Update no.826

Update from the Heartland

No.826

23.10.17 – 29.10.17

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

            To all,

            I first saw and listened to a CNN public service announcement Monday morning, 23.October.2017, after Update no.825 went on the wire.  The image was a white screen with a nice, single, red apple; the narrator’s spoken words were:

“This is an apple.  Some people might try to tell you that it’s a banana.  They might scream banana, banana, banana, over and over and over again.  They might put BANANA in all CAPS.  You might even start to believe that this is a banana.  But, it is not.  This . . . is an apple.”

The image of the red apple was then replaced with two words: Facts First. (emphasis added by Cap)

This is a simple, succinct, exceptionally effective statement that facts are facts, and a huckster, snake-oil salesman cannot alter the facts no matter how hard he tries to convince us otherwise.  Yet, in today’s political environment, many citizens do not care that he calls an apple a banana, or they have truly consumed the message and believe the apple is a banana; therein lies the essence of our societal conflict that we must endure at present.  When I see him waving his accusatory finger at us and saying: fake news, all of it is fake news, I hear him screaming, “Banana, banana, banana.”  The truth is, HE is fake news, not the Press.  Sadly, as a commentator noted, the people who need to know the apple is not a banana are not watching CNN—preaching to the choir.

            The follow-up news items:

-- The Catalonia regional parliament voted 70 to 10 to declare independence from Spain [822, 824], escalating a standoff with the central government.  In response, the Spanish Senate voted 214 to 47 to invoke the Constitution’s Article 155, authorizing emergency powers for the government to dismiss the provisional government, dissolve the Catalonian regional parliament and take direct control of the separatist region.  The actions move Catalonia and Spain closer to civil war; the kindling is smoldering and it would not take much of a puff to burst the situation into full flame.

-- The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has filed criminal charges against at least one, as yet unnamed, person in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election [804, 807].  The person(s) could be taken into custody as soon as Monday.  The number and identity of the defendants, and the charges, should be revealed at that time.  I, for one, eagerly await more information about what happened.  We shall see.

            When a man has to tell someone he is the best at anything, he is NOT!  I thought I would just share that little axiom of life.  Oh dear, where do we see that sort of behavior?

            I am going to take a risk here to offer just a little word of caution with respect to this sexual harassment debate currently boiling around us.

            First, I have been a vocal advocate for equality in the workplace and in life regardless of gender . . . and for all of the social factors, all of my professional life.

            Second, I have little doubt the likes of Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, et al have conducted themselves in both the workplace and social environments in an inappropriate manner with respect to women.  The best we can hope for is such conduct is charged and tried in a court of law, with appropriate punishment, if convicted.

            That said, I think it may be fitting to share my related negative experience, to serve as a caution noted above problem.  In the mid-1990s, I served as Vice President, Engineering, for Raytheon Corporate Jets—a newly acquired business jet design and manufacturing company.  The parent corporation made the decision to move the company from Hatfield and Hawarden, United Kingdom, to Wichita, Kansas, and combine the company with Raytheon Aircraft Company.  Once that decision was made, I picked up several additional responsibilities, one of which was coaxing as many engineers as possible to relocate from England to Kansas.  Long story short, my efforts to fulfill that responsibility were not entirely appreciated by the then Vice President, Human Resources, who hinted to my boss that I should back off my advocacy, since there were rumors that I had allegedly sexually harassed a female manager in the Human Resources Department several years earlier and he did not want any damaging investigation to be raised.  I was shocked and disgusted that he would stoop to such nefarious behavior.  My inclination was to confront and fight such scurrilous innuendo.  I was advised not to do so.  In the end, the maneuver worked.  False accusations have, do and will occur, and once those accusations are made in the public domain, the societal ostracism is irreversible and often devastating, quite like being accused of any other malfeasance like rape, domestic abuse or pedophilic conduct.  As I said above, I offer this disgusting tale as a word of caution in this hyper-charged environment; there are bad people out there on both sides of this issue, especially in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations [824].  The best we can hope for is, the charges are brought to a court of law with rules of evidence and the judgment of a jury; yet, even the judicial process is not foolproof.

            I must tip my hat to President Trump for pushing the USG to release the remaining documents associated with the assassination of President Kennedy.  For the CIA & FBI to cry foul at the last minute, 25 years after the passage of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 [PL 102-526; 106 Stat. 3443; 26.10.1992] is simply unacceptable, inappropriate and otherwise a really bad idea.  President Trump’s public statement on the baulking was quite apropos.  He reluctantly gave the CIA & FBI 180 more days to comply with the law or present proper justification and rationale for further redaction or withholding classified material for an event that happened 54 years ago.  Heck, even the British breaking the German Enigma codes was finally declassified and made public 30 years after the war ended.  I hope and trust President Trump will insist upon full declassification and disclosure.  I cannot imagine what the CIA & FBI might be concerned about other than embarrassment, which is a woefully unacceptable reason for continued classified protection.

            I would also take this moment to encourage President Trump to declassify and publicly disclose all the USG’s information regarding the TWA 800 incident—21 year ago.  I surely do not want to wait 50 years for that process to be completed.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.825:

“Found your update waiting for me- a good read my friend.  Trump certainly gives you all plenty of material to work with so no complaints there.  Certainly he is an extraordinary choice for your homeland.”

My reply:

            Yes, the current occupant of the Oval Office offers a bountiful cornucopia of offensive statements in one form or another.  He remains consistent—crass and disgusting.  “Extraordinary” would not be my choice of adjectives, although it is certainly correct and appropriate.  Unfortunate is the word I would use.  There is comfort in the fact that . . . this too shall pass.

Comment to the Blog:

“The abuse of women is ultimately abuse of power and position.  That will never stop without leadership and strength from the abused.  Abusers don't see an issue with their behavior without people in their faces and consequences for their actions.  Society as a whole needs men, especially survivors of similar abuse, to join in support of women.

“I'm already hearing rumbles about the ‘War on Terrorism’ moving on to Africa.  I assume that will begin in Niger.  I had not been aware we had troops there until the recent incident, but neighboring Nigeria has oil and accompanying scandals involving Western oil companies.  As in Raqqa, the oilfields will be secured regardless of other issues.

“The Muslim ban issue is getting old, but then so is everything T-rump.

“I doubt T-rump has any instinctual understanding of consoling anyone.  He probably took whatever words he'd heard and used them without understanding what they would mean to that soldier's widow.  The whole thing blew up into another distraction, drawing attention away from the disaster in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  We don't even know the death toll there, but it's much higher than T-rump thought in his speech when he visited.  You and I have discussed ‘neocolonial’ behavior before.  Despite being U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are examples of that.  Perhaps the term for that situation should be ‘corporate colonial’ rather than ‘neocolonial.’

“Senator McCain has a strong point about ‘half-baked spurious nationalism,’ but he does not realize that the U.S. has lost both the status and the capacity to lead the world.  We need to heal our wounds and rebuild our infrastructure at home before we concern ourselves with policing the rest of the world.  I agree that our economic treaties need revision, but this is not the administration to do that.

“Here in Ohio, that segment on the opioid crisis hits close to home.  I have already seen too much on local news to watch more about it.  The relevant factor about the 60 Minutes segment is the simple fact that pharmaceutical (and all) corporations exist to make money.  Our national failure to regulate the ways they do that is a direct result of their investing in politicians.  Capitalism 101.  We will not make progress in containing corporate damage of any kind unless we change political campaign funding and make elections more open and secure.”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: abuse of power.  Precisely! . . . all the way around.

            Re: war of terrorism.  I cannot argue with your observations.

            Re: Muslim ban issue.  I believe the fellow in the Oval Office is betting on just that reaction . . . tired and don’t care in a sufficient portion of the citizenry.

            Re: “consoling anyone.”  The egomaniacal, huckster, snake-oil salesmen are noted to have a paucity of compassion for other human beings.  Mix in rampant narcissism with that odiferous admixture, we have a very dangerous personality affliction.

            Re: neocolonialism.  In the case of PR & USVI, we have a unique situation.  To my understanding, the U.S. territories want to become full-up states of the union with all the associated rights.  Unfortunately, statehood for the territories is caught up in partisan politics and the associated narcotic of perceived vote counts.

            Re: “US has lost both the status and the capacity.”  Perhaps.  I am not to that point, as yet.  Certainly, the fellow in the Oval Office succumbed to the Siren’s song of Steve Bannon and his “half-baked, spurious nationalism,” and has performed his intended function as a single-man wrecking crew.  Here, I see too much of the dictator’s axiom—out of chaos comes control and via control domination . . . if I wanted to give him that much credit for being a student of history.

            Re: capitalism.  Again, I have some difficulty in arguing against your observations.  I will only note there is a very fine balance between motive and balance.  Business needs and thrives on the profit motive.  The common good demands balance to avoid or minimize injury to others.  We have more than a few notable failures in our history.  There will be more.

 . . . Round two:

“One minor quibble.  Puerto Rican opinion is split between wanting statehood and wanting independence.  What they don't want is to continue being treated as if it doesn't matter whether they have electricity, water, or other necessities.”

 . . . my response to round two:

            Yes, there is an independence vein in Puerto Rican culture, e.g., Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman [1.11.1950]; they also shot up the House of Representatives [1.3.1954].  It is my understanding the statehood portion is the majority and remains so.  Nonetheless, yes, absolutely, they do not want to be treated as second-class citizens.  However, I am conflicted at this point; part of me sees this as a self-inflicted wound.  Puerto Rico has been and remains prone to hurricanes, just as California remains prone to earthquakes.  California has evolved its building codes to protect against the potential damage by earthquakes.  Above ground power & communications lines are highly susceptible to wind damage.  If we are going to invest in Puerto Rico, let’s prepare the island for future hurricanes.  Also, quite a few of the buildings were clearly not built to endure a strong thunderstorm, set aside a Cat 4 hurricane.  The USG has not done its best job in Puerto Rico.  My impression: partisan politics may be playing into this situation more than we think.

 . . . Round three:

“Partisan politics is right in the middle of the Puerto Rico tragedy. Compare the aid efforts there to those in Texas and Florida for similar hurricanes, or to California's wildfires. Puerto Rico's infrastructure was surely more vulnerable, but how much of that results from it's lesser standing?”

 . . . my response to round three:

            Indeed!  The relationship between Puerto Rico’s vulnerable infrastructure and the purported “lesser standing” seems like a chicken & egg question based on a debatable premise.  Regardless, they must harden their infrastructure to withstand a Cat 5 hurricane.

 . . . round four:

“I'm not sure what you find debatable in that comment.  Perhaps you don't realize that saying Puerto Rico ‘must’ strengthen their infrastructure does not make that financially possible.”

 . . . my response to round four:

            Well, here’s a few thoughts.  If people are allowed to live in plywood houses, it should be no surprise they get blown down in a storm.  Puerto Rico is US$70+B in debt; where did all that money go?  It surely did not go to raising the standard of living for the residents of the island.  My response may well get us back into any federal obligation to a particular citizen’s standard of living, i.e., where does the individual’s responsibility end?  Needless to say, there is a lot tied up in Puerto Rico’s condition.

 . . . Round five:

“I think a full discussion of neocolonialism (or corporate colonialism) is beyond the scope of a blog reply. The assumption that Puerto Rico ‘must’ strengthen its infrastructure ignores the entire context of Puerto Rico's situation.  Even much of the mainland infrastructure has fallen into disrepair.  How can you expect Puerto Rico to do better while the Federal government ignores their needs?  We don't even have most of the electricity back on this long after the hurricane.  Disowning any responsibility for millions of Americans being destroyed by big banks and nature's conditions totally abdicates the commitment in the Preamble of the Constitution to ‘establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility . . . promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. . .’”

 . . . my response to round five:

            Perhaps the full discussion of neocolonialism is beyond the scope of this humble forum; however, it remains a most worthy topic for continuing intercourse and debate.

            You are of course quite correct regarding the repair of the PR infrastructure.  Nonetheless, the debate with respect to the demarcation between federal and state responsibility and obligation remains a dicey matter.  While big banks bear some culpability for the enormous debt load carried by PR, as with Greece, Spain and other financially troubled nation-states, no one forced or coerced them to sign their names to the fiscal documents; the PR government is ultimately responsible and should be held accountable.

            Nice touch, relating this topic back to the Preamble . . . and quite appropriate I must add.

 . . . Round six:

“I understand that you want to hold anyone who ever signed a loan document utterly responsible for it.  You completely discount coercive marketing, outright lying, and abuse of technical expertise in every example you mentioned, and that doesn't address the possibilities of buying politicians.”

 . . . my response to round six:

            I do not share your discounting assessment.  Further, I do not understand why you think your accusations regarding banking malfeasance absolve the consumer (individual or nation-state) from responsibility?

 . . . Round seven:

“Because at some point marketing and lying are no different.  The bankers hold a position of trust in our society, but at this level most of them betray that trust.”

Another contribution:

“See below!!  Comments!  I don't have colored print so I will space and use caps .. most all liberal fed lies... sorry you are part of them Cap. :(

“******  YOUR AND MY PRESIDENT .. THANK GOD LITERALLY!!

“****** HE DIDN'T ... ALL LIES STARTED BY LIBERAL CONGRESSWOMAN WILSON WHO TRIED TO SAY THE MOTHER OF THE SOLDIER WAS AN OLD FRIEND WHEN SHE ONLY JUST MET HER AND PROCEEDED TO PULL THE TYPICAL LOONEY LEFT LYING SHENANIGANS .. ALL CONTINUOUS DISTRACTIONS, SAUL ALINSKY STYLE, TO IN THEIR HOPES KEEP OUR PRESIDENT FROM DOING HIS JOB .. FORTUNATELY HE IS SEEING THIS AND LEARNING TO IGNORE THE LIES AND MOVE ON FULL SPEED .. AND HIS MULTI MILLION SUPPORTERS ARE IGNORING TOO !!

“****** BROUGHT DOWN?????  Cap, cap ....

“****** HEAR, HEAR TO THE ABOVE!!  Of course the press does not adequately explore or ascertain truth because most of the press is owned and controlled by the left!!!!

“****** BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS??  OBAMA??  SHALL I SEND YOU THE LIST AGAIN OF ALL HIS ATROCITIES?

“****** I'D RATHER HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO CARES FOR THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY BUT MAYBE DOESN'T SPEAK ELOQUENTLY THAN ONE WHO HAS TRAINED IN SPEAKING AND HATES THE COUNTRY HE PRESIDES OVER ..

“****** THIS IS CHANGING, MR MCCAIN!!!

“****** YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYONE EXACTLY THE WAY YOU THINK THEY SHOULD BE CAP!!!  I FIND HIM REFRESHINGLY UNIQUE .. AS DO MULTI MILLION OTHERS!!”

My reply:

            Yes, he was duly and properly elected.  He is my president, as well.  Unfortunately, I do not share your jubilation.

            Regarding the most recent gold star wife, I find it somewhat baffling that you believe him over her.  I find such unilateral and blind belief and trust in him by you (and many others) to be a persistent source of amazement.  I respect your absolute right to see and evaluate information as you so choose; however, you (or anyone else) cannot eliminate facts . . . ignore them, yes . . . but facts remain facts, to be assessed by the rest of us.

             Yes, brought down; he has always been a man of integrity; now, he is falling victim to the common disinformation processes his boss utilizes.  I am far more disappointed by his fall.

            The Press reports as they see fit.  It is our sole responsibility to collect, absorb, evaluate, assess and decide on how we choose to respond to all of the information we can understand.  We need sources from as many aspects as possible.  The Press is comprised of individuala who naturally and understandably have political, social and intellectual affinities; they are human beings, not mindless automatons.

            I did not respond to your “list” of alleged “atrocities” earlier and I shall not respond, now.  It is simply my opinion that you’re choosing to see what you wish to see and believing what you wish to believe . . . regardless of the facts; and, that is your choice entirely.

            “Cares for the people” . . . OK, that is rich; to me, a sure sign you have swallowed his snake-oil and truly believe it has cured and perpetually immunized you to all the ills in your life.  To me, he cares ONLY about himself and feeding his ego—just the nature of who he is.

            We shall respectfully disagree about the current, transient occupant of the Oval Office as well as Senator John McCain.

            Ginger, I do not want anyone to be as I think they should be.  Quite the contrary, I cherish and advocate for diversity, disagreement, debate, and active political intercourse, which are all necessary for a viable democracy.  You surely know by now that I rail against moral projectionists who feel compelled to dictate to everyone how we should live our lives.  I’m glad you find him refreshing; simply put, I do not!  Unique . . . yes, upon that we agree absolutely.  I have not seen another human being quite like him.  Also, yes, many citizens agree with you and disagree with me; I am genuinely grateful for that disagreement.

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)

Update no.825

Update from the Heartland

No.825

16.10.17 – 22.10.17

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

            To all,

            The follow-up news items:

-- The sexual harassment, abusive workplace issue [824] continues to expand as Brother Bob Weinstein is exposed as an abusive employer and Fidelity Investments joins the ranks of companies being sucked up into the sexual harassment issue.  The associated “me too” movement was created by Tarana Burke and revitalized in the current intercourse by Actress Alyssa Milano.  Women from all walks of life are giving voice to what has existed for decades, centuries and probably millennia—the disrespect of inequality.

-- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes and American special forces on the ground, captured ISIL’s [652] self-proclaimed, de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria [726, 759], wrenching away the group's last major urban stronghold in the Middle East, after a four-month long battle.  The city had served as ISIL’s nerve center, to plan and stage attacks on the West.

-- U.S. District Judge Derrick Kahala Watson of Hawaii [796] issued yet another rebuke to the Trump administration, this time Trump Travel Ban version 3.0.  Judge Watson said the president's new policy does not demonstrate that existing law is insufficient to address his concerns about national security and improperly judges travelers' risk to the U.S. based on their nationality.

-- In the aftermath of the independence referendum in Catalonia [822], the Spanish central government moved to rescind the autonomy of the regional government, and remove Catalan President Carles Puigdemont [824] and his ministers from office.  Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is also seeking new regional elections.  The Spanish situation on top of the Brexit challenge [758] presents the European Union with some unique opportunities.  As the Chinese curse goes, may you live in interesting times!

            OK; once again, I must brave the condemnation of all the Trumpsters among us.  The fellow who currently occupies the Oval Office continues his dreadfully persistent effort to ratchet down the bar of acceptable conduct. . . to lower and lower levels.  This week’s dose came in the disgusting reaction to a simple question from the White House Press Corps.  He said:

“The traditional way, if you look at President Obama, and other president, most of ‘em didn’t make calls, a lot of ‘em didn’t make calls.  I like to call when it is appropriate, when I think I am able to do it.  President Obama, I think probably did sometimes, and maybe sometimes he didn’t, I don’t know, that’s what I was told.  All I can do is ask my generals.”

As long as Trump continues to gaze into the rearview mirror rather than the road ahead, he will continue to smack into bumps in the road.  How he managed to screw up a condolence call to a gold-star wife is beyond me.  His paucity of compassion reinforces the image of him as a deeply narcissistic, egocentric person.

            Trump’s performance this week was bad enough, but to me, the really revolting public performance came from Chief of Staff Kelly.  I certainly understand the sentiment Kelly attempted to convey, but it was being sucked into the same loosey-goosey with facts style so common to his boss that really disappointed me.  What is it with these guys?  Do they really think we are such ignorant idiots that we will not crosscheck their statements?  . . . that they can say whatever they wish and no one will question the veracity of their words?  It is truly sad that Trump has brought down a good man like John Kelly.

            The ray of light this week came from Senator John McCain of Arizona in his acceptance speech at the National Constitution Center in Washington, DC, upon his award of the annual Liberty Medal for his lifetime of sacrifice and service to this Grand Republic.

“To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain 'the last best hope of earth' for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.”
[emphasis added by Cap]

My opinion precisely, Senator!  Thank you for your illuminating words.

            A week ago Sunday, CBS’s 60 Minutes Program broadcast its Season 50, Episode 4 (15.10.2017).  Two of three segments dealt with “The Whistleblower, Redemption” and the prescription opioid crisis in this Grand Republic.  The exposé offered a compelling and damning illumination of the lobbying power of the prescription drug distribution industry and the contribution of Representative Thomas Anthony ‘Tom’ Marino of Pennsylvania in the process of passing the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 [PL 114-145; S.483; House: without objection; Senate: unanimous consent; 130 Stat. 354; 19.4.2016] {Just a side FYI: neither chamber of the Congress recorded a roll call vote}.  The legislation weakened the power of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over pharmaceutical companies that produce opioid drugs, and nearly immunizes the drug distribution companies in the name of citizen access to powerful pain medications.  The 60 Minutes episode was not complimentary to Representative Marino, and rightly so I must say.  Following the 60 Minutes exposé, President Trump announced that Representative Marino “informed me that he is withdrawing his name” to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy—the nation’s so-called “drug czar.”  If anyone did not see the 60 minutes program, I strongly urge you to do so via this URL:  

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-dea-agent-opioid-crisis-fueled-by-drug-industry-and-congress/

The 60 Minutes episode certainly and brightly illuminated one of the significant contributing factors in the opioid crisis that exploded in parts of this nation.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.824:

“I wish you and others with similar habitually negative views of everything Trump does had heard the articulate explanation of the logic and good sense of his decision to simply not affirm Iran's good faith compliance with Obama's embarrassingly one-sided deal, given by an official in a PRI interview a couple of days ago, during which the interviewer tried but could not succeed in diminishing the effectiveness of the young man's presentation no matter how hard she tried.  It was based upon the seldom mentioned details of the agreement, the misunderstood role of the Congress and the latitude intentionally granted the POTUS, the good faith elements which have been violated by Iran, as well as Iran's documented slow-walking compliance and reluctant catch-up actions when caught in its continued progress toward uranium enrichment capability, etc., etc.  I wish I could have recorded it.  The press has not adequately explored, nor has it cared to ascertain, the truthful reasons for and actual effects of the widely criticized decision.  Perhaps you should.”

My reply:

            I confess to a modicum of resentment at the inference I am anti-Trump for the sake of being anti-Trump . . . like so many folks were anti-Obama simply because Obama was who he is.

            Here’s a thought . . . perhaps the “habitual” adjective simply reflects the plethora of foolish, tone-deaf, bonehead things he says and does rather than the mindless anti-anything-Obama mentality.  I understand the anti-establishment sentiment; I truly do.  I am one of those citizens . . . throw all the bastards out and let’s start over.  However, my anti-establishment opinions pale in the harsh light of his very un-presidential conduct.  I think Senator John McCain said it best and most succinctly—“ some half-baked, spurious nationalism” is NOT worthy of this Grand Republic and the lofty ideals upon which this nation was founded.  Lastly, We, the People, keep electing the establishment guys, so what does that say about us?

            Re: IRI nuclear deal.  Odd!  I am not an advocate for Iran or the IRI.  However, I was taught many moons ago that any action is better than inaction.  The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) was better than going to war, which is precisely where we were headed . . . and in a hurry I might add.  Further, the JCPA is a joint agreement, NOT an agreement between the IRI and the U.S.  The Plan was not perfect, but it was better than war.  Odder!  “Iran's good faith compliance” and at the same time “the good faith elements which have been violated by Iran” in contrast with the public statements of everyone short of POTUS saying the IRI is and has been in compliance with the JCPA.  I recognize and acknowledge that the JCPA is far from perfect, but as I said, something is better than nothing, and a working agreement (however weak it might be) is better than war.  He could have sought congressional action via the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 [PL 114-017; H.R.1191; House: 400-25-0-7(3); Senate: 98-1-0-1(0); 129 Stat. 201] rather than de-certify for reasons not in the JCPA.

            I suppose the same argument can be applied to Trump, i.e., something is better than nothing.  As so many have voiced, he is better than nothing.  I could not vote for or support Clinton for reasons given ad infinitum to date.  Trump’s personality flaws are simply too great; they constantly get in the way; nary a day goes by that he does not lay a big stinky one in the dirt.  As much as I wanted change and I am anti-establishment, I am not that desperate to turn to a man so seriously flawed as Donald J. Trump.  Personally, I wanted to give Johnson-Weld a shot at finding compromise and solutions.  Trump is his own worst enemy.  Full stop!  I do not look for negatives things.  My nature is to see the positive rather than the negative in virtually everything in life.  Unfortunately, he gives us so bloody many negatives every day . . . they are unavoidable and overwhelm whatever positives he does.

 . . . follow-up comment:

Please be assured that I do not doubt your sincerity for an instant, so your 

‘modicum of resentment at the inference I am anti-Trump for the sake of being anti-Trump . . . like so many folks were anti-Obama simply because Obama was who he is...’

. . . I believe is just part of the habit I referred to.  I intended no such inference; I just wanted to call attention to the good reasons for the decision concerning the sorry deal, which have not been adequately covered by the media or admitted so far by you.

“BTW, I certainly agree that many were and may still be Anti-Obama simply because of who he is, and I frequently expressed my displeasure at the below-the-belt criticisms and simply ugly or illogical accusations that came from those folks, even as I loudly complained about his actions (as often contrasted with his words).  Now I see the same, or worse, habitual punches thrown at Trump, supported this time inceascently (sic) by the left stream media.  Of course, Trump deserves more criticism for his street language than Obama did for his political mush.

“The Iran deal remains, regardless of Trump's action at this point.  However, I strongly disagree with the ‘better than nothing’ claim.  Maybe I missed something, because I did not have the same impression that you apparently have concerning ultimate war with Iran  {(JCPA) was better than going to war, which is precisely where we were headed . . .}

I was not aware that we were so precisely headed for war before the deal, but now...

The ‘Deal’ with all its ‘imperfections’ (your characterization) helped our enemy enormously and has done little to protect us from that eventuality, while clearly guaranteeing Iran at least a future green light for nuclear weapons, so say nothing of the proven likelihood of its surreptitious activities in the meantime.  Perhaps our Congress can be smarter than Obama or Trump on this one.”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

            Re: JCPA.  I am not aware of anyone who would claim the JCPA is a perfect agreement to stop the IRI from nuclear weapons development.  However, the JCPA gives us more visibility of what is going on inside the IRI than we had before the agreement.  I still contend that the JCPA is far better than bloodshed.  If 45 can make a better deal, more power to him.  However, I suspect (based on his actions to date) he is going to make it worse and he certainly has increased the potential for bloodshed and war.  Further, if we are going to fight a war, then we damn well better mobilize for war and avoid the dreadful mistakes of 43 in Iraq.

            Re: “many were and may still be Anti-Obama simply because of who he is . . .”  To me and my understanding of the genesis of this Grand Republic, that observation of reality is the antithesis of what this country has stood for over 240+ years.

            “we were so precisely headed for war before the deal.”  Perhaps you do not recall, the IAF conducted a full-up wet rehearsal mission into Khartoum, Sudan (23.10.2012).  The pressure for military intervention had been building for months.  The JCPA certainly defused that pressure.  “helped our enemy enormously”  OK; I’ll bite.  How so?  “has done little to protect us from that eventuality”  Well, from the publicly available facts, I do not understand your reasoning.  If we had not acted, the IAF would have flown the mission(s), and the U.S. would likely have been drawn into the fight to protect Israel.  When the negotiations began that led to the JCPA, the war drumbeat quieted.

            Re: “clearly guaranteeing Iran at least a future green light for nuclear weapons.”  I do not see the terminal dates as a green light, but rather a deadline to find a better solution.  It bought time for a better agreement.  Time shall tell the tale.  “Congress can be smarter” oh my, I pray you are correct; however, given the performance of Congress for the last couple of decades, I am not optimistic on that score.  Again, we shall see.

Comment to the Blog:

“On a quick scan, Catalonia’s relationship to Spain looks more like California’s to the United States than Texas’s.  (I admit that my opinion is based partly on negative personal experience of Texas.)  Were Texas to secede, my only concern would be border security.  If California seceded, I’d want to be on the California side of the border. In any secession, legal disputes will be complex and arcane.

“T-rump’s latest executive commandment will eventually affect all US health care.  Effectively taking health care away from millions of people will reduce employment in health care and other resources available to health care providers.  Those Americans whose health care survives will lose services due to the health care industry’s loss of income.  Premiums and co-pays will probably rise in an attempt by insurers to recoup lost income.  If this executive order stands, the ripples will affect all Americans.  Medicare will be affected one way or another, and Medicare is already too expensive for me without help from Medicaid and a third-party ‘Medigap’ policy.

“Agent Orange also seems to be seeking a war with Iran, perhaps because the North Koreans have not yet satisfied his desire for combat.  However, other parties in the Iran treaty he has attacked are EU nations run by grownups.  I hope they can prevent major consequences from this particular tantrum.

“Your list of sexual predators in positions of power could probably be expanded as far back and as broadly as we can find information.  Some of those abusers would be women (think Catherine the Great), and some of the victims were and are men.  Society worldwide has an unsolved problem around how to grant authority on many levels in order to have an orderly and productive society without also giving license to abuse.  Increasingly strong and prompt responses to specific abuses are probably helping, but I suspect an even deeper issue underlies the willful abuse of the weak.  I struggle to even come up with a way to describe what I mean.  Evidence-based reasoning versus easy belief, principles versus personalities, and individual versus societal focus all play into it.  When I come up with something coherent enough to put into an essay, I’ll discuss it with you.

“PS: The church that ordained me tells me October is National Clergy Appreciation Month.  Let me be the first clergy person today to encourage you to appreciate clergy if/when we deserve it, but don’t let your guard down.”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: “Catalonia’s relationship to Spain looks more like California’s to the United States than Texas’s.”  We could argue the point on various levels; however, I will accept your quick scan.  Regardless, secession is serious business and should never be taken “for light and transient causes.”

            Re: health care.  Well, actually, whether Trump’s executive order stands or not, the damage has been done just by inference.  Insurance is at its most fundamental the monetization of risk.  His unilateral action has substantially increased the risk.  The Republicans have torpedoed the PPACA simply by their relentless quest to repeal.  They have shown no interest in the health care system . . . only anti-anything-Obama.  The longer this foolishness persists the more I lean toward universal health care like Europe, Canada and other civilized countries.

            Re: Agent Orange.  Good one!

            Re: the man who occupies the Oval Office.  He likes to puff himself up and act tough-guy . . . with other people’s blood.  At least Hitler saw combat and was seriously wounded.  Yes, he seems to have forgotten and perhaps never knew the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) was actually a joint agreement between the P5+1 Group, or more precisely the EU/EU3 + 3, and the IRI.  It was NOT an agreement between the U.S. and the IRI.

        Re: sexual predators.  Quite so; I said as much.  After I posted my short list, I realized I should have added Clarence Thomas to that infamous list.  Yes, agreed, there are female sexual predators; I just contend they are far fewer in number than males.  You may feel you are struggling to describe your thoughts, but I thought you did quite well.  Throughout all of recorded history (all 6,000 years of it), men (and a few women) have succumbed to the powerful narcotic of megalomania—dominating other human beings.  When you add in the very corrosive consequences of narcissism, the combination becomes dangerous to humanity. Leaders like Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus are rather rare in the panoply of human recorded history.  I look forward to your insight.

            I send my heartfelt appreciation for your spiritual contributions.

 . . . Round two:

“That's a clear description of the Republicans' approach to health care.  Unfortunately, the Democrats, with the support of their large donors, have taken a defeatist stance until very recently.  We shall see.

“The problem with abuse by those in authority, or just celebrity, is compounded by people who would rather follow the leader than think for themselves.  That applies to more than just sexual predation.  It's also the central reason tyrants can arise, among other things.  Thus far, my best lens for this is skepticism versus belief. All manner of things complicate the issue, but underneath much suffering is the mental and spiritual laziness embodied in the notion that the people in authority are right simply because they're in authority.  From royalty right on down to local jailers, abusers thrive on that mental laziness.”

 . . . my response to round two:

            Yes, we shall see.  I still hope Congress can find the courage and will to achieve the necessary compromise for a viable solution to the health care issue.

            Interesting observations regarding mental laziness.  I would tend to agree.  There were more than a few public voices sounding the clarion call against Hitler’s rise.  Far too many Germans simply ignored the presented evidence due to wishful thinking or mental laziness, as you say . . . until it was too late and the SS eliminated or suppressed all dissent.

 . . . Round three:

“That same mental issue applies to many, and it's not just one segment of society.  I have read a blog by an otherwise intelligent (but maybe pretty shallow) Christian woman who refused to vote for Hillary based on one issue.  Okay, I get that.  But rather than abstain or vote ‘protest,’ she voted for Trump knowing what he is.  She wrote about hoping or believing her God would guide him.  I can accept that God (or some god) might offer people guidance, but it's glaringly obvious that Trump's not tuned in to that.  I will never understand voting for someone repugnant, and I can only conclude that her pastor or some religious leader advised her to vote against Hillary.  The bottom line is that she gets a dramatically un-Christian tyrant rather than the usual basically neutral leader.  I can only conclude that her seeking leadership rather than knowledge led her into that un-Christian vote. The real problem is that millions of other voted the same way.”

 . . . my response to round three:

            Well now, I do not know this “Christian woman” of which you speak, but I certainly recognize the affliction.  In this one, we agree.  Full stop!

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)