December 31, 2018--New Year Nightmare

On Sunday Rudy said that it's time for Mueller "to put up or shut up."

He went on to say that there is no credible evidence that Trump or any of his people knowingly colluded with the Russians. And, by the way he reminded us, collusion is not a crime. So, again, put up or shut up.

My snappy first reaction was that the person who should be doing the shutting up is Rudy himself . . . and his client.

My second reaction, my nightmare is--what happens if Giuliani turns out to be right??

We thus far have little direct evidence from the Mueller investigation. Even the most liberal, anti-Trump commentators acknowledge this. They do point out, though, that the dozens of indictments, guilty pleas, and jailings speak for themselves--there is something very rotten in Trumpworld. There is both fire and smoke.

But, I am feeling forced to consider, isn't it responsible to consider the possibility that Mueller may not have enough to force a Trump resignation or a congressional impeachment?

I haven't been sleeping well lately and my exhaustion may be overwhelming my ability to reason, but . . .

So I took a long nap and awoke from it calmed down and thinking more clearly.

Putting together all the evidence we in fact have there is a strong case to be made that not only was there collusion (admittedly not a federal crime) but a felonious conspiracy to work with the Russians to rig the 2016 election and enough felonious obstruction of justice to impeach Trump and indict him even while he is in office. 

(The Justice Department finding that sitting presidents cannot be indicted has never been litigated by the Supreme Court, so if Mueller, as I suspect he will, wants to take that step even this current Supreme Court--with Roberts as the potential swing vote--might very well allow that. "No one is above the law" is carved in precedent as well as in the very Vermont-quarried marble of the Supreme Court building itself.)

I suspect that Mueller will "put up" early in the new year and that Trump minimally, like Nixon, will be cited as an unindicted co-conspirator

Yet then . . .

December 28, 2018--How Now, Dow Jones

Talk about behavioral economics where individuals making purchases such as a house, overpay because they are emotionally drawn to it and ignore running the numbers carefully because if they did they might discover there are rational reasons to negotiate a better price or keep house shopping even though by acting that way with their best economic interest in mind they might not be able to make a deal for a house they "love." 

Love? Letting emotion take control of a decision to buy a house of one's dreams is the very definition of behavioral economics. 

House of one's dreams? You get the point.

This is why, I suppose, that I was disappointed two days ago when the Dow Jones' measure of stock prices soared by over 1,000 points. An all-time one-day record. I should have been elated since this meant that the value of our investment portfolio did very well indeed. 

I realized I wasn't happy because an historic surge such as Wednesday's was good for Trump who is claiming that since he was elected the market reached record highs. He sees the Dow as the litmus test of his presidency.

But wanting nothing but bad news for him so he will either resign or lose in 2020, I allowed my feelings to subvert what was in my own best economic interest and thus, I spite of my good fortune, I was unhappy. 

In my case this might be considered behavioral politics.

And, by the end of Thursday the Dow was up an additional 260 points. More personal good news for me but I am still feeling unhappy that Trump will have more to brag about. 

But yet, fair and balanced, I need to note that since Election Day 2016, the day Trump was elected, the Dow, from that day through record-setting Wednesday, is up 2,633 points, or 13.3%. The Trump Rally. Ugh.

*   *   *

Then there was Trump's surprise trip to American troops stationed in Iraq.

Shamed into it, Trump finally got around to flying there so he could spend 20 minutes on the ground with American troops deployed in a war zone.

Mission accomplished.

Melania accompanied him to hold his hand and from the bulky look of him he was clearly wearing a bombproof vest under at least a size 65 leather jacket.

While there, someone asked if he had any safety concerns, like the ones he had during Vietnam time when his daddy got him declared 4F, unable to serve, because of a bone spur in one of his feet. A spur, incidentally, that did not deter him from playing football.

About concern for his safety, he said-- 

I had some concerns for the institution of the presidency because--not for myself, personally. I had concerns for the first lady, I will tell you. But if you had seen what we had to go through, with the darkened plane, with all the windows closed, with no lights on whatsoever, anywhere--pitch black. I've never seen it. I've been in many airplanes--all types and shapes and sizes. I've never seen anything like it.

Concern for the institution of the presidency? Spoken like the commander-in-chief he is.

December 27, 2018--Trump Tower Istanbul

People are wondering why Trump is so responsive to anything the Turkish president suggests. 

Especially how, after only a brief conversation on the telephone with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump "impulsively" reversed U.S. military policy in Syria and decided to withdraw all American troops, who have been allied with the Kurds, our closest partner in the region, and with whom we have been decimating ISIS fighters.

So outraged about this whipsaw change, Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, who was not consulted by Trump, resigned in open protest.

How could Trump so cavalierly reverse a policy that at relatively low cost in material and casualties ("only" five American troops have been killed in more than four years of fighting) how can such a policy be ended so abruptly after just a few minutes on the phone with Erdoğan, abandoning the field of battle to the Russians, Syria's Bashar al-Assad's butchers, Iran, Hezbollah, and ISIS, which still has at least 15,000 fighters in the region?

The answer is simple. As with so much that Trump initiates, it's all about money. Trump's money. In this case, how much he is making from real estate interests and who knows what else in Turkey, which, in Istanbul, includes a Trump Tower.

It is a twin-tower monstrosity. One tower is an office complex, the other a residential condo with 200 residences. It also includes a shopping mall with 80 shops and a multiplex cinema. These are the first Trump Towers built in Europe.

Most interesting, though, is Trump's principal business partner--

He is billionaire Aydin Doğan. He heads Turkey's largest conglomerate, Doğan Holdings, which includes ventures in energy, media, trade, and tourism in addition to a real estate empire.

As well known in Turkey as he is for his wealth and power is his tendency to evade taxation. For example, his media company, Doğan Media Holding, in 2009 was forced to pay a tax fine of about 3.8 billion Turkish Lira (nearly $2.53 billion dollars).

Sound familiar? Though this only begins to suggest how entangled Trump might be in things Turkish. Could it be that the Turks, whose intelligence operation is world class, like the Russians, who also seem to be able to make Trump dance on a string, have some goods on him?

It would help explain Trump's impulsive response to Erdoğan's "request" that he pull all 2,000 of our troops out of Syria so the Turks can focus on wiping out our erstwhile allies, the Kurds.

As prosecutors are wont to say, "Follow the money,"

December 26, 2018--Swing Vote

Occasionally, one of my predictions comes true. For example, my suggesting in early October that with swing man Anthony Kennedy no longer on the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would assume that role.

I noted that Supreme Courts are referred to by historians after whomever is the Chief. Thus there is the Warren Court and the Rehnquist Court and the Berger Court or, for that matter, the John Marshall Court.

Knowing this, I wondered, with Trump appointing far-right judges, how the current Chief Justice, John Roberts, was feeling about his name being associated with a court that has descended into full-bore partisanship. 

It appears that he is now thinking that unless he becomes the swing vote, replacing Kennedy, the Roberts Court will forever after be dominated by ideological lightweights such as Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And though he does not appoint his colleagues, he will still be perceived as responsible for their actions.

Does Roberts want to go down in history rafted up with this crew?

Apparently not, which is good news to progressives and America as the Supreme Court is likely over the next year to be called on to decide if a sitting president (Trump) can be indicted or if the Mueller Report, when it is completed, can be withheld from public view by Trump's small-minded Justice Department.

The latest evidence that Roberts has become the court's swing man was his vote last week to join the four liberal-leaning justices in rejecting an appeal from the Trump administration that would, if approved, have overturned many decades of asylum policy. To severely restrict the rules by which fleeing refuges can seek the protection of the United States. 

Earlier, he again joined the liberals in overruling a lower court decision that would have restricted federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Thomas and his comrades cried foul. But there was Roberts guided by the Constitution, not partisan reflex.

In even bigger picture terms Roberts' behavior and leadership is of great consequence because, if it persists, it will mean that at least one of the three branches of our otherwise dysfunctional government might again begin to function as envisaged by the Founders and thus will be guided by the Constitution they bequeathed to us.

Then there is the open spat that has been festering since 2015 between Trump and Roberts. All initiated by Trump's intemperate criticism of what he claimed to be the ideological bias of federal judges.

During the election campaign Trump frequently spoke out against what he asserted were liberal federal judges who acted as political partisans. Those in the 9th circuit, for example.

Two days before Thanksgiving Trump attacked an "Obama judge" for ruling against him on immigration. In an unusual public rebuke Rogers shot back, claiming that there are no "Obama judges, Bush Judges, or Clinton judges." Just independent ones.

Actually, there are highly partisan federal judges who are guided more by their beliefs than by precedent or the Constitution. Conservatives as well as liberals. Supreme Court justice Anton Scalia is a powerful example of the former. 

But Roberts is articulating his aspirations for the judiciary and is modeling independent-minded behavior that he hopes will become the standard. He should be commended for that.

December 25, 2018--Holiday

I'm taking the day off. Enjoy the holiday cheer!

December 24, 2016--Merry Christmas At the White House

It is Christmas Eve day and I am sure you are feeling cozy that our nation's First Love Birds are huddled together roasting chestnuts on the White House Yule Log's open fire.

This in spite of the fact that our president painted himself into a political corner only to get rolled by Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter who once called Trump a "god" but late last week referred to him as a "gutless douchebag." This because he was willing to trade away his Wall to the Dems so they could strike a budget deal and everyone could slip out of town.

So sure was Trump that things would work out that his wife and a few of his sons hopped on the First Lady's plane (why, by the way, do First Ladies have their own taxpayer-paid-for plane?) and lit out for 16 days (16!) of baking in the sun at their gaudy Palm Beach chateau, Mar-a-Lago.

Trump had to stay behind for politically cosmetic reasons--he couldn't be seen in shorts teeing off at one of his golf courses while nearly a million federal workers would not be getting paychecks.

Rush and Ann, these two Grinches spoiled his Christmas. Poor thing. 

So much so that Trump unleashed a series of tweets that suggested he was becoming even more unhinged. Saturday night, for example, he referred to himself as "the most popular hero in America" for withdrawing all our troops from Syria and "your favorite president." He does need to check the most recent polls.

But a funny thing happened on the way to that deal--after Limbaugh and Coulter slammed him for being weak, calling his manhood into question, he had no recourse but to pull the plug on the budget deal and cancel his golfing getaway.

Then, most interesting, a day after arriving, Melania had them gas up her plane and she flew back to Washington so she could spend Christmas with her beleaguered husband.

Unusual loving behavior for a couple where the wife won't hold hands with her husband in public and for a husband and wife who famously do not exchange Christmas gifts, unless Melania's renegotiating their prenup when Trump was exposed, in a manner of speaking, for having affairs with a porn star and a Playboy Playmate might be considered a gift that keeps on giving.

I suspect that daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared were so shaken by Trump's railing after Defense secretary Mattis summarily quit, refusing to endorse Trump's precipitous and dangerous decision to pull all U.S. forces out of Syria and effectively turn the country over to Putin, Iran, Hezbollah, and ISIS that they were so shaken that he was about to completely lose it if he couldn't make a deal to fund his Wall and shut down the encroaching Mueller investigation, that the children thought the situation was approaching 25th Amendment territory and that Melania better get back in DC and try to calm him down.


And so there they are, Donald and Melania snug in the White House which is full of Melania's blood red Christmas trees. 

Perhaps, to get away from reruns of White Christmas Trump can practice his putting on the White House green. The weather is forecast to cooperate.

December 21, 2018--Rainy Morning Off

I plan to sleep in this morning and take a day off from blogging. I will return on Monday. I am sure there will a story or two or ten to cover.

December 20, 2018--Trump's Distractions

If you are wondering why Donald Trump is ordering the removal of all U.S. military forces from Syria, declaring ISIS defeated even those they aren't--up to 30,000 ISIS fighters remain--the answer by now should be familiar: this retreat, which he initiated without consulting Congress or his State Department or Pentagon, is to distract us from the Michael Flynn fiasco and the humiliating collapse of his own private family slush fund, the Donald J. Trump Foundation.

You do have to admit that pulling the Syria withdrawal seemingly out of a hat is impressive in one way--who but Trump has our 2,000 troops on their radar screen ready to be brought home as a distraction from his political troubles. As of 5:00 am this morning on the New York Times webpage it is the lead story. Flynn and the Foundation are buried somewhere. He managed to turn both into one-day stories.

But don't mishear me--Flynn and the Foundation will contribute to bringing him down, especially when we get to see what is redacted in the Flynn charging memo: that he and Flynn openly conspired to play politics and strategic footsie with the Russians. As I have speculated here, Flynn was likely wearing a wire during some of those conversations, including in the Oval Office, and these tapes will turn out to be Trump's smoking gun.

And if you are wondering why Trump seems so adept, so quick in coming up with distractions of the Syria kind I suspect there is a simple explanation for that too--he has a pre-bickered list of them in his jacket pocket which he can pull out at a moments notice. 

(Ever think about why he never buttons his suit jackets? Not because they don't fit any more after he's gained at least 50 pounds since moving into the White House where the vanilla ice cream is available by the bucket, but to allow easy access to the distractions list.)

Investigative reporter that I am, from unnamed sources I have a copy of the list which I will share with you--

DJTRUMP DISTRACTIONS

Withdraw troops from Iraq

Withdraw troops from Afghanistan

Withdraw troops from Honduras

Withdraw troops from Japan

Withdraw troops from South Korea

Withdraw troops from Germany

Withdraw troops from all NATO countries

Withdraw troops from all bases in the United States
Start war with Honduras
Start war with Panama
Start war with Costa Rica
Start war with Mexico
Start war with California

Fire all Internal Revenue Service personnel

Fire all traffic controllers

Fire Ron Rosenstein

Fire Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Fire Kellyanne Conway

Fire Kellyanne's husband

Fire Jeff Sessions

Fire Rex Tillerson

Fire Reince Priebus

Fire Sean Spicer

Fire Jeff Sessions

Throw Sessions under the bus

Trow Spicer under the bus

Throw Kellyanne under the bus

Fire Wolf Blitzer

Fire Rachel Maddow

Fire Mika Brezezzzinzki

Throw Mika Bzezinzkiz under the bus

Throw Don Jr. under the bus

Throw Eric Trump under the bus

Throw Jared Kushner under the bus

Throw Ivanka under the bus

Throw Melania under the bus

Fire Omarosa

Fire Alec Baldwin

Fire Donald Trump

December 19, 2018--True North

Heading north from Florida yesterday morning, on Jet Blue, I was able to watch on TV the news about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's sentencing.

Judge Emmet Sullivan was amazing. He wondered out loud why the Mueller investigators were recommending no prison time for Flynn though he "sold out his country" while on a parallel judicial tract two of Flynn's business associates who committed crimes less serious were facing between 10 and 20 years in incarceration.

Why might this be, the judge asked as did the commentators on the various cable news channels I flipped among.

Perhaps the cabin pressure got to me but the answer to why Flynn is likely to get off scot-free seems obvious--

This is because during the scant 24 days Flynn served as Trump's National Security Advisor he colluded directly and openly with Trump on devising strategies to mobilize Russian support for the newly sworn-in president. This after a campaign in which Flynn and Trump also colluded with the Russians in exchange for their massive support for the Trump presidential campaign.

Further, as evidence of Flynn's value as a witness against Trump and the resulting slap-on-the-wrist non-sentence he will receive in March in compensation for that, isn't it likely that Flynn, formerly Director of Defense Intelligence for the U.S. military and thus well versed in these matters, isn't it likely that he wore a wire and has Trump on tape directing him as to what to do to keep the Russians on board as his presidency began to roll out?

If true, this could make Flynn the most important Trump insider to have been flipped by Mueller's investigators.

As they say, stay tuned. 

December 18, 2018--The Swamp Creature

When the swamp is mention these days, the swamp itself, metaphorically, is claimed to be the habitat of predatory people (mainly the political class and the media) who are engaged in evil practices. 

Denizens of the swamp are described as pestilential and thus dangerous. This fictive swamp thus needs to be drained as if it were a toxic dump while, ironically, actual toxic waste sites, Super Fund sites, by Trump and his administration are no longer perceived to be threats to the environment.

They have given swamps an undeserved bad reputation.

Focused as I tend to be on the politics of the figurative swamp referred to by Trump and his allies, I have lost sight of what characterizes a real swamp.

So here, from National Geographic, is what a swamp actually is--

Because the young of many marine animals find food and shelter in swamps, these wetlands are sometimes called the nurseries of the ocean. Many ocean species enter coastal wetlands to spawn. Fish swim into salt marshes to lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, the young find food and some protection in swamp grasses or among tree roots. Other species spawn in the ocean, and the young swim into the wetlands and live there until they mature.

Swamps are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. They act like giant sponges or reservoirs. When heavy rains cause flooding, swamps and other wetlands absorb excess water, moderating the effects of flooding. Swamps also protect coastal areas from storm surges that can wash away fragile coastline. Saltwater swamps and tidal salt marshes help anchor coastal soil and sand. 

Swamp ecosystems also act as natural water treatment plants, filtering wastes and purifying water. When excess nitrogen and other chemicals wash into swamps, vegetation there absorb and use the chemicals. 

So, by definition, swamps are essential to life on our planet.

About one thing, though, Trump is right--there are many bad operatives in the government and the nation overall. But the most essential truth for the man who has sullied the notion of swamp as he has so many other things vital to life--is that if there is something that needs draining it is him and his corrupt henchmen.

December 17, 2018--I've Been to This Rodeo Before

"Today's my first day, but not to worry, I've been to this rodeo before."

We are in Florida for my cousin Murray's funeral and drove up from Delray to the New Jersey Pizzeria. It's been about a year since we were there and had a craving for their home-cooked Italian fare. It's a funky place and the food is fresh and delicious.

The new waitress, who introduced herself as Kathy, appeared to be loving every minute of her orientation to the restaurant and to serving the customers at all five tables. She also took the calls for takeout and served as cashier for those at tables as well as those who came in to pick up their orders.

To each and all, almost with a"Yippie," she announced, "I've been to this rodeo before!"

When things quieted down, we had a chance to talk with her and to get a bit of her story.

"I was born in Massachusetts," she said, "and came here about ten years ago. The guy I was with at the time had family in the area and wanted to get away from the cold winters. I went along, one might say, 'for the ride.' 

"No surprise, things with him didn't work out and after about six months he was as tired of the weather as he was of his family and so he next wanted to move on to Arizona. I said, 'No more drifting around for me. I want to plant roots somewhere and this place is as good as any. So, Adios amigo.' He left and here I am ten years later still slinging hash. Though in this place hash tends to be eggplant parm.

"And, how could I forgot--he did leave me with something--I was three month pregnant when he lit out. Talk about planting roots!"

"Some story," I said, "Florida's full of people looking for second chances."

"Or a third or fourth," she laughed. 

"I'll be right with you sweetie," she said to a fully tattooed couple waving for the check.

In a minute she was back. Still all smiles.

"It hasn't aways been easy making ends meet," she said, "My nine year-old is on the Autism Spectrum. Not the high end, thank God, but bad enough. Though there is some state and federal money to help with kids like him it's not nearly enough so I have to work hard just to pay the bills. I'm not complaining though. Lot's of people have it worse than me. I know folks who live on Spam and worse. So I do the best I can. You see, I'm not really trained for anything. All I know is this," she gestured taking in the whole restaurant, "As I said, I've been to this rodeo before. I mean waitressing. In fact, right now I have this job two nights a week and another job waiting tables in Lantana, the next town north of here. At another pizzeria. That's my specialty, I suppose, pizza places." That tickled her and she shook with laughter.

"That's a lot," Rona said.

"That ain't the half of it," she said.

"The half of it?"

"I have five other jobs." She held up her hand to display five fingers.

"Five?"

"Let me list 'em for you." She wiggled her pinky. "I work over there by the bridge to A1A in a memory unit three afternoons a week. As I said, I'm not trained or licensed so mainly I clean up their slops. Not elegant but it plays 15 an hour. And then," wiggling her ring finger she said, "Then there are the two old folks in Boca who I baby sit another two afternoons a week. I don't know if that counts as one or two jobs since I do it freelance and have two families ordering me around."

"That's a lot," I, this time, said.

"There's more," she said, playfully flipping me the bird with her middle finger, "I also clean houses. Again freelance for two other people. I do this only once a week for each. Four five hours a condo. So it's not that bad. But both of them are bossy. So I usually count them as two separate jobs since with them I have two folks more telling me what they want me to do."

"Wow," Rona said, "You're amazing."

"That adds up to five, no?" She said.

"To tell you the truth," I said, "I lost count."

The phone rang and she raced to the counter to write up a ticket for a takeout order.

"It's the same couple who came in at lunch time today for a medium pizza. And now they want a large pepperoni. Some diet," she said, "You don't have to be trained as a nutritionist to know that if they keep that up they'll be dead before they know it." She slapped her thigh, amusing herself.

"If I may," Rona said softly, "You have one more job you left out."

"What's that one?" she asked.

"Your son. He may have some professional help but I assume most of the responsibility for his care--"

She cut Rona off. "I didn't put it on my list of jobs intentionally because I don't consider it a job. I'm his mother and we're a family. That's the whole story. I love him more than life itself."

I was glad the phone rang again and she got lost in taking an order. I didn't want her to see me tearing up. She's too busy to have to deal with what I was feeling. As she said, she's waitressing and her job description doesn't require her to handle that. Seven jobs is enough. I was on my own.

December 14, 2018--In Florida

We're in Florida for Cousin Murray's funeral. I hope to have something to post on Monday.

December 12, 2018--Murray Dinerstein 1923-2018

Friday evenings in Tannersville the women and children of the Mooney extended family would gather on the front porch that faced Route 23A to log in the arriving husbands who, after a scorching week of work in the city, dodging miles of stop-and-go traffic, would finally made it to the modest country summer house in the Catskills all members of the family chipped in to pay for in order to secure a refuge for the children from the scourge of Polio, thought to be extra contagious in steaming, densely populated Brooklyn, and for the adults a place to breathe dry air.

Uncle Bob would be first--he owned his own business, a gas station, and could arrange to get away early--bearing shopping bags full of the sugary foods and drinks we were normally not allowed to eat the rest of the year. He would unload boxes of donuts and quart after quart of Hoffman's cherry soda and ginger ale, Dr, Brown's Cel Ray Tonic, and most weeks sweating bottles of Coca Cola, while the women looked on, sensing the suspension of the state of healthy discipline they had imposed during the week on my cousins and me. I suspected that Uncle Bob's wife, Aunt Gussie, believed that drinking carbonated soda made one vulnerable to Scarlet Fever if not Polio itself.

Typically, Uncle Eli was next. Back in the city he was in the meat processing business and thus had access to prime cuts of veal, lamb, and beef and so out of his car's trunk came steaks and chops and mounds of ground meat and sausages that he, on Saturday afternoons, would sear on the backyard charcoal grill.

And then there was my father whose place of business, a parking garage in Park Slope, co-owned with his Uncle Louis, who, we would say today, was "mobbed up," was close to an Ebingers bakery and so from my father's Lincoln Continental would emerge a stack of memorable cakes. My favorite, the coffee cake pecan ring. He always remembered to bring at least one of those and made sure, in the rush to eat, that a bi slice of one was secured for me.

Finally came Cousin Murray. Fifteen years my senior, World War II veteran, and thus because of his age, military service (he was the only member of the family to have been in the army), and stature--he was the first born of my cousins--was a looming presence among the younger, especially male cousins, who idolized his can-do energy, athletic prowess, and raw, self-confident maleness. He was aware of this and made successful efforts to carry this responsibility off with graceful aplomb.

Rather than food treats he typically brought records, books, and magazines which he passed around to the eager younger cousins, winking and whispering one memorable Friday to Cousin Chuck (next in line in male seniority) when he gave him a tattered copy of Irving Shulman's Amboy Dukes, "Make sure you look at page 44," he said privately to Chuck. And when later I had my turn with it, skipping the rest, prompted by Chuck, I went right to the steamy chapter. No book, I confess after having read thousands, including everything by Philip Roth, ever thrilled me more. 

Savoring its boldness, I also couldn't help but notice that the novel had been written by a Jew. To this day I think that was one reason Cousin Murray gave us a copy--to demonstrate that even over-pampered and inhibited Jewish mamas' boys could learn to transgress.

Then on another memorable Friday, Murray arrived in a brand new car--a kelly green Plymouth . . . convertible. Transfixed, Chuck and I especially couldn't take out eyes or hands off it.

The next morning Cousin Murray asked if we wanted to join him in taking it out for a spin. Eagerly, nearly trampling each other, we piled in. 

Murray said, "Let's head down the Rip Van Winkle Drive toward Palenville. I read in the News that they're opening a new section of the Thruway. There's a stretch of about ten miles that I think they are allowing people to drive on. Straight as an arrow, let's see how fast we can get this baby to go." Tenderly, he patted the wooden steering wheel.

There was an entrance to the gleaming highway and remarkably we were the only car in sight. "Let's floor it!" Murray said. Which he proceeded to do. I was seated in the passenger seat and watched the speedometer dial quiver as the car leapt ahead.

50, 60, 70 miles an hour. The top was down and the wind ripped through our hair. I had never been in a convertible before and was as exhilarated. We were flying! It felt as if the car was about to take off, lift itself from the road. Literally fly.

80, 90. The entire car began to vibrate violently as we approached 90 mph. I feared it was in danger of coming apart. That the hood and fenders would fly off.

"Let's see if she can make it to 100," Murray shouted as the end of the newly-paved section about a mile north came into view.

The speedometer needle now appeared to be stalled on about 95. "Come on baby," Murray said softly, seductively, and she responded. 

"One hundred!" he shouted and simultaneously began to let up on the gas pedal and feather the breaks so we wouldn't crash into the barrier at the end of the run. My heart was thumping and I thought I was about to pass out from excitement or a heart attack.

When we were safely back on 23A, Cousin Murray said, "Let's stop for a soda. There's a nice place in Saugerties. We can unwind from all the excitement."

There was a roadside ice-cream stand with picnic benches. "Order anything you like," he said. "On me. It's not every day one gets to go 100 on a regular road and not in a race car." His hands too were trembling with excitement. 

All along, Cousin Chuck, who usually bubbled with stories and anecdotes, had been uncharacteristically quiet.

He finally said, as if a non sequitur, "I've always dreamed about becoming a bull fighter."

"A bull fighter?" I shrieked, "You a bull fighter? That's the craziest thing I ever heard."

Murray touched my arm and said, "No, no. Let him talk about this. Life is not only about doing the safe thing. The point about life is to figure out who you are and what you want to do with yourself." 

Chuck nodded, smiling knowingly.

"What about you?" Cousin Murray turned to me, "Who are you and what do you want to do with yourself?"

"I don't know," I said shyly. "No one very asked me that. Not that way."

"Well, the point is not to wait for people to ask you but to figure out what to ask yourself." He looked as me as if giving me sanction to dream about the person I wanted to become.

Four years later Cousin Chuck left his parents and their safe and comfortable Brooklyn life and spent a year in Mexico where he went to bullfighting school.

About me? That's another story for another time. Suffice it to say, that whoever I have become, whatever I am owes a great debt to Cousin Murray who died Monday night, with his sons nearby, a few months past his 95th birthday.

December 11, 2018--Baby, It's Still Cold Outside

After my posting about the attack on the holiday song, "Baby It's Cold Outside," I've been hearing from friends who feel my "defense" of it is regressive and insensitive. It should be removed from the cannon of Christmas songs, they have been saying, because it is about date rape and has no place on the radio.

One friend managed to write something, yes, amusing about this fraught subject that I pass along to you without comment--

Since WDOK in Ohio decided to pull “Baby It’s Cold Outside” from its playlist because some were offended, I feel that these other holiday songs must also be removed since in various ways they are offensive as well. 

1. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus": Subjecting minors to softcore porn
2. The "Christmas Song": Open fire? Pollution? Folks dressed up like Eskimos? Cultural appropriation
3. "Holly Jolly Christmas": Kiss her once for me? Unwanted advances
4. "White Christmas?" Racist
5. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town": Sees you when you’re sleeping? Knows when you’re awake? Peeping Tom stalker
6. "Most Wonderful Time of the Year": Everyone telling you be of good cheer? Forced to hide depression
7. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer": Bullying
8. "It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas": Forced gender-specific gifts: dolls for Janice and Jen and boots and pistols (GUNS?) for Barney and Ben
9. "Santa Baby": Gold digger, blackmail
10. "Frosty the Snowman": Adult snowman pursuing inappropriate relationships with children
11. "Do You Hear What I Hear?": Blatant disregard for the hearing impaired
12. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas": Make the yuletide GAY? Wow, just wow
13. "Jingle Bell Rock": Giddy up jingle horse, pick up your feet: animal abuse
14. "Mistletoe and Holly": Overeating, folks stealing a kiss or two? 
15. "Winter Wonderland": Parson Brown demanding they get married…forced partnership
16. "Silver Bells": Cruelly mocks tinnitus sufferers

Celebrate your holiday of choice responsibly.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.

December 10, 2018--Rats

This is not to contend that Republicans of varying stripes are rushing to abandon Trump as documents filed with the courts are becoming more explicit in their charges that Trump himself likely participated in felonies; though there is no rush yet of Trumpian rats deserting the ship, there are the first inklings, at a minimum, of some backing away from the thus-far Unbreachable One.

Up to now my two favorite examples of such self-serving behavior are Trump's lawyer, the increasingly preposterous Rudy Giuliani, mocking how long it took Trump to answer Mueller's soft ball written questions and Fox News's Tucker Carlson, who recently called Trump's competency to be president into question.

In an interview with The Atlantic, Rudy was quoted as saying that it was "a nightmare." It took three weeks rather than "what would normally take two days." For Rudy to acknowledge this represented a gutsy poke at Trump's fragile ego, especially when his intelligence is called into question. 

Then Tucker Carlson, a member, along with Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity of Fox News's triumvirate of prime time apologists, in an interview with the Swiss magazine, Die Weltwoche, called Trump "Incapable of sustained focus." Another sensitive issue for Trump who has referred to himself as "a very stable genius."

Carlson said, "I don't think he's capable. I don’t think he’s capable of sustained focus. I don’t think he understands the system. I don’t think the Congress is on his side. I don’t think his own agencies support him." 

He added, it was "mostly Trump's fault that he hadn’t been able to deliver on his pledges, because “you really have to understand how the legislative process works and be very focused on getting it done.”

"Trump," he continued, "knows very little about the legislative process, hasn't learned anything, hasn't surrounded himself with people who can get [his agenda] done, hasn't done all the things you need to do. It's mostly his fault that he hasn't achieved those things" he promised to do during the campaign.

One more--as my mother would have put it, Chris "Crispy" is backing off a bit in his support of Trump, saying that the language that Mueller is using to outline the perfidies suggests that the investigators have a surplus of damning evidence.

And so this drip, drip, drip of criticism will be the model until the investigation produces a classic smoking gun. Then even wimpy Rand Paul may squeak something out. In the meantime, some of Trump's transactional "friends" are figuring out that if they are to have professional lives after he is no more they need to distance themselves from him or risk going down to the briny bottom with the USS Trump.

Tucker Carlson

December 7, 2018--Off And Running

Below is a list of the 35 or so 2020 potential Democratic nominees for the presidency.

Does anyone look like a winner to you? I don't mean capable of winning the nomination but becoming president?

My favorite, Joe Biden, is approaching 100 and thus I am worried.

Alphabetical list of individuals who have expressed an interest in running for president:

• Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator from Colorado since 2009
• Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States 2009–2017; U.S. Senator from Delaware 1973–2009; candidate for President in 1988 and in 2008
• Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City 2002–2013
• Cory Booker, U.S. Senator from New Jersey since 2013; Mayor of Newark 2006–2013
• Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator from Ohio since 2007; U.S. Representative 1993–2007
• Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend since 2012
• Bob Casey Jr., U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania since 2007
• Julian Castro, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2014–2017; Mayor of San Antonio, Texas 2009–2014
• Oscar De La Hoya, boxing champion from California
• Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Representative from Hawaii since 2013
• Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, California since 2013
• Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator from New York since 2009 U.S. Representative from 2007–2009
• Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator from California since 2017
• John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado since 2011; Mayor of Denver 2003–2011
• Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General 2009–2015; Acting U.S. Attorney General in 200 from Washington, D.C.
• Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington since 2013
• John Kerry, 2004 Democratic nominee; U.S. Secretary of State 2013–2017; U.S. Senator from Massachusetts 1985–2013
• Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota since 2007
• Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia 2014–2018
• Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator from Oregon since 2009
• Martin O'Malley, former Governor of Maryland from 2007-2015, former Mayor of Baltimore 1999-2007, candidate for President in 2016
• Duval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts 2007-2015
• Beto O'Rourke, U.S. Representative from Texas since 2013 Democratic nominee for United States Senate election in Texas in 2018
• Tim Ryan, U.S. Representative from Ohio since 2003
• Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont since 2007; U.S. Representative 1991–2007; candidate for President in 2016
• Tom Steyer, billionaire hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, liberal activist, and fundraiser from California
• Eric Swalwell, U.S. Representative from California since 2013
• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts since 2013

The following people have been subjects of speculation about their potential candidacy within the last six months, although they have neither personally expressed interest nor declined to run:

• Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana since 2013
• Andrew Gillum, Mayor of Tallahassee 2014-2018, Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida in 2018
• William H. McRaven,  retired United States Navy Admiral
• Adam Schiff, U.S. Representative since 2001, from California
• Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, from Washington
• Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia since 2009, former Governor of Virginia 2002–2006

You can use this as a scorecard, as I did, by crossing Duval Patrick's name off the list of contenders. He withdraw from consideration as I was working on this. I hope that's not a case of cause and effect.

More soon will begin to drop like flies and others, like New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, will declare. He, like almost all the others, has no chance, but running, going forward, can be good for one's brand.