Year: 2017

If you’ve not seen the seven-minute Ben Wittes “impeachment” clip, watch it now.  Far from shrill, its power derives from its thoughtfulness.

If you don’t know just how evil Trump’s “great public servant” Sheriff Arpaio is — I didn’t — read it here.  (“The word ‘racist’ isn’t enough. The word ‘abusive’ isn’t enough. Joe Arpaio’s actions over the course of his time in office were monstrous.”)* Oh, and look — that pardon might conceivably not stand, after all.

Arpaio.  Putin.  Bannon.  Sater (stabbed a guy in the face and neck with a broken margarita glass). Erdogan.  Tough guys Trump likes.  Carl Icahn.

Last summer, I told you my Carl Icahn story, a tale of hard-heartedness, ego, and suicide.  But to Trump, Icahn — like Roy Cohn — has been a role model. Elect him, Trump said, and he’d drain the swamp.  No Goldman Sachs guys to protect the carried-interest loophole that he promised to repeal (oops — guess what) . . . no, he would appoint amazing deal makers like Carl Icahn.  According to this piece in the New Yorker that you may have heard about — “Carl Icahn’s Failed Raid On Washington” — it didn’t work out so well.

Icahn is worth more than the Trump family and all the members of the Cabinet combined—and, with no constraint on his license to counsel the President on regulations that might help his businesses, he was poised to become much richer. Robert Weissman, who runs the watchdog group Public Citizen, told me, “This kind of self-enrichment and influence over decision-making by an individual mogul who is simultaneously inside and outside the Administration is unprecedented. In terms of corruption, there’s nothing like it. Maybe ever.” In conversations with me, financiers who have worked with Icahn described his appointment as a kind of corporate raid on Washington. One said, “It’s the cheapest takeover Carl’s ever done.”

Have a great long weekend!

Here, in the indispensable New York Times.  We should so, so, so, so not screw up the Iran deal.  If only we had been so successful in North Korea.

We only have one president at a time, but how we miss the last one.  Did you see Caroline Randall Williams’ op-ed? Also in the indispensable New York Times.  

Speaking of whom, his Foundation sent this helpful email Monday:

Hello Andrew —

All weekend, people in Houston, across the Gulf Coast, and around the country have been pitching in to aid those affected by the devastating flooding in southeastern Texas.

We’ve been inspired by the acts of citizens aiding their neighbors, the first responders at work on the ground, and the people around the country who have come together to support those in need.

Help is still needed, and there are many ways for you to contribute from anywhere. Here are some of the organizations providing urgent relief and essential services to the people affected by Hurricane Harvey:

Red Cross
The American Red Cross is working around the clock to provide safe shelter and comfort for the hundreds of thousands of people impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is assisting in the care of thousands of displaced Texans, and working to restore homes. Learn more about how to support their efforts here.

Save the Children
Save the Children is delivering family-friendly relief supplies, setting up child-friendly spaces in shelters, providing specially trained staff to help children, and planning for long-term recovery needs. Support their Hurricane Harvey relief efforts here.

Houston Food Bank
The Houston Food Bank is providing immediate food distribution to families most in need. Donate now or learn more about how to volunteer at houstonfoodbank.org.

If you’re able, please do what you can to help out. As President Obama said, that’s what we do as Americans.

Thank you,

The Obama Foundation

Finally, an after-thought to Jim Burt’s excellent solution to the statue situation.  (That we leave the statues, but append accurate thumbnails.  E.g., “Nathaniel Bedford Forrest: a slave trader and early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, his racial hatred helped to inspire thousands of murders and church bombings.”)  Jim adds, for the equestrian statues: “It occurs to me that one other thing that could be done is to turn them 180 degrees so that the public would see a horse’s ass every time they drive by.  They do already, but then it would be obvious.”

Take Bundler’s quiz to find out.  It’s free.  And new.  All feedback welcome.

Or skip the quiz and use the main site to find stuff you want to see.  There are so many ways to watch I Love Lucy!  And Veep!

Or maybe you want to quickly see how many seasons there’ve been (six) and a quick synopsis of each episode.  (Oh!  I remember that one!)

Or find amazing old movies like “Z” that you can apparently rent on Amazon for $2.99 (and should).  Or watch free on FilmStruck (of which I’d never heard) with their $6.99/month membership — or free trial.  “A constantly refreshed library of hard to find and critically acclaimed films.  Rare footage and special features. Available to stream at any time.”  You never heard of “Z”?  Now you have.

I’m just beginning to explore Bundler (full disclosure: the founder is a friend; I’m lightly invested), and they will likely be adding functionality . . . but play around and let me know what you think?  How it could be better?  It’s fun to get in on the ground floor.  (Searching on which, I find this two-season “workplace comedy with a romantic twist.”)

Are you old enough to remember TV Guide?  Bundler.com would appear to be the ultimate TV  guide.  Even for those with no TV.

News Flash:  It’s fake.

But did you know that our fake president was — for real, in 2013 — inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame?

Ah, the dignity!

Fellow hall of famers include Bobo Brazil, Gorilla Monsoon, George “the Animal” Steele, the Fabulous Moolah, Junkyard Dog, and sex-tape racist Hulk Hogan.

Ah, the achievement!

(Another achievement: telling 1,094 lies in seven months.  Surely there must be a hall of fame for that?)

If you missed it, the Washington Post reminds us just how much Trump models his presidency after professional wrestling.  No joke.

Colin Powell had it right from the outset: the man is a “national embarrassment.”

This can’t end soon enough.

Next week your kids or grandkids start school, but here is the report card for Success Academy charter schools — #1 in New York State.

With 46 schools and 15,500 students this year, the Success Academy network is now the size of the state’s 7th largest school district. On this year’s state exams, 95% of Success students passed math and 84% passed [English] — making Success #1 for student achievement in New York State.

As long-time readers of this page know, over and over (and over and over): the Success Academy methods work, are replicable, and are free for the taking by any teacher or principal or school board member who wants to give them a try.

Consider this: with an average household income of just $32,191 — versus $291,242 for the kids in Scarsdale and $129,375 for the kids in Chappaqua — and with just 9% of its kids white or Asian versus 86% in Scarsdale and 88% in Chappaqua — the Success Academy public school kids outperformed both the Chappaqua and the Scarsdale kids.  Chappaqua and Scarsdale are outstanding school districts, deserving of high praise, ranked near the top in the state.  But Success Academy kids did better.

And consider this:  of all 2400 public elementary schools in New York State, Success had 14 of the top 30.

Citywide, just 29% of the kids of color (and 61% of the white kids) passed the English test — versus 83% of the kids of color at Success Academy schools.  In math, the results were even a little more dramatic.

New York’s 46 Success Academy schools are non-profit, public schools.  Students are selected by lottery — not aptitude.  With the Success results well known throughout the city’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, almost every parent signs up for the lottery.

What Success Academy is accomplishing helps not just each student who succeeds (which is to say, almost all of them, and which would be important enough) but it also, thereby — and for all the generations that will follow — breaks the cycle of poverty and despair, of teenage pregnancy and crime, that so drag our society down.

What if all schools adopted variations of the Success methods — or any others that worked — so a lottery were not needed?

Imagine the impact on our nation’s future well-being if almost all her kids succeeded.

From the New York Post: Control Exactly How Much Google Knows About You.

Who knew?  I went to the link, as suggested.  It’s all there.

From the New York Times: Can you guess which of these would most mitigate climate change?   Building more wind farms, eating less meat, improving air conditioner efficiency, switching to mass transit?  “All of the above” would of course be best; but the Times reveals the answer.

Even if you guess right, refresh the screen to guess each of the other three, as well, for a thumbnail description of the impact it would have.

Of course, climate change is one of those “scientific” things of which so many Republicans — like Trump’s choice for USDA’s top scientist, a former radio talk-show host with no scientific background — are skeptical.

Have a great weekend!

Hey, listen: you know I periodically plug BrainHQ — “Brain Training That Works.”  There are three reasons for this: (1) I want you to get your money’s worth from this page, and the basic exercises are free.  (2) I want you to be happy, healthy — and to avoid dementia.  (A 10-year study of 2,800 subjects found that those who did just 14.5 hours in total with these exercises had a 48% reduced incidence of dementia.  Imagine the likely reduction for someone who did an hour a month every year instead of just the first!)  (3) If you convert from the basic free exercises to the monthly subscription, I will get rich because I own a small piece.

Here’s Fast Company’s review of the field, just out this week.

Because dementia is so expensive, what Medicare should do is similar to what some auto insurers should do:  At least one has made BrainHQ available to its seniors free, because it’s found that by increasing their acuity, it reduces their accident rates.  Medicare should offer $50 an hour for up to 10 hours successfully completed each year — the exercises are on-line, so progress could be seamlessly shared with the Medicare computer and rebates applied to the Medicare premiums.  This could get millions of people doing the exercises, both for the money, and because an offer so generous would persuade a lot of seniors that there must really be something to this: that it could meaningfully improve their lives, while lowering health care costs for the whole nation — and improving the lives of their loved ones (dementia is hard on more than just seniors).

And by the way?  Even relative youngsters may benefit.  One who swears by BrainHQ is Tom Brady.

Don’t say I never gave you anything.  Click here.

Here’s Michael Chabon’s compelling take on why Jews who still support Trump are not thinking clearly.

So should Gary Cohn and other competent Jewish members of the Trump administration leave?

Along with — for that matter — non-Jewish members equally appalled by his bullying vulgarity, instability, dishonesty, and incompetence?

Here, from Axios, is Why They Stay — and why it’s good that they do.  (Executive summary: we need competent, stable people doing their best to limit the damage.  “You have no idea how much crazy stuff we kill.”)

That said, for non-essential high-profile people — like the business advisory councils, and members of the arts and religious advisory councils — to quit, and/or speak out . . . that tide should only pick up steam.

The sooner Trump declares victory and resigns — congratulating himself on having accomplished more in a mere 10 months (say), than any other president accomplished in a full eight years, fulfilling the mandate of the largest electoral victory since Reagan’s, cheered on by a larger throng on the Mall than even the possibly illegitimate Obama (Trump sent investigators to Hawaii “and you won’t believe what they’re finding”) — the sooner he can get back to overseeing the routine audit of his income taxes and not having any business ties to Russia.

In case you missed it, Frank Bruni argues Trump has already resigned.

What to do about America’s neo-Nazis?  As suggested in the New York Times, mocking may work best.

And speaking of neo-Nazis, here is the latest view of Trump from Der Spiegel, Germany’s leading newspaper.

In part:

. . . Ninety years ago, in the New York borough of Queens, around 1,000 members of the Klu Klux Klan clashed with police. Fred Trump was among those arrested. His case never reached trial because times were different back then. But Fred Trump raised his son Donald to believe that he belonged to a white elite. When asked about the ugly KKK episode in 2015, the presidential candidate answered, “This never happened. This is nonsense and it never happened. This never happened. Never took place. He was never arrested, never convicted, never even charged. It’s a completely false, ridiculous story.” Does this mean that something can only be true if it winds up in court?

. . . In November 2016, Americans elected this Trump as their president. The same man who had denounced Barack Obama as a Muslim and claimed he had been born in a foreign country. The same man who campaigned under the slogan “Make America Great Again” — in which “great again” means a social Darwinist U.S. where American-born locals rule over immigrants, heterosexuals over homosexuals, whites over blacks and men over women. Based on his speeches, his decrees and his hiring decisions, there is no other possible interpretation of what he stands for and who he is.  [He also kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside.]

America Has Lost Its Moral Compass

Trump is a racist. He is a preacher of hate. Those who pretend he is not, those who portray him as merely being an unpolished, somewhat chaotic old man, as a person who explicitly sought to avoid becoming a slick politician, are merely enabling him. . . . In an uncertain time of change, the president has identified the scapegoats: immigrants and the elite. And just in case there is another terrorist attack in the U.S. in the future, Trump has already identified who is to blame — namely the liberal judges who are now allowing refugees into the country. The White House is supposed to be home to America’s moral compass. Instead, though, it currently houses the country’s chauvinist-in-chief.

. . . Everyday racism generally works in subtle ways. It starts with prejudice and discrimination: coins are thrown at Jewish children or blacks are subjected to police checks more often than whites. Then there are the racist activists on the dark fringes and, thirdly, politicians who openly service clichés. All those things can take place independently of each other. But there have repeatedly been phases when it all comes together in a perfect storm. That’s what happened with National Socialism in Germany and with apartheid in South Africa. Hungary has been experiencing such a phase in the last few years — and now Trump’s America has followed. During these phases, the full impact of racism is on display and inhibitions drop.

. . . David Duke, the leader of American racists, had good reason to thank Trump this week. When the president of the United States says that the victim is just as responsible as the murderer, or that the counterdemonstrator is just as guilty as the Nazi waving the swastika flag and shouting, “Jews will not replace us,” and when Trump’s own party doesn’t drop him even now, then Duke and Trump have already achieved a key goal. Tolerance, empathy, kindness and diversity of opinion are all disparaged as political correctness. It becomes OK to say anything else, and if you can say it, it becomes easier to justify violence. The wheel of civilization has made a turn in reverse.

But it can get back on track.  All we have to do is turn out massively 15 months from now and vote.  Democrats are not right about everything everywhere all the time.  But we’re right about putting people to work rebuilding America’s infrastructure, which the Republicans would not allow; and we’re right about wanting to allow student-loan refinancing at today’s low rates, which Republicans would not allow; and we’re right that the minimum wage should be raised, which the Republicans fight tooth and nail; and we’re right that the road to affordable health requires improving Obamacare, not sabotaging it — let alone carving out from it a massive tax cut for the wealthy.  And we’re right in being horrified by both the character of the President and his incompetence, which 79% of Republicans, including my friend Peter, still are not.

A lot of good folks think we should leave the statues where they are. (The numbers may surprise you.)

Our very own Jim Burt may have come up with the perfect solution:

“My wife and I are both originally from Memphis,” hew writes.  “Close to the downtown area, the city has a park now called ‘Health Sciences Park’ – because of the proximity of the University of Tennessee medical school – which used to be called ‘Forrest Park.’ It features a large equestrian bronze statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest.  The City of Memphis has been trying to remove it, but its efforts have been frustrated by a state historical commission empowered by the Republican state government to prevent such removals.  This is what I wrote to the city’s most prominent newspaper (for which my father worked for many years):

I am a white former resident of Memphis and have fond memories of playing as a toddler in Forrest Park. I did not at that age appreciate that the park was named after a monster.

Since the Tennessee Historical Commission is performing its assigned racist task of frustrating the removal of racist monuments, I suggest that the next best action — which should be entirely within the authority of the City of Memphis — is to correct the historical record on the Forrest statue. The name on the pedestal should have the word “Traitor” added in large letters, and the account on the pedestal of his deeds should be supplemented prominently with the information that he was a slave merchant, war criminal, and founder of the terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan. It should also note that the statue was erected in 1904 as an expression of the power of Jim Crow and the subjugation of African Americans.

After all, the supporters of keeping these statues claim that they’re about “history, not hate.” Just get all the history out there where it can be seen.

☞ What say you?