Run For Something June 14, 2017June 14, 2017 Troubled by the state of our democracy? Run for something. If you’re a Democrat, this site proposes to train you, in the comfort of your own home, at your own pace, for free. Though the stock market doesn’t reflect it, there is, in fact, much to be troubled about. With the intentional help of a massive sustained attack by the former KGB, an unstable, incompetent, petty and petulant pathological liar, who for years kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside, came within just three million votes of a plurality in the race for President in 2016. We all know the rest of the story, or at least much of it, as it has unfolded to date — we are soon to get GREAT health care at not just less than before, but at a fraction — no, a “tiny fraction” — of the cost. The crowd on the mall at his Inauguration — as anyone could see — was by far the largest in history . . . and his Electoral College win was the largest since Reagan’s. And now, as we go around the Cabinet, everyone confirms it: what a spectacular leader we have in this man. He’s a smart cookie, like Kim Jung-Un; a strong leader, like (journalist-murdering, kleptocrat) Vladimir Putin . . . and on and on. These are dangerous, potentially dark times for our country. The folks who elected him were (mostly) not at all deplorable, any more than were the folks who elected a powerful German leader 80 years ago. They were bamboozled. But are we now more than a few inevitable terrorist attacks away from his declaring martial law? Terrorist attacks that though tragic, for sure, might collectively cause loss of life equal to a week’s highway fatalities? Might he actually fire Robert Mueller? And if he does, will the Republican Congress — that stole the Supreme Court by not allowing a vote on Merrick Garland, and that blocked the American Jobs Act that would have put millions to work at good jobs rebuilding our decaying infrastructure — will that Republican Congress stand up to him? Punish Putin? Did the Republicans not forever pride themselves on being staunchly anti-Soviet? Ah, but that was when Russia was communist. Now that it is an oligarchy run by and for billionaires, it may be a different story. In a matter of months, the rest of the world has concluded we are not the America they could once look to. Russia and China are filling the gap. They are winning so much they may soon grow tired of winning. How much further will we slide before, somehow (how?) we awake from this nightmare? Could the Supreme Court at some point — just as they installed Bush in a “one-off” decision they explicitly said was the product of exceptional circumstances, that should not be relied on as precedent — find a way to interpret the Founders’ intentions as not to have included victory for the KGB against the will of a plurality of the citizenry? Run for something. This site proposes to train you, in the comfort of your own home, at your own pace, for free.
I Love New York June 13, 2017June 10, 2017 Did you know that New York City now has ferry service? So on top of all the other things you can do here this summer, for $2.75 you can take the ferry from (say) Wall Street to Rockaway beach. For another $1, bring your bike aboard. Did you know that in New York City, the phone line 888-NYC-WELL is “your connection to free, confidential mental health support?” “Speak to a counselor via phone, text or chat and get access to mental health and substance misuse services, in more than 200 languages, 24/7/365.” And that the City has a comprehensive plan for mental health? But that if you do encounter a citizen in distress, you can call 311 or text 311-692 to report it (unless it’s an emergency, of course: 911). That number or website is a portal to everything from alternate-side-of the-street parking info to potential job information. Click here for a ton of other programs — like Ladders for Leaders, if you’re in a position to hire a talented young intern. The City is thriving, with its lowest unemployment rate — and highest high-school graduation rate — ever. And more than 70,000 toddlers enrolled in universal — free — full-day pre-K. And teensy-tiny Manhattan apartments you can rent for as little as $1,750 a month (which is why God invented Queens). Harlem is hot again. Brooklyn rocks. Last year — 2016 — was the safest year in New York City history; and New York is the safest city in America. Taxes are high, but do you know what? Per Oliver Wendell Holmes (and common sense), “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.” Come visit!
John Oliver June 12, 2017June 10, 2017 I am a week late with this, but if you can find 20 minutes, every segment of this LAST WEEK TONIGHT is dead on. As is generally the case with John Oliver. How about this: James Comey for President (since Elon Musk was born in South Africa); Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and Al Franken to run the communications shop. (Or Al Franken for President, Tom Hanks for VP, Oprah — or Charlie Rose — for Secretary of State, Trevor Noah to run the press shop.) I cede the balance of my time to John.
What’s The Matter With Kansas (Are We The Chickens?) June 9, 2017 One of you writes: “Here is an article about the Republican plan for Kansas and its absolute failure. Isn’t insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results? Therefore, the current Republican administration is insane.” Well, yes — if the Republican goal is to help the American people, broadly. But what if the goal is to enrich the already rich, who largely control the Republican party? They would like to see everyone do well — just as stock brokers would like to see their customers do well and chicken farmers would like to see their chickens not suffer. But for many, that is not their first priority. Their first priority, understandably, in many cases, is to see themselves do well, even if millions lose health insurance or clients have to pay high fees or chickens are treated like this. Anyway, here’s how the article, from New York Magazine, begins: As Voodoo Economics Collapses in Kansas, Trump Takes It National By Jonathan Chait In 2015, Grover Norquist, who has successfully defined unconditional opposition to taxes as the defining tenet of party orthodoxy, waxed enthusiastic about one state in particular that was leading the way for the nation. “Kansas is the future,” he told an interviewer. “Kansas is the model.” Kansas was the state where Sam Brownback, the former congressman who mentored a young staffer named Paul Ryan, implemented supply-side tax cuts that, Brownback promised, would usher in prosperity and fiscal stability. Now Brownback’s tax cuts have failed so dramatically and incontrovertibly that . . . incredibly, a majority of the REPUBLICANS in both chambers of the state legislature voted against the tax cuts. In a new interview with Russell Berman, Norquist insists the failure in Kansas does not tell us much at all about anything.”If you’re a Republican looking for a model,” he says, “Kansas is not the model.” One might think that the economists who designed this now-repudiated plan would have been cast out of the party, or at least embarrassed into rethinking their assumptions. Yet nothing of the sort has taken place. Stephen Moore and Art Laffer, the supply-siders who crafted the failed Kansas experiment, are also taking the lead in designing Donald Trump’s tax plan. Their op-ed urging the president to throw himself behind massively regressive, debt-financed tax cuts found its way into his hands. So profoundly did their argument impress Trump that he instructed his advisers to immediately release a tax-cut plan mirroring the recommendations made by the architects of the Kansas debacle. Now the machinery of government is in the hands of people determined to replicate a policy so unmistakably erroneous that the majority of their own party could no longer live with it. The pattern on display in Kansas has recurred over and over in Republican politics for more than a quarter century [and] has four steps: . . . Read the whole thing! Send it to your Republican uncle! June is Pride Month and Trump has discontinued the White House Pride celebrations and Presidential Pride Proclamations that began in 1999 (suspended by Bush, resumed by Obama). Instead, Trump will honor pride month today by speaking at an anti-LGBT conference for the Faith and Freedom Coalition, along with the famously homophobic James Dobson. And just for fun? If you didn’t have time to read How Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business in Forbes yesterday, watch Trevor Noah tell the story. Have a great weekend.
12 x 12 x 12 June 8, 2017 He could walk down Fifth Avenue shooting people and no one would mind because, thanks to him, we’ll soon have great health care at a “tiny fraction” of the cost. Like 10% of what we used to pay. Sure he doesn’t pay income tax (though he did in 2005), and sure we’ll never see the returns he promised “absolutely” to disclose if he ran for president. He can do pretty much anything he wants — if he’s remembered his Tic-Tacs — because the country is a mess, and he alone can fix it. The deals he makes! The lies he tells! Mexico is paying for the wall! The Saudis are buying $110 billion in American-made weapons! (Well, no, actually, interestingly. they’re not). And so what if he makes money off charitable events meant to benefit kids with cancer? Click the link. Not that you’ll be surprised. For any other president, something like this would dominate the news. Look what a $30,000 tax shelter called “Whitewater” did. For Trump, there are five of these stories a day. One of the kids at our summer camp had six toes on one foot, which — being horrible little kids — is pretty much all we focused on. But imagine if we all had twelve fingers and toes. Bye bye, base 10, hello base 12. This is probably not how the creators of 12 x 12 x 12 had hoped I’d lead into my plug for their site, and someday if you’re unlucky I’ll expound further on the way we are genetically programmed to eschew “difference” — six toes on one foot! It’s all we could focus on. But for now, I give you 12 x 12 x 12. Valerie C.: “I LOVE 12 x 12 x 12 … such a great idea. I loved choosing a cause close to my heart. Never had that experience before.” 12by12by12(SM) is a tool designed to give concerned people an opportunity to create hope and optimism during this time of turmoil and anxiety. Here’s how it works: On the 12th of each month we will highlight one of the 12 important issue areas that are fundamental to the values upon which our country was founded. We’ll work to link you to multiple nonprofit organizations dedicated to that issue. And our portal will have constant access at all times to dozens of organizations working across all 12 issue areas. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to learn about organizations that are new to you and to support those groups working on the issues that touch your heart. Someone paid $1.9 million for this guitar. What am I bid for a guitar hand-painted by Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul & Mary? Seriously: if want to support the Democratic Party, what am I bid? Me-mail me if you’d like to hear more. Or want to buy it to auction off for your charity or cause?
Terrified By A Hammer June 7, 2017June 6, 2017 Ah, irony. A flood he describes as having been “of biblical proportions” destroyed the home of Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, who says God punishes gays with natural disasters. Ah, sex. So fraught. From the Onion: Indiana Becomes Fourth State To Ban Great Sex. And what about innumeracy? Or a sense of proportion? More than 100 Americans committed suicide yesterday, sadly, and nearly as many died in car crashes. At least another 100 overdosed. Thirty or forty were murdered. In all: a couple of commercial jet crashes. Yet that’s not what led the Nightly News. Rather, both NBC and ABC led with a gendarme outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame who had been hit with a hammer by an Algerian who screamed “this is for Syria.” This is not to minimize for a moment the terrorism that — tragically and maddeningly — has cost hundreds of American lives since 9/11. (Spread over those five thousand seven hundred forty-seven days, perhaps one a month.) But really? Note that the gendarme will be fine; that this did not happen in America; and that the same White House that seeks to magnify the terrifying times we live in — where every billion times you leave your house you might confront a terrorist — seeks to cut $900 billion from the health care budget and slash cancer research. Which will cause hundreds of thousands of needless American deaths. . . . “I once asked a guy at [the National Institutes of Health] how much we should spend on preventing a disease that kills 6 per year, and he looked at me like I was crazy,” John Mueller, a foreign policy expert at the Ohio State University and co-author of the book “Chasing Ghosts: The Policing of Terrorism”, told Business Insider in an email. . . . So, yes, of course: we should continue to do every reasonable thing we can to prevent terrorism. But we should also strive to keep things in perspective . . . which is the total opposite of what our petty, petulant, erratic, lying, bullying, narcissistic, vulgar, dangerous, ignorant President strives to do.* *I know that sounds harsh. But do any of those adjectives not objectively apply?
The Threat Level Is High (from the WH) June 6, 2017June 5, 2017 But first . . . It was 50 years ago, today! (Roughly.) Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play! And I was sitting in the dark in style . . . in my 1967 Acapulco-blue mustang (bought new for $2,411 including tax with my own student earnings) listening full blast on 8-track cassette . . . so let me introduce to you . . . as I listen at the start of every summer and you might, too . . . this account of the album’s importance, from Head Butler. Enjoy. Headed to Paris? Visit the Airshow June 19-25 and don’t miss WheelTug’s booth (Hall 5 – E250). Failing that, there’s a new “pyramid” display on the WT website that shows nicely how time will be saved at the gate. Time is money. The FAA approval process — normally about two years — crawls along. And now back to the reality of our petty, petulant, erratic, constantly lying, boorish, bullying, ignorant CEO (who kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside). Can this end well? For Putin, maybe. “Trump’s Incompetence Won’t Save Our Democracy:” Masha Gessen for the New York Times . . . A nation that historically prides itself on its sophistication and competence, even mastery, of all things from economy to warfare will naturally have a hard time internalizing the fact that a delusional egomaniac with no demonstrable intellect, talent, or other redeeming quality can bring the entire nation down with his fumbling grasp. Even George W. Bush, seen by many as a President far out of his depth, had the political experience to surround himself (mostly) with competent, if rigidly ideological people with at least a cognizance of basic governmental protocols. Trump’s modus operandi appears to be to obstinately thumb his nose at all of the country’s institutions, with a heedless disregard to history or the consequences of his acts. But that utter lack of interest, that stunning embrace of ignorance, is exactly what Trump tapped into in order to get where he is today. By and large his voting base is made of those who shun complexity and deliberately shut their ears to complicated solutions. These are people for whom ignorance is a warm cocoon against the realities of modern existence. These are the people who want to “build a wall” or “bring back coal.” They embrace the rejection of reason and science that Trump embodies. This simplistic, anti-intellectual attitude, with a dose of media-generated charisma thrown in, is terribly appealing to many millions of Americans. . . . Trump “loves the poorly educated” — as we all should. But he loves them for the wrong reason. Here’s the link to Gessen’s article that the Daily Kos was summarizing above.
We All Do Better When We All Do Better June 5, 2017June 4, 2017 Moments after I trumpeted Spamilton Friday (see it on Broadway or in Chicago), this great New York Times profile hit. And having plugged, in that same post, Al Franken: Giant of the Senate — by Al Franken — it occurred to me I should share one of its more serious passages. Al describes how he met his wife Franni nearly 50 years ago during their first week in college. And how Franni’s dad had died when Franni was just 18 months old, leaving her mom, at 29, to raise five kids ranging from 7 — the oldest — to just 3 months. But they did it. And all four daughters went to college. And they did it [Al writes] because of Social Security, the G.I. Bill, and Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. They tell you in this country that you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. And we all believe that. But first you’ve got to have the boots. And the federal government gave Franni’s family the boots. When I think about the values that motivate me to this day — the values that brought me (in a very, very extremely roundabout way) to politics — I think back to my childhood, and to Franni’s. I think about the economic security that was the birthright of middle-class families like mine, and the opportunity that was available for families like Franni’s who wanted to work their way up into the middle class. That, as I wrote in this year’s Senate Patriotic Essay Contest, is what America means to me. And that’s how it’s supposed to be for every kid in America. You’re not supposed to have to be rich or lucky to have a chance to do great things. Opportunity is supposed to be for everyone That’s why I’m a Democrat. You see, Democrats are still the party of civil rights (and with each passing year, Republicans seem less and less interested in competing for that title). But Democrats aren’t just the part of equality for all — we are the party of opportunity for all. We’re the ones who want to give people the boots. We’re the ones who stand for the middle class and for those aspiring to it — not just because it’s the fair thing to do, but because it’s the smart thing to do. It’s how our country has always worked best. My friend and political hero Paul Wellstone, who once held the seat that I now hold in the United States Senate, had a great way of putting it. He said, “We all do better when we all do better.” So simple, so profound. “We all do better when we all do better.” It’s almost like a Haiku, if I knew what a haiku was. Which I don’t. Which of course he does.
GREAT Health Care At A Tiny Fraction of the Cost — Easy! June 2, 2017June 3, 2017 I’m late posting this because I had planned just to toss out some happy stuff — Spamilton moves to Broadway! See it there or in Chicago. “I laughed my brains out.” — Lin-Manuel Miranda Al Franken: Giant of the Senate (by Al Franken) has just been released! You’ll laugh nearly as hard. — but it’s hard to be happy as, day by horrifying day, you watch your amazing country slip. Putin is winning. Bannon is winning. The forces of intolerance and ignorance are winning. And millions of fine people — not deplorable, just bamboozled — are still eager to give this petulant, bullying, narcissistic, uncharitable, pathologically dishonest, ignorant president time to come through with “great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost” (“it’s going to be so easy”) — even as he takes $900 billion out of health care and slashes the budget for research that could one day save their child’s life. By now everyone knows we’ve joined Nicaragua and Syria — alone among the nations of the world — in eschewing the Paris Climate Accord. What 38% of the electorate don’t seem to know (but the rest of the world and America’s business leaders do) is that virtually everything Trump said about this in the Rose Garden is false. Click here for a clear, measured, even-handed review. Even North Korea recognizes the need for the Paris Accord — which is voluntary. Trump could scale back our goals without renegotiating anything. Our allies are sad for America, turning elsewhere for leadership. Our planet is at risk of becoming uninhabitable in a few generations (if we don’t nuke or poison it sooner). After ten thousand generations of suffering and striving that it took to get us to this magical moment, when virtually all things are possible if we don’t hurtle off the rails, Donald Trump is in charge. Putin and the KGB are winning. The coal miners of Kentucky will be losing even worse than most of the rest of us. They need Medicaid. Finally, because it was in the news, a footnote about how we got into this nightmare. Hillary — who was spot-on for most of her recent Code Conference interview, if you ask me (and who would have made a terrific, steady, savvy president) — was arguably too tough on the DNC. Read it here (“Democratic data experts said Thursday there was a zero percent chance that Hillary Clinton lost because the Democratic National Committee gave her bad data”). Andrew R: “So I did a search on the polling pre- and post Comey letter, and while you can certainly find someone to back up the idea that Hillary didn’t lose because of the Comey letter, most of the polling says it was decisive. This includes Nate Silver, who ran a long, careful piece on polling just before the Inauguration that came down on Comey being the thumb on the scales. More recently, it’s been advanced that Comey fell for a piece of Russian disinformation–or at least, if he did know it was such, worried that he’d be attacked with it anyway if he didn’t issue the letter. We’ll never know if it was the Russians (I keep wanting to type “Soviets”), but most of the data I found suggests the Comey letter elected Trump.” Have a great weekend. See Spamilton. Read Al Franken’s book.
Odds / Ends June 1, 2017 Bob Miller: “It’s been 50+ years since I read The Ugly American, but I’m pretty sure that the ‘ugly American’ referred to is exactly who we DO want to emulate. The book was about an ugly man who did good in a Southeast Asian country, in contrast to the American diplomatic corps. The sense of the expression was later changed in common use to what we understand now.” ☞ Oops. It’s been 50+ years since I didn’t read it, I guess. Somehow, the picture of the boorish American tourist leaped out from the title and burrowed out a little place in my brain. These go back to before the election, but I never got around to posting: From @LOLGOP: I’ve been waiting for 7 years for Obama to take my gun and all I got was a job, health insurance and marriage equality. and We’re a nation of people who fled guys like Donald Trump! Also from Twitter, via the New York Times: The 331 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List. Which has only gotten longer. Jeff Cox: “In Las Vegas, Penn and Teller did, and probably still do, a trick like the lottery ticket. Before the show, they invited people to walk onstage and sign a sealed envelope which later held a piece of paper on which was written a passage randomly chosen from a book passed about the audience. My guess is a small ink jet printer is hidden inside, behind the flap in the wallet, behind the board to which the envelope was attached. Another hypothesis is that magicians have learned how to hop in and out of parallel universes, but I never can understand Stephen Hawking’s books well enough to know if that is even possible.” Carroll Webber: “My theory is that he has a hole in the edge of his shoe and an elastic string from his belt and under his pants to that hole, a closable hole in the stage floor, and a confederate under the stage with a lottery ticket with numbers whited out. Once the final number ‘2’ is spoken, the confederate adds that to the other numbers he’s been typing. After Nate stands over the hole in the floor, the confederate can stick the folded ticket to the end of the string, to be pulled up and palmed, and finally substituted for the ticket in his wallet.” ☞ Well, you’re both right that he cheats — it’s not real magic. That much we know. One of you sent me the real answer, which is along the same lines, but made me promise not to share it. Don’t hate me.