Author: A.T.

Yes.

Lots else to talk about, but in the meantime, read this really terrific profile of John Boehner.  A decent, sensible guy.

You think the Democratic Party has problems?

(Well, yes, of course, we do: but our basic premises include fairness, opportunity, inclusion, community, and investing in the future . . . so that gives us a head start.  Where we look for ways to make health care more affordable, student loans refinanceable, and voting easier, they look for ways to kill the tax on investment income that helps make health care more affordable, to eliminate the estate tax on billionheirs, and to make voting more difficult.)

Read about John Boehner and try not to like him.  I don’t think you’ll be able to.

There is a character in Steve Martin’s brilliantly funny new play, Meteor Shower, who suffers from “exploding head syndrome.”

I think I may suffer from a touch of it myself because there’s just so much to say (which accounts for this post’s being late) that I don’t know where to start — or how to keep it from being book length.

So let me just throw out some data points:

WheelTug followers: Here’s Jan Vana’s recent presentation from earlier this month at the Smart Airports conference in Munich.  Inch by inch, we approach the Promised Land (or so I hope) . . .

Tax cut followers: If you saw my post yesterday, you know my thoughts and saw me waving my arms around.  Now that we’ve seen the details, and heard Republicans saying no, it’s not a gift to billionheirs (etc.) . . . well, how could your head not explode?  It would be just nuts to pass this thing, or anything like it, adding to our deficit, robbing us of funds needed to revitalize our infrastructure, making inequality yet worse.  Nut, nuts, nuts.

DNC followers: I love Donna Brazile (and virtually all that Bernie stands for), but if you’ve been following the hoo-ha, please take a minute to read this: Primary Error: Donna Brazile Mixed Up Two Different Clinton-DNC Agreements.  It seems she made a really big error.  I’ve ordered the book and expect there will be much in it of interest. Donna is a spectacular human being.  But no, to my knowledge, the primary election was not “rigged.”  That’s just way too strong an assessment.

I tried to address this ages ago and may take another stab at it after I’ve read her book.  But for now, check out that link.

Meanwhile . . .

Civilized humans: Just as “rigged” is way — way — too strong a word for what went on in the 2016 Democratic primary (even if with hindsight some judgments could have been made better and more transparently and there were, for sure, some management weaknesses) so is “meddling” way — way — too weak a word to describe Russia’s involvement in the 2016 general election, as becomes ever more increasingly clear.

You don’t reach 126 million Facebook users and 288 million Twitter users without having an impact.  To say Trump would have won Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin without the massive Russian assault — remember, he won those states by less than one percent — strains credulity.

The Russians were expert at turning people off to Hillary, turning Bernie people against Hillary — are probably, as we speak, working to amplify the Donna controversy — and, I would guess (though it’s just a guess), played a role in Brexit and have been stoking passions in Catalonia and have been doing something weird with sound waves in Cuba, all to sow discord and division.

That Trump never refers to Russia’s ongoing war against us and our allies is reason enough to consider him a traitor to our democracy.

CNN watchers: Do you even have a TV?  If so, do you watch Fareed Zakaria without fail every Sunday morning?  It is so sober, professional, and informative and important.  Here’s the transcript from last week.  It begins with a quick assessment of the damage Trump has done to our standing in the world (“Countries like Australia, The Netherlands and Canada now all have a more favorable view of China than of the US. Many of the countries surveyed including Germany, Chile and Indonesia have greater confidence in the leadership of Xi than of Trump.”) Then quickly segues into a riveting six minutes with Bill Browder, whose lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, Putin had murdered, which ties back to the meeting in Trump Tower, where Russians were hoping to get the Magnitsky Act repealed.  Watch!

Have you seen Tom Steyer’s ad?  He calls for impeachment.  Sixty seconds.

Have a great weekend.  Don’t let your head explode. Spread the word.

I don’t know the details of the Republican tax cut scheduled to be released today, but it’s almost certain to be directed mainly to the rich and powerful.

It’s nuts to cut taxes with unemployment at 4.2% and the deficit and Debt so large relative to the economy as a whole.

It’s nuts to cut taxes for the rich when inequality is already so high.

It’s nuts to cut taxes when our long-decaying infrastructure is so badly in need of repair.

The way to juice the economy and create good jobs isn’t yet more tax breaks for the wealthy. It’s massive tax-payer-funded infrastructure renewal.

Yes: if there are revenue-neutral ways to reform the corporate tax code to make life simpler and provide less incentive to move jobs abroad, I’m all for them.

But the general thrust of Republican tax “reform” is always to lower taxes for the best off — directly as individuals and indirectly as corporate shareholders — which will not create good new jobs or juice the economy or fund revitalization of our national infrastructure.

So . . . while we await details . . . here’s a 90-second video  that frames the big picture.

Should I have worn a tie?

A full show from Russia done in Yiddish.  Pretty wonderful even if the only word you can make out is “l’chaim!”  (Thanks, Mel!)

And Roger Cohen has this lovely column that basically says: we’ll get thru this. If you have time, there’s a lot of life wisdom here.  (Thanks, Evy!)

In small part (that, for all I know, echoes some of the Yiddish I didn’t understand, and so follows naturally):

. . . Try thinking of the imperturbable, Venetian gondolier bolt upright in the storm, eyes fixed on the horizon. Try thinking of your young daughter combing her hair out. If all else fails, and gloom is enveloping, think of the silver bullet of a good Martini at dusk, or the wisdom of the old Jewish cable:

“Start worrying. Details to follow.”

And the Jews, lo and behold, are still around, still worrying, still making trouble and laughing . . .

So there is hope and cause to celebrate and be thankful. America is still “this big, boisterous, brawling, intemperate, striving, daring, beautiful, bountiful, brave, magnificent country,” as Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, put it the other day; and the world’s anti-American elites still cry out: “Yankee, go home — and take our baby with you!” . . .

But first a few about infrastructure.  I Amtrak-ed to DC this weekend, which — with Italian trains fresh in mind — made for quite a contrast.  A friend, responding, writes: “Don’t get me started about our infrastructure! While our only big infrastructure project is building a wall that will dampen economic growth, China (as I’m sure you know) is doing things like this.”

And a few about possible indictments — to the tune of “From Russia With Love.”  Two minutes you do not want to miss.

(My first instinct was to distance myself a bit — “obviously, all these people are presumed innocent until proven guilty” — which they are. But is it not already clear to anyone with a television that all of them, in positions of trust and gravity, have lied over and over?  That they are wrecking our government and abdicating our world leadership?  Yes, we now all have great health care at a tiny fraction of what we were paying under the Kenyan; and yes, there were some damn fine people marching with torches in Charlottesville; and, yes, he released his tax returns as soon as he won the nomination, as he said he “absolutely” would; and, yes, he kept a book of Hitler’s speeches by his bedside — but even so, are we not entitled to a couple of minutes of catharsis while we wait for this national tragedy to end?  Enjoy.)

And now a few words about tyranny:

From Jesse Kornbluth: “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin.”

From Jesse Kornbluth, Part II:  “On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century on How to Survive in Trump’s America.”

I’m quite sure we will avoid any 21st Century equivalent — I inherited the happy gene, and humanity has come too far to repeat such mistakes.

And yet . . .

Even if you don’t have time to read the books Jesse recommends, his reviews are for sure worth your time.

If you haven’t chosen your costume yet, Julio Torres offers Jimmy Fallon some terrific suggestions.  Skip ahead to 2:35:  Three minutes.  Very funny.  Happy Halloween!  (I hate Halloween.)

But mainly, take a bit of your Friday or your weekend to read TIME Magazine’s cover story: The Wrecking Crew: How Trump’s Cabinet Is Dismantling Government As We Know It.

It will hurt almost everyone in the long run, but — ironically — Trump voters more than most.

How can this be happening?

Let’s start fixing.

When I was six, a substitute school bus driver asked me for my address.  How the hell was I supposed to know?  You’re the school bus driver.  I’m six!  But I digress.

Forget longitude and latitude.

As described in this 5-minute TED talk, the earth has been divided into 57 trillion 3-meter squares, with each assigned a unique three-word address.  (The address for the Jefferson Memorial, for example: event.courier.tests.)

Click here to all but instantly find yours.

In the middle of a favela with no street signs — but have an Internet connection?  Domino’s pizza — or the paramedics — will find you from those three words.

It seems I’m not the only one who has trouble making out lyrics. Gray Chang: “I found ‘cherry pie, cherry pie‘ at a website dedicated to misheard lyrics, kissthisguy.com.”  Fun.

The deficit is ballooning under their stewardship and the Republicans want to cut taxes — massively — for the rich? Really?  Didn’t we try this under George W. Bush?  He exploded the debt but over eight years added fewer than 800,000 private sector jobs.  Clinton raised taxes on the top 1%, as did Obama, bringing deficits back into line — and (between the two of them) adding more than 30 million private sector jobs.  So I think we’ve proved it: slashing taxes for the rich creates deficits, not jobs.  It’s irresponsible.  And the Republicans are determined to do it.  Again.

Is here:  “Daydreaming In Germany.”

On Yom Kippur, last month, I was in Berlin. I am not a religious Jew, but on the High Holy Days I like to be in a synagogue, listen to the ancient lilt of Hebrew prayer and allow my mind to drift from daily cares. It is a form of respite. We all need that these days. Worry has become an early riser. . . .

. . . This is a time of growing fears, in Europe and the United States. Ghosts have stirred. Humanity never quite grows out of the buffoon’s attractions: the scapegoats he offers; the fast money; the rush of violence; the throb of nation and flag; the adrenaline of the mob; the glorious future that will, he insists, avenge past humiliations. . . .

. . . An autocratic, nativist, xenophobic, nationalist reaction is now in full swing on both sides of the Atlantic — as the election in Austria demonstrates again. It demands resolute vigilance. It also demands that we listen, try to understand and resist fracture. . . .

. . . We find ourselves once again “on the cusp of avoidable disaster.”

There is way more to the column than that snippet.  Click.

But first: billionaire Mark Cuban offers this investment advice on CNBC.  Bless his heart.

Okay.  Are you ready?

Occupy Florida tells it this way in a two-minute video.  Executive summary: Florida’s Governor is a truly bad guy.

Rolling Stone tells it this way:

. . . Politically, Scott is Trump without the bluster and the golf clubs. On climate change, Scott refuses to acknowledge its existence. During his 2014 campaign, whenever the subject came up, he would shrug and say, “I am not a scientist” – as if that absolved him of any responsibility for thinking about the risk posed to millions of people in the state he proposed to run.

As governor, Scott has done everything he can to do nothing. He made sure the state of Florida contributed zero dollars to Miami Beach’s $400 million plan to improve storm drainage. He took more than $1 million from Big Utilities, who tried to stop rooftop solar power in Florida, which could help reduce carbon pollution. He effectively dismantled the Florida Energy and Climate Commission, which had been assembled . . . to help Florida officials think strategically about climate adaptation. . . .

. . . In 2014, after months of lobbying, a group of scientists scored a meeting with Scott, hoping to convince him that climate change was real and Florida was in the crosshairs. “He just sat there and stared at us with lizard eyes,” one of the scientists at the meeting told me. “I don’t think he heard a word we said.”

On the other hand, maybe he did. The following year, the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that Scott’s administration had commanded state employees not to use the terms “global warming” or “climate change” in any state business.  . . . Scott supported Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. He also signed legislation, pushed by real-estate developers, to weaken Florida’s building codes, even though the legislation was opposed by Florida’s emergency management director, as well as Craig Fugate, the former head of FEMA under President Obama, who argued that by loosening the building codes in a hurricane-prone state like Florida, lawmakers “are putting your state and your citizens at risk.”

Even if Al Gore had been governor of Florida, Irma would have wreaked havoc in the state. But Scott’s negligence was so extreme it was almost as if he were inviting a catastrophe. . . .

With Christmas and Chanukah around the corner, consider an Echo Show ($229) — or two of them, to save $100 on the second.  (Or the soon-to-be-released smaller, $129 Echo Spot.)  I love that it shows me the lyrics in big fat type as I listen (for years I thought Lady Gaga was singing “cherry pie, cherry pie” when in fact it was “can’t read my, can’t read my” . . . which made more sense once I realized that the next two words were “poker face”).  And it suggested I watch Mr. Robot on its perfectly adequate little screen — I’m hooked.  And it can do more or less anything else.  (“Alexa, how much is $138 euros in dollars?”  “Alexa, when is Chanukah?”  “Alexa, who is Mark Cuban?”)

If you’re an investor, well worth the read (thanks, Pete): Smart Money And Dumb Money Are Moving In Opposite Directions. The smart money is heavily in cash.

(And if you have time, William O. Cohan, writing in Vanity Fair, says “the Bond King” is worried, too.)

One reason the market is high, some believe, is its expectation of a “massive” tax cut on corporate profits and wealthy investors — both of which make stock ownership more appealing.

That this is exactly the wrong time for a tax cut — 4.2 unemployment; National Debt that needs to shrink relative to the economy as a whole; infrastructure in woeful need of revitalization — is the stuff of another post.

And that “relief for the wealthy” — the lion’s share of what’s being proposed — is clearly not what most Americans would prioritize as a key concern is so obvious as to need no elaboration.

(But when has that ever stopped me?  Most would place a higher priority on lowering health care deductibles and co-pays; putting people to work modernizing infrastructure; allowing federal-student-loan holders to refinance at today’s low rates; funding scientific research.)

But — if the Republicans get their way — here we go again.  Bush promised a massive tax cut “by far the vast majority” of which would go to people “at the bottom of the economic ladder.”  This was a multi-trillion lie.  Plain and simple.

What’s more, it did not trickle down.  It did not create employment gains or wage hikes — employment and wage growth were largely stagnant under Bush; only inequality rose.

Now the Republicans are out to do it again.  A supposedly massive tax cut for average Americans that will in fact be, instead, a massive tax cut — again — for the wealthiest Americans.

(For many Americans, it is the Social Security and Medicare deductions from their paychecks — which will not be cut a dime — that are the main federal tax they pay.)

And you know what they say: “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice . . .”