Editor’s Note – If you are easily offended, why are you still reading this blog?
Some of my friends are shocked, SHOCKED, that a newly elected Congresswoman from Michigan proclaimed at a rally, “We’re gonna impeach that motherfucker!” Can you imagine anyone talking like that? Oh, the pearl clutching. It is as if the last eight years didn’t exist. We all remember the guy who attacked a sitting president as foreign born, lied constantly about having a team of private investigators, called most Mexican immigrants rapist and murderers, and made countless other offensive comments. The pussy-grabber in chief, the guy who referred to Congressman Adam Schiff as “little Adam Schitt”, was extolled by his followers as someone who fights political correctness and simply says what everyone is really thinking. And now? Now they are upset. But is this really just an example of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) engaging in “locker room talk”. Isn’t she just saying what everyone is thinking?
I must admit that NO, I wasn’t thinking any of the horrific things Donald Trump said before and after he was elected president. And, just as importantly, I don’t agree with Ms. Tlaib. It is too late to put the genie back into the bottle. Ms. Tlaib is simply a symptom of a time where decorum is not only not revered, but denigrated. What we once considered as civilized is now thought to be a sign of weakness. There are already two dozen Democrats contemplating a run in 2020. The question hanging over every campaign is whether to take on Trump, dirt for dirt, or to attempt to rise above the fray. Male or Female. Candidates with real resumes, real experience, real talent, yet that is the question – “Can he/she handle the lies, the derogatory nicknames, and the degradation of a contest with Donald Trump?
The last ten years have been contentious and the next two won’t be any better. It is only going to get worse first. Will Trump be impeached? I don’t know. So much depends on Robert Mueller and his team. It is possible that only the people, ALL OF THE PEOPLE, around Donald Trump stomped on campaign and tax laws and he was simply an innocent bystander. But, shouting for impeachment now doesn’t help move us forward. We lived through what can only be described as a failed bloodless coup in 1998. We saw Republican Congressmen run to the cameras decrying the misbehavior of the then president in the day and then go back to their mistresses at night. Impeachment, the reversal of an election, is serious business that needs to be conducted by serious people. The people that saved us from Richard Nixon didn’t do a victory dance when he got onto that helicopter. They breathed a sigh of relief.
There are going to be a lot of unfortunate remarks in the next few months. From both sides. Leave your pearls in the jewelry case. We have work to do.
DAVE
Picture – Clutching Your Pearls – David L Cunix
The entertainment team of the resort hosts activities throughout the day. It was 4 PM and time for Poker, a $20 buy-in, winner take all, Texas Hold ‘em tournament. The last to join the table was a newlywed and his bride. John (all names changed) was surprised when Bridget asked for $20 to play, too. Jasmine of the entertainment team was dealing poker for the first time. Her inept shuffling and flattering bikini were distracting, which was a problem since many of the guys at the table were easily distracted. It was quickly apparent that this wasn’t Bridget’s first time at a poker table. She ruthlessly dispensed with John and a couple of the guys who were more interested in Jasmine and alcohol than cards. I’ve played poker with Sally. I had been leery of Bridget from the start. Rule One of Poker is that if you can’t find the sucker at the table, it’s you. One by one Bridget and I knocked off the people who weren’t focused on the game. She had scored early and often and was now playing big stack poker. She bullied the table and pushed most of the guys out of the game. And finally it was just the two of us. She pushed and I let her. She pushed and I let her. And when she pushed again, too confident to play her cards or to know her opponent, I pushed back and won the tournament.
Donald Trump is a big stack poker player. He has pushed around smaller players; contractors, employees, small-time local politicians, for years. And when he has lost, which has been surprisingly often, he was bailed out by either his father or the bankruptcy courts. Congress will not be pushed around so easily. No one can bail him out. The famous Trump negotiating style is to make his demands, loudly, and to watch his opponents cave. Congress will not fold. Congress will not be easily distracted. For the last two years Donald Trump has had a Republican House and Senate. Mitch McConnell got his judges. Paul Ryan and Mitch got a budget busting tax cut for their donors. What did Trump really get other than two years of profiteering at the expense of the American taxpayer? That all ends next week.
There is an art to playing big stack poker. Bridget wasn’t an artist. Neither is Donald Trump.
DAVE
Picture – A Full Deck – David L Cunix
What a week! Key members of the foreign policy team resigned after the President impetuously announced the removal of troops from both Syria and Afghanistan. The government shutdown when America discovered that Ann Coulter is better at bullying Donald Trump than he is at bullying Chuck Schumer. And the stock market reflected the chaos emanating from the White House and dropped 1,500 points. Perhaps it was a coincidence that I heard Chris Robinson’s plaintive voice singing She Talks To Angels yesterday on the radio. I have linked the song to this post. Please have it play in the background and you sing these new lyrics.
He Talks To Putin
He never mentions the word creditor
In certain company
Yes, he’ll tell you he’s a rich man
But you’ve seen his bankruptcies.
He paints his shit all gold now
But he can’t hide the smell
He’s stealing from the taxpayer
It hurts us when he does well.
You know he talks to Putin
He calls Donny by his name
Yes he talks to Putin
The dictators all know his game.
He keeps the A.G. in his pocket
He’s got the Congress by the neck
He’s dodging a subpoena
From a prosecutor he’s not met, Not Yet.
You know he talks to Putin
He calls Donny by his name
Yes he talks to Putin
The dictators all know his game.
He’s got no scruples
None that I’ve ever seen
Yeah, to him that ain’t nothing
But to me it means, means everything.
He paints his shit all gold now
But he can’t hide the smell
He’s stealing from the taxpayer
It hurts us when he does well.
You know he talks to Putin
He calls Donny by his name
Yes he talks to Putin
The dictators all know, all know his game.
2018 – Insecure In America Music – No Rights Observed
DAVE
Picture – A Better Choice For President – David L Cunix
As I predicted all along, Obamacare has been struck down as an UNCONSTITUTIONAL disaster! Now Congress must pass a STRONG law that provides GREAT healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions. Mitch and Nancy, get it done! The Tweeter-in-Chief
Never has someone who knows so little been put in a position to opine so much. If Congress would simply tweak and rebrand Obamacare, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and rename it Trumpcare the way NAFTA was rebranded a few months ago, we could all get on with our lives. G-d knows Donald Trump would never know the difference. This is the same guy railing against Chinese imports while his reelection signs are being produced in, wait for it, China.
Mitch McConnell has led a ten year fight against anything Obama. Where Trump fights with bluster and lies, McConnell has fought the inside game armed with a level of cynicism never before witnessed in American politics. Give the man credit. He is a champ. For the last eight years Mitch has beat Obamacare like a rented mule. He has never been afraid to use the filibuster when in the minority or to weaken the power of the filibuster now that he leads the majority. His major focus the last two years has been taxes and packing the courts. The Senate no longer holds hearings on legislation. Mitch just gathers his caucus and pushes through his agenda. Last year’s American Health Care Act is the perfect example of why legislation shouldn’t be crafted behind closed doors. It was the culmination of years of Mitch unchecked. It is hard to believe that the AHCA almost passed.
In January 2019 we will have:
- A president that knows nothing about accessing or paying for health care
- A Senate leadership that may have forgotten how to craft bi-partisan legislation
- A Republican initiated law-suit that has scored its first victory in eliminating Obamacare
- A Democratic controlled House recovering from eight years’ of abuse
What should the Democrats do? If I was a member of the House leadership team, I would simply force the Republicans to finally offer a viable alternative. I would go on every show and look into the camera and ask President Trump to tell us his plan. I would follow up with my request for Mitch’s. There has never been a Republican alternative to Obamacare, not a real one.
Until the success of the lawsuit Friday night, the Republicans had been allowed to bitch on the sidelines and offer empty promises. Not anymore. Now they have to govern. It is going to be hard with that void of leadership at the top.
DAVE
Picture – Closed! – David L Cunix
I bet you never thought you would welcome ads for windows and Depends. Gosh those political ads are annoying. I recall watching ad after ad attacking the two guys who were running for attorney general, Dave Yost and Steve Dettelbach. If the commercials were only 50% true, neither of them should be allowed to hold this position of trust. One got elected. The other can now go on to earn an honest living.
Winners and Losers
Clearly, the biggest loser was intellectual honesty. Watching so many Republicans prostrate themselves at the shrine of preexisting conditions would have been amusing had there not been real life consequences to their previous actions and votes. That may have worked this time. It will be interesting to watch what they do, both in Columbus and Washington, in the next year.
Voters lost, too. Please think back to all of the Mike DeWine ads of the last year. He sold fear, real and imagined. Mr. DeWine only aired one positive ad. It featured his daughter, her cross like the My Pillow Guy’s strategically hanging outside her outfit, singing her dad’s praises. But Mike DeWine never asked for your vote. Not once. Mr. DeWine never looked into the camera and asked you to entrust him with the job. He got elected by smearing the other guy. What does he owe you? Nothing. What are you going to get from a DeWine administration? Who knows?
Winner – Gerrymandering. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge’s district, one specifically designed to inoculate Republicans from any population that might challenge their dominance, gave her over 80% of the vote. I suspect that Ms. Fudge would win reelection in a 50/50 district. Herding her supporters into one district allows several other less talented candidates to glide to victory as well. The Republican sweep Tuesday night will make fair districting that much more difficult.
Winner – OHIO. Sherrod Brown was the #1 vote getter Tuesday night. Sherrod Brown, an unabashed Liberal Democrat, got votes from people who must have also voted for DeWine and other Republicans. The hopefully ends the ugly, divisive political career of Jim Renacci. I recall his contentious ugly first campaign in 2010. I was not surprised that his last act was so much like his first.
The 2020 campaign starts today. Thankfully the commercials won’t begin for another couple of weeks.
DAVE
Picture – IPod Sanity Kit
Pardon me while I take a few minutes of your time. I was on a phone call, waiting patiently for someone to answer, when I saw the above picture on Facebook. And I stopped. Thankfully, I got the client’s voicemail and just left a message. The above meme left me speechless.
There are people who truly believe that post. They may even be proud of that post. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM.
They celebrate the exclusivity of their heaven. I can’t relate. Jewish teaching has touched on the concepts of life after death with schools of thought leaning towards reincarnation and others towards a more western concept of heaven and hell, but most of our emphasis has, like the Torah, focused on living life according to our laws and rituals. There isn’t a reward, per se, for living righteously. Living well is its own reward. So the heaven thing is lost on me. But even without a personal connection, the exclusivity of the post shocks me.
Most of us remember the dorm room conversations with the guy trying to explain to us why all the historical figures we named were barred from heaven because they weren’t his particular brand of Christianity. The Evangelicals wouldn’t accept any Popes. The Catholics were clear that Protestants were locked out. And nobody was letting in Gandhi or an innocent child randomly killed in Vietnam (sorry, it was the early 70’s). And since I wasn’t accepting the invitation du jour, I was bound for a warmer destination. And in truth, I laughed at the whole thought.
But the United States isn’t some exclusive club. It is more than that. The United States is a goal, a dream, the difference between life and death for people around the world. Can we open the borders and let everyone in? Probably not. And I’m not exactly sure where and to who we open the gates. The immigration argument has been raging for about 175 years. And it is funny how similar the words some use today are to the ones their ideological forbearers used in the 1850’s.
From History.com – “The discrimination faced by the famine refugees was not subtle or insidious. It was right there in black and white, in newspaper classified advertisements that blared “No Irish Need Apply.” The image of the simian Irishman, imported from Victorian England, was given new life by the pens of illustrators such as Thomas Nast that dripped with prejudice as they sketched Celtic ape-men with sloping foreheads and monstrous appearances.”
The following appeared the Cedar Rapids Gazette in 1895:
Iowa coal operators should think twice before they begin the importation of Italians and other such people to work in their mines. After they have thought twice they should decide not to take such steps. Italian miners are not wanted…
They are not congenial to Iowa. Our people can make no place for them in the commonwealth. They are not in sympathy with our institutions. They are not desirable elements in the population. With others of similar character they have cursed Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada and other states.
They will not educate…They have poor conception of our standard of morality. They are not self-governing. Whenever they are to be found in considerable numbers, that locality bears every evidence of blight.
Life and property is insecure. Local government is unstable. Riots are of frequent occurrence. Murders are matters of every day life. Feuds and conspiracies are born with the babe and grow with the man. The pistol and the stilletto are their arguments.
They have no habits that our people can copy with benefit. Whatever they teach is a detriment to the community. They will not learn, because knowledge would overthrow their characters and cause them to cease to be the menace they have been whenever colonized in America.
If the mines cannot be worked without the aid of such men let them be closed. No business should be operated in Iowa that will not pay wages on which a man can bring up a family of Americans — citizens of whom the best of their countrymen are proud.
My family was once part of that unwanted, unloved horde. Jews fleeing from the Russian / Polish borders. The victims of pogroms. There wasn’t a welcome mat waiting for us in this country, this beacon of freedom, this heaven. But we came, in part, because there was nowhere else to go. And as I see pictures of young families, mothers holding babies, the desperate looking for an opportunity, I see my grandparents and the grandparents of so many I know.
The person who posted this picture at the top of today’s blog isn’t celebrating heaven. He is celebrating a wall. What are you celebrating?
DAVE
My friend Linda was in a public place the first time she saw an anti-Richard Cordray ad on TV.
The anti-Cordray ad mentioned at the very beginning the drug sentencing plan that Cordray *supports* (state issue 1) but through the rest of the ad, spoke as if it were HIS plan. At the end, I shook my magazine at the screen and whispered…”but you didn’t tell them not to vote for that plan.”
I was happy to see that I wasn’t the only person who had noticed the odd way the anti-Issue 1 crowd was framing their attack. The commercial that first got my attention begins with a couple of Barney Fifes looking into the camera and asks us if we are scared of Richard Cordray’s plan. If we aren’t, we should be. They then go on to talk about the criminals that would be roaming our streets and the danger we would face if Cordray’s plan was implemented. At no point is Issue 1 ever mentioned.
As a contrarian, my first impulse was to send a check to the pro-issue 1 campaign. Worse, the second or third time I saw the ad I was finally able to see where these sheriffs served, the middle of nowhere Ohio. One was from Meig County, population 23,000. The other was from Jackson County, crowded by comparison with a population of 32,506. Together their counties have about as many people as Euclid, Ohio, a place that neither of them could get elected dogcatcher.
Issue 1 is too important to be discussed this way. Another ad, from the pro-Issue 1 campaign, has a father speculating that had his son had access to the right kind of treatment he might still be alive. The spot is touching and effective, but again fails to provide any details.
This is the link to the actual ballot language with an overview. The big changes include:
- Sentence reductions
- Reclassification of certain offenses from felonies to misdemeanors
- Prohibits jail time on the first two arrests for obtaining, possessing or using drugs during a 24 month period
- Allow people previously convicted to seek a reduction from a felony to a misdemeanor
- Require any money saved to be redirected to state-administered rehabilitation programs and crime victim funds
- Require a graduated series of responses, such as community service, drug treatment, or jail time, for minor, non-criminal probation violations
There appears to be three responses to Issue 1.
Proponents believe that incarceration is not the way to solve our drug problem. Instead of spending $1.8 billion on prisons we could better use the money to help end the addictions driving the criminal behavior.
The argument against Issue 1 focuses on the possibility of the early release of violent offenders.
Another opinion is espoused by people like Ohio House Representative Glenn Holmes (D-63) who recently noted the problem with making Issue 1 a part of the State of Ohio Constitution. He thought that the state legislature was the appropriate place to address the issue.
I wish I knew the answer. I wish I knew how best to address our growing drug problem. I would be interested in hearing from you.
How do you plan on voting on Issue 1?
DAVE
“Don’t be a shanda fur di goyim!” Many of us heard that admonition on a regular basis. According to Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post, “To be a shanda for the goyim is to confirm the most hurtful stereotypes, thereby doing damage twice: a Jew who dishonors Jews by not only doing something bad, but doing something that confirms the worst fears of others about Jews in general.” Who was the ultimate shanda, who brought upon us the most shame? The usual answer is Roy Cohn, but that is up for each person to decide.
The lesson was that we might be the first Jew that someone has ever met and that in that moment we would be representing more than ourselves, which is important, but an entire people, which is a lot of pressure. I have thought about this throughout my life. And I have wondered whether or not I was doing my best.
Aretha Franklin’s funeral was televised on Friday. I have XM in the car and heard some of the CNN broadcast as I was running errands that afternoon. The music, much of it Gospel, was amazing and heartfelt. Technically, this wasn’t a funeral. Reverend Jesse Jackson pointedly said that it wasn’t a party. It was a Celebration, a Homegoing.
Reverend Al Sharpton came to the podium as I turned onto Mayfield Road. He spoke for eleven minutes. Here is the link. I sat in a parking lot until he was finished. If he talked for twenty minutes, I would have stayed in my car that much longer. He was only a teenager he first met Aretha Franklin. He knew Aretha Franklin and he truly respected her.
At the very beginning of his eulogy, Reverend Sharpton said:
She never shamed us. She never disgraced us. She never made us make excuses for her. She represented the best in our community. And she fought for our community until the end.
I heard that, driving in my car, and thought about how alike we are. Especially minorities. I’m sure our friends in the Muslim community worry when there is a bombing, like Oklahoma City in 1995, that they will be the initial suspects. Our Italian friends must tire of the term Mafia bandied about to describe almost any group of criminals. I know that when I see a news report of a lawyer or financial planner’s criminal behavior I rush to read the article in hopes that the criminal won’t be named Goldberg or Cohen. I wouldn’t want him to be a shanda fur di goyim.
And there was Aretha Franklin, known by royalty and presidents. She didn’t just represent herself, her record label, her family, or even just Detroit. She represented an entire people. And she did it well. And she made them proud.
And we aren’t all that different. And perhaps all we can hope for is that we will one day be judged as adequate representatives.
DAVE
My friend, Rabbi Shimon, has been walking an hour per day. The results are phenomenal. He has lost a lot of weight. He looks great. He has inspired me to return to a daily walking regimen.
I left my office and walked through the park and out to SOM Center. One full lap was about a mile and a quarter. Not enough. I started down the street and saw a policeman sitting in his car. He was parked beside a large construction dumpster, hidden from the view of cars traveling eastbound, enforcing the speed limit along our street. I decided not to turn around. I said “Hi” and waved as I approached, about ten yards from his car. I wanted to make sure that he saw me. I wanted to make sure I didn’t startle him. We exchanged pleasantries as I passed, not breaking stride, and I kept on walking.
I had another half hour to think about this. Why was I concerned? I’m a 60+ year old white businessman that looks like a 60+ year old white businessman (yes, I always look like someone who just escaped his office). Why should I worry about anything? And yet, I do. Please don’t mistake this as being anti-police. I am not. I understand that the police are here to protect and serve our community. I appreciate how wonderfully safe and secure we are in Mayfield Hts. and Mayfield Vlg. These are great places to live and work. But I still have a certain amount of apprehension around officers I don’t know.
I don’t wish to project my concerns onto anyone else. But, if I feel compelled to be a little careful, think about those people who don’t look like me. The US Justice Department instituted community outreach programs in 2010 to address this issue. The City of Cleveland has its own program. I am sure that these programs have had some success, but the challenge is daunting. And the setbacks and failures are very public. It takes a long time to change someone’s perceptions and to eliminate their fears.
I waved at another policeman as he drove by me. He waved back. It is a start. I walked for an hour and got in three miles. That, too, is a start.
DAVE
Picture – A Safe Place To Walk
In a prescient comedy bit from over 50 years ago, Woody Allen noted that mechanical objects could communicate with each other. Worse, his household appliances hated him and were conspiring to do him harm. Here is the link to his performance. It is worth five minutes. I’ll wait for you to get back.
Funny, right? Scary too. I was shopping for a bed last weekend. I got twelve years from a Sleep Number bed. It is time for a new one. The salesman excitedly described all of the new bed’s features. He told me that it would be able to make adjustments WHILE I’m sleeping. I stopped him mid-pitch. “Are you telling me that the bed is connected to the Wi-Fi and that my sleep habits would be monitored?” Not catching my alarm, he happily confirmed this incredible invasion of what little privacy we might still have. I backed him down to an old fashioned model, one that I could adjust, if needed, before retiring for the night.
We appear to be tethered to our technology, not just cellphones, but Alexa, Google Home, and all of the Smart Devices that populate our lives. All of these devices talk to each other as their actions, and by extension ours, are stored in some huge computer server farm (the Cloud). Privacy? I often tell my clients that we are changing our clothes in front of the window with the drapes wide open. We have few secrets and little, if any, privacy.
I was introduced to Beam Dental at a seminar earlier this week. This is an innovative dental insurance plan that includes their own special Wi-Fi connected toothbrush. Your company can get a discount on your dental insurance premium if you and your employees brush enough. Their young sales rep was enthusiastic. I was aghast. I can’t imagine my brushing habits being one more data point in some huge file. But another agent, a young man in his thirties, was thrilled with the possibility of monitoring his 5 year old’s brushing habits and the convenience of having new brush heads delivered directly to his home.
So your toothbrush may soon be communicating with the rest of your home appliances or dating your next door neighbor’s television. Or, there is still the issue of Woody’s toaster…
DAVE
Picture – David L Cunix – Best Man
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