August 3, 2020--Conspiracy Theories

Sounding agitated, Maureen, who called, said, "You know me, right?"

Rona said, "Yes, for certain. Why do you ask?" For Maureen, who is always unflappable, it's unusual for her to sound frustrated.

"You know I'm a rational person, not inclined to believe anything that's not backed up by evidence?"

"That pretty much describes you," I said.

"Well, I'm beginning to wonder."

Simultaneously, Rona and I said, "Tell us what's going on."

"Do you know what Steve Bannon's up to?"

"Steve Bannon?" surprised, I said, "I haven't heard anything from him or about him for ages."


"That's my point," Maureen said, "He's always so accessible. He loves being in the spotlight. So his disappearing from sight is not like him." 

"And you're thinking?" Rona asked. 

"That he must be up to something not good."

"Like what?" I said.

"I'm thinking he's working on Trump's campaign. Maybe even running it or pulling the strings of those who appear to be in charge."

"Not uninteresting," Rona said.

"He's open about liking chaos, including fulminating it. And what are we seeing? Trump's campaign is all about chaos. He makes everyone crazy, including changing strategies every five minutes, and then puts himself forward as the only one who can solve the problems he created."

"That sounds right to me," Rona said.

"And we wonder when the latest distraction arrives--many of them perversely clever--like creating chaos in Portland which then 'justifies' sending in U.S. troops--we wonder who is coming up with these ideas because Trump clearly is not smart or strategic enough to do so. And he doesn't appear to have anyone on his official staff, including Steven Miller, clever enough to come up with these devious schemes. So, to me, all roads lead to Bannon."

"That's pretty interesting," I said.

"Thank you. But here's what's worrying me."

"What's that?"

"I'm becoming a conspiracy theorist!"

"Yes and no," Rona said, "What you're saying about Steve Bannon is quite plausible. It helps explain a lot of behavior, which is always a good thing when you're theorizing. Often the simplest explanation in plain sight is the best one. So, maybe that will also be true for this."

"I sure hope so," Maureen said, "Being a conspiracy theorist is the last thing I want to become."

Rona said, "But this one about Bannon I like.

January 8, 2019--Trump's Emergency

With the Mueller report likely to surface soon, Trump is experiencing his own private emergency and now he appears to want to drag the rest of us into a much larger, generalized one. A national emergency.

His is real, the one he has in store for us concocted.

At first, hearing about the possibility that Trump was finally trumped, with some Democratic friends I was gleeful.

"This only shows Trump's desperation," one said. Another, that "He's finally painted himself into a corner from which there is no way out."

But then I thought more about this. Yes, there may be no easy exit from the trap he clumsily set for himself, with Nancy Pelosi playing him subtly like a well-tuned piano. And on the other side, to his base, there is more trouble represented by Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, both of whom warned that they would call his manhood into question if he caved in to the Dems by agreeing to reopen the government as part of a deal that would get him a pittance more for his cement, steel, tissue paper wall, fence, barrier, curtain, whatever. Call it anything you like. He just wanted out of the trap.

For the man whose ghostwriter wrote the book on the art of the deals it was looking bleak. No deal in sight. Just plunging poll numbers.

But then there is the potential game-changing idea for Trump to declare a national emergency--he would claim, as he did last night in an Oval Office speech, that the country is threatened by caravans of murderers, rapists, gang members, and drug dealers, augmented by tens of thousands of terrorists sneaking annually across the border. And, oh yes, there is a humanitarian crisis.

Never mind that there were just six (6) potential terrorists who were intercepted by the border patrol during the first half of 2018. Compounding this lie, Trump went on, claiming most of the opioids threatening our young people are coming though the same way--strapped to Mexican MS-13 gang members, while in fact they are hidden in and smuggled across the border by otherwise legitimate big-rig truckers.

If Trump declares a national emergency (and he has the power to do so), he will no longer need Congress (read Democrats in the House of Representatives) to pass a Homeland Security Department budget with $5.0 million allocated for the wall because he will just redeploy those and many more billions from the Pentagon budget (in an official emergency he likely has the power to do that as well as deploy soldiers to take the lead in building the wall).

By this scenario Nancy and Chuck will become irrelevant, Trump will look extra macho to Ann Coulter, Rush will be re-smitten, and too much of the public will think that Trump did the bold and right thing to protect us from all those dangerous brown people heading north on moonless nights.

And then the final irony--since it will cost $50 to $100 billion to build a 500-mile wall, because the money will have come from the Pentagon budget, Trump will demagog Chuck and Nancy into coming up with enough to replace it. The last thing Dems want is to appear wimpy when it comes to military spending. You know--"support our troops."

This strategy is so perversely brilliant that it could have come from only one source. Trump's current senior staff and advisors are incapable of thinking about how to get themselves out of a paper bag and so a play this multi-layered and intricate is beyond their devious capacities.

Therefore this has to be the idea of only one possible person. One evil genius--

Steve Bannon. Remember him?

The only problem--it won't work. 

Trump's favorables will continue to hover in the 35 percent range. His act is becoming boring to all except his relatively few dead-ender followers. Even Steve Bannon will not be able to think his way out of that.

August 20, 2018--George Lindberg's Nightmare: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library

I received this email from my good friend George Lindberg--

Dear Steven

When you get in a slump because of insomnia, remember you at least have control of how you spend your awake time.  You can change the channel or shut it off at whim.  I on the other hand have no trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.  My problem is what happens while I am asleep.  

The other day you and Rona set some wheels in motion.  It all started the evening following your musings about the numerous presidential libraries you two have visited.  I have never been to any so I can only wonder what would be on display.

As I drifted into slumberland, I made the mistake of wondering what the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library would be like.  Steven, I can’t shut him off . . .

The dream always starts the same way.  I'm driving down I-95, heading toward Queens, the birthplace of Donald, where from a sign I notice that the name of the Throgs Neck Bridge has been changed to the Thongs Neck Bridge. When I get to Jamaica Estates, his boyhood home, I find myself at the new Donald J. Trump Presidential Library. Built on an old swamp that wasn't drained but filled in.

There was some talk of locating it on the campus of Trump University, but no one could locate it and the Wharton School people said, “No way."

In keeping with Trump tradition, the library has been set in a hot-sheet motel. In my dream it is always a pay by the hour place.  I park in a new seven story parking garage.  Funny thing is mine is the only car there.  A welcome sign tells me the place was built on land that was cleared after evicting 5,000 immigrants. 

As I enter I am required to show proof of citizenship.  Lucky for me (it’s a dream remember) I have my birth certificate with me.  Stepping in the foyer a holograph of Ivanka appears, suggesting I genuflect as I pass the life size (both height and width) portrait of The Donald.   “But,” she says, “By no means should you take a knee.”

Behind me is a gentleman who is apparently of foreign decent.  When he apologetically states he has no identification, Poof, the holograph disappears and the booming voice of Donald descends from the heavens, proclaiming --“OUT, OUT, GET THE S.O.B. OUT.  YOU'RE FIRED.”

I had to move on as I was being charged by the hour.

My recollection is that all the walls were painted a brilliant lily white.  Ivanka is back suggesting I follow the main corridor and at the end not to miss what's at the far right. She also urges me to look around in the High Tariff gift shop and purchase an official DJT gift with the presidential seal made by our good friends in China. She adds, “Please be sure to buy something in the apparel closeout section."

As I walk down the main corridor a screeching sound is heard and a golf cart comes careening around the corner from the alt-right.  It has been customized to look like the original clown car from the 2016 campaign.  At the wheel is Steve Bannon.  Except his hair is combed and bleached blond.  He says, “Get in.  I’ll show you around."    

Room after room passes by but I’m able to read the name plates on each door.

There is the Insults room, with dozens of printed tweets posted on the walls. The first one I see is about Rosie O'Donnell.

The Fake News room has an old teletype machine clacking away.  Lots of stuff is coming in from Fox News.

The Immigration room. On quick glance there are several pictures of families being reunited.  Including dates showing reunions occurring some five years after separation.

The Military Parade room has photos of veterans groups taking a knee.  I notice as a veteran I was in one of the pictures.  Head bowed, fist in the air.

There is the crowded Wives room.

The Promises Made room includes an audio introduction by Jon Luvitz.

The Apprentice room has Meatloaf songs piped in.

In the Law Suits room where there is a life-sized portrait of Roy Cohn.

The Miss Universe room has a for sale sign on the door.

A Space Force room includes mock ups of the first space warriors Trump wants to send to the moon.

There is a wax museum of many of the most prominent players from Trump World --Giuliani, Sessions, Bannon, Kellyanne, Hope Hicks, Anthony Scaramucci, and many more.

Right next to it is the Robert Mueller room and next door to that the Pardon room.

There is the Ladies room with wax likenesses of Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, a couple of Russian working girls, and even Rosie and Megyn.

The Putin room contains memorabilia from all their good times together.  With a newly-released video. I need to get back there to watch it.

I pass the Rocket Man room.

Steven, in my dream I asked Steve Bannon to show me the basement, but he said it was closed.  Something having to do with the base crumbling.

When we get to the end of the first floor hall, I see broom closets that are devoted to black people.  One is for NFL and NBA players, including LeBron James, and another for Maxie Waters and someone named Omarosa.  That name is crossed off and "Low Life Dog" is spray painted in its place.

Bannon tells me there is a wall half built around the library but contractors walked off the job when the residents in Queens refused to pay for it.

There are several floors just like this but the sun is coming up and so I rush to get out.

Sitting out front in a lawn chair I see former CIA director, John Brennan.  He told me they won’t let him in without a security clearance.

Driving home I can hear Tom Bodett saying, "Come back soon. We’ll leave the light on for ya”.

The road is smooth yet my car is rocking and bouncing.

A voice in my head says, "George, George wake up you’re having that nightmare again."

                                            *   *   *

I wrote back--"Somehow having 'library' and 'Donald Trump' in the same sentence is an oxymoron."

George said, "This is supposed to make me feel better?"

Site of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library

April 11, 2018--Anti-Intellectualism

In my frustrating attempts to understand the America in which we are living, I suppose Donald Trump's America, struggling to understand why at least 35 percent of Americans support him with enthusiasm, no matter what he says or does, no matter how much he lies and makes a mockery of civility and shreds our traditional ways of conducting ourselves domestically and in the world, I turned again to one of my college professor's, Richard Hofstadter's, most enduring works--Anti-Intellectualism In American Life.

In it he argues that anti-intellectualism is one of the unintended consequences of the expansion of pubic education and the resulting democratization of knowledge. He sees this woven into our cultural fabric, one result of our evangelical Protestant heritage that valued belief more than intellectual rigor.

No wonder that after Trump was elected sales of Anti-Intellectualism briefly became a bestseller. It should be required reading. I know, you want me to say, "Assuming his 35 percent read!"

Reading through it again, I came upon this from the chapter, "The Rise of the Expert." How many in the public had become disenchanted with President Woodrow Wilson's inability at the end of the First World War to take progressive action and how, as a result, during the mid 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt was careful not to overpromise or include too many "experts" in his cabinet or to lead newly enacted social programs.

"Keep the whole thing pretty quiet," he counseled one member of his Brain Trust. Hofstadter wrote--

The public had turned on the intellectuals as the prophets of false and needless reforms. As architects of the administrative state, as supporters of the War, even as ur-Bolsheviks; the intellectuals [had] turned on America as a nation of boobs, Babbits, and fanatics.

Rings familiar. 

And here I thought pseudo-intellectual Steve Bannon and his alt-right minions came up with this business about the administrative state on their own. Now I realize his and their ideas are not only half baked but also not original.

Richard Hofstadter

March 21, 2018--Fakebook: Psychographics

Here's the worst part about Facebook's turning over to Cambridge Analytica intimate data about 50 million of its subscribers. 50 million of us.

It's not that by doing so they violated our privacy or that this then allowed CA to precision-market products, services, and political candidates to us. Not just, in one example, enabling them to zap ads to us about books in general but books about the history of the American presidency to someone, like me, who bought on line a shelf of presidential biographies. This is not what is most concerning.

This sort of focused marketing predates by decades the invention of the Internet. Most powerful at the time was direct marketing, where one could purchase lists of "pre-qualified" potential customers who might be interested in, say, fishing equipment because they subscribed to Field & Stream.

And what's worst is not how, with the all-powerful Internet, marketers are able to make their pitches in micro-focused and cost-effective ways.

By aggregating and analyzing big data that Amazon and Google and Facebook have about each of us, marketing firms can construct psychological profiles of us--psychographics--that help guide their sales strategies in extraordinarily targeted ways. 

But again, this is not the worst part of what is being exposed as the current Cambridge Analytica scandal, with Facebook, Fakebook's clumsy enablement, unfolds. 

Also still not the worst thing is the direct involvement of deep stater Trumpians such as the scary Mercer family of billionaires or their previously bought-and-paid-for poodle, Steve Bannon. As reprehensible as their attempts have been to undermine American democracy (we would be wise to remember this is their goal), no, what is worst is our willing complicity in this. 

Allow me to repeat that--It's about our complicity. About how if it weren't for us there would be no Cambridge Analytica, no cyber-meddling to fraudulently strengthen Trump's side in the 2016 election, and no big data to make this possible.

The reason CA and others can, for their scurrilous purposes, put their hands on intimate information about tens of millions of us is because we have willingly and eagerly shared this data about ourselves.

For example, Facebook users casually reveal how old they are, how much education they have, where they live, what they "like" when it comes to music and books and food and clothing and movies and the entertainments we download on line. 

When we click "like" on a "friend's" posting we reveal something about what is important to us, whether it be cultural, political, and even spiritual. We casually reveal what medications we use when ordering drugs on line, where we vacation, how much money we have, what kind of car we drive, how we earn a living, how we recreate, what languages we speak, our sexual orientation and preferences as well as the kinds of families we belong to and our world of friend.

I could go on for thousands of words just making this list of the kinds of information we "share" about ourselves without much persuasion or thought. 

We tell all to Facebook and other social network and e-commerce sites. And then this data, in the hands of the likes of Amazon and Cambridge Analytica become essential to fueling their metastasizing reach and power.

In our post-privacy world most of us do not think twice before revealing intimate details about ourselves. In fact, many Facebook members who are comfortable indulging their narcissism or gossipy side enjoy letting it all hang out on line and can't get enough of listening in, so the speak, to the details of their "friend's" lives, they are so casual about this that they seemingly do not care about what in the process, even unintentionally, they reveal about themselves.

It is dangerous that in addition to being indiscriminate about what we share, while oblivious to what bottom-feeding operations such as Cambridge Analytica can mash together to create a psychographic portrait of each of us that is so detailed it can be deployed not only to sell us stuff we don't need but also can be used to influence our vote. 

In large part, as a result, we have Donald Trump as our president.

February 27, 2018--Trump Unfettered

As much as I am enjoying following along as special counsel Robert Mueller makes Donald Trump and those close to him who not only colluded with the Russians but obstructed justice, as much as I like to see them squirm while their world continues to implode and they are forced to face justice--I like schadenfreude as much as the next fellow--I am beginning to worry about some of the unintended consequences of, one-by-one, Trump's people being indicted or copping pleas.

I do look forward to seeing the Trump boys' comeuppance, Hope Hicks being exposed for the enabler she is, as eager as I am to see Ivanka brought down for taking commercial advantage of her First Daughter status, as much as Jared Kushner likely deserves to be exposed and prosecuted for financial shenanigans, and of course above all how I crave the outing and perhaps impeachment or prosecution of the Godfather of the Trump Crime Family, while impatient for all of this, I am beginning to worry what Trump will be like when he finds himself essentially alone in the White House with Hope and Jared and especially Ivanka gone, as one way or the other they all likely will be.

No matter what Mueller finds, even if the Democrats in November take over the House of Representatives and impeach Trump (40/60), he will not be convicted by the Senate, and since he delusionally is not a quitter (his whole being depends upon viewing himself as winning at everything), he will not take a Nixon and resign and we will be faced with two-and-a-half more years of Trump as president with the nuclear codes not far from his night table. 

As fundamentally corrupt and perhaps as felonious as they are, Hope, Jared, and Ivanka may be the only ones who have the access and capacity to have a chance to moderate him, such as moderating Trump can ever be.

With them gone, do we want to see a White House with weaselly Stephen Miller even more empowered, former UN Ambassador John Bolton brought in as head of the National Security Council, and Steve Bannon re-ensconced, this time as Secretary of State?

Whatever small measure of sanity and constraint John Kelly, Rex Tillerson, H.R. McMaster, and James Mattis provide, with the three children exiled, and the hawks more in charge, what would the next two years of Trump's presidency look like? 

War with North Korea? We have a preview of that right now as Trump didn't even give our ally South Korea the courtesy of an additional day or two to close the Olympics before imposing a form of naval blockade on North Korea, virtually an act of war as blockades are.

One more round of indictments of those closest to Trump and . . . 

The one proven thing for presidents to do when cornered, as Trump surely will be, is to start or intensify a war. John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon did that in Vietnam, Reagan invaded Grenada, and George HW and George W did the same in Iraq. As a result HW's approval ratings shot up to 90 percent as did his son's.

To make matters even more psychosomatically complicated, it appears that First Lady Melania is weighing in on the Ivanka-Kushner-versus-John Kelly blood feud. She is taking Kelly's side in a deeply Freudian struggle that ultimately is about the jealousy she doubtlessly feels as Trump so clearly prefers the daughter to the spouse.

While Trump leers at and talks smuttily about Ivanka and gets exposed for cavorting with pornstars and Playmates, Melania seethes and then draws upon her Eastern European DNA to come up with an appropriate form of revenge, that among other things includes getting rid of the competition.

Some of this may be over-speculation, but is it wise to deny that this scenario is plausible and if true imperils us?

I would prefer to wake up one morning to find that the Trumps, grifters that they are, overnight moved out of the White House. But since that is inconceivable, I am thinking it's prudent to hope the three kids figure out a way to hang in. At least through November. Maybe even until 2020.

February 13, 2018--#metoo

Friday afternoon, exasperated, Katy Tur on MSNBC, said, "All I'm hearing is 'he, he he.' Not a word about 'her.'"

She was referring to what she and the rest of us were hearing from Donald Trump about Rob Porter, his recently fired White House Staff Secretary. Though an ordinary-sounding job title, the Staff Secretary has frequent direct access to the president and is responsible for determining what printed material is given to the president to read or, in Trump's case, ignore.

To serve in that position, like his predecessors, Porter needed a top secret security clearance. Which he didn't have since the FBI, about a year ago, when reviewing his application, discovered that he had physically assaulted both of his ex-wives and thus did not approve assigning him that status.

Late Friday afternoon, in a virtually unprecedented move, unannounced, Trump invited the White House press corps into the Oval Office to take a few questions. It was no surprise that all of them were about Rob Porter. Trump had clearly thought carefully about what he would say.

At length, with a heavy-sounding heart, he spoke about what an exemplary employee Porter had been and how he would be missed. He called his departure "very sad" and that "we hope he will have a wonderful career." That "it's been a hard time for him."

He also reminded us that poor Porter had not been proven guilty, that he was merely the victim of allegations. There had not been due process. 

It was widely noted by Katy Tur and others that Trump spoke not a word about the women who had been physically assaulted. He didn't point out that what they had endured was also "sad" or offer the hope that they too would have "wonderful careers" or lives.

Over the weekend a little research revealed that with Trump there is a distinct pattern about these matters--when someone is accused of spousal abuse or sexual harassment, in all cases except Harvey Weinstein's, Trump totally ignored the women and consistently made excuses for the men.  

About Senate candidate Roy Moore in Alabama, who was credibly accused of molesting and raping minors, Trump,  not acknowledging the then girls, emphasized that Moore hadn't been convicted of anything. It was classic he-said-she-said though it was clear who Trump believed. 

And in the cases of campaign managers Cory Lewandowski and Steve Bannon, both accused by ex-wives of domestic violence, Trump did not seem concerned and stood by them when the accusations came to light.

Then, still fitting the pattern, when Fox News's Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly were exposed as serial sexual predators, Trump fell in line in support of them.

About Weinstein Trump couldn't resist joining the condemnation since he was a major donor to Hillary Clinton's and other Democrats' campaigns. And so he overcame his reluctance to criticizing the men and took a swipe at Weinstein, saying, with unintentional irony on the very anniversary of the notorious Billy Bush Access Hollywood tape, that he was "not at all surprised" by revelations that the movie mogul repeatedly paid to settle charges of sexual harassment. It was obvious that Trump was speaking from personal experience.

"Still missing from this discussion," Rona said, "is more analysis about Trump's reticence."

I said, "I think in general it's been claimed that he's a classic chauvinist right out of the era in which he, a spoiled rich kid, came of age. A world where powerful men felt free to sexually exploit women, especially in the workplace. Mad Men like."

"I think that's only a part of the story," Rona said, "More significant to me is that he himself has been charged with sexual misconduct by at least 15 women and that he allegedly raped Ivana, his first wife. So he is directly implicated in his own world of similar accusations. Thus to talk in a more balanced way about the current burst of sexual allegations would potentially force him to confront his own behavior. So, by making excuses for the men accused, men like Rob Porter, via the psychological mechanism of projection, he is making excuses for himself. Diminishing the claims of the women suing him by assigning or projecting his behavior onto them. 

"You remember the hashtag Maureen Dowd created for him in her Sunday column? Instead of #metoo, she came up with something more appropriate for him--#me." 

"Perfect," Rona said with a sad smile.

January 11, 2018--In A Matter of Minutes

After three excruciating hours of trying to stay awake during the Golden Globes--the pervasive feeling of self-congratulations exhausting my willingness or ability to endure--suddenly on screen there was Oprah! 

She was wearing serious eyeglasses so I assumed we were in for a treat. She wasn't about to announce cars for everyone but something better: Hope.

An immediate feeling of hope that she was not running for president but was about to be inaugurated and thereby release us from our long national nightmare.

Immediately, except for the Fox News channel, all of media lit up. They were already talking about what a Trump-Oprah contest would look like and, since they assumed Oprah would win, who she would name to key positions in her administration.  

Forget getting down to measuring the drapes in the Oval Office, would Dr. Oz become Surgeon General? What about Dr. Phil and best friend Gayle King? A new cabinet position, Secretary of Mental Health, for the doctor and maybe chief of staff for her pal? What about Stedman? First Escort?

These feelings of deliverance persist so I should try to calm down and take this seriously. Unlike Trump Ms. Winfrey is an accomplished and self-made billionaire. A real billionaire. And she could have the right personal qualities to be a healing president. Most important, she could actually win. Which, considering the alternative, is a very big deal. During her presidency I could hold my nose for all the self-esteem building preaching. Over my political lifetime I've held my nose for a lot worse.

It took all of eight minutes for this wave of enthusiasm to build during an otherwise dreary awards show. Going viral doesn't begin to tell the story. We almost elected a president in those few minutes.

Then on Tuesday, on live TV, direct from the Cabinet Room in the White House, there was that bipartisan 55-minute meeting about immigration President Trump held with Republican and Democratic members of Congress. 

During meetings of this kind the press is usually allowed to be in the room for a few minutes of innocuous schmoozing. They are then dismissed and the meeting occurs behind closed doors. Tuesday was different.

The purpose of allowing the press to send out a video feed of the meeting was not to showcase transparency but to allow the country and world to see that Trump was in control of his mental faculties. That he was capable of acting like an adult--in this case talking and listening--not the nine-year-old he was represented as being in Michael Wolff's new book, Fire and Fury. With Trump embodying both the fury and the fire.

The subject was DACA, the move to allow a path to citizenship for the 800,000 young people who, through no fault of their own, were brought to America illegally. This should not be too controversial an issue since many Republicans in Congress favor it. Nonetheless, most of the GOP base of voters resist agreeing to even this commonsensical compromise. So it was actually refreshing to see Trump, who has demagogued the subject of "illegals," mostly coherent and seemingly on board for a quick and just fix. 

And, beyond that, more surprisingly, Trump, who wants to build the Wall and deport pretty much anyone here either illegally or without having undergone what he calls "extreme vetting," Trump appeared open to an even more ambitious solution to the problem--a possible path to legal status for all10 million illegal residents. He spoke about "taking the heat," the political heat for such a tricky issue.

Was this simply telling whoever's in the room what he thinks they want to hear? Perhaps. But, then, maybe not, since a version of amnesty is not any Republican's favorite subject.

So, what's going on with this?

It could be that the "liberal," New-York Trump some people thought they were electing has finally appeared. Perhaps made easier for him with the decline and fall of his Svengali, Steve Bannon. If so, for moderates of all persuasions, this could be a rare dose of good news.

Minimally, he once again managed to change the subject when seemingly cornered--no one was talking about the Wolff book, most of the chatter about the dossier and Mueller was on the back burner, he dispelled some of the talk about the need to get ready to roll out the 25th Amendment, and even Oprah was pushed from the headlines. Minimally, as a tactic, this performance was politically adept. 

Rona suggested that perhaps Trump was able to put on such a good show because he was on camera. His favorite place to be. 

If so, let's set up cameras in the Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and in the room in the residence where he watches TV. In other words, have him on camera 24/7.

The first year of his presidency, or in TV terms, the first season, which ends in 10 days has been Steve Bannon & Friends. This coming season, let's hope it will be Oprah. 

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!

January 3, 2018--He's Lost His Mind

We are witnessing the beginning of the end of Steve Bannon. 

There is thus much to feel good about.

He has been on such a grandiosity trip that he forgot he is not the president (though he clearly would love to be) but rather another of those who serve the president. He felt that without him there would be no president Trump. In fact, if there were no Donald Trump there would be no Steve Bannon.

Anyone hear of him before he hooked up with Trump?

Gossip and leaks from inside the White House snake pit aside, the fall of Steve Bannon--who Trump rightly says has "lost his mind"--the big deal is that Bannon will no longer be feeding Trump's paranoia. 

And isn't it delicious to contemplate how Mueller now will subpoena Bannon to talk about the money laundering he claims is the central activity of President Trump and his crime family.

December 29, 2017--Predictions for 2018

As the new year looms, the news media have been looking back over the past year. Much of that review is political, some elegiac. They list those who died, mainly from the entertainment world; and this year they are devoting a lot of air time to reviewing Donald Trump's first year as president.

Yesterday on CNN and Morning Joe, while reviewing the year, in addition to talking endlessly about the Mueller probe, the tightening of the noose around Trump's inner circle, and the passage of the new tax bill, unable to control themselves, they even made lists of his top-ten tweets. It's come to that.

Since I've had it up to here with most things Trump I will resist doing that.

I used to enjoy watching the McLaughlin Group, a weekend TV talkshow hosted by the curmudgeony John McLaughlin. Each show ended with him asking his panelists for predictions. As his guests made them he would tell them which ones were right and which, his favorite, were wrong. Then, ex-priest that he was, he would make predictions of his own, declaring all of them, of course, "ontologically certain."

I'm not that good at the predictions business and so will acknowledge in advance that most of the ones below would not please McLaughlin. In spite of this, to make them feels like fun and I could use some fun.

So here are my predictions for 2018--

Before the end of his first term, President Trump will not have an opportunity to appoint anyone else to the Supreme Court. He might have his eye on 110 year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but I know these Jewish ladies and she is going nowhere fast.

Speaking about terms in office, don't get you're hopes up. Trump also is staying put and Mueller, whose report will be issued a month before the midterm elections, in September, will not find enough evidence to indict Trump. He will, though, cite him to be an "unindicted co-conspirator."

Son-in-law Jared will be indicted for lying to the FBI and Trump promptly will pardon him. This will precipitate a "constitutional crisis." Minimally, we'll finally find out what a constitutional crisis means.

It, though, will mean that the Trump stock market bubble will burst. Expect the Dow to lose 25 percent of its value. So hold onto to your cash and be prepared to buy in next fall when this happens.

These events will contribute to a Democratic landslide in November. Expect to see them regain control of both houses, unless another dozen Democratic congressmen are forced to resign because of not being able to keep their hands or tongues to themselves. 

Like Lyndon Johnson, Trump will decline to run for a second term, citing evidence that he has successfully reversed every single one of Barak Obama's initiatives and that means he has erased Obama from the history books and thus America is great again and there is nothing more for him to accomplish. 

Senator Rubio will defeat Steve Bannon for the Republican nomination and will begin to appear in cowboy boots so no one ever again will call him "Little Marco."

At least half the newly elected Dems plus Anthony Weiner will immediately begin to seek the nomination for the presidency. They will join the 17 already reviving up their campaigns. 

Longer term prediction--neither Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, nor Elizabeth Warren will win the nomination. The twin Castro brothers will. Both of them will be nominated. Voters will get two for the price of one and taxpayers will save all sorts of money as there all be no need to hire a body double to protect whichever one is the actual president. We also won't need a Vice President. More taxpayer money saved.

And, no, Hillary Clinton will not run. It's more likely that she'll be locked up than Trump.

Omarosa will get a $10 million advance for her tell-all book, and it will be number one on the NY Times best seller list until 2019, followed by Sean Spicer's tell-all book, followed by Anthony Scaramucci's tell-all memoir, followed by Kellyanne Conway's. She will have resigned in May to get in on the lucrative tell-all action.

Alabama, the Crimson Tide, will not win the college football championship in 2018. Clemson will. There's a limit to what one can expect to happen in one year in Alabama. Almost electing a pedophile to the Senate is for them accomplishment enough.

And forget the New England Patriots. The won't get to the Super Bowl much less win.

But the Yankees will make it to the World Series which will suggest that the moon is again in the seventh house.

And, in case I forget to mention, Ruth Bader Ginsburg will still be sitting on the Supreme Court. She may no longer be living, but there she'll be. For a preview, look carefully at the picture below.

She's Not Praying

December 17, 2017--Fuddy-Duddies

At lunch the other day I was surprised to note, after the election in Alabama, that though I was by far the oldest at the table, I was the only one feeling optimistic.

"How can you be that way?" Henry said, sounding exasperated. "For sure, there were the surprising results in Alabama, but Trump still controls the agenda and no matter what happens he manages to survive."

"Don't be too casual about the election results. For a very pro-abortion Democrat to win a seat in the Senate is astonishing. Alabama is about the redest state in America. And though I agree with you guys that Trump is still president and controls the narrative, this weakens him."

"You're telling me that the person who controls the nuclear codes is weak?"

"Not weak, weakened. I agree there is little likelihood he'll be impeached much less convicted in the Senate. And of course as commander in chief he has awesome power. Scary power. But I'm talking about him being weakened politically. Among voters--even some of his supporters who are beginning to abandon him, at least in private, and the Republican Party--and especially among Republicans in Congress. I feel certain that there is virtually no loyalty to him. In fact, they hate him. The contempt he has shown them. The way he mocks them. Drain the swamp. Tutored and manipulated by Steve Bannon, who wants to see everyone thrown out of office. He wants to bring them down. All politicians and officeholders. Being involved with Trump is to be slimed. Look for more and more to distance themselves. Especially as 2018 approaches and being associated with him makes them all vulnerable to losing their seats in Congress."

I pushed my dim sum dumplings around with my chopsticks.

"But look at all the terrible things he's done," Matthew said, "To the environment, our allies, civility, to cutting taxes for the rich and big corporations. You're feel optimistic about that?"

"Not about that, of course. I hate all those things too. But, again, since he will serve until 2020, a weak Trump is an improvement over an empowered one. That is a reason to feel guardedly optimistic. Also, I prefer a weakened Trump to a President Pence, who might be able to get Congress to do a lot of even more awful things."

Ellie said, "Then how do you explain the apparent passage of regressive, so-called tax reform? This from a weak Trump?"

"Fair point. I'm not saying he'll be powerless, especially in regard to the few things Republican politicians are obsessed about. Cutting taxes for wealthy people and big corporations more than anything else. But, with the victories in Virginia in November and Alabama last week, people who oppose Trump must be thinking--'We can do this! We can make things happen! We can win! Getting off our behinds and becoming activated can bring about success."

" I worry," Henry said, "That people will declare victory and check out."

"Not in my view," I said, "Nothing breeds success like success. Just think about how empowered African Americans must be feeling. Being essential to the victory in Alabama, which for them initially must have seemed hopeless. When was the last time black people had someone they supported in the South elected to statewide office?"

"Could be," Ellie said, "I was struck by the fact that lily-white Doug Jones did better among black voters than even Barack Obama."

"And don't forget that he also did better than expected among white women. Particularly women and young people. That's the traditional Democratic coalition. They are the ones who elected Doug Jones. If  that coalition holds together and we nominate good people, including moderate Democrats in purple districts, next year we can win back control of both houses of Congress."

"What about the 2020 presidential election?" Matthew said. "That's the ballgame as far as I'm concerned."

"Again," I said, "I'm optimistic that we can win then too. As long as we don't nominate someone like Elizabeth Warren. As good as she is as a Senator and advocate, I don't think America is ready for an ultra-liberal president who was a female Harvard professor."

Everyone stared at me. "Come on guys. You're acting like a bunch of old fuddy-duddies. Eat your soy sauce noodles."

December 13, 2017--Stars Fell On Alabama

Briefly--

Yes, stars fell on Alabama last night.

The big winner was human dignity.

The winners also included, obviously, Doug Jones; African American voters who turned out to give him more votes in percentage terms than they did to Barak Obama; and a goodly percentage of white women who in the privacy of the voting booth said, "Enough." 

Then, there are the rest of us who believe in our "system"--that checks and balances are still functioning in Donald Trump's America.

The losers are many--knee-jerk partisans; talk radio demagogues; bigots, racists, and antisemites; a lot of Republicans who will lose elections in 2018; Donald Trump (his presidency is imploding now on a fast track); and, my schadenfreude favorite, Steve Bannon who is no longer the boy genius. Off to the ash-heap of history for him.

November 22, 2017--Notes From the Swamp

As part of his campaign in Alabama, Roy Moore has been enlisting the assistance of a large group of Evangelical preachers.

This week, a number of them reached rock bottom in their desperate attempt to deflect attention from Moore to those who accused him of sexual abuse.

One in effect said, "Who can blame him. Some of these 14-year-old girls look like they're 20."

Another said that if Jesus Christ himself came "down off his cross" and confronted Moore about his behavior, Moore should say, "I need to talk with my president to see what he would advise me to do."

I think we know what Trump would advise.

My favorite--one minister said that his accusers have committed crimes and should be prosecuted. If they claim that he molested them, they should not have waited decades to report him to the police. They had a legal responsibility to seek his indictment. Not to do so is to obstruct justice. A felony.

This is my favorite because of its desperate logic--if it is valid to say the girls and women were covering up crimes that means that Moore would be admitting he committed the crimes they are covering up.

This is so hypocritically and perversely clever that it suggests Steve Bannon is behind these counterattacks.

*    *    *

Rona last night raised a complicated question--

We were talking about the governor of Alabama who, among others, said she believes the the accusers but will still vote for Moore because anything is better than electing a Democrat.

Rona said, "If you're a Christian conservative and believe that abortion is killing; and that if Moore's opponent, Doug Jones, believes in a woman's right to choose (he does), you're faced with the dilemma of voting for either a pedophile or a baby killer. Put yourself in the shoes of the person who is passionate about this. What do you say? What do you do?"

I'm still thinking about this. There's a part of me that wants to be fair minded, then there is another part of me that . . .

*    *    *

Then, I wondered, when attempting to compare Moore with Al Franken, feeling that there is no moral equivalency, there may be a great and sad irony that Moore, who I think will be elected, will be ushered into the Senate while Franken is being ushered out. How out of joint does that feel?

*    *    *

Further, about the sexual component of this, there is yet another social divide between people of faith and those of us who are more secularly oriented.

Whatever the truth about Franken's and Moore's behavior, clearly Franken was having some sophomoric though inexcusable "fun" as the photo of him fondling Leeann Tweeden reveals, while Moore was involved in acts of traditional, regional Gothic perversity. Yet another example of the great cultural dissonance that continues to plague our country.

*    *    *

Finally, I was thinking about the swamp that Trump and Bannon famously say they want to drain. Putting aside for the moment what that all means--since by my definition of swamp creatures they both qualify--one thing is clear: we're not talking about a swamp. We're talking more about a cesspool that in fact needs to be drained. 

To compare what is going in within our various governments--federal as well as local--swamp is an inappropriate metaphor. 

Swamps are a part of the natural order and as forested wetlands serve important life-generating purposes. They are places of great fecundity and contribute vitality to biodiversity and the larger ecosystem.

Cesspools on the other hand are, well, cesspools. And we have an overflowing one in Washington and another in Alabama. They and the many others are long overdo for draining. 

Swamp

November 17, 2017--Betty's Concerned About Me

"You're not yourself," Betty said, calling from Maine.

"Not even a hello?" I said.

"You know I'm busy, working three jobs and all. I don't always have time for niceties."

"I know that, love. It's just so unusual to hear from you after we relocate to New York. Also, you caught me off guard and I was moved by your concern. I'm not good at handling people being concerned about me, as much as I appreciate it. But," I added, "I'm OK. I mean, I think I'm OK . . ."

"Well I do read the things you write. And the one the other day about you're not feeling happy in New York upset me. To think of the two of you not being happy."

"I appreciate your concern. I really do. I was just having a down day."

"Sounded like more than that. In fact, I've been sensing you've not been yourself for some time. From even before the storm and the trees down and power outages and that crazy guy who slammed his car into yours."

"True, all of that was upsetting. Especially the car business. He came close to really injuring Rona. I think that . . . I mean . . . feeling exposed and vulnerable just at the end of our time here--I mean there, in Maine--set me back. But the bottom line, as time goes by, I'm less able to handle change, including coming back to New York or, in the spring also, returning to Maine. As much as I love it there." 

I took a deep breath. "Then of course there's what's going on in the rest of the world."

"I've been sensing all of that," Betty said. I could hear her taking a deep draw on her cigarette. She was on her break.

"You know it's funny to hear you say that. What's going on in the world is profoundly upsetting. You know me, how I try to be optimistic. I'm always looking for ways to come up with the best explanations for even the most dire situations. And how I try to find ways to fix things. But then Rona the other morning, we were having breakfast in Cafe Rona, asked if I believed we were coming to the end. 'Not the Big End you sometimes write about,' she said, 'I'm not becoming one of those Rapture people waiting around for End Times. I mean,' she said, 'the end of the system. The end of our democracy. Is our system strong enough to resist the direction in which it feels like we are heading?'

"That really shook me up," I said, "Rona's not inclined to think that way. She's also a problem solver. She too thinks we can figure out whatever we need to figure out."

"To tell you the truth it's feelings of these kind that are coming through on most of the things you've been writing recently. Not the funky pieces like those audiology tales, but the political stuff."

"Could be true," I said.

"And it's not primarily the content part--the pieces on Trump and the Russians and the Virginia and Alabama elections are right on. That's the point-of-view part. The concern I have is with the writing itself."

"The writing?"

"Yeah. It feels less confident, less energetic, more squeezed out with effort than inspired." She paused to see what I might say.

"Well, first of all, I appreciate your feeling that some of my stuff is--or has been 'inspired.' Your word. And to tell you the truth I have at times been feeling weary and maybe that what's coming across. Things are not flowing the same way. I've attributed it to aging. Of course. My favorite place to go when I feel anything changing."

"How many of these things have you written?"

"About 3,200."

"And how long have you been doing this?"

"More than 12 years."

"And how old are you?" Before I could say or lie, she said, "Scratch that. I don't think it's that. Aging. Maybe just a part of it is. I think it may be more that you're feeling overwhelmed. Overloaded." She paused, "Like the rest of us. That's what he's doing to us."

"He?"

"Who else--Trump. It feels like he's trying to be the last man standing. The last person. He pummels us daily. There's always something waiting that we have to deal with. He's great as setting the daily agenda. Usually with ridiculous things like his latest name for Kim Jong-un. He called him 'short and fat' the other day. So we have to engage with that. We have to take it seriously because he's the president and has the ability to get us into a big war with North Korea." 

I said, "I'm exhausted just thinking about the past week. We even had to deal with his crazy thing Wednesday with the water bottle. Like he was channeling Marco Rubio who had his own water issues. It's as if Trump has a huge reference library of things from the past that he can dip into and get us all agitated about one more time while he sits back and husbands his energy. He's trying to win by wearing us down to helplessness. He's more than 70 years old, doesn't sleep, is grossly overweight, and eats crap. Yet there he is every day full of piss and vinegar while the rest of us are feeling exhausted."

"I can see that in the things you've been writing," Betty said, "Again, less in the content, more in the lack of flow and energy in some of your pieces."

"I pride myself," I said, "in being persistent. I've said through the years that much of what I've been able to accomplish is the result of  refusing to give up, pressing on when others may flag. To outlast people. So here we are faced with things of much greater consequence trying to deal with the master of distraction, agenda setting, and persistence who's full of narcissistic energy."

"This could be what's happening," Betty said. "I feel it in your writing and maybe it's also responsible for the malaise that feels so widespread."

"Let's assume this is true," I said, "That would make things more dangerous. At a time when maybe our democracy is at risk those who dread and oppose what's unfolding are beginning to run out of gas. I put it this way--those who oppose this--because there are some who are happy about what's going on. Too many. They don't value democracy. They want a strongman to take care of them. In trade, they're willing to surrender their freedom. But those of us who do value freedom better get rested up and recharged because there are these threats and there's a long way to go until the next election--a year--and who knows what we'll have to deal with between now and then. Even tomorrow."

"I have to go in a minute," Betty said, "But I have one more thing to mention--we'd better hope that that Roy Moore is defeated in Alabama. To put him down and that Bannon who is behind him, to reject them is really important. There's about a month to go before the election and related to that I liked that piece of yours about how liberals have to get off our butts and work hard to take back our country. Minimally, everyone should send $50, a $100 to his opponent's campaign. Doug Jones's. And we have to commit ourselves to never giving up, no matter how tired or frustrated we feel because that's what Trump and Bannon and their others are counting on--exhausted, we'll simply surrender."

"That's never going to happen," I said.

"That's the optimist in you," Betty said with a smoky laugh.