By on

I have to give Donald Trump credit. He has an incredibly canny sense of self-preservation. Take the Epstein files.

His release has been pure genius.

First, he heavily redacted anything that could implicate him or his cronies. This can change, yes, but it has bought him time and given his age and health, he could die before any evidence directly implicating him is ever revealed.

Then, he is slow releasing the files which surprisingly works to his advantage. There is just too much evidence for any one person to evaluate. He is complying, at least partially, with the law. It may not be the names they want but Trump has delivered names. The media, who are just itching for names to splash in their headlines, are happy as larks going after Prince Andrew or whatever he calls himself now. They just wanted names and Trump gave them big names. Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson will keep them happy for the foreseeable future.

The names he has released are strategic. Mandelson and Prince Andrew are perfect targets since he could give two shits about the UK and Prince Andrew. Trump is more than happy to help bring down the British government that he sees is unfriendly to him. Prince Andrew is just collateral damage.

So Trump lives on to fight another day while living his trademark chaos for someone else to clean up after.

In the meantime, he has delayed any personal embarrassment the Epstein files might cause him. Time enough to start a war or cancel an election or do anything spectacular enough to keep the hounds in the press pool occupied while he continues to use the presidency as his personal credit card. For a man with such limited abilities, he seems to have easily out maneuvered the brighter minds that oppose him.

I think of this every time someone says we finally have Trump cornered. Well, yeah, OK, but, on a pretty regular basis, I remember people saying Trump is cornered (think grabbing their pussies, think Russiagate) and he always magically wiggles out with nary a scar to show for his trouble. So I will believe Trump is cornered when I see his scalp on somebody’s pelt. Until then, he isn’t cornered.

By on

The present American medical system is a mess. It is a system that nobody understands. Trying to explain the American system to somebody from a different country is virtually impossible. Co-pays, insurance approvals, denial of coverage, cost deductions based on different insurance carriers, Medicare versus Medicaid, write offs between the insurance company and the medical provider, it is head spinningly difficult to explain to any person from the western world. Yet Americans think they have the best healthcare in the world.

There is a disconnect between actual care and how the bills are paid. I am basically happy with the physicians, nurses and drugs I receive. What makes me unhappy is arguing with insurance companies about my bills. These are two very different aspects of the health system. I am happy with one and unhappy with the other. Care is not payment but when someone asks what do you think of your healthcare. You are probably going to think doctors and nurses and not the toll-free customer service representative who can’t explain your bill based on your understanding of your insurance and their somewhat different understanding of it.

Here is the thing, I, of course want the insurance companies to pay for everything. Knowing that is impossible, I would like to know going into any medical procedure, how much I actually owe and I want to understand what the division between my costs and the insurance company’s. I should be able to understand it so that when I look at my bill, it makes sense to me. Is that really too much to ask for? Apparently.

By on

Eric Dane and James van der Beek, two highly paid and successful actors, both recently died. What is astounding to me is that in both cases Go Fund Me accounts have been set up for the families of both men. This may be a scam, Dane’s Go Fund Me account is being investigated at this moment, but both, as of right now, appear to be for legitimate needs — Dane’s children’s future education and van der Beek’s outstanding hospital bills.

This should give one pause. How depressing is it to think that these two families with a high earning father are strapped for cash after he dies. Then, because the health system sucked all of their money during their illness, Go Fund Me accounts are needed to help the family out. While I understand that the Go Fund Me accounts are necessary to help these families during a terrible time, All the Go Fund Me accounts do is prop a system that should fail.

Where does that leave the rest of us?

By on 1 Comment

Trump is contemplating military action with Iran. He has been thinking about it for some time. Clearly this isn’t an emergency as he has been thinking about it for some time. An emergency would suggest that something has to be done immediately. This means there is more than enough time to consult with Congress. Only Congress can declare war, right? I get that in an emergency quick decisions are necessary and sometimes the President has to act alone but this isn’t an emergency, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Why isn’t someone in Congress complaining loudly about this? As far as I can tell they aren’t doing much any way, this would be a good time to perk up and make your opinion known. So where is Congress? They could at least give an opinion on the matter. They are in session. Given the present makeup of the Congress, I suspect Trump might get a majority to go along with him. Fine. At least democratic norms were practiced.

Trump isn’t even going through the motions of democratic processes here. He is thinking about it and when he is through thinking about it, he will act and no consultive body like the Congress can do anything about it. I can’t say I am that disappointed in Trump. Trump is an ignorant asshole and always has been. But the Republican elders? What are you waiting for? I mean, for one, they are old. They have hit their pinnacle. People like McConnell, Grassley, and Graham are clinging to their power. But what real power do you have if you are afraid of Donald Trump? You can’t influence the man. You won’t say what you honestly think because you fear the man. This isn’t power, boys, this is keeping your position. Your power lapsed the first time you toadied up to Donald Trump.

By on

I am torn between being amused or horrified by this Huffington Post article about whether you should engage in sexual intercourse in front of your dog. Wow. This is something I haven’t given much thought to.

I am mostly amused because the idea that your dog thinks about anything about your sex life is funny.

Why is Spot starring at us while we canoodle? What is Spot thinking? Is this causing Spot irreparable damage? Perhaps Spot views this like we view a nature film — so this is how they have sex, interesting.

On the other hand, it is so empty a subject that half of the space is taken up with discussion of dogs licking other dogs genitals. There is not much there there. The idea that Spot is so concerned with his owner that he has feelings regarding his owner’s sexual trysts is the height of narcissism. I must know what Spot is thinking while he watches me have sex. I suspect other than keep it down I am trying to sleep. Spot isn’t think much at all about you having sex.

By on

I am getting to an age where I just don’t want to be bummed out anymore. Life bums me out enough. Spending more time getting bummed out is a young person’s game. They have plenty of time to recover. I, at 68, am on a much more limited timeframe and I need to monitor closely what goes into this often bummed out mind so I prefer to be entertained as opposed to bummed out. Which brings me the movie Blue Moon.

I can say it is a great movie with great acting. It is clear that people involved in the movie put a lot of effort into it and they certainly were successful in bringing the story of song writer Lorenz Hart to light. Honestly the only thing I have against the movie is that it is a better play than movie as it all takes place at the Sardi’s bar in New York. There is nothing really cinematic about it.

Despite its many fine qualities, I am unable to recommend it because it bummed me out and, furthermore, I can’t see why I should spend my time being bummed out by it. There is no deeper message other than Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) was depressed and desperate. He saw his successful partnership with Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) coming to an end and there was nothing he could do to stop it. What am I to make of Hart’s sad spiral into the gutter? He seemed like a charming but difficult man who was unwilling (or unable) to save himself.

The bartender and the piano player at Sardi’s are trapped by their paycheck to listen to Hart’s tales about his romance with a much younger woman. They listen but more out of boredom than genuine concern. They have to be there so let the tired drunk writer talk until I have something better to do. When his friends do arrive after the play, they acknowledge his past genius at the same time as they are distancing themselves from the non-stop bull shit that comes out of Hart’s mouth. Particularly cruel is his former writing partner Rodgers. He seems intent on both irritating Hart with his own present success without Hart and wanting to work with him again if Hart would only buckle down to their partnership. It is unpleasant to listen to Rodgers complaints about Hart — it is like listening to someone else’s bad job review. All right already, just fire him and put him (and us) out of our misery.

Then there is the younger woman, Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley). Hart, in yet another perverse display of masochism, sits inthralled by her stories of being seduced by her lover. This is the woman he is supposed to love and he joyfully hangs on her every word about a her man who treats her badly but who she would gladly drive hundreds of miles to be with again if he only he would ask. asked. Something, she also admits, she would never do for Hart. It is one awkward painful moment after the next. Why? Great acting. I guess. Whatever that is worth.

Watching a sad man’s self-destruction is really not worth my time. It is just sad. I can get more than my share watching the news.

By on

When I attended the University of Kansas in the late 1970’s, a friend who was an actor got a small role in the Peter Shaffer play Equus. Equus had several nude scenes in it and he was looking forward to blowing the minds of the people in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence was playing its own role here instead of a university town with a mostly cosmopolitan population, it was taking on the the role of a small Kansas town rife with closed minds about nudity. I also was taking a course in Modern Theater. The professor encouraged his students to see the play because he thought it would blow our minds. Using almost the exact words as my friend. Hmm.

Blowing the minds of the audience was very much a part of the purpose of this play. To ensure that the damage done to our minds was not so severe, there were warnings about the nudity in the play so everyone who entered the theater was prepared for the genital reveal which , at least to my mind, spoiled the whole shock value of having nudity in the play. I was waiting for it.

Then, the type of person who would wander into a student play at a University is just not your typical small town Kansan. They would be more academic, more cosmopolitan, and more open to nudity in the theater. By 1979, even in Kansas, most people who followed the arts already had seen their fair of nudity before Equus exposed them to some more. But how do you get them into theater to see the nudity? Oh, yeah, why don’t we create a little controversy and, lo and behold, it worked, the controversy brought people into the show.

This is what I think happened with Bad Bunny’s Half-time performance. It was meant to provoke a certain segment of the population. It successfully provoked them. They lost their minds as they do and started demanding all kinds of things which cause the Media to follow the controversy. This created a demand to see the show. It was a genius marketing ploy — hyping the first Spanish language performer at the Super Bowl. The buzz was great, a lot of people watched it because most people had no idea who Bad Bunny was or what they were about to see. The television advertisers got their audience, so the money they paid was well spent.

Everybody is happy — particularly, I imagine, Bad Bunny who got a lot of free press and millions of potential new customers for his music. For the vast majority of people, though, it was a meaningless experience in a life filled with meaningless experiences. But no one’s minds were seriously blown here. It will hardly be a memory in a year or two.

But you have to give credit to the the organizers of the show, they certainly showed they knew what they are doing. If you got something to sell, I certainly would recommend them. Buzz is their middle name.

By on

I have mixed feelings about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Half-time show on Sunday.

I only half paid attention to it. I would look up whenever somebody shouted there is Lady Gaga or there is Ricky Martin but other than that it held half of my attention at best. Before you get all bent out of shape about me not watching the show, I can also make the same admission about every Super Bowl Half-time show I ever witnessed. Half-time shows are a time to refresh my drink, to grab some grub and to go to the bathroom. I can’t recall ever being so mesmerized by a Half-time show to commit one to memory. To be fair, the actual football game falls into that category as well.

Frankly, I am too old for the shows. I rarely, if ever, have any personal knowledge of the entertainer who is flying in from the rafters or appearing in a whiff of smoke. I am also just a little bit bored with the annual outrage of whichever artist gets selected to perform. Nobody they choose is going to please everyone in such a diverse population. The artist will be too niche, too controversial, too sexy, too tame, too boring, too young, too old, and I think you get my point, anyone selected will be too too something. It is a fool’s errand and I think the Super Bowl Entertainment Committee would be best to go back to marching bands instead of big name entertainers.

That said, I do think there was a problem with Bad Bunny. Someone somewhere wanted to deliver a message to Middle America and Donald Trump. Trump obviously received that message given his vitriolic response. He got angry which is what he was supposed to do and like a well tuned clock — he did. Taking their cue from their master, the conservative talking heads screamed their agreement. Does it make any sense though? Putting on a show in which a significant majority of the people watching don’t speak the language seems unnecessarily provocative and more than a little petty.

If you are trying to put on a show that celebrates immigrants, perhaps using a common language would be helpful to the people who you are purportedly trying to influence, otherwise you are missing your target. Oh, but it was the most watched Half-time show in the history. I think “watched” is a pretty strong word here. I would argue it was more background noise and that most of Middle America could care less. It is a quick conversation the next morning and then back to work. By the end of the week, the rest of the country will have forgotten about it and moved on to watching skiers fall at the Winter Olympics.

All we really got out of Bad Bunny was another experience of Donald Trump foaming at the mouth which, lets face it, we could have elicited by any number of pokes in the eye. It isn’t terribly difficult. I can’t wait until next year when the Super Bowl Half-time Entertainment Committee decides to have the best opera singers and classical music artist performs to ensure that Americans get exposed to a culture that they are unaware of.

By on

Conservatives recent field day complaining about the Somalian daycare center corruption is difficult to take seriously when this is accompanied by silence about the obvious corruptive practices of Donald Trump — things like the Qatari prince giving him a jet, or Trump pardoning of social security frauds and drug traffickers, or Trump awarding defense contracts to companies associated with his son.

But, no, the corruption outrage is limited to Somali immigrants or, rather, to any group seen to have connections to the Democratic party. Any fraud that may be associated with Trump or any of his billionaire friends are to grift without consequence. The stench of hypocrisy is just far too overwhelming. What really matters is who is committing the fraud but I don’t believe for one minute that you truly care about ending corruption.

In order for me to believe that they care I would think an investigation into Trump’s dodgy pardons would be a nice start. Oh, and if your defense is but Biden did it too. It’s a child’s defense after getting her hand caught in the cookie jar based in the notion that everybody is doing it, why are you getting bent out of shape because you caught me. That argument holds little, if any, moral principle.

So, by all means, let’s investigate the Somalian day care centers for fraud but you can get off your fucking high horse because nobody believes your show of faux moral indignation.

By on

The ever changing explanations for Donald Trump’s release of a racist video regarding the Obamas is a bit mystifying, at least, in regards to it being helpful in understanding what actually happened. I don’t think they really matter anymore because none of them give a good impression of the Trump White House.

First the idea that someone in the White House, up to and including the President, didn’t understand that depicting the Obamas as apes was racist is just a bit more bull shit than even some of Trump’s fellow Republicans are willing to swallow. But, say I am going to let you off the hook for being racist, it doesn’t let you off the hook for being ignorant of a common racist portrayal.

Is this really how you want to frame your mistake? Trump was using the Lion King characters as a funny way to express an opinion and had no racist intentions whatsoever. Well, then, why didn’t you know this? Since this history is common knowledge, is it really a good idea to have you managing the very country that has this complicated history? What stupid mistake are you going to make next because of your ignorance? It is hardly a reassuring answer.

Oh, then Trump says he didn’t watch the whole video so he missed the part where the Obamas were depicted as apes. Well, again, why not? If something is going out with your name associated with, it might be a good idea to watch the whole video. The video wasn’t that long — a full viewing by the man in charge could have prevented this embarrassing mistake. So we have gone from ignorant of a long standing racial stereotype to my team made a mistake because I couldn’t be bothered watching the whole video but I gave my approval any way even though I didn’t really know what was on the video.

Then there is the lack of an apology. If this was genuinely an honest error, what is the problem with saying you are sorry. Trump now claims he didn’t make a mistake, someone else did because he didn’t know about the Obamas as ape section of the video. That isn’t an excuse and failing to watch the whole video is indeed a mistake. He signed off on something that he had not thoroughly vetted.

It is mistake and he needs to say he is sorry. Is it really that difficult. I am sorry and I will try to do better next time. If this was an honest error then put it behind you already. Even if you aren’t genuinely sorry. An insincere apology is better than no apology. But no, Trump refuses to apologize because he, apparently, doesn’t make mistakes. Which, I might add, is also a troubling Trump characteristic.

This leads me to believe Trump simply doesn’t care that people think he is racist. Or stupid. Or incompetent. He thinks he should be able to say whatever he wants and if people don’t like it, tough shit. Just a reminder, he is the president of the United States something he has failed to understand since taking office. Don on a barstool in the local tavern can say anything he wants. The president of the United States has to think carefully before he opens his trap and, understandably, any person who is under such public scrutiny is going to slip occasionally, when you do, all you have to do is have the grace to say I am sorry.

So, to recap, the best case scenario here, is that we have an idiot as president who is unaware of the history of the country he leads, says whatever ill-thought out words come to his mind and isn’t going to apologize even after his mistakes are pointed out to him. The worst case is we have a racist who enjoys displaying his racism even when it is unnecessary and counter-productive to what he is trying to do. The truth probably lies somewhere in between but none of them really encourage me that Trump is worthy or up to the job that he holds.