March 26, 2018--"Give Melania A Gun"

My second favorite sign at Saturday's New York City's March For Our Lives march was--

"The only thing easier to buy than a gun is a Republican politician."

My favorite--"Give Melania a Gun." This even before Stormy Daniels appeared on 60 Minutes.

Along the route, at Columbus Circle, we came upon the Trump International Hotel & Tower, a gilded blot on the landscape just across from one of the grandest entrances to Central Park. A tower of brass and glass as tasteless as its eponymous owner. Shame on anyone visiting New York who checked in. Certainly to call it anything International" is a boastful reach. It's more Atlantic City than Manhattan.

The kids who brilliantly organized the march paused there to chant abuse in its soulless direction--"Lock him up. Lock him up." And did the same a few blocks later when the marchers swung east onto Central Park South and, slowing, turn to face another eyesore, Trump Parc Condominium. A residential tower on which, for a hefty fee, the actual owners were able to affix Trump's tarnishing name.

Hooking south down sun-filled Avenue of the Americas, which every real New Yorker still refers to as 6th Avenue, one of the organizer kids noticed at 48th Street there was the headquarters of Fox News and, at street level, the studio where Fox & Friends is broadcast.

In a prepubescent voice not yet changed, he began to chant--

Hey, hey
Ho, ho
Fake News
Fox & Friends 
has got to go.

Hey, hey . . .

Soon, all of his classmates and the rest of us stopped in the street to join the now soaring, angry chant. "Hey, hey . . ."

"Isn't it something," Rona said with welling eyes, "that these kids know all about Fox & Friends. Six weeks ago, back in Florida, they were thinking about the upcoming prom."

March 23, 2018--Trump & Friends

Donald Trump's appointment of John Bolton to serve as his National Security Advisor is the most dangerous in a long series of high-level hirings.

Bolton does have the semblance of an appropriate resumé--he served for a time as Ambassador to the UN during the George W. Bush presidency (though because of his extreme hawkish views he was never confirmed by the Senate: his was a seemingly endless "recess" appointment)--his positions on Iran and North Korea are such that it will be difficult to sleep through the night.

He favors withdrawing from the nuclear weapons deal with Iran and recently attempted to make the case for a first-strike military attack on North Korea.

The National Security Advisor does not have to be confirmed by the Senate so we will have to figure out a way to live with his having the unraveling Trump's ear. This will not be easy.

To quote Rona again, she says that what's going on is that Trump is setting up a version of Fox & Friends in the White House. With CNBC's Larry Kudlow as his new chief economic advisor, with Fox News' Joe diGenova as his new chief lawyer, and with Fox's John Bolton as his new National Security Advisor, right there in the Oval Office he has his very own Trump & Friends.

My question is who from Fox will be his next Secretary of Defense (Sean Hannity?) and weather "girl"?

March 12, 2018--Distractions

We needed some laughs without Donald Trump being the source of them and so we turned to TV. 

Not CNN, MSNBC, or Fox. We needed a break from that.

Of course, though late last week the North Korean business was being played out in screaming headlines and Breaking News was constantly interrupting normal broadcasting--with Breaking News the new normal--Fox & Friends, that idiotic morning show, dredged up a few new things about O.J. Simpson to yack about to distract their viewers. The "gloves don't fit" and whatnot.

We almost never watch entertainment programming on network TV--I confess I had not seen a full episode of Seinfeld until about six months ago and now am addicted to it, though not unhappily, I still have been unable to find a way to like Friends--not wanting more shows to become compulsive about--we try to read and talk to each other when seeking distraction from news of the day, news of the hour, or news of the last five minutes.

At lunch with a friend last week, sensing our agitation about all things Trump, he asked if we had ever watched Episodes.

"Episodes of what?" I asked.

"The TV series. Episodes the TV series, which ran for five seasons on Showtime."

Never even having heard of it should give you some idea of how out of touch we are. Much of that out-of-touchness, I should confess, intentional.

When he said it was created by the co-creator of Friends, I stopped listening and tried to turn the conversation back to why Hope Hicks was quitting her White House job. "That's like a sitcom," I said.

But desperate, the other night, having run out of things to talk about, Rona said, "Why don't we give in and take a look at that show Lee mentioned. He has a life so any TV show he mentions might actually be fun."

And so we did. By Sunday evening we had watched all five seasons, about 40 half-hour episodes.

We love them and are already feeling blue that soon we will miss the extra-vivid characters and hilarious situations and will have nothing to do but return to talking about Trump and Kim Jong-un.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Episodes is about . . . 

And it stars Matt LeBlanc from Fr . . .

January 9, 2018--Jack: One Helluva Book

"I've been watching MSNBC non-stop . . ."

I interrupted, "What? MSNBC? I thought you hated them."

"I do, but I wanted to get a taste of where you and your friends get your news. Or should I say, your opinions."  I hadn't heard from Jack in a few weeks and wasn't unhappy about that. He can get under my skin and cause me agita. "And what a week it's been!"

He's not a drinker but sounded intoxicated. I said, "I'll bet you've had your fill about that book." I didn't think I needed to identify it further.

"It's one helluva book, that I'll give you. But of course it's mainly based on fake news." He chuckled at that.

"In a moment I'll want you to give me examples of where it's fake. I'm sure the Fox News people, who I know you watch, have filled you with their talking points. Amazing, isn't it, that all the Fox people sound the same. From that really mindless show in the morning, Fox & Friends, all the way through the day until Trump's brain has his show--Sean Hannity. At least they dumped that sexual predator, Bill O'Reilly. Not to mention Rojer Ailes."

"You mean like with your guys--Matt Lauer, Mark Halperin, and Charlie Rose? I could go on."

"You got me there," I admitted. 

"And are you trying to deny that everyone on MSNBC has the same opinions? Is there any daylight between the views of Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Rachael Maddow, and Lawrence O'Brien?"

"I agree about that and its not my favorite thing. But you're distracting me. I thought we were talking about the Wolff book and comparing our opinions. Not Fox's, not MSNBC's."

"You're the one who started this by slamming Fox News and their alleged talking points."

"Enough about that," I said, "Let's move on. I want your overall opinion of the book. Assuming you've read it. Even many Trumpers are admitting that though there are lots of specific errors and examples of sloppiness--they rushed to publish it and didn't do a great job of fact checking and editing--they don't detract from the overall story: that everyone agrees that Trump is like a nine-year-old child who needs constant attention and adulation. And, it would appear, is not too smart. Doesn't read, doesn't listen."

"Again, you guys are missing the bigger point."

"I'm listening," I said without intended irony.

"How this book is actually helping Trump."

"This I have to hear."

"Simple. First, who loves this book?" Without waiting Jack added, "The mainstream media. On MSNBC and even CNN it's Michael Wolff nearly 24/7. He was just on Morning Joe for a patty-cake interview that went on uninterrupted for about half an hour. He didn't have to defend himself about factual errors since Joe and Mika did it for him, including sloughing over things he wrote about them and the show that were errors."

"I saw that and that's true. But, again, you're missing the bigger picture--that even with errors of this kind Wolff got the larger story essentially correct. It's in the nature of books of this kind. They live in the world between day-to-day news reporting and more reflective histories."

"Trump's people don't think in these professorial-type terms. What they know is that their boy is being unfairly hounded by the media--of course except by Fox--and they are rising to protect him from them. Wait for his next favorability numbers. I'm betting they'll be up five points."

"That would be pathetic," I said. "How sad that these people still are oblivious to the truth."

"You're deluding yourself," Jack said, "But OK, let's move on to others who are helping Trump shrug off the book."

"Shrug off? That's not what I'm hearing. That Trump's ranting and raving. Especially about Wolff saying Don Junior committed treason. Even you have to admit that's a serious charge."

"Actually, it was Wolff quoting Steve Bannon. And about the charge, not necessarily. If Don Junior was involved in helping the Russians undermine our presidential election, what would you call it? Collusion? Collusion, by the way, is not a legal term or potential crime."

Ignoring my point Jack moved to redirect the conversation. He said, "And then the GOP establishment also loves the book. It may be that they'll pay for that by getting shellacked in the November midterm elections, but for the moment they like the idea that it pulls Trump closer to them and further under their influence. Wounded and vulnerable he needs their endorsement and protective cover. In other words, he's weaker and therefore more pliable. He'll sign anything Congress passes. And he already indicated he'll support all Republican incumbents and not go up against them by campaigning for anti-establishment insurgents as Bannon had him doing."

"That may be true," I acknowledged. "But that's pretty pathetic too."

"Speaking of Bannon," Jack said, "There's also benefit to Trump by the book bringing down Bannon. Nothing else has been able to do that but all the anti-Trump quotes from Bannon will be like driving a stake through his heart. Minimally, it will drive him back to drink. 

"I'm not sure I'm following your point. Nor that when he's desperate Trump will not seek Bannon out."

"It's again a simple point--Trump is better off without Bannon hovering around than he is with him always whispering in his ear. Bannonlessness makes Trump seem more independent, more his own person. His base will eat that up. They like macho."

"Boy, you've gotten cynical."

"That's what hanging around with the likes of you does to me," Jack guffawed. "But, seriously, the bottom line is that to Trump followers the book looks like a hatchet job written by the kind of people they despise, including east coast snobs who think they're smarter than everyone. The see them to be hypocrites who, when on their high horses, criticize conservatives for not telling the whole truth but rationalize it when their people--like Wolff--engage in fake news."

I was reluctant to admit it, but he had some good points. He managed to get under my skin again, but I felt, to be credible, I needed to have my views checked out and challenged. Even by the likes of Jack. If there's something to learn, the source shouldn't matter. Though I sure feel like not answering when I see it's Jack calling!