Category: Uncategorized

Frederick Douglass is OK, but the Patriots will find a way to stop him.  They’re winners, like me!

Steve Bannon compares himself to Thomas Cromwell.  As you can imagine, the analogy nauseates me, being an admirer of the latter, and not the former.

That said, parts of the analogy actually make sense.  Henry VIII had a pitifully short attention span and a terrible temper, craved popularity,  and loved to manipulate people, particularly in his latter years.  The resemblance to the man on golf cart can hardly be missed.

Mattis as the Duke of Norfolk and Priebus as Stephen Gardiner?  It’s a bit of a stretch, but maybe.

Yes, Bannon and Cromwell both had revolutionary agendas.  The difference is that only one of them is a vulgar, racist, conspiracy-loving crazoid.   Cromwell gave us the English Bible, not Breitbart News.

Here’s hoping that Bannon suffers Cromwell’s fate, metaphorically speaking, of course.

Xi has become fond of talking about the “Chinese dream,” which obviously sounds a lot like the “American dream,” over the last few years.  Are they similar?

Not really.  The “American dream” revolves around individual aspirations and limited government; the gist of it is that if you work hard and keep your nose clean, the government will do nothing to stop you from becoming prosperous.  If the nation as a whole benefits from your success, so much the better, but that isn’t the focus of the idea. By contrast, the essence of the “Chinese dream,” as far as I can tell, is that China will become wealthier and regain its proper position among nations as a result of wise public policy, and that each individual Chinese citizen will share in the benefits of that.

Think of it as a battle between the invisible and a very visible hand.

Nuclear option for Gorsuch nomination!  Then for North Korea, Iran, and China.

Hey, at least he didn’t nominate Gary Busey!  Although, if he had, I’m sure Mitch McConnell would have found a way to confirm him.

In all seriousness, the guy is obviously well-qualified, and his views on jurisprudence are within the conservative mainstream, so under normal circumstances, I would have no problem supporting confirmation.  These are not, however, normal circumstances.  He will be occupying a seat that should have belonged to Merrick Garland, and the GOP should pay a price for that.

My advice to the Democrats is to avoid making it personal.  State clearly on the record that the issue isn’t the nominee’s qualifications, but the GOP’s abuse of process, and go from there.

I’ve got those dirty, lowdown, Donald Trump blues.

You have to be aware of it; it’s all over the news.

The man is busy making threats, and so I’ve got to choose.

For peace or our prosperity?  Somebody’s got to lose.

 

I really shouldn’t have the blues; my favorite color’s red.

It goes back to the days of Mao, who left so many dead.

You had to parrot all he did and everything he said.

I can’t give up a righteous cause for which so many bled.

 

I’ve got the blues.

The fill island blues.

We’ve been down for a long time

But now we’ve paid our dues.

If you think we won’t fight for our rights

I’ve got some news for you.

Trump claims to be a winner

But we won’t be number two.

Someone will be taking his talents to D.C., but I refuse to watch.  Life is not a reality show, regardless of what Trump thinks.

The best way to hurt him his to drive his ratings down.

Springsteen claims to speak for white workers, but he’s just another rootless elitist.  I alone understand working people!

Looking forward to meeting the Queen, even though she’s not a ten!  Hope I get to sit next to Kate.

When I was a kid, I remember buying a book of Wizard of Id cartoons entitled “The Peasants Are Revolting.”  The king’s response to the alarm was “You can say that again.”

That pretty well sums up where the Trump Administration stands today.  It is going to be a recurring theme until Trump either moderates his behavior (don’t hold your breath) or replaces several thousand federal workers, which can’t be done in a day.

There is no doubt that Trump is determined to provoke a crisis with the Chinese over the trade deficit.  Whether he succeeds or not remains to be seen (I’m skeptical).  The question for the day is, what can he reasonably hope to accomplish?  After all, even the Chinese government can’t require its citizens to buy American products, which, from our perspective, would be the best solution to the problem.

Here are the possibilities:

1.  Currency manipulation:  There was a time when the Chinese were keeping the value of the yuan artificially low to boost exports, but those days are gone.  In addition, defining currency manipulation is very difficult, because economic initiatives that are primarily intended to accomplish other objectives can have significant collateral implications for the value of your currency.

2.  Anti-dumping measures:  Generally uncontroversial and completely legal, these have been employed by all of our previous Presidents, including Obama. They require time and litigation.

3.  Ending Chinese barriers to American imports:  A legitimate objective pursued, mostly unsuccessfully, by all previous administrations.  This can only be accomplished, if at all, through years of hard work and pressure.  Trump doesn’t have the patience to go this way.

4.  Ending the Chinese government’s ties to industry:  Good luck with that, Jack.  The relationship between the government and business is an important feature of the Chinese political and economic systems.

5.  Managed trade:  There is a precedent for this in Reagan’s deals with Japan over imports in the 1980’s.  I think it will be Trump’s vehicle of choice when the confrontation begins in earnest.

It’s tempting to look at the video of the demonstrations and think that a massive anti-Trump backlash has already begun.  In fact, I suspect that virtually all of these demonstrators voted for Clinton, so Trump can and will ignore them without paying much of a price.

If Chuck Schumer were here today, I would give him the following advice:

1.  Acknowledge that your control over the political climate is very limited.  If we have peace and 4% growth in 2020, Trump is going to be re-elected.  You can’t stop that.  The success or failure of his administration is not in your hands.

2.  Always remember your ultimate objectives.  In the short run, that means limiting the damage to the country to the maximum extent possible.  In the longer run, it means winning in 2018 and 2020.

3.  Don’t forget who your target audience is.   Your damage control audience is about ten GOP senators;  the rest are beyond your reach.  In order to win in 2018 and 2020, you need an energized base and more votes from the center.

4.  Deal with trade-offs on a case-by-case basis.  If you tack to the center, you run the risk of alienating your base;  if you move left, you lose floating voters and moderate GOP senators.  Each issue must be treated on its own merits.  Just remember, however, that relying on mobilizing a huge army of non-voters simply does not work.

5.  Take principled positions, and convince the public that you are fit to govern.  Naked opportunism will inspire neither the base nor the floating voters.

With that in mind, how should the Democrats deal with upcoming issues?  Here are my thoughts:

1.  Is it OK to filibuster the Supreme Court nominee?  Yes, because to give in on such an important matter would frustrate and demoralize the base.  You can justify your position to moderates by alluding to the treatment of the Garland nomination.  The ultimate outcome will be the elimination of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, which, in the long run, is appropriate in any event.

2.  Should all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees be opposed?  No.  Some of them are basically OK, and it would make you look irresponsible and obstructionist. Pick your fights with care.

3.   Should you collaborate with the GOP on entitlement “reform?”  No.  Don’t do anything to own this issue.  The public is on your side here.  If Trump ultimately decides to disregard his promises and betray his working white constituents, that will be on him.

4.  Should you give in to GOP coercive tactics on Obamacare?  No.  There is too much at stake, and the GOP is divided.  Don’t do anything to help them out;  it will only cost you in the long run.

5.  Should you announce your intent to repeal the inevitable regressive tax cut?  TBD.  It depends on the condition of the country at the time of the next campaign.  I would under all circumstances, however, support the reinstatement of the estate tax.

Take Iraq’s oil and use proceeds to build wall.  Better than Iran/Contra!

Outsiders have always found plenty to criticize about America:  the violence; the religiosity; extreme levels of inequality; crass materialism; and our supposed lack of sophistication.  They have always admired us, however, for our openness to new people and ideas.  America was never about blood and soil; the American idea revolved around concepts of tolerance and limited government that could apply to anyone at any time.

Until now.  We’re only a week into the new administration, and it has already thrown away one of our greatest national assets.   Let’s hope the rest of the world sees the demonstrations and realizes this is not a settled issue.

China has a long and distinguished history of innovation and cultural exports, but its soft power today is pretty well limited to pandas, food, and martial arts movies. The government is acutely aware of the problem, but has struggled to solve it. Why?

There are two reasons:

1.  The Chinese language, which provides the gateway to the culture, is very difficult to learn.  It is essentially two languages in one; you have to memorize the characters as well as learn the oral words.  You can’t really put characters on a keyboard.  As a result, parts of the culture are inaccessible to you and me.
2.  The government puts too many limits on freedom of expression to appeal to outsiders.  Would you really want to live in a country that is guarded by the Great Firewall?  Didn’t think so.

In the long run, the best source of Chinese soft power is likely to be what it is today–money.  Of course, as long as Trump is President, none of this will matter much;  he’s the best salesman on the planet for the Chinese system.