The Observation Deck:  Lest we forget….

If you Google “Did the Republicans want to get rid of FEMA?” you will find they have been rather hostile to the agency that provides federal help when natural disasters strike.  Romney wanted to privatize it; Rand Paul wanted to eliminate it; Republicans in Congress wanted to drastically cut its budget; Trump considered cuts to the Coast Guard and FEMA to spend money on the Mexican border.  Well, you can call me an old softy but I consider government money and resources provided to help Americans caught up in a disastrous situation as well spent.  Money to fund the exceedingly stupid idea of building a wall with Mexico is not.

Another U.S. destroyer has collided with a merchant ship and the fault of the Fitzgerald collision has been adjudged incompetence on the part of the crew.  I wrote my Fitzgerald assessment back in June but never posted it awaiting the Navy’s judgment.  Here it is now.

Since the USS Fitzgerald and the container ship ACX Crystal collided on June 17 in the Sea of Japan, I have avidly followed the news reports but refrained from making any comment

I intentionally ignored stupid remarks by mainstream tv commentators noting that the ACX Crystal made an “abrupt” or “sharp” u-turn.  A huge 40.000-ton container ship cannot make “abrupt” nor “sharp” turns—they take a long time and a lot of space to turn and can easily be tracked on radar.  The other stupid remark echoed on all the tv networks was “this is a high traffic merchant shipping route.”  Well, yes, it is, but it is not like a metropolitan freeway at rush hour and you can easily track everything on radar since ships are relatively rather show moving.

In matters of destroyers and life at sea, I can claim some expertise.  in the 1960s I was a qualified Officer Of the Deck (OOD) aboard the USS Samuel N. Moore (DD747) a destroyer patrolling the exact same waters where the Fitzgerald and ACX Crystal collided.

The very idea that a slow moving container ship could intentionally ram an American destroyer is beyond ludicrous.  The most probable explanation is extraordinary incompetence on the part of the Fitzgerald crew.

Here is why I believe the Fitzgerald crew screwed up.  Radar today is far more sophisticated and precise than the vacuum tube stuff we had back in the 1960s but we were perfectly capable of tracking any vessels in our vicinity—including fleets of small Japanese fishing boats.  Not only do our Naval ships have radar repeaters on the bridge so the OOD can track traffic in the vicinity, every American combat ship has a Combat Information Center (CIC) below decks, where several skilled radarmen constantly monitor the radar screens and advise the bridge (OOD) of any potential collision threats.

In addition, and this has been mentioned on tv by naval experts including an admiral, the fact that the Fitzgerald got rammed on the starboard (right) side indicates it violated the “rules of the road” which are international rules all ships must follow to avoid collisions.  The rules state that if ships are crossing at or near a 90 degree angle, the ship with the other to starboard must change course to avoid collision.  That means, if the Fitzgerald had the ACX Crystal to starboard, which it must have since it got hit on its starboard side, it should have altered course to pass behind the container ship to avoid a collision.

Now my final point is one of those conventional wisdom things that got drummed into the heads of us officers learning to be OODs.  I will never forget my mentor telling me, “Always, always give merchant vessels a very wide berth.  Most of time there is no one on the bridge, especially at night, and the ship is set on the ‘iron mike’( which is essentially a merchant ship’s auto pilot that just sets course and speed).”

The ACX Crystal had a crew of only 20 men so it is highly likely the ship had no one on the bridge and the whole crew was sleeping at the time of the collision.

The Observation Deck:  What’s in a name?

Trumpists have often praised their leader by saying, “He tells it like it is,” except, perhaps, when what is happens to be Nazis demonstrating and killing people in an American city.

Make no mistake, the people who prepared and organized the demonstration in Charlottesville were Nazis.  Applying verbal deodorants like White Nationalists, Alt-Right and White Supremacists does not alter their underlying beliefs and intentions.

 

It is not “fake news” that the participants chanted explicit anti-Semitic slogans, shouted “hail Trump” with their right arms extended and espouse total white supremacy.  Those are all as Nazi as it gets.

The optimists wave it off as just a distasteful fringe element that will never amount to anything.  Perhaps the cancer analogy is a bit too obvious, unfortunately it’s accurate. If you don’t cut it out immediately, it spreads

To paraphrase Gertrude Stein and William Shakespeare, “A Nazi is a Nazi is a Nazi” and “A Nazi by any other name would smell as foul.”

The Observation Deck: Sunday funday

If you have never watched the Sunday morning tv talk shows, you should try it. They are very entertaining. Every week, Trump’s chumps go on Meet the Press, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Face the Nation and Fox News and declare that the Trumpster did not say what he said, that the dumb, fake media did not understand what he really said, that you should not take him literally or some other cockamamie excuse for the stuff he actually said but they say he didn’t.

I am looking forward to this Sunday. I really want to see which creepy sycophant—Conway, Miller or Gorka—will step forward to chastise the press for not understanding that Trump’s remarks on the Charlottesville tragedy were just wonderful and not intended to please his core supporters—you know, the neo-Nazis, the KKK and White Supremacists
.
Of course, the former KKK leader David Duke and various other American Nazis heaped praised on Trump and thanked him for his endorsement and most of the gutless Republican Congresspeople just grumbled and mumbled and fell back in line behind their Supreme Leader or kept silent.

Most Americans, myself included, could not believe how disgustingly The Trump reacted to the Charlottesville tragedy. Callous, unfeeling, declaring both sides were at fault, and neo-Nazis included some “good people.”

The Sunday morning talk shows this week will be very interesting. So if you are not going to spend Sunday morning thanking your god for Trump and how he appointed a devout evangelical conservative to the Supreme Court, stay home and watch the talk shows. You might learn something.

The mouse that roars or Mickey Mouse scares the crap out of Superman

Have you noticed that the North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has several things in common with the United States Supreme Leader Donald Trump?  First, they both have really goofy haircuts.  They both have enormous egos and demand absolute adoration and they both have a unique way of drawing attention to themselves.

When Donald Trump wants attention, he tweets.  When Kim Jong-un, wants attention he fires off a missile.  Now we have these two dropping bombasts on each other like two school boys in the schoolyard shouting “Oh yeah, my dad can beat up your dad! So there!”

Kim  Johg-Un said America would “pay the price” for U.N. sanctions.  O yeah?  Donald smacks back exhibiting  one of his really menacing scowls, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States, or they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

Oh yeah?   Kim Jong-un counters with a threat that he would strike the U.S. Territory Guam.

So it has gone for the last few months.  How about the story that Hawaii should prepare for a nuclear attack? Or, oh my god, maybe Kim’s missiles could reach Chicago or Washington D.C.!   I lived during the entire cold war when people were building bomb shelters in their back yards because the Soviet Union was going to attack us any minute.  It’s like déjà vu all over again.

Every time America has its doomsday reaction to one of Kim’s missile launches or verbal threats I can imagine him laughing his butt off.  Kim is getting exactly the result he wants.  It shows how tough he is standing up to a super power thus cementing his position within his country, and he makes Trump look foolish by stooping to his level.  Not to mention all the attention Kim is getting on the world stage. Every time Kim shoots off a missile, America starts pooping its pants. It’s like a comic book episode:  “Mickey Mouse scares the crap out of Superman!”  And I am sure Kim just loves it.

Amid all the sound and the fury there is a shred of reason.  Rex Tillerson is attempting to apply diplomacy despite Trump’s unhelpful provocative statements.  Military analysts point out that North Korea is still far away from having a functional ICBM with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the United States.  Others have totally rejected the foolish notion that the minute North Korea has that capability it will immediately launch a pre-emptive attack on America.   They note, correctly I believe, that all Kim’s bluster and posturing, and his refusal to back off his nuclear program, are primarily to bolster his support at home, become a member of the world nuclear community for prestige and use it as a bargaining chip against sanctions.

 

The hope is that Kim is not so dumb as to start a nuclear war.  The fear is that Trump is dumb enough to do it.

The Observation Deck:  Rex who?

Whatever happened to Rex Tillerson?  Wasn’t he supposed to be Secretary of State?

  Let’s see…Trump has been entertaining a string of foreign heads of state in Washington, making many trips abroad to high level conferences and low level countries like Poland, VP Pence represented Trump in Estonia, Russia is reacting to sanctions, North Korea is popping off ballistic missiles and the last mention I remember of Tillerson in the news (before Scaramucci upstaged everyone) was he was taking a vacation to spend time with his family.

Oh yes, Trump has declared he will cut the State Department’s budget and has been involving himself in the department’s staffing choices.  Is Tillerson next on the Trump hit list? Could this be Trump’s latest tactic—just ignore the person rather than insult and denigrate him in public?  Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of the country’s favorite reality tv show, Swamp Survivors.

The office or the person?

Every time a new president is elected, those who voted for the president say to those who didn’t, “Well, you have to respect the office.”  I do believe that is true, however, with Trump the argument is wearing thin.

For starters, Trump himself has disrespected elements of the government that we as Americans have been taught to respect if not revere—the judiciary, the congress, our intelligence agencies, and the election process.  As a former professional journalist and European correspondent I particularly dislike his attacks on the press and freedom of speech.  He has called the press the “enemy of the people, “he makes endless references to “fake news” when it does not praise him or support his positions, he has threatened to ease libel laws to make it easier to sue news organizations,  he has insulted journalists and refused them access to press conferences and rallies.

So it becomes hard to respect the office when the person holding that office disparages institutions and traditions I, and I believe most Americans, hold dear.  In other words, Trump is tarnishing the office he holds.

There is a marked difference between the image of the office and the actual conduct of the person holding it.  My idea of the presidential image is one of dignity, decorum, high standards, honesty, judgment and integrity.  In my opinion, Donald Trump does not live up to any those standards.

Trump supporters also complain that he is being unjustly and more viscously attacked than other presidents.  I do not agree with that.  I am not going to catalogue the attacks, often racially motivated and explicit, launched against Obama; they are easily documented.  Opponents attacking a president has existed since George Washington, but admittedly today we have sunk to a level of virulent attack that seems to have made our governmental process uncivil if not unworkable.

In conclusion, I believe the intense attacks on Trump are a result of his behavior and performance—tweets, personal attacks on his own staff, profanity, incessant bragging, insults, etc.—not  any disrespect for the office itself.

SEND IN THE CLOWN!

Scaramouche was a 1952 movie. Here is the plot

When the wicked Marquis de Maynes (Mel Ferrer) kills Andre Moreau's (Stewart Granger) best friend in a sword fighting duel and steals his love, Aline (Janet Leigh), the Frenchman vows revenge. While hiding out with a theatrical troupe and posing as the clown Scaramouche, Moreau works with the Marquis' very own fencing instructor to hone his skill with the sword. Once he feels he's up to task, he returns to the city to claim his revenge and win back Aline.

Note the similarity to the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as Trump’s new communications director. He has joined the theatrical group known as the Trump administration and is playing a clown.

Perhaps you did not know that Scaramucccia was a stock character in the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. We now have a new interpretation in La Commedia del Trump
From Wikipedia:
Scaramuccia (literally "little skirmisher"), also known as Scaramouche or Scaramouch, is a stock clown character of the Italian commedia dell'arte. The role combined characteristics of the zanni (servant) and the Capitano (masked henchman). Usually attired in black Spanish dress and burlesquing a don, he was often beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice.
Scaramouche entertains the audience by his "grimaces and affected language". Scaramouche is sly, adroit, supple, and conceited. Scaramouche can be clever or stupid—as the actor sees fit to portray him.

The Observation Deck: The Republicans’ idea of “colorful language”

Trump’s new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, has coined another creative entry for the Republican-speak lexicon. Now, Republicans are free to use the most disgusting vulgarities and brush it off as “colorful language.” You will recall that Republicans invented “alternate facts” to justify their lies and, of course, when Trump bragged about “grabbing pussy” that was excused as “locker room talk.”

Let’s put aside politics for a moment. I find Scaramucci’s “colorful language,” Kelly Ann Conway’s “alternate facts” and Republicans’ excusing Trump’s macho braggadocio as “locker room talk” unacceptable. You can scoff and say I am an old fuddy-duddy and that I was brought up in an era with a different perspective on acceptable behavior. Yes, I was. Believe it or not, in my generation, high school boys did not swear (you know, use “bad” words) in front of girls. Yes, I know it sounds quaint, but it’s true.

I am perfectly aware all that has changed. Have any of you followed teenagers’ twitter accounts? I have followed my granddaughter’s Twitter account through her teenage years and was thoroughly appalled by the vulgarities and disgustingly foul language which is common practice in hers and her friends’ Tweets--both boys and girls. So Trump’s campaign references to opponents as “mother fuckers” and declaring he would “bomb the shit” out of enemies among his other disgusting language usage has evidently become acceptable today.

This is not a partisan thing. I can assure you that if Hillary Clinton had used the same language and appointed officials who spoke like Scaramucci I would feel exactly the same way. There are still many of us who believe the President of the United States should conduct himself with dignity and set an example of class and decorum. Obviously, our current president doesn’t think that way. Instead, he and some of his appointed officials have chosen to behave like immature, foul-mouthed teenagers.

The Observation Deck: Beware the Ides of Trump

It seems almost every day something bordering on the bizarre or at least a bit strange pops up regarding The Trump. This week two things happened. In the publicly televised opening of his cabinet meeting, after The Trump bragged about how massive his accomplishments have been in his first months (which they haven’t, but never mind) then his cabinet members, one by one, declared how wonderful The Trump is and how “honored and privileged” they are to be part of his administration.

When Reince Priebus stated how “blessed” he and his staff were to serve him, I expected them all to start referring to The Trump as “our supreme leader.” The cabinet has elevated groveling for The Trump’s favor to the highest level. Might it be they are intimidated? Could they possibly think that if they crossed the supreme leader and incurred his wrath they would be ignominiously fired and subjected to public disgrace?

Which brings us to event number two. The venerable New York Theater in the Park is staging a production of Julius Caesar portraying Caesar as The Trump and Brutus as a female in a pants suit. Not really very subtle. Now you can debate however you want about whether it is in bad taste, artistically valid, free speech etc. But the point is that two major sponsors of the Theater in the Park, Delta Airlines and Bank of America, pulled their sponsorships. In other words, they were intimidated by The Trump. Both companies groveled to the supreme leader presumably to curry favor in his eyes and essentially publically demonstrated that The Trump can dominate them
.
These are both rather ominous signs.

A Plot to Promote Pence

This is the second conservative NY Times columnist to state The Trump is not capable nor qualified to be president. (I shared David Brooks's column a few days ago.) One can imagine this proposal by Douthat could be a calculated move, not so much to get Trump out, but to get Pence in. Douthat is a devout Catholic social conservative. Pence is also a religious social conservative zealot. Since Pence is a professional politician and not a dumbbell like Trump he would methodically pursue advancing all the regressive Republican policies on religion, women's health, education, health care and taxes that are dear to Ryan and McConnell. So when the Republican inner circle of Congress finally gets fed up with Trump, under the 25th they could oust him for incompetence and conceivably put Pence in. The choice is a dilemma. Trump is both dangerous and crazy for the country, Pence is just dangerous.

.

Opinion | The 25th Amendment Solution for Removing Trump

Removal, not impeachment, for a president unfit for office.

NYTIMES.COM

The Republicans are Unquestionably Guilty of Collusion with the Russians

Why don’t we just stop arguing over the question of whether or not the Republican presidential campaign colluded with the Russians to help get Trump elected?  Everybody knows the Republicans are guilty as hell.

Many people have told me Republican campaign operatives had close contacts with the Russian hackers during the campaign.  Some people have said Manifort, Flynn and a lot of other high ranking officials close to Trump had extensive dealings with the Russians including deals where they made a lot of money.  You know that.  I know that.  Everybody knows that.

Now regarding Trump’s tax returns, I have a friend who prepares taxes for very wealthy people and he told me it is absolutely certain Trump will not release his tax returns because they contain damaging proof about his business dealings with China and Russia and how cleverly he avoided taxes.

So perhaps we should get over this and let the Republicans get on with more important things on their agenda like taking health insurance from the poor and giving huge tax breaks to the rich.

The Observation Deck: The U.S. Presidency for Fun and Profit

Now if anyone wants to continue the pretense that the Trump and Kushner families are not profiting from the Donald's presidency I have a nice bridge in New York City that I will sell you. Nicole Meyer, Jared Kushner's sister, made the marketing power of the presidency rather obvious when she said the development of the Jersey City project "means a lot to me and my entire family." (Wink, wink, which includes the president.) So come on you Chinese millionaires fork over a half-million bucks for the Kushner (Trump) project and we'll throw in a great visa allowing you to live in the United States.
Oh, and for the fun part. While Jared's sister was in China hawking the family business,The Trump was playing golf in his Jersey resort. The Trump claimed he was at the resort for "meetings" but a photo of him playing golf popped up on Instagram. Remember, howThe Trump highly criticized Obama for playing golf. The Trump qualifies as the most hypocritical president in the history of the United States.

In a Beijing ballroom, Kushner family flogs $500,000 ‘investor visa’ to wealthy Chinese

Representatives from the Kushner family business urged Chinese citizens to consider investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a New Jersey real estate…

WASHINGTONPOST.COM|BY EMILY RAUHALA

The Observation Deck:  Comey baloney

James “Mildly Nauseous”  Comey’s  CYA testimony made a lot of people, including myself, vomit.  Let’s just put aside for a moment the different treatment the FBI is giving Trump’s campaign dealings with the Russians because “it’s under investigation.” Comey was well aware his reopening the Clinton email case would, indeed, influence the election.  Whatever his intentions, which are now a moot point, there is no question his revelation did influence the election’s outcome.  And, of course, it is now irreversible.  It’s like someone points a gun at you, pulls the trigger and kills you then declares, “Oh, I didn’t really mean to kill you, I just wanted to see if the gun was loaded.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/opinion/james-comey-fbi-mildly-nauseous.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

The Observation Deck:  First you say you didn’t and then you did…. 

Having a buffoon for a president has its advantages; you get a good laugh now and then.  This morning, CNN showed a clip of The Trump commenting on the failure of Trumpcare to get a vote in the House.   The video clearly shows him sitting in the Oval Office saying he NEVER promised to repeal and replace Obamacare.  This clip was followed by about five videos from his campaign specifically showing him declare emphatically that on day one he was going to “repeal and replace Obamacare” to wildly applauding crowds.  Now, I know, The Trump hates CNN and calls it “fake news” but, come on Donald, all those videos are a matter of public record documenting things you have really said and done.  It was very funny watching him at his desk, fluttering his hands and shrugging his shoulders and insisting he never said something he really did.

The Observation Deck:  Did you know?

One of The Trump’s cabinet ministers and a great many Republicans actually believe the earth is 6,000 years old. What you probably don’t know is where that comes from.  That belief is based on the calculations of the 17th Century Irish Archbishop of Armagh, James Ussher, who used the generations and ages given in the Bible to calculate that the exact date of creation was Saturday, October 22, 4004 BC.  Now if you add the years since ancient Christians adopted pagan rituals to determine the birth of Jesus, you add 2017, so the earth is 6,021 years old.  And if you believe that, it is perfectly understandable why you believe everything Donald Trump says.

The Observation Deck: The Republicans’ (Don’t Care) Health Care Plan

Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services said that Trumpcare would put in place “a patient-centered system where we get patients and families and doctors making medical decision and not Washington D.C.” That is so much unmitigated bullshit I can’t believe even the most avid Trumpist can believe it.

For the past five years, I have dealt with three kinds of cancer, three surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, experimental drugs, numerous scans, lab tests and various consultations and not once, got that, not once has Washington D.C. had anything to do with making my medical decisions.

The Republican Party keeps telling you that “the American people” want choices, they want to manage their own health care, they want to get Washington bureaucrats out of your health care, that the free-market insurance business will make everything wonderful with liberty and health care for all.

No, the American people would just like to have a health care system free from anxiety and clearly understandable. The Republicans flat out do not want to give all Americans guaranteed health care. It can be done. This article is a clear explanation of how. Of course, the Republicans, insurance companies and big pharma would never allow it.

The Fake Freedom of American Health Care

If Republicans really want to give patients more freedom, they should try health care the Finnish way.

NYTIMES.COM

Happy Birthday to me!

Today marks a significant milestone in my life.  On this day, I celebrate my 80th birthday! 

This is a remarkable accomplishment since statistically I should probably be dead.  On March 12, 2012, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.  According to the American Cancer Society I had only a 40 per cent chance of living five years so if I can live a couple more weeks, I shall have beaten the odds.

I cannot think of a better way to celebrate my four score years than lambasting the Republicans for their absurd position on health care.  Let’s get something straight, the Republicans do not want all Americans to have universal health care.  Period.

Why?  Because the only way to give all Americans universal health care is to get private insurers out of the game—completely. Health care in America is a for-profit industry and private insurers, drug companies, cancer clinics et al are only interested in making money.  They could care less about your health.

For Republicans reading this, I will try to explain in terms even they can understand. Health CARE and health INSURANCE are two different things.  When Republicans say the government wants to control your health CARE, they are lying.  The government actually wants to protect you from being screwed by private corporations.  Private insurers are pulling out of the   ACA or raising premiums simply because they are not making enough money.

With Medicare and the ACA, the government provides health INSURANCE so you can pay for your health CARE.  Medicare works because private insurance companies’ involvement is kept to a minimum—the so-called Advantage plans and medigap policies.

Now the Republicans are tossing around things like “privatizing” Medicare (and Social Security)—a dreadful idea—“vouchers” you can use to buy, what? Private insurance and “patient centered care.”  That last one is really stupid.  ALL health care is patient centered. Who do you think is getting the care?   Of course, Republicans claim this is to get the government out of “dictating your health care.”  That is pure bull.  The government does not "dictate" nor get involved with your health CARE.  As you can imagine, I have had a rather intimate relationship with the American health care system for the last five years and the government has had absolutely nothing to do with choosing my doctors, what kind of treatment I would get and where I would get it.  I have not been turned down for anything and I am quite happy with government managed Medicare, thank you, and if it were not for that government program I would be bankrupt, dead or both in that order.

As stated in a previous blog, I am afraid.  I am afraid of the Republicans.  But since this is my birthday I have decided to adopt a positive attitude.  I am optimistic that, fortunately, I will be dead before the Republicans succeed in destroying Social Security, Medicare and the American Democracy I have known and believed in all my life.

From the Observation Deck:  Where do I begin…?

Having just watched The Trump’s performance at CPAC full of sound and fury praising and exalting himself, it’s hard to pick out what to comment upon first.  So, for starters I chose his attack on the “anonymous sources” in the “false press.”  (Note: “false press” means those that criticize him.)  This is a topic I know a great deal about and one about which The Trump knows nothing. For nine years in the 60s and 70s I was a full time correspondent for Fairchild Publications, a New York publisher of business newspapers, three dailies and seven weeklies as well as Men’s Wear Magazine.  We had bureaus all over Europe and in Tokyo.  When correspondent in Paris, NATO was part of my beat and when Bureau Chief for Italy in Milan I covered trade with America.  I had many sources inside NATO and in the Italian equivalent of the Department of Commerce.  Any serious journalist (and despite The Trump’s anti-press rantings, there are still a great many serious journalists) cultivates inside sources.  They are a journalist’s life blood.   Journalists need to get accurate information, that is their job and protecting the sources identity is part the agreement—you give me good information I will not reveal your identity.  Anything, anything that appeared questionable was challenged by my editors in New York.  They would query me on the validity of my source and I told them so they editor and publisher knew but my source was protected. It happened to me 60 years ago and I know it happens today.  So don’t believe The Trump on “anonymous sources”—he has no idea what he’s talking about.  As a final note, The Trump attacking “anonymous sources” is totally hypocritical.  Just recall how many times The Trump cites, “Lots of people agree with me…”   “Everybody knows I’m right…”  “I have a friend who told me…”

This is for those of you who like journalism lore:  When sending stories to New York, by cable (no Internet then) I sometimes would send in “takes” that is, one page at a time.  At the bottom of each take I would type  “-more-” meaning there was more to come. 

   -more-