August 16, 2017

The nation can only weep

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-nation-can-only-weep/2017/08/15/d9bd9a10-8202-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop&utm_term=.f3cb5c226458

TUESDAY WAS a great day for David Duke and racists everywhere. The president of the United States all but declared that he has their backs.

When a white supremacist stands accused of running his car into a crowd of protesters, killing one and injuring 19, Americans of goodwill mourn and demand justice. When this is done in the context of a rally where swastikas are borne and racist and anti-Semitic epithets hurled, the only morally justifiable reaction is disgust. When the nation’s leader does not understand this, the nation can only weep.

On Saturday, after the murder of an innocent protester in Charlottesville followed marches that included armed men and Nazi salutes, President Trump’s instinct was to blame both sides. Widespread criticism followed, including the resignations of business leaders from a White House advisory council and condemnation from political leaders of both parties. On Monday, Mr. Trump read a prepared statement condemning white supremacists and racism, delivering it in a manner suggesting he neither wrote nor endorsed the words. On Tuesday, he removed any doubt: His initial reaction, putting Nazis and those protesting them on equal moral footing, is how he really feels.

“I think there’s blame on both sides. You look at — you look at both sides,” Mr. Trump said to reporters in Trump Tower, adding that there were “very fine people, on both sides.” We’ve all seen the videotape: One side was composed of Nazis, Klansmen and other avowed racists chanting “Jews will not replace us.” The other side was objecting to their racism.

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More at link.

August 15, 2017

Trump just can't stop lying. About anything.

In his so-called 'press conference' today, one of the tidbits tossed off was a claim that 'he owned the largest winery' (I can't remember whether he said it was the largest in the US, on the East Coast' or the largest in Virginia. Doesn't really matter, because it is none of those.

If you calculate by 'acres under vine' (200 acres) it is the largest in Va. But that's not how you normally calculate the size of a winery.
You calculate by production, which puts Trump's winery at third in Va. And Va. is not even the top wine producer in the South. (Believe it or not, that honor goes to Ky.)

Also, note that the Trump winery has asked for permission to hire 29 foreign workers, because American's don't want to work there.

August 15, 2017

Millions Willing to Work for Mueller for Free If That Would Speed Things Up (Satire)

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/millions-willing-to-work-for-mueller-for-free-if-that-would-speed-things-up?mbid=nl_081517%20Borowitz%20Newsletter%20(1)&CNDID=27161810&spMailingID=11701637&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODIwMTg3S0&spJobID=1221350640&spReportId=MTIyMTM1MDY0MAS2

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Millions of Americans would gladly work for Robert Mueller for free if that would help speed things up, a new poll finds.

According to the survey, a substantial number of Americans would leave their jobs, their homes, and even their families to join the special counsel’s team if doing so would help bring this nightmare to a swifter conclusion.

A spokesperson for the special counsel confirmed that his office has been receiving thousands of résumés a day from Americans begging to do anything to help Mueller “move things along.”

“We saw a big surge in interest after the bust on Paul Manafort’s house,” the spokesperson said. “A lot of folks were devastated that they didn’t get to play a part in that.”

August 14, 2017

Swift justice: Jury takes Taylor's side in groping lawsuit

Source: Yahoo News

DENVER (AP) -- Taylor Swift won $1 and long-awaited vindication after a jury decided that a radio host groped her during a pre-concert photo op four years ago.
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Testimony showed that Swift reported the incident to her mother and others on her team, but that she never sought any specific action regarding Mueller.

From the start, Swift's side portrayed the encounter as a clear case of sexual assault, even though they never reported it to police. Her mother tearfully testified that she asked Bell to reach out to Mueller's employers at country station KYGO-FM instead because they wanted to handle the matter quietly and avoid exposing the singer-songwriter to publicity.

Bell contacted a station vice president and asked for an investigation of Mueller's conduct. He also sent the station executive a photo taken of Swift, Mueller and Mueller's then-girlfriend at the meet-and-greet.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/closing-arguments-expected-taylor-swift-groping-case-071508505.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=7563eca7-14c1-3a20-ab16-782788cde33a&.tsrc=notification-brknews

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Good on the jury. Also note, that Swift only sued for $1.00. She said she wasn't after money, just vindication that she had been the victim, not Mueller.

August 13, 2017

Just as true today as it was 60 years ago.

August 13, 2017

Trump babbles in the face of tragedy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-babbles-in-the-face-of-tragedy/2017/08/12/a27211ba-7fbb-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.2c55906a41b3

One of the difficult but primary duties of the modern presidency is to speak for the nation in times of tragedy. A space shuttle explodes. An elementary school is attacked. The twin towers come down in a heap of ash and twisted steel. It falls to the president to express something of the nation’s soul — grief for the lost, sympathy for the suffering, moral clarity in the midst of confusion, confidence in the unknowable purposes of God.

Not every president does this equally well. But none have been incapable. Until Donald Trump.

Trump’s reaction to events in Charlottesville was alternately trite (“come together as one”), infantile (“very, very sad”) and meaningless (“we want to study it”). “There are so many great things happening in our country,” he said, on a day when racial violence took a life.
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At one level, this is the natural result of defining authenticity as spontaneity. Trump and his people did not believe the moment worthy of rhetorical craft, worthy of serious thought. The president is confident that his lazy musings are equal to history. They are not. They are babble in the face of tragedy. They are an embarrassment and disservice to the country.
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Ultimately this was not merely the failure of rhetoric or context, but of moral judgment. The president could not bring himself initially to directly acknowledge the victims or distinguish between the instigators and the dead. He could not focus on the provocations of the side marching under a Nazi flag. Is this because he did not want to repudiate some of his strongest supporters? This would indicate that Trump views loyalty to himself as mitigation for nearly any crime or prejudice. Or is the president truly convinced of the moral equivalence of the sides in Charlottesville? This is to diagnose an ethical sickness for which there is no cure.

If you have access to WaPo, or if you have any free reads left, read the whole article. It is well worth your time and is one hell of a take-down of the Great Pretender.