Republicans, after years of screaming during Obama's presidency that sky will fall if the budget deficit isn't closed, are suddenly quite happy to let it balloon with tax cuts and spending increases. If the Democrats are a "tax and spend" party, Republicans have become the "don't tax and but still spend" party, ironically making the Democrats look more fiscally responsible. So much for the down-home kitchen table family budgeting Republicans were so keen to apply in Washington a decade ago.
What explains this about-face. There seem at least two plausible theories. The first is caving to Trump. He has taken such a firm grip on the Republicans base and is completely ruthless in exploiting that for his own ends that Republican law makers are terrified of being destroyed by a Trump tirade; their job security suddenly takes precedent over their erstwhile principles.
There is, however, another possible explanation; that they were never really serious about fiscal rectitude - it was simply a political device with which to attack the Democrats and Obama. Indeed it is plausible that Republicans are simply all about power and not principle. One has only to look at the willful ignoring of the violations of family values Trump represents to realize that its not just their position in budget debate that was a sham. And their pathetic defense that "Trump isn't someone I'd hang out with but he's getting the job done", is testimony to their shameless "the end justifies the means" philosophy.
Friday, July 26, 2019
Chernobyl vs Deep Water Horizon
Deep Water Horizon builds with a view of the tensions in the control room as the drilling operation is pushed forward while safety issues are misread or ignored by an overconfident manager wanting to meet a target. Chernobyl opens, after a short prelude, in much the same way. Both lead up to the focal event, an explosion.
But then the two diverge, dramatically, both metaphorical and literally. Deep Water Horizon has a relatively linear time line that leads to a smulchy ending. Chernobyl has an geometric timeline that allows a much broader exploration of the consequences of the explosion. Moving beyond the intensity of the first few hours allows the film to explore a more interesting set of issues, social, political and psychological.
Chernobyl is an outstanding piece of gripping and engaging film-making, while Deep Water Horizon, cy comparison, is simply a mundane, cliched disaster movie.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Patronizing
All those who are justifiably outraged by Trump's antics, his racist behavior, his lying, his narcissism, his treating of the most important job in the country a if it were his reality TV program - all of which we knew was coming - have yet to find the appropriate and effective way of dealing with his nonsense. My suggestion is "gently patronize".
His behavior is childish, a school yard bully who still sulks and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. So the media and the Democrats need to treat it accordingly: smile and calmly point out his lies; remain adult when he behaves like a child; shake their heads sadly at his delusions and explain the reality of the situation; offer sympathy at how misguided he is; model adult behavior rather than responding in kind. The country needs to see that the alternative to a spoiled child in the White House is a grown-up.
It's been 30 months since he took office, and four years since he announced. Granted no one took him seriously before, but for his opponents, it's past time to get it together.
His behavior is childish, a school yard bully who still sulks and throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way. So the media and the Democrats need to treat it accordingly: smile and calmly point out his lies; remain adult when he behaves like a child; shake their heads sadly at his delusions and explain the reality of the situation; offer sympathy at how misguided he is; model adult behavior rather than responding in kind. The country needs to see that the alternative to a spoiled child in the White House is a grown-up.
It's been 30 months since he took office, and four years since he announced. Granted no one took him seriously before, but for his opponents, it's past time to get it together.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Biden - four years too late
Joe Biden should have run in 2016. He would very likely have beaten Trump and saved us four years of presidential stupidity. But now his moment has passed. He may be ahead in the polls and in fund-raising, but that's likely out of name recognition from his term as veep.
But to hear him these days is both a little sad and slightly worrying. His speech is slow and fractured, his mental agility gone. Yes he might win the nomination but I doubt he be able to hold his own against Trump in a debate; and even were he to win, while he clearly has the experience, I'm not sure he has the strength to do the job.
But to hear him these days is both a little sad and slightly worrying. His speech is slow and fractured, his mental agility gone. Yes he might win the nomination but I doubt he be able to hold his own against Trump in a debate; and even were he to win, while he clearly has the experience, I'm not sure he has the strength to do the job.
A behaviorist perspective
The behaviorist school of psychology suggests that introspection is of little value and that what matters are observable behaviors. Strangely Donald Trump (and his administration more broadly) is a walking demonstration that idea.
Take the question of whether he is or isn't a racist, a question over which our befuddled media have been agonizing over for at least the two years plus of his presidency, some longer, and most intensively since he sent out a series of tweets last weekend. At issue was his attack on four non-white women members of the House of Representatives.
The answer has to be it really doesn't matter whether he is or not - something anyway one can never really know. What matters is that he behaves like one. He can say repeatedly "I'm not a racist", something that most racists do anyway, but that's probably just another lie.
Whether he is or isn't if he behaves like one that's all we need to know. We don't need to label him one; we simply need to point to the many instances in which he has and continues to act like a white supremacists. And that should be of grave concern to anyone who claims to hold Judeo-Christian values (like, for example, Republican members of Congress). Whether its Trump and his band of crooked brothers (and sisters), or prison guards abusing inmates, they may go home and be sweet and loving to their friends and family, but that's quite irrelevant; it's their action that matter.
And, lest we get side tracked into "don't listen to what he says, see what he does", as president, his words have the effect of actions. While the adage about actions speaking louder than words applies to those who have voice that reaches, in Edward Murrow's words "only to the end of the bar", Trump's reaches and influences millions. His words are directly responsible for shaping attitudes of perhaps a third of the country and in all likelihood indirectly for the actions of many, including those like James Fields, the white nationalist recently sentenced for the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville two years ago. Were he capable of honest self reflection, Trump should keep Murrow's observation in mind:
Take the question of whether he is or isn't a racist, a question over which our befuddled media have been agonizing over for at least the two years plus of his presidency, some longer, and most intensively since he sent out a series of tweets last weekend. At issue was his attack on four non-white women members of the House of Representatives.
"So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly...... ....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how.... ....it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!First "who come originally" sets the context that they are 'not one of us', 'not really American'. Next by linking their supposed origins to corrupt governments, he is suggesting they they are somehow equally tainted. And then the oft-repeated line to 'go back to where you came from', again indicating they don't belong. It's worth noting that three of the four women he attacked were first generation Americans while his claim to "Ameicaness" is only one generation better. But it is clear that he is using a line of argument and phrases that are those of white supremacists and white nationalists. So does that make him a racist?
The answer has to be it really doesn't matter whether he is or not - something anyway one can never really know. What matters is that he behaves like one. He can say repeatedly "I'm not a racist", something that most racists do anyway, but that's probably just another lie.
Whether he is or isn't if he behaves like one that's all we need to know. We don't need to label him one; we simply need to point to the many instances in which he has and continues to act like a white supremacists. And that should be of grave concern to anyone who claims to hold Judeo-Christian values (like, for example, Republican members of Congress). Whether its Trump and his band of crooked brothers (and sisters), or prison guards abusing inmates, they may go home and be sweet and loving to their friends and family, but that's quite irrelevant; it's their action that matter.
And, lest we get side tracked into "don't listen to what he says, see what he does", as president, his words have the effect of actions. While the adage about actions speaking louder than words applies to those who have voice that reaches, in Edward Murrow's words "only to the end of the bar", Trump's reaches and influences millions. His words are directly responsible for shaping attitudes of perhaps a third of the country and in all likelihood indirectly for the actions of many, including those like James Fields, the white nationalist recently sentenced for the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville two years ago. Were he capable of honest self reflection, Trump should keep Murrow's observation in mind:
"Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar".
Is he right (like a stopped clock)?
Trump, like a stopped clock, can occasionally be right. He is right about China as being a threat to the US economic dominance, though almost certainly wrong in thinking he can change that with sanctions. And his tweets last weekend, perversely can be interpreted slightly differently.
Leaving aside the settled question of "Is he a racists?" (answer: it's immaterial. What matters is that he behaves like one so the question is moot), its worth considering what he said given that three of the four members of Congress he smeared come from the US:
Leaving aside the settled question of "Is he a racists?" (answer: it's immaterial. What matters is that he behaves like one so the question is moot), its worth considering what he said given that three of the four members of Congress he smeared come from the US:
"So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly...... ....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how.... ....it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!Given that they come from the US, what Trump is accidentally admitting is that this is a country "whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all)". His administration is a shining example of that. Kudos for such a frank self-assessment, Donald.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Moderation in all things
"Moderation in all things" my mother used to say. I think about her advice when I contemplate the sorry state of affairs in our country's politics. Of course moderation was never in Trump's vocabulary, any more than deep thinking is part of his MO, but his brazenly offensive rhetoric has provoked an almost equally immoderate response from the left. Among those elected on the back of strong anti-Trump and to some degree anti-establishment sentiment have been three new members of congress, AOC, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, who have commanded considerable media attention. Initially warmly embraced as the future of the Democratic Party, they are proving to be something of a headache for Speaker Pelosi.
The three freshmen members of congress, because of their out-sized twitter following and the media hype their election generated, felt empowered to speak out in ways that they must hope moves their agenda forward and the Democratic Party to the left. But their efforts may backfire on them in part because they are providing the caricatures of inexperience and naive idealism that is red meat to the alt-right, but is also absurdly divorced from reality in the eyes of moderates in their own party, the "Biden Wing" if you will.
When they begin to accuse moderates of racism, as AOC did recently when she said that she and her freshmen women colleagues were being excluded on the basis of their colo r, she not only weakens the party, but she alienates many reasonable level headed left-leaning members.
She and her like-minded freshmen collages may as much of a reaction to the injustices and resentment of the establishment as was Trump's election. But it is impossible to imagine a scenario in which they achieve real legislative power. And even if they did, an argument could be made that unless cooler heads prevail, their administration would be almost as chaotic and un-tethered from reality as our current one.
If they are being marginalized, they might ask themselves whether it is on the basis of their color, their gender, or their decisive rhetoric, wishful-thinking based policies and strategies. Power, as they have yet to learn, generally means coming to terms with its limits; the rest is simply talk. Every political party has its crazies. Paul Ryan and John Baynor had to deal with the Tea Party. Trump has the alt-right and the white supremacists; The Dems have AOC and company. It's how you deal with them that distinguishes inspirational leaders from inept managers.
The three freshmen members of congress, because of their out-sized twitter following and the media hype their election generated, felt empowered to speak out in ways that they must hope moves their agenda forward and the Democratic Party to the left. But their efforts may backfire on them in part because they are providing the caricatures of inexperience and naive idealism that is red meat to the alt-right, but is also absurdly divorced from reality in the eyes of moderates in their own party, the "Biden Wing" if you will.
When they begin to accuse moderates of racism, as AOC did recently when she said that she and her freshmen women colleagues were being excluded on the basis of their colo r, she not only weakens the party, but she alienates many reasonable level headed left-leaning members.
She and her like-minded freshmen collages may as much of a reaction to the injustices and resentment of the establishment as was Trump's election. But it is impossible to imagine a scenario in which they achieve real legislative power. And even if they did, an argument could be made that unless cooler heads prevail, their administration would be almost as chaotic and un-tethered from reality as our current one.
If they are being marginalized, they might ask themselves whether it is on the basis of their color, their gender, or their decisive rhetoric, wishful-thinking based policies and strategies. Power, as they have yet to learn, generally means coming to terms with its limits; the rest is simply talk. Every political party has its crazies. Paul Ryan and John Baynor had to deal with the Tea Party. Trump has the alt-right and the white supremacists; The Dems have AOC and company. It's how you deal with them that distinguishes inspirational leaders from inept managers.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Harris-Warren 2020
- An all woman ticket
- Harris brings the political nous to skewer Trump
- Warren is the policy wonk
Solid state
The "Last Build" is finished and running. Central is the 8 core 16 processor CPU; it is maxed-out on with 64 GB of RAM and an m.2 solid state 960GB disk. It is hampered, however by the slow speed of the Samba NAS and the even slowed speed of the cloud Google drive.
Two 4k monitors mounted on a stand that keeps them off the desk provide more screen real-estate and more room for piles of papers underneath them. Two 120mm fans attached to the radiator provide reasonably quiet cooling, the simple graphics car has no fan, and there are no disks (and therefore motors) in the case to drown out the sounds of the crickets outside and the ticking of my watch inside.
Two 4k monitors mounted on a stand that keeps them off the desk provide more screen real-estate and more room for piles of papers underneath them. Two 120mm fans attached to the radiator provide reasonably quiet cooling, the simple graphics car has no fan, and there are no disks (and therefore motors) in the case to drown out the sounds of the crickets outside and the ticking of my watch inside.
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