Update no.883

Update from the Sunland

No.883

3.12.18 – 9.12.18

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

            To all,

            Congratulations go this year to the Corps of Cadets and the Army football team for their third victory in a row over Navy – 17-10. They played well and were clearly superior to this year’s Navy team, who helped Army with excessive turnovers and inadequate offense.  Next year . . . Go Navy, Beat Army!

            For those who might be interested, I offer my enthusiastic recommendation for the Epix series program “Berlin Station.”  The series has entered its third season and offers a fictional but applicable theme for the current season.  The root premise is the Russians are pressing their experience in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea into Estonia—one of the independent Baltic States and members of NATO.

            In contrast, the series induced me to re-examine the conduct of Putin and the Russians in the Ukraine.  I will regrettably confess that I missed the similarity of Russian conduct with history.  The “Berlin Station” series illuminates the tactics used in the Ukraine (and notionally applied to Estonia). The tactic of stimulating ethnic unrest in neighboring countries as rationale for using Russian military power to “intercede” to “protect” ethnic Russians is precisely the same tactic utilized by Hitler’s Nazi Germany.  Russia denies such involvement, just as Nazi Germany did . . . until it was too late to stop the German hegemony without all-out war.  The longer this goes on—not checking Russian hegemony—the more costly the consequences will become.  Perhaps it is already too late for the current version.

            The follow-up news items:

-- I started to note a gesture by the PRC to lessen tensions in the escalating trade war sparked by the BIC’s broad trade tariffs [748].  However, I have no confidence any of us, including the Press and the BIC, know what is happening or why.  We will probably have to wait for generations and the assessment of historians to know.

-- A half dozen of Senate leaders received a closed-door, classified briefing by Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel that left them no doubt that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince was responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi [876].  And yet, the BIC and his administration stick to the policy that murder is acceptable if the price is right.  Further, the BIC sent his son-in-law to coach Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia on how to “weather the storm.”  It is simply all about money.

-- On Monday, among his myriad tweets, I illuminate two messages relative to the Special Counsel’s investigation [804]:

“‘Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.’ You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term?  He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get.....”

7:24 AM - 3 Dec 2018

. . . and . . .

“....his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.”

7:29 AM - 3 Dec 2018

You know, OSGOO, you have been spewing false statements from inconsequential to serious for so long that no thinking, informed person believes a thing you say anymore. After reading the latest Special Counsel charging document against Cohen, I believe the Special Counsel, and I proclaim boldly that every single element of these two tweets past the opening quotation are false.  I will bet a dollar to donuts the Special Counsel’s final report will contain the facts that will likely seal your fate.  I will also say, I understand why you are so skittish, reactionary and desperate . . . you feel the noose progressively tightening around your neck.  You live by the sword, you die by the sword.

            Further, tweets like this from the President of the United States is verging upon, if not in violation of, obstruction of justice, which I might add, qualifies under “high crimes and misdemeanors”; the BIC is digging his own grave.

-- The Special Counsel’s Office (SCO) filed the sentencing document in the case of United States v. Flynn [USDC DC case 1:17-cr-00232-EGS (2018)] [792, 831].  The addendum to the sentencing document stated (un-redacted) {FYI: most of the addendum is redacted}:

“The defendant has provided substantial assistance in a criminal investigation . . .”

“The defendant has also assisted with the SCO investigation concerning links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign.”

“The usefulness of the defendant’s assistance is connected to its timeliness.  The defendant began providing information to the government not long after the government first sought his cooperation.  His early cooperation was particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight regarding events and issues under investigation by the SCO.”

The addendum is heavily redacted, which is unusual, and I suspect was done for collateral reasons, not least of which might well be to publicly state to the BIC, his army of lawyers, and to all others involved as well as We, the People, that the investigation is comprehensive, expansive and more importantly on-going into criminal conduct.

            The pace of the noose tightening is picking up, inching progressively closer to the BIC.  More significantly to me personally, I have considerable empathy for the BIC’s many supporters who placed their faith in him.  The more we are able to see the product of the Special Counsel’s investigation, the more his loyal supporters must be feeling a sense of betrayal.  The OSGOO is not the savior they expected.

-- I freely, openly and proudly acknowledge the unprecedented restraint of the BIC. In a most unusual occurrence, the BIC allowed the life celebration and last call for President George H.W. Bush to eclipse his incessant need for publicity (of any kind) and withheld his relentless tweets.  Thank you for the brief respite, OSGOO.

            I suppose we all knew the hiatus could not and would not last.  His restraint ended less than 24 hours after President Bush returned to the Earth.   When he broke his uncharacteristic restraint ended with only the Flynn sentencing document, the sentencing documents for Manafort [761, 766, 815] and Cohen [837] were not issued until later that day.  The vehemence that exploded Friday morning is probably a measure of how seriously the pressure had built up within him during those three days of celebration.  We returned to business as usual in these grotesque times of contemporary history.  The annoying Twitter character limit had to be frustrating for the BIC as his vitriol spewed out like projectile vomit in five plus tweets Friday morning.

No.1:

“Robert Mueller and Leakin’ Lyin’ James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest. And bye the way, wasn’t the woman in charge of prosecuting Jerome Corsi (who I do not know) in charge of “legal” at the corrupt Clinton Foundation? A total Witch Hunt...”

3:18 AM - 7 Dec 2018

No.2:

“....Will Robert Mueller’s big time conflicts of interest be listed at the top of his Republicans only Report. Will Andrew Weissman’s horrible and vicious prosecutorial past be listed in the Report. He wrongly destroyed people’s lives, took down great companies, only to be........”

3:28 AM - 7 Dec 2018

No.3:

“.....overturned, 9-0, in the United States Supreme Court. Doing same thing to people now. Will all of the substantial & many contributions made by the 17 Angry Democrats to the Campaign of Crooked Hillary be listed in top of Report. Will the people that worked for the Clinton....”

3:40 AM - 7 Dec 2018

No.4:

“....Foundation be listed at the top of the Report? Will the scathing document written about Lyin’ James Comey, by the man in charge of the case, Rod Rosenstein (who also signed the FISA Warrant), be a big part of the Report? Isn’t Rod therefore totally conflicted? Will all of....”

3:53 AM - 7 Dec 2018

No.5:

“...the lying and leaking by the people doing the Report, & also Bruce Ohr (and his lovely wife Molly), Comey, Brennan, Clapper, & all of the many fired people of the FBI, be listed in the Report? Will the corruption within the DNC & Clinton Campaign be exposed?..And so much more!”

4:15 AM - 7 Dec 2018

What can any rational person say about so much disinformation intended to distract, deflect and otherwise mislead We, the People.  So, his words will stand alone, except one item that I cannot let stand—Bruce Ohr’s wife’s name is Nellie Hauke Ohr, not Molly.  How hard can it be?  These messages demonstrate just how desperate the BIC is becoming as the noose tightens.  I cannot imagine how bad this is going to get, if someone in his immediate family is indicted, or the Attorney General seeks a court order suspending the statute of limitations for crimes committed by the BIC . . . until he can be indicted and tried.

-- Later on Friday, after the BIC’s renewed Twitter rampage, the SCO filed sentencing documents for Cohen [837 & sub] and Manafort [815 & sub].  The three documents are:

U.S. Attorney’s office, Southern District of New York (SDNY):

United States v. Cohen [USDC NY SD case 1:18 Cr. 602 (WHP) (2018)]

SCO:

United States v. Cohen [USDC NY SD case 1:18 Cr. 850 (WHP) (2018)]

SCO:

United States v. Manafort [USDC DC case 1:17-cr-00201-ABJ (2018)]

As I read all three documents, I can understand the growing sense of desperation displayed by the BIC and his cronies.  The circle is closing in.  The series of public court documents spell out some of the evidence the SCO holds regarding criminal conduct by the individuals involved.  The implications regarding BIC campaign collaboration with the Russians are left at that level, so far.  Of course, the OSGOO, in his inimitable way, tweeted:

“Totally clears the President. Thank you!”

3:00 PM - 7 Dec 2018

The BIC publicly confessed that he has not read any of the documents.  So, apparently, some of his army of lawyers told him that or something similar.  He really should read things.  The SDNY document explicitly defines the federal laws violated by Cohen, and further, directly point to the BIC (Individual-1) as having directed and guided the felonious conduct.  While no direct indictment of Individual-1 has yet been produced, this is about as close as you get.  If the BIC actually thinks he is cleared, he is dreaming and receiving very poor legal counsel.

            That was not enough. CBS News journalist Bob Schieffer interviewed former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at a benefit dinner on behalf of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday. Tillerson had some very interesting and insightful observations of his time in the administration and working for the BIC.  Rex’s forthrightness did not sit well with the OSGOO.  He tweeted:

 “Mike Pompeo is doing a great job, I am very proud of him. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, didn’t have the mental capacity needed. He was dumb as a rock and I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell. Now it is a whole new ballgame, great spirit at State!”

12:02 PM - 7 Dec 2018

These tweets are from the President of the United States, NOT some private citizen.  Even from a private citizen, they would be outrageous.  Coming from the titular leader of the free world, there is no longer any word to describe how incredibly wrong, disgusting, embarrassing and reprehensible these tweets are. No one should have any doubt whatsoever why I refuse to speak his name or even the office he holds anymore, and simply refer to him for what he truly and completely is—the Bully-in-Chief (BIC).

            Tillerson has conducted himself with dignity and credit for refusing to stoop the BIC’s obscene level of conduct.  I would continue to urge Rex—do not take the bait from a small-minded man.  There is zero value getting in the sewer with the BIC.  Very few actually believe the BIC’s words, anyway.

            Is this really what his loyal supporters are seeking, a stumbling drunk, insecure man lashing out at anyone and everyone?

            A friend and regular contributor added this contribution to the on-going discussion regarding the representative democracy at the foundation of this Grand Republic.

“So the Founders' slogan was ‘no taxation without representation’ but by the time they wrote the Constitution, something had changed.  Representation came out very uneven.  I did a little arithmetic.

“Per the World Population Review's 2018 figures, the State of Arizona has 7,123,898 people, represented by two U.S. Senators. Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, and Rhode Island have 6,663,998 people, which is 459,900 less than Arizona.  Yet those people get 14 Senators.  You might want to study who gets a higher proportion of Federal pork barrel projects/money by population.  I bet it's not Arizona.  I live in Ohio.  We'd have to include another three or four States to match our population, which makes our representation 1/10 of those other states power in the Senate.  We're clearly having minority rule in this country.”

My reply:

            I enthusiastically laud your persistence and the ingenuity of your argument with this topic.  I also had a bit of a chuckle at the notion of using pork barrel largesse by Congress as a metric of representation, i.e., are we getting our share?  Nice touch!

            What I believe you are discounting, overlooking or ignoring is the concerns of the Founders/Framers for the potential oppression of the majority.  While the Senate has abandoned many of its collegiality insurance rules in favor of partisan parochialism, the Constitution still provides for checks and balances to minimize the likelihood of minority oppression.  Frankly, I have no stomach for imposing my beliefs by a majority of one.  Our objective for every piece of legislation should be a veto-proof majority to lessen the likelihood of minority oppression.

            We bear witness to the desperation of a waning majority in Wisconsin and Michigan.  Disgusting!

            Republicans have been screaming about voter fraud for many years as their rationale for voter suppression, and the two real voter tampering cases before us today involve Republican candidates in North Carolina and Georgia . . . interesting (and perhaps random coincidence) that both are former Confederate states.

            The debate over representation will continue.

Follow-up no.1:

Please explain ‘oppression of the majority’ with actual examples.  What we have now is minority rule with oppression of other minorities.

My reply to follow-up no.1:

            I could give you myriad examples dating back to the 18th Amendment, the Comstock Act of 1873, or even the Tariff Act of 1842.  Let’s take something a little more contemporary, I would cite: Subtitle A-Individual Tax Reform; Part VIII-Individual Mandate; § 11081 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act[PL 115-097; 131 Stat. 2054; 22.12.2017].  There are numerous aspects of my answer than can be seriously argued, e.g., the majority who voted for these laws were not a real majority, or the majority of representatives were not the majority of citizens.  All that aside, this Grand Republic has always been a representative democracy and never a pure democracy.

Follow-up no.2:

“‘Representative’ is the word in question, as stated.”

My reply to follow-up no.2:

            Yes, indeedie!  Quite so!  With each representative in the House tasked with representing 750,000 citizens, there are bound to be a few that feel their views, opinions, and needs are not properly represented.  Nature of the beast!

Follow-up no.3:

“Not in the House, in the Senate.  How is 2 per State, regardless of population, representative?”

My reply to follow-up no.3:

            The House is the People’s chamber; the Senate is the States’ chamber . . . by design.

Follow-up no.4:

“Yeah, and that's a design flaw if we seek a democratic form of government.  Also, it has been easier for a party (‘faction’ to the Founders) to subvert.”

My reply to follow-up no.4:

            So say you!

            Another friend and contributor sent along his opinion / observation that seemed most appropriate, given our current troubled times:

“Well we know Kelly is out. What always amazes me about Trump's fan club (and some being friends of mine) is how they try to say Trump was a successful businessman when he came into the W.H., or how he is acting like a CEO would of a large organization.  The reality is Trump had/has decades long of failed businesses and bankruptcies, not to mention shady dealings with lack of transparency in financial reporting (which is likely why he has no public corporations selling stock, all entities are privately held).  Trump refuses to release tax returns claiming he and/or his companies are under audit (wonder why?).  So with such smoke & mirrors to puff up the image of the corporations and persona of King Trump, why would so many Americans think they guy could lead the USA and steer our country and world into a better position than when he began?

“I worked for a set of corporations and holding companies in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Carlsbad, CA., where I had great visions of a marvelous future in aviation marketing and more.  I soon learned the CEO had no real clue how to run so many companies (most aviation related) or lead both strategically and tactically.  The chairman of the company let the CEO run the show, only occasionally the chairman would override a decision by the CEO.  The left hand did not know what the right was doing.  We lacked systems for goals, processes, controls, performance and rewards.  One entity tried to compete with ValuJet in Atlanta with a DC-9, a MD-83 and MD-87, called Eagle Airlines.  I asked the CEO who lived in San Diego like I did, while we were flying to HQ at KLAS, whether they had a business and marketing plan for Eagle Airlines, and he said they were still trying to work on that (after buying a DC-9 and leasing the MD-80's series birds).  Needless to say, they went BK quickly (after offering me a position in Atlanta, which I declined).  Very nice principals, some of the nicest folks I ever worked for, very contrary to Donald Trump's egotistical, autocratic style if not narcissistic character (flaw).  I do not believe Donald Trump knows how to run our White House, nor lead, nor manage, and to add to the danger is impulsive and arrogant (if not dangerous--pathologically and/or criminally).”

My reply:

            One little quibble, it’s not over until it’s over.  The demise of John Kelly has been forecast many times before.  The current situation seems far closer than the previous times. However, to my knowledge, General John Kelly has not resigned or been fired, as yet.  It may be close, but not past tense.

            As I have written in this week’s Update, I have some empathy with the BIC’s loyal supporters.  I know how it feels to be betrayed and deeply disappointed by an individual in whom faith was placed.

            I continue to use the snake-oil, con man salesman as the most apt analogy to the BIC’s behavior, conduct and history. In the Old West, good trusting citizens succumbed to the Sirens’ song of the snake-oil salesman who sold them worthless, and in some cases even injurious, substances as a cure-all for myriad illnesses and diseases.  I do give him appropriate credit, the OSGOO is the consummate snake-oil salesman and based on the money that has flowed into his pockets (much less than he has claimed, but still a lot compared to what the rest of us see) by his successfully selling his name—no substantive value, just an image, a mirage.  He truly may be the best history has or will ever see for what he does.  The snake-oil salesman has been successful throughout history by ignorance.  Citizens a century ago had no way to assess the veracity of the salesman’s claims. Citizens today are either unable or choose not to check, and assess the BIC’s outrageous, and false statements and claims.  The BIC is spot on correct in his statement that he would not lose votes if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue.  The BIC’s hiding his factual business performance is done for a very precise reason, to keep his supporters (believers) ignorant to reality; then again, perhaps his supporters just do not care.

            I think many of us who have corporate experience have similar stories of bad behavior by those entrusted to make proper, wise and sound decisions regarding the direction of companies.  I certainly have comparable stories. I am enormously grateful to have survived my experiences.  I am thankful to be retired from that part of my life, never to return, again.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.882:

Comment to the Blog:

“I have replied to this week's blog.  (It's shorter than usual but still longer than the ‘customary’ 50 words.)

“The scale of achievement of the Mars landing ought to be obvious. The scientific importance will be lost to those who don’t follow scientific matters.

“I agree on the timing of the new Cohen plea after Chump submitted answers to Mueller's questions.  Maybe we're not far away from hearing the phrase ‘un-indicted co-conspirator’ again, or maybe something even more ominous to the Orange One.  You’re probably right about Manafort being essentially a double agent, too.

“Chump publicly canceled a meeting with Putin, but I wonder if that had any effect on covert events.  I doubt it.”

My response to the Blog:

            This Blog is not Twitter-like . . . no word limit . . . well, except for the Comment portal, but multiple inputs are OK. You are welcome to respond as you wish.  But, you know that.

            Yeah, I certainly wish citizens were more engaged with the space program.  As our ancestors proclaimed many generations ago, “Go west, young man.” Today, it should be, “The future is space, young man.”

            I sure hope we are close to the Special Counsel’s final report and findings . . . although we may never see the report (but we should) . . . for one vastly primary reason.  We would not have to listen to the BIC’s lame denials, again.  I almost don’t care what the findings are; I just want his bullshit to stop.

            If Manafort played the double agent, as I suspect he has, this shall not end well for him or the BIC.  I believe Mueller will be relentless in his pursuit.

            The BIC cancelling on his good buddy Putin changed nothing.  He is still looking for good relations with his moneymen in Russia and the former Soviet “republics.”

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Fun note: I just came across a product called the Mueller Electric Pressure Cooker

(https://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Program-Pressure-ThermaV-Technology/dp/B01KSKKHRW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543935709&sr=8-3&keywords=mueller+electric+pressure+cooker),
which might be fun to send to people in the White House.”

My response to the follow-up:

LMFAO!!! Perfect.

Another contribution:

“But what is going on in our fair land? I believe the public who indeed voted to be done with the EU are utterly as confused as I am. The politicians are at each other’s throats while our hard working leader tries her very best to conclude with Europe what we the public voted for. Personally I believe we should have stayed with a much stronger ‘après avoir’ but we now know they are calling the tune-why? Basically because those in the EU do not want us to leave because of the avalanche of European countries that may well, after our success, follow. However Cap, the British people do not and have never wished to be dominated or interfered with by ‘foreigners.’ You are well aware of history my friend, if we are to stand alone we will soon gather together our friends and succeed. I am quite convinced personally and so are many others that is indeed the case. We will not stand unaided and those who choose to dominate us will soon learn of their failure to understand the British determination to succeed.

“Well it all goes to a parliamentary vote next week and we the public have no more an idea of the outcome than our leaders do, but one thing Cap-we are not rioting in the streets, damaging ancient much loved buildings, burning cars and now we hear people have died in this French calamity. All because of the intended increase of government tax on fuel-they have nothing to rebel over, we were there in September and car fuel was a better price than here in the U/K.”

My reply:

            Divorce is never pretty whether between states or individuals.  We are seeing the ugliness play out on the public domain with Brexit.  I have faith the United Kingdom will weather the storm and emerge a stronger nation.

            The concept of a United States of Europe, as Sir Winston envisioned it, was always a long shot given the attempted amalgamation of long-standing sovereign states before the Union.  We had a dozen weak colonial entities that decided to ban together for strength and protection and became the United States of America. We fought a bloody, horrific Civil War, when half our states tried to forcefully divorce; we are a better nation for the trial, but that does not make the divorce any more palatable.

            We American colonialists understand precisely the concept of sovereignty and being unilaterally dominated by outside forces. Yet, I find it tragic that the differences regarding federalism could not be overcome in Europe without divorce.  But, that is life; we move on.

            We anxiously await the outcome of the vote in Parliament.  Godspeed and following winds.

            Oh yes, the calamity in France is terrible on many levels.  I suspect there is much more to the violence than an increase in petrol tax. As with so many public protests all over the world, including in this Grand Republic, the anarchists are attracted to the crowds for cover and the melee for justification.

A different contribution:

“Hmm.. have you seen the people in France chanting they want Trump ?  Your continued rude demeaning comments about the President are shocking .. and not deserved .. opinionated B.S. .. you will see if you open your eyes.. if any one is biased it is you .. even the left owned and run media know they lie .. most everyone I talk to .. but YOU .. sees it .. for instance people in my area I talk to while having my car worked on at the BMW dealership see it .. the majority of America sees it .. but you are sticking by your guns no matter what .. Cap Parlier will not be wrong !”

My response:

            No.  I have not heard those chants.

            I appreciate your opinion.  I believe my eyes are wide open.  I seek information from a wide range of sources.

            I truly and genuinely wish I was and I am wrong.  I do not want to be correct.  Perhaps, my understanding of the English language and meaning of words as written or spoken by the BIC is woefully lacking.  I accept that possibility.  However, I will continue to do the best I can to reflect upon the BIC’s words and actions.  There is no dispute or debate; the BIC is the duly elected president of this Grand Republic. I certainly respect that fact. What I do resent is his abhorrent behavior and demeaning of the office he holds.

            Have you read the sentencing documents against Flynn, Cohen and Manafort?

            Have you read the BIC’s tweets?  Just last week and this week?  Is there some other meaning to the words his little finger tingkled out on the keys of his phone?  Perhaps, we are back to the necessary decoder ring to properly understand his words?

            I’m just curious.

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

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)