Year: 2019

…Packing for a shore vacation for the whole family, including another  “Grandpa”. Let’s see, they’re coming from Brooklyn, Queens, Summit, Basking Ridge, Malvern, Florida. What to bring: Wash and fold towels, sheets and pillow cases. Don’t forget soap (dish, dishwasher and hand), then kitchen stuff. A trip to the grocery store for staples… remember favorite cereals, tea, coffee, beer, wine,… Oh yeah, there’s a birthday. 

And everyone is bringing at least one dog. That will be an event in itself.

Stuff it all into the SUV, including the… Oh no! He almost forgot the dog! Oh yea… and dog food, dog bed, leash, toys…. 

(Here’s a question: how did people go on vacations before SUV’s?). 

Finally on the freeway two hours later than planned, his back saying “what the *&^!8!”, he can’t remember if he locked the house or not.

He drives for an hour and a half, at… well, just a tad over the speed limit. 

(Now, what is that about?! Why would anyone get all pent up and race to a vacation place to mellow out? Because everyone else on the road is doing the same thing? Maybe it’s our competitive nature. Maybe to have more time to mellow out than the other guy. Maybe both – “I got more mellow-out time than you did! Hah!”.)

He gets there within fifteen minutes of everyone else – it turns out they all got a late start, too. 

Unload all the stuff (more complaints from that stupid back). Say hi to everyone. Decide who gets what room. Have that first beer or coke and try not to complain about Jersey traffic. (Unfortunately, we can’t all come from PA.)

They walk the dogs, then stroll a few blocks to a local restaurant for dinner. A woman in a long skirt and floppy sunhat riding a fat-tired bike weaves through desultory traffic. Cars don’t even honk at her. Hmmm.  

Shrimp scampi to drool over and on a paper plate. And some of the worst looking, best tasting french fries ever. There are quiet, catching up conversations, punctuated with occasional bursts of laughter.  

Grandpa’s a birthday boy today and he has presents to open. He brings his own cake – carrot cake – because it reminds him of his daughter’s carrot cake (the best ever! No contest. The best!). She’s told him she can’t be there for this birthday, or bring his grandchildren. So he decided to just get a store cake this year instead. So there!

But one taste and Grandpa details the store cake’s inadequacies. As good as it is (and – Yum!!), he convinces everyone it’s not real carrot cake at all. 

(What everyone else knows is that Grandpa’s daughter and grandchildren are going to arrive for a day-after-birthday-surprise the next day. The real surprise?  No-one breaks the secret).

The next morning he takes the dog for a long walk, past expansive Victorian beach houses adjacent to sleek contemporary ones. Next to a small park with swings is the town’s City Hall, a building that looks more like a college dorm than a government office.  A vintage MG TD purrs down the street, the driver looking left and right for attention. It has been beautifully restored and triggers memories of black and white British movies.  He passes an early 1950’s pickup truck, shiny red, with an upright cab and a long bed – also looking new.

They all sit in wicker chairs on the wrap-around porch after a late breakfast. There is some talk of current events, but more of childhood, jobs, the New York commute and, of course, jokes about the relatives who aren’t there to defend themselves. 

Sometime later in the afternoon, when he least expects it, Grandpa answers a knock at the door and there stand his daughter and his two grandchildren. 

Shouts of glee. Hugs. Laughs. And later, the carrot cake he had bragged about. And yes, it is as good as he said.

For the rest of the week: walks on the beach, reading books that they got two Christmas ago, long naps, reminiscing about childhoods and family lore, playing cards and board games, watching dogs peacefully work out a pecking order amongst themselves (well, fairly peacefully).

No radio. No TV. Checking email, maybe. 

Grandpatakes the grandchildren for a stroll in town. They see a newspaper stand, stacked with crisp, unread newspapers. 

Grandpa takes the grandchildren for a stroll in town. They see a newspaper stand filled with crisp new papers, stacked and ready to be read. 

“What are those, Grandpa?” 

“Right now, nothing of importance. But I had a great birthday!” 

It’s time for everyone to “take 5”, “have a cup of Joe”, “chill” – whatever you want to call it. Because this country is feeling like a CNN news crew at a Trump rally. 

The US we know today was started by white European Christians. And that’s been the dominant culture ever since.

In recent decades, millions of Hispanics have crossed the border from Mexico illegally. Being big-hearted and optimistic, Reagan gave 3 million of them amnesty, convinced Congress would stop the flow with stricter laws. Today, there are over 11 million. The two branches didn’t cooperate very well then, either. 

In some ways white Americans really like low-skilled – illegal – immigrants. They do the jobs we won’t do, like working in the fields or slaughter houses, washing dishes or cleaning toilets. And we don’t even have to pay them decent wages. 

On the other hand, now we have bilingual everything, from restroom signs to recorded messages. Not to mention a heavy dose of Hispanic culture. We’re not as happy about that. No me gusta.

Our culture has always valued immigrants, but the white, European kind, n’est pas? 

Today diversity in the US, once theoretical, is becoming reality.  So, with the influx of more non-white, non-European immigrants, a lot of white Americans are fearful of our culture being diluted and dominance weakened. 

That’s the fear Trump has been fanning for 4 years by focusing on criminal elements and terrorism. 

You see the fear in rural, homogeneous areas, more than urban areas. There’s a simple reason: cities, especially big ones, are melting pots with lots of diverse people crammed together. In these places, your culture or heritage matters less than your ability to get a job done. People rub shoulders and eventually get to know the person behind the ethnicity. As they do, fear is replaced by respect, even friendship.

Is the fear of immigrants justified? Not according to most national statistics. Two examples: in 2001, the crime rate in El Paso was higher than the national average but by 2017, as immigration increased, the city’s crime rate steadily decreased to below the national average;  according to the FBI, crime in the 10 cities with the most refugees also decreased between 2006 and 2015. 

Is Trump a racist, a xenophobe? His quotes imply both, for sure. But he also clearly stops short of direct racism. Is he anti-Semitic? He certainly stereotypes Jews, but he doesn’t denigrate them; he hires them.

So, I don’t know if he is racist, per se. That’s too narrow. I think he’s a “Poorist”.

He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, the son of a wealthy white European developer who cared only about winning and wealth. I think he dislikes and looks down upon poor people, those on the bottom rung, most of whom are black and brown. And he always has.

So he denigrates them. He highlights the poverty of Baltimore and talks about “sh**hole” poor countries that send rapists and killers into the US. 

But he’s very afraid of poverty and all its accouterments, from roach infestations to disease to crime. People’s skin color and ethnicity are tangential to their poverty. To him, wealth and privilege are protections from the great unwashed. 

The additional fears he promotes are extensions of that primary fear. Geo-politics is bad. Nationalism is good. Welfare is bad. Oligarchy is good. 

Let the poor eat whatever they can; the cake is for us. 

The biggest mistake for those who oppose Trump (Republicans or Democrats) is to counter his fear mongering by promoting their own fear: of unregulated capitalism, of authoritarianism, of climate change, of economic disparity, of abuse of power, etc…

Why? Because fear – especially his fear – begets anger, which is already tearing the country apart, not to mention killing people in Dayton, El Paso, etc…

What the country needs today is less fear, less anger. We need Franklin Roosevelt’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” after which he calmly led us to victory and the world to safety.

I have good friends who share traditional American values: integrity, love of family, hard work, patriotism, and the like. The major difference between them (beyond accents from New England to Texas) is the politics of fear. 

If those who oppose Trump meet fear with fear and fight anger with anger, the country will continue to turn against itself. If they meet fear and anger with inspiration and rectitude, with ideas and ideals, we will all win.

Guess What!

A guy with an 100 round assault weapon killed 9 people and wounded 27 others in Dayton, Ohio!  And he did it in only 30 seconds! 

Yeah for you!

And guess what else! Another guy with another assault rifle killed another 22 and wounded another 24 in El Paso,Texas!

Two mass shootings in just one week! 

Double Yeah for you!

Oh, I know. It’s not the gun, it’s the person, right?

So… should we get rid of people?

Or guns?

The last time a Presidential candidate shot his competitor was around 7:00 AM, July 11, 1804. To be sure, it was some years after Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had first competed for the public’s approval, and Hamilton never actually ran for President, but the intensity of their dislike for each other resulted in the famous duel that cost Hamilton his life and Aaron Burr his reputation (which, in those days was considered as important as one’s life – hence the duel.)

It was triggered by animosity that had flown back and forth between the two men for years as Burr chased the Presidency and Hamilton opposed him. 

There was Hamilton’s line in 1796, “I feel it is a religious duty to oppose his career.” 

Or his January 4, 1801 comment, “Mr. Burr will probably make stipulations, but he will laugh in his sleeve while he makes them and will break them the first moment it may serve his purpose.”  

(Hey! History does repeat itself!)

That didn’t do it though. What really got under the burr in Burr’s saddle was being called “despicable” by Hamilton in April of 1804. Three months later he was dead.

Apparently in those days, “despicable” was a fighting word.  

(It’s not an exact repeat of history, but Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” immediately comes to mind. I wonder how she did in American History.)

35 years after Hamilton’s death, in 1839, British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton decided that “the pen is mightier than the sword”.  I’m not sure that officially ended politicians’ shooting each other, but it makes a nice coda, doesn’t it?

And it may be why British politicians decided to use humor to leaven political insult.

”The Right Honorable Gentleman’s smile was like the silver plate on a coffin. “ – Benjamin Disraeli about Robert Peel.

“He was a great man in an era of small events.” – Winston Churchill on Prime Minister Lord Rosebery.

“If Gladstone fell into the Thames, that would be a misfortune. If anybody pulled him out, that, I suppose, would be a calamity.” – Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli on Former British Prime Minister William Gladstone.

John Montagu: “Sir, I do not know whether you will die on the gallows or of the pox!” John Wilkes: “That, sir, depends on whether I first embrace your Lordship’s principles or your Lordship’s mistresses.”

Winston Churchill on Prime Minister Clement Attlee: “An empty cab pulled up to Downing Street. Clement Attlee got out.”

“She probably thinks Sinai is the plural of sinus.” – MP Jonathan Aitken on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

British Prime Minister David Cameron on former Prime Minister Tony Blair: “He was the future once.”

Not to be outdone, American politicians have also brought wit to politics.

“No more backbone than a chocolate éclair.” Assistant Secretary of the Navy Teddy Roosevelt on President William McKinley.

“People might cite George Bush as proof that you can be totally impervious to the effects of a Harvard and Yale education.” Barney Frank.

“Bill Clinton’s foreign policy experience is pretty much confined to having had breakfast once at the International House of Pancakes.”  Pat Buchanan.

“History buffs probably noted the reunion at a Washington party a few weeks ago of three ex-presidents: Carter, Ford, and Nixon — See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Evil.” – Bob Dole

“He’s a nice guy, but he played too much football with his helmet off.” Lyndon Johnson on Gerald Ford.

And then there was the more recent 2011 Correspondents’ Dinner, when Obama offered “the long version” of his birth certificate: a clip of the birth scene from The Lion King (see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4). 

Now, that was really funny and really insulting .

To me, those zingers are a lot more effective than “despicable”, if for no other reason than they trigger laughs, not duels. 

Humor does bring civility to an otherwise brutal contest.

I know what you’re thinking. Now he’s going to compare these political zingers to those of the politicians of today. He’s going to compare people like Churchill and Disraeli, Roosevelt and Dole, to (at this writing) 26 candidates and “he-who-needs-no-introduction”.

Nah…. why would I do that when the next 16 months will do it for me?

If ever a hero could have ridden to rescue of truth, justice and the American way, it could have and should have been Robert Mueller.

But it wasn’t.

Part of the reason may have been politics. The Mueller hearings were more than hearings. People (including the Director of the FBI) wouldn’t read the over 400 pages (some estimates indicate only 3% of the country read it), so Democrats had to put it on TV to get eyeballs. 

The Party of Trump didn’t attempt to refute a single conclusion of the report. They knew it was rock solid. Instead, they attacked Mueller and the motivation for the report in a typical Trump move: if you can’t win on substance, attack the messenger; if you can’t attack the messenger, distract by attacking something – anything- else.

If you paid close attention, you saw Mueller make some damning statements, but they were the equivalent of whispering “Fire” in a theater filled with screaming people. 

Here are some of those statements:

* Mueller said Trump was not exonerated, despite Trump’s claim to the contrary.

* He said Trump did obstruct justice – at least 5 times – and could have been indicted, but for the Justice department policy to not indict a sitting President.

* He said witnesses supplied by Trump lied, repeatedly.

* He said Trump asked his staff to falsify records.

* He said Trump was unpatriotic because of looking for campaign help from Russia.

* When asked about Trump’s glee at Wikileaks leaks, he said, “problematic is an understatement.”

* He said the only option for holding the President accountable was Congress.

It’s worth repeating: in nearly six hours of hearings Republicans did not even attempt to refute the basic facts of the report. 

So, that’s all pretty damning, right? 

Beyond that, Mueller brought a sterling reputation to the investigation. He served in the Marines in Viet Nam, won a Bronze Star for saving a wounded Marine and a Purple Heart for being shot. He was a homicide prosecutor in Washington, US assistant attorney general for the criminal division of the Justice Department, and headed the FBI. He went after and convicted Mafia kingpins and foreign kingpins, such a Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.

This was a man of courage and strength, of thoroughness and old-school integrity. He was Superman in a button down shirt.

Then he turned into Clark Kent. 

He gave mostly one-word responses. He hesitated and stumbled on longer answers. He consistently just reiterated portions of the report. Many times, he just refused to answer. His whole appearance was weak, uninformative, and without conviction.

He’s famous for disliking the spotlight. But he has made stands in the past when it was important to the country. One example: a lifelong Republican, he stood up to Bush and Cheney, refusing to allow the FBI to do “enhanced interrogation” (torture). 

And that’s what’s so disappointing.

He knew Trump had tried to obstruct his investigation. He knew Russia had tried to swing the election to Trump. He knew the country needed to be informed, clearly and forcefully.

But he didn’t do it.

He could have made a short statement at the beginning, simply listing the points from his own report that I noted above – with page numbers, but without commentary. That would have made clear to the whole country the main facts of the investigation – no more, no less. 

But he made no statement. Why? 

He let these major conclusions get buried in the barrage of electioneering by both panels. Why? 

The Mueller hearings were the last chance to inform the public. Instead, Mueller hid behind 400+ pages that no-one will read. Why?

Astoundingly, when asked, he even refused to read aloud passages from his own report. 

At a time when we most needed – and had – a Superman to inspire the country against Russian attacks on our democracy and bullying by the White House, he turned into Clark Kent.

The question is: why?