Author: Henry

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?

The plane left in a steep climb to 10,000 feet. Two hours to Dallas and the Easterner still wasn’t sure he should be going. He’d gotten an email a few days earlier from the widow of a fraternity brother. “Sad News”, it said. Another friend had called her “to say that Tek had passed early that morning”.

What? Wait! Tek … Kimbell? 

He remembered a tall, lanky guy with a Texas drawl, a big Adams Apple and an open-mouth laugh. Tek and Kyle and Hamilton and Redle and Gifford and others had helped ease the intimidation of one of the country’s top universities, not to mention California in the 60’s, for this life-long Easterner.

He had seen Tek once in 55 years, at their 50th reunion. A few grey hairs and a few more pounds were the only differences. Well, and a wife. He remembered the party at Betsy Gifford’s house, hearing how they had met. Tek had almost lost a leg in an accident while in the Navy after college and Nancy was one of the military team who nursed him back to health. The two had slow-danced like teenagers that night, almost 50 years after they met. Some love never ages. 

Still, once in 55 years? Why was he attending this funeral when he had skipped so many others over the years? Maybe because of that: because it had been so many years? Nah! He was pretty sure he was invading someone else’s grief. 

He thought back to the last time he’d been in Dallas. It was 1963 and he’d stayed at another friend’s house. The friend’s father had talked about “N—-’s” and how he’d shoot any who came onto his lawn and it was perfectly legal in Texas. “And I’d shoot Kennedy too”, the father said. The Easterner never forgot that moment.

He and Tek and Redle and Gifford had shared an off-campus apartment that year. Tek had come back that fall to finish some courses so he could graduate, but he had no tuition money because his father had cut him off for not graduating on time. The three paid his share of the apartment so he could work to pay for those last few courses. Such was the bonding of these fraternity brothers.

On the morning of November 22nd, he and Redle and Gifford listened to the radio’s initial reports of Kennedy’s assassination. He remembered the Dallas father’s threat and wasn’t surprised. The others were stunned, but dry-eyed when Tek walked into the apartment, tears flowing. The Easterner said something, like “Only in Dallas!” and Tek just stood there, absorbing the anger. Later, when the Easterner apologized, Tek said he’d been crying, not just for Kennedy, but also out of shame for Dallas. The Easterner never forgot that, either.

He met up with his friends from Oregon, Montana, and California at the hotel. They fell into conversation as though there had been no gap. He remembered the lack of measuring, the lack of judgment of those college years. Some things don’t change. 

As the funeral started, he again wondered why he had come. He knew none of the 150 to 200 people there: the wife, kids, all those people who knew and loved Tek from elementary school forward. 

He was wondering what he was even doing there when one of the eulogists, a lifelong friend of Tek, mentioned Tek’s returning to campus after graduation to take some extra courses. The Easterner leaned over to Kyle and asked how they could have that wrong. “Probably Tek never told anyone he didn’t graduate on time” was the whispered answer.

At the gathering after the funeral, he watched her greeting people with soft hugs and an occasional small smile. His fraternity friends introduced him to Nancy. 

“Tell her” said Kyle. So he did. He told her about three fraternity brothers helping another at a time when he really needed brotherly love. And he told her of his shame at watching Tek cry in shame for his beloved Dallas.

She brightened, visibly. She called her son and daughter and he told them, too. They smiled, too.

He took those smiles with him, the next day in the plane as it soared above a Dallas sparkling in the morning sun, and all the way home.

He wouldn’t forget that moment either.