Update no.871

Update from the Sunland

No.871

10.9.18 – 16.9.18

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

            To all,

            The follow-up news items:

-- Pope Francis I called for a global meeting of Catholic bishops to discuss how to prevent sex abuse within the Church.  The unprecedented event is scheduled to occur at the Vatican in late February 2019.  The Church has struggled in contemporary times to deal with human sexuality [198 & sub.] and clerical sexual abuse of others [439 & sub.].  We can only hope Il Papa can find a way to get ahead of this crisis.

-- Well, I suppose the weight of justice finally broke the resistance of Paul Manafort [761, 766, 804, 809, 813, 815, 868].  After his recent conviction and before the beginning of his second trial, Manafort decided to change his tune.  He plead guilty to two criminal charges and agreed to cooperate fully with the Special Counsel in the on-going investigation.  This cannot be a comfortable feeling for the BIC, as the Special Counsel continues his inexorable march closer and closer.

-- The BIC announced new tariffs of about US$200B on imports from the PRC, even as his aides prepare for and struggled with negotiations to quell trade tensions [802 & sub.].  I still contend that tariffs are the wrong way to correct trade imbalance; however, I hope the BIC’s lazy approach works.  Time shall tell the tale.

            The Census Bureau reported median household income increased to US$61,372 in 2017, up 1.8% when adjusted for inflation. The poverty rate inched down 0.4 percentage point.  This is another positive sign the economy is doing well.

            On Tuesday, Pyotr Verzilov was rushed to a Moscow hospital after reportedly losing his eyesight and speaking ability. Verzilov is a member of the enduring Russian protest group Pussy Riot.  His friends and colleagues claim he was poisoned by some unknown means.  Since this occurred in Moscow, we are unlikely to learn a cause. However, if I was to guess, my primary suspicion points to the covert action of the totalitarian state to eliminate a voice of criticism and to cower the survivors of the group as well as all other voices of dissent.  The fellow who most likely ordered this assassination attempt is the same person the BIC admires so much for his dictatorial powers.

            Of course, with Hurricane Florence approaching and dominating news coverage, the BIC just could not stand for anyone or anything else to be holding the focus of the Press and public, other than himself. His character demands that he be the center of attention.  So, he tweeted about Hurricane Maria (19.9.2017):

“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000...”

5:37 AM - 13 Sep 2018

He continued:

“.....This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!”

5:49 AM - 13 Sep 2018

The BIC is absolutely tone-deaf.  He has no feeling for people—no empathy whatsoever.  Please note how many “I’s” there are (I did this; I did that), and conversely, how many “we’s” there are in his two tweets.  The deaths of nearly 3,000 are not about you, dude.  It is only about the families and friends who lost loved ones, period, full stop!

            For the record, the BIC offered up more falsehoods to make himself feel better.  The independent Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University determined the death toll, not the Democrats, or the Democratic National Committee, or any other political party.  I trust the rigor of academic study far more than I do the BIC and his relentless snake-oil jingle.  The BIC is simply incapable of empathy for human suffering.  His ridiculous statements are quite akin to Marie Antonette’s “Let them eat cake” proclamation.

            Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, at 07:15 [R] EDT, Friday morning, and then stalled and waddled down the coastline to South Carolina, dumping historic rainfall on the region.  While the wind caused damage, the associated flooding will be the worst of the storm for a week or more.  The storm has already claimed more than a dozen lives.  We hope the residents of the region recover quickly from the storm.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.870:

“You are spot on in your assessment of the vitriol which is now the new normal with regards to politics. Although you are riding in the lead peleton with your knowledge and perspective on the subject, I am but a youngster on a 3-wheel trike and a too-big helmet falling over my eyes, but I also watched the opening of the Kavanaugh hearings and turned it off in wrenching disgust after only 60 minutes.  I agree with your assessment, especially the Booker-esque gambit of ‘screw the law’, although I am sure that has happened behind closed doors for decades.

“My thoughts are this is only a reflection of the complete lack of a moral compass or any respect for others in our society as a whole, at least here in America.  I see it every day – road rage when an innocent mistake is taken as a personal affront to be brought to justice; grade school concerts where the parents of 7-year-olds fight each other in the audience because someone’s child was ‘disrespected’ – even walking out of the concert once your own child’s song is complete; an off duty Wichita police officer who physically confronts a 14-year-old YMCA basketball referee because he disagrees with a call on his 6 year old son. I can go on for pages, but it is unending and nauseating. This lack of respect for anyone but yourself is actually rooted in a lack of self-respect, I believe, but is now the norm as presented by parents to their children.

“My ‘old dude’ theory is it has been propagated now through at least two generations, and one factor is our cadre of school teachers have unwittingly led the way with their own lack of moral direction, as experienced through their own families.  I certainly respect people trying to provide some guidance in the classroom, but the odds are stacked so heavily against them I don’t know if success is even remotely achievable. Parents demand their kids deserve special treatment.  Staff distracted by the reactions of parents to perceived or real slights to their kids.  On and on.  I am sure it is just an old guy thing, but I look back on the ‘old maid’ school teacher era of my youth and take great solace in the dedication, discipline and techniques used when I was a kid.  Those education warriors were so dedicated – I now relish what I thought at the time were certainly Nazi torture techniques.

“Another element of this lack of respect for others is the long term effects of the ‘everyone gets a medal’ movement. NO one wins at everything in life, yet that is the belief pounded into our children from the earliest age.  We have 11 grandchildren and several are good in sports.  But after watching one granddaughter play basketball in Denver, I was appalled that every player receives an ‘award’ after every game where they stand up on a podium and their ‘award’ is announced to the applause of all.  In my granddaughter’s case, she didn’t score as much as she wanted to in front of Grandma and Grandpa and when she was on the bench was petulant and totally non-supportive of her teammates’ success.  Yep, she got the ‘Teamwork’ award that day.  What message does that deliver?

“And, don’t even get me started on the glamorization of the thugs and self-appointed guardians of the gate of hip-hop and pop culture – led by the Kardashian clan.  I can’t even look at the drivel inundating the world with these idiots.  We discussed at a staff level where I retired from that the highest number of Google keyword searches by our direct labor force (heavily Asian) at the computers available to them at break time and lunch was ‘Kardashian.’  Unbelievable.”

My reply:

            I watched much more of the Kavanaugh hearings.  While the drama associated with the marginalization of the minority was bad enough, it is what was not said that really bothered me.  The various labels used for conservative justices—constitutionalist, strict texualist, originalist, and such—are nice sounding terms with which most unknowing citizens can find affinity.  They hide behind those labels to avoid change.  The Founders/Framers NEVER intended the Constitution to be written in stone handed down from the mount; they knew interpretation must change with the spirit of the document.  In 1787, they had no concept of automatic weapon, the Internet, air travel, ad infinitum.  The one question (well actually there were many) I wanted to ask was: what are your views of a citizen’s fundamental right to privacy?  Privacy is the ultimate issue for me and has been for decades.  The constitutionalists properly state: privacy is not mentioned in the Constitution; therefore, a citizen’s privacy is NOT a federal matter.  I did LOVE Kamala Harris’s question: “Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?” Kavanaugh struggled to answer, but the answer is simply none. Equality is very important to me, as it should be to all of us.  The government has no authority to enter a woman’s body, but many male politicians believe it is their God-directed responsibility to do so.  My apologies: I did not mean to go off the rails here, and I could go on ad infinitum.

            Re: amorality.  Amen Brother!  In that respect, the “resistance” was spot on correct.  Sadly, it is not just the BIC who persistently demonstrates his amorality.  Far too many politicians exhibit comparable amorality.  I saw a chart of years in office, criminal indictments, criminal convictions and prison sentences for administrations from Nixon to the BIC—very telling and stark.  OMG, I do agree absolutely and completely; if we just respected one another, so many of our societal ills, as you noted, would be eliminated.  As John McCain so eloquently and succinctly stated, “We can disagree without being disagreeable.”  We have lost our ability to properly debate issues—the vigorous public debate is an essential if not vital element of democracy.  To me, we have degenerated into intransigent tribes.  My tribe is better than your tribe, so I will ignore you or I will condemn you as a heretic.

            I have long focused on the failure of parents to teach their children moral values and proper citizenship. Clergy, schools, and supplementary citizens are reinforcers; they are not the primary providers of moral values; that responsibility belongs solely with parents.  I have been interested in parental teaching for all sorts of societal maladies from serial killers to the moral projectionists and racists/sexists.  Far too many parents have failed to perform their duty and they are rarely held accountable for those failures.

            Re: everyone gets a medal.  Spot on!  That is NOT life.  Giving everyone a medal is NOT serving society, NOT preparing our children for life and reality.  We did not grow up that way.  Our children didn’t either, but our grandchildren are.

            Re: “the glamorization of the thugs and self-appointed guardians of the gate.”  Spot on, again.  The whole lot of them are all puff and no substance, and far too many young folks (and some older, who should know better) worship the ground they walk on . . . for no reason beyond they are famous, or more appropriately, infamous.

Comment to the Blog:

“Cap, you have used two allusions too obscure for me.  I will not research the Battle of Passchendaele, but at least I could.  ‘Seven Days in May’ is worse for me, because I assume it’s fiction in some form, and I don’t deal with that.  Fiction is never a close-enough metaphor for reality.

“I assumed that the type of actions described in the New York Timesop-ed piece were occurring.  I based that on my training in what was then called Secretarial Science.  Following the correct procedure, appealing to ‘the system’ if it works and obeying orders is all very well, but situations arise where that will damage people or the business.  The procedure at that point is best summarized as ‘do your best to block the damage and look for a saner job.’  That is my perception of what the so-called ‘resistance’ inside the White House is doing.  (They misunderstand or misuse the term “resistance” as used by the Democratic Party.)  The letter states that they still support his agenda, and they’re not trying to block actual policies that might achieve those objectives.  They are not ‘traitors.’ They don’t leave because they fear this buffoon will destroy the nation and/or the world if not countered.  I imagine they wrote the letter in an effort to seek help.  They are aware that they can only contain ‘the Donald’ for so long, and the official ‘whistleblower’ methods will not work in this situation.  I wish them well, and I cannot find another avenue for them to try to save this nation from Trump.  I see your response as emotional and poorly considered.  ‘Either blind obedience or open opposition’ is not a realistic choice in a situation as complex and important as this one.

“I certainly agree that our generation (Baby Boomers) got us into this situation.  Some of us did some good in our younger days, but we have arrived at this sorry state.  Solutions may arise, but they will not come from old white men like me.  We cannot see beyond our own backgrounds, and we’re what amounts to burned out.  Younger people, especially women and minority people, can lead us out of this mess if anyone can.

“I basically disagree with one of your statements.  The ‘Visigoths’ are not merely at the gates.  They are running the country from executive suites and high-end eateries.  Giving them the judiciary, as well as the other branches, will complete our ruin.

“The economy is changing in many ways.  Most find employment but at survival wages. Conditions more and more resemble 2007.  Good luck on that.”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: WW1 slaughter & fiction.  OK; so be it.

            Re: the “resistance.”  Well, now, that is certainly a seriously different perspective.  Thank you for offering your opinion in contrast.  We shall respectfully disagree.  I come from a faction where honor is valued.

            I shall also disagree slightly in that I believe it was my parents’ generation that got us into this hole with the distrust of Vietnam and criminal conduct of the Nixon administration.  It was my generation that failed to get us out of the hole and only dug the hole much deeper.  I do share your hope and optimism that the next generation will stand up to the mark, and start filling in the hole and building for a better future.  I am encouraged by the number of women entering the arena (it’s time) [FYI: we have an all female slate to fill Jeff Flakes’ seat this fall].

            Re: Visigoths.  LOL.  OK.  Then, we put them inside the wall by electing them to their offices.

            Re: economy.  There are many elements of the current economic situation that concern me.  Wage growth is certainly one (although it does not affect me anymore).  I am far more concerned about overheating the economy and seriously increasing the national debt; both of which compound inflation, which would directly and adversely affect all of us (well, except the wealthy; they don’t care).

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Re the "Visigoths": we elected their servants, not them.  Some of the servants come from the same social class, but it's important that the real guidance of this country comes from corporate decision-makers, not from the people who enact their policies.  Thus, progress continues on such fronts as LGBT rights (no economic effect), but not on prisons (immense profits from both criminal imprisonment and immigrant ‘detention’) or climate issues.

“The economy is incredibly complicated to measure because any number of factions want it that way.  For one example, the way employment numbers are counted changed under Clinton.  Budget deficits, inflation, and trade surpluses and deficits all depend on measurement metrics and methods.  We'll see what we're told about whatever happens.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

            Interesting perspective . . . I like it.

            Agreed.  Yet, GDP & unemployment rate are two, common, general metrics that have been used for decades.  The changes during the Clinton administration were refinements intended to more accurately represent employment—it’s a general metric and cannot represent all elements of employment.   The general metrics should be consistent over the years.

 . . . and a follow-up to the follow-up comment:

“The numbers changed under Clinton, but the notion that the goal of that was accuracy doesn't really hold up.  The Democrats' style is far nicer than the Republicans', but by Clinton's time they were responding to large donors in a similar, but less effective, underlying approach.

 . . . along with my response:

            Seems rather pessimistic to me, but I have insufficient knowledge to argue the point.  Nonetheless, we need consistent general metrics to judge economic performance.  We can get more unique as we bore in.

A different contribution:

“Aside from your predictable and unwavering contempt for the person elected to the POTUS, which as you know I find tiring and surprisingly unforgiving, I am again impressed by your consistently thoughtful analysis of the few established facts that serve as an arguable basis for the current left stream press feeding frenzy.  Thanks for reminding us of the constitutional options for correcting any elector mistake.  It is your negative conclusions that continue to trouble me.

“The one thing I wish you and others would remember is that we the people (not the coastal liberals) elected Mr. Trump precisely because he was not a politician who had been awarded prominence by obfuscation and comforting politeness but was a successful businessman who had earned success with cunning use of the flawed American capitalistic system.  He is what we the people wanted, and he seems to be trying to do what he said he would do, which distinguishes him from most previous contenders.  To me, his effort is laudable and his tongue is forgivable.

“Although most of us are disappointed in Donald Trump's blatant rhetoric and politically stupid and crude verbal behavior, his instinctive and persistent dedication to perpetuating the merits of the free market system he used and to reducing the counter-constitutional government-by-bureaucrats system that has made citizens dependents upon rather than participants in government, is his strength.  The shortsightedness of his critics, even the thinking ones like you, is an unfortunate boon to the socialistic dreamers who do not understand history and are hell-bent on ending the great experiment of the world's best representative democratic republic.  I do not cry ‘Shame on you.’  I cry ‘Listen, and give this imperfect man a chance.’  Help him clean the swamp.  Stop adding to the voices of despair hanging on to the past patterns of leadership that have failed us.

“Keep up the good work and legitimate criticism, and try to give the BIC (Businessman In Charge) a chance.”

My reply:

            As the BIC persists in the bad, destructive behavior, I shall remain equally persistent in my criticism of his bad behavior.  I hold no hope that he will learn and improve.  If there are errors in my analysis that lead me to those pesky negative conclusions, please correct me.  I am always eager to learn and amend the error of my ways.  I am not so proud and foolish to claim I am always right, although I do believe I am occasionally correct.  So, in that spirit, what troubles you so much and why?

            I acknowledge on a regular basis that We, the People, elected the BIC to the position of POTUS, which is why I am not a fan of impeachment.  In that instance, it had better be pretty serious and irrefutable for Congress to countermand a proper election.  To my knowledge and recollection, I have never said “they” elected him. I accept my membership in We, the People.

            Oh whoa-dawgy, tariffs are not and have never been part of a free market system.  I am not desirous of paying more taxes than my share.  Yet, I am far more critical of his foolish tax cuts without associated spending reductions.  Instead, he has added almost as much national debt with his foolish tax cut as Bush 43 did with his choices in waging war without mobilization, funding or a proper declaration.  I must apologize in advance, but I feel like you are putting pretty lipstick on the pig.  “the world's best representative democratic republic” . . . really? So, the Republican 11-month stonewalling of President Obama’s constitutional nomination of a Supreme Court justice replacement and the abomination of the Kavanaugh hearings are representative democracy.  I must have missed that part of our history where defiance of the Constitution and especially the spirit of this Grand Republic is part of representative democracy.  Help him clean up the swamp . . . he is the swamp.

            Just this morning, the BIC claimed the federal response in Puerto Rico to the destruction of Hurricane Maria was the best federal response in history.  How on God’s little green Earth are we supposed to believe him?  His persistent false statements leave him with zero credibility.

            I do, in fact, agree with you about the failure of past patterns of “leadership.”  I have concluded that our generation has failed.  We need to let the next generation have a go.  We see signs that the BIC may well have a laudable success; he is virtually unilaterally inspiring citizens to vote.  If we see 60, 70, 80% voter turnout, we must credit the BIC for that accomplishment.  He may not like the result, but it certainly appears more Americans may perform their citizenship duty than ever before.  We can only hope at this stage.

            Re: “BIC (Businessman In Charge).” Not in my book!  He shall remain the Bully-in-Chief until he changes his behavior.  He sees no reason to change; neither do I.  I suspect the Special Counsel’s report may not be so complimentary to the BIC’s business acumen.  The more we learn from the periphery, the worse it appears.  We shall see.

One last contribution:

“The BIC is never out of your wise words, but he does seem to have boundless U/S supporters, will he run and achieve a second term? The thought must be worrying the world.”

My response:

            You got that right, the BIC is ever-present. It would be a nice reprieve to have just one week with him being invisible & silent . . . just one week.  A second term for the BIC . . . good Q . . . I never thought he would make it to a first term. I was shocked when he made it through the primaries, against accomplished professionals.  So, I will not underestimate that faction of our citizenry who voted for him, again.  The mid-term elections coming up this fall will give us some good indications of what to expect in 2020.

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

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)