, Stanford or Harvard.

Another big problem is the debt that comes with a college education, especially if you don't have much money to begin with.  Unless you've saved up enough by working two or three jobs or applying frequently for every student loan available, the college of your choice is out of reach.  And since you have a loan, you are expected to pay it back, right?  Maybe for the rest of your life, until your grand children finally pay it off.  Which is why people are having such a hard time finding a home, buying a car or starting a family.  Rich kids don't have to worry about any of that, because their parents would take care of that for them.

Now that examples will presumably be made of all those affluent parents who only wanted what was best for their college-bound children, but ended up doing things the wrong way, it will be interesting to see if anything changes.  Colleges and universities, at the government's request, will review and then update its admissions policies to ensure that they are done fair and square.  They will also have to find a way to make school more affordable to those who do not otherwise have the means to do so.

But most of all, there's nothing wrong with being a graduate of Podunk U. instead of the University of Southern California or Yale.  They might not have bracket-worthy athletic programs, but a degree is still a degree no matter how much it costs.

Trump: In or Out Like a Lion?

As the calendar turned from February to March, President Donald Trump capped off his no good, horrible week by roaring like a lion at a conservative convention in Maryland.  For two hours in front of a friendly audience, he ranted and raved against the media, the Robert Mueller investigation, Democrats and others he deemed worthy of his scorn.  It's nothing you haven't heard before, but Trump did it in a manner that suggested that he needed to be removed under the 25th Amendment, except no one could agree on a tactful way to do it.  Oh, and the fact-checkers went into overtime trying to keep up with his whoppers.

Here's some of what made the President go off the rails:

• His former attorney Michael Cohen spilled some of his guts to a House committee and a national TV audience, on his way to a prison sentence.  The rest of Cohen's guts are all tied up in investigations and closed-door hearings, but what we did hear makes it sound like the Trump family isn't much different from the Corleones or the Sopranos.
• Mueller's investigation has yet to wrap up, despite indications that the report could be released "soon".  There is concern that the report--what there is of it that's made public--might be less than the sum of its parts when it comes to Trump's alleged involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.  That's why House Democrats are putting together a more extensive investigation.
• While this was going on, Trump failed to make a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to shut down their nuclear weapons program, thereby closing their summit in Hanoi,Vietnam earlier than planned.  The President blamed his failure on the Cohen hearings, but in truth he didn't do his homework.  He continues to take the word of dictators like Kim and Vladimir Putin and his own gut instead of his diplomatic and intelligence corps.
• There are at least 14 people (and possibly more) announcing their intention to run for Trump's job as Democrats in 2020.  There is also the realization among Democrats that 2019 is their last, best chance before the election of unseating Trump through indictment or impeachment.  If that doesn't happen, then Trump wins re-election no matter who they put up as their candidate.

Cohen in his public testimony mentioned the possibility that the President might not go quietly if he loses the election, especially if the results are close.  Also, if he does not face indictment until after he leaves office, he might refuse to leave the White House to avoid prosecution and saddle the new President with an unwanted house guest.

So what's it gonna be?  Will President Trump go out like a lamb or a lion?

The Oscars: Diversity Rules, to a Point

The 91st Academy Awards had no host, ran over three hours, and had another controversial finish.  But you can't say it was boring.

This was the year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went out of its way to honor contributions from persons of color (if there's a better term, we'd like to hear it), in stark contrast to the criticism they got a couple of years ago for the mostly white list of nominees.  Among those who took home Oscars: 

• Alfonso Cuaron for directing "Roma", which also won for Foreign Language film.
• Rami Malek for his Best Actor performance, channeling Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody".
• Regina King for her Supporting Actress performance in "If Beale Street Could Talk".
• Mahershala Ali for his Supporting Actor performance in "Green Book".

They and other winners of color were undercut when the Academy chose "Green Book" as Best Picture.  It was the tale of a white man navigating the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s with a black musician, which must have reminded the voters of "Driving Miss Daisy", which won for Best Picture in 1989.  Some things never change.

Spike Lee, who with three other guys won his first Oscar for Adaptive Screenplay with "BlacKKKlansman", was among those who weren't thrilled with "Green Book"'s win.  Lee used his podium time earlier as a call to arms for the 2020 presidential election to reject hate.  President Donald Trump, who's becoming pretty good at figuring out thinly veiled insults aimed at him indirectly, tweeted one of his own at Lee.

Another highlight of the evening was Lady Gaga's duet with Bradley Cooper on "Shallow", a song from the fourth version of "A Star Is Born".  It was so intimate that you'd think there's something going on between them.  Or was it just a convincing performance?  Anyhoo, Gaga got her Oscar for Best Original Song, and would have added a Best Actress trophy if it hadn't been for Olivia Colman playing Queen Anne in "The Favourite".

The telecast ran for three hours and twenty minutes, which is the typical length of an NFL football game, and was shorter than either a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox baseball game or some of the Best Picture winners over the last half century.   In spite of the Academy's and ABC's best efforts to get folks to bed at a reasonable hour, there was no host (Kevin Hart quit after past homophobic posts on social media came back to bite him), no Most Popular Movie category, and every award was shown live instead of moving some of them to commercial breaks (behold the power of unions in Hollywood).

Whether it was the lack of a host or the possibility of the Oscars turning into a gawker slowdown, CNN reports that the ratings for the ABC telecast were up from last year by 12 percent.  Maybe less is more after all.