Take him seriously but not literally. -- Trump supporters
"We're putting them (Iranians) on notice." -- Michael Flynn, national security advisor.
"Iran doesn't appreciate how 'kind' Obama was to them. Not me. They're not behaving." Donald Trump
Translation: Behave yourself, or else. Question: Or else what?
Tough talk is often just that -- talk. Threatening leaders of a sovereign nation to "behave" raises the issue of consequences if they don't do as they're told.
That's the kind of thing parents say to children. But in the real world of international relations, such talk is well beyond foolish. It courts the danger of a shooting war.
It's time the president of the United States learned that he is no longer the high school bully who gets sent to a military academy for punching out a teacher.
Nor is he the lout who brags about grabbing women by their private parts because "when you're a celebrity, they let you do anything."
Nor is he the real estate mogul who stiffs contractors on the spurious excuse that they didn't do a good enough job.
Nor is he the political candidate who thinks it's OK to insult a federal judge over the jurist's ethnic heritage and therefore cannot preside fairly over a trial.
Now, as president, when he throws insults and vilification, if not downright lies, at independent nations and their leaders, as well as numerous federal judges who rule against him in cases involving legal and constitutional issues, there are serious consequences.
It's more than just negative publicity or being taken out of school.
Words matter. Facts matter. Truth matters. Actions matter.
To talk and act as if they don't matter as long as others do what they're told is especially dangerous when the schoolyard bully has a finger on a nuclear war button.
Others also have fingers.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Saturday, February 4, 2017
SCOTUS, Here We Come
"No one is above the law. Not even the President." -- Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Remember the Trail of Tears.
Respect cannot be demanded. It must be earned.
A federal judge in Seattle on Friday suspended nationwide President Donald Trump's executive order stopping travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and government agencies immediately reinstated visas that had been cancelled because of the order.
The president's response was to call the decision "outrageous," and that it was made by a "so-called judge."
In a television interview, Lawrence Tribe, professor of law at Harvard University, said the executive order cast "a very dark constitutional cloud," because it was "clearly a Muslim ban," and gives preference to Christianity and other religions.
The Constitution itself prohibits any religious test, and the First Amendment bans the establishment of a religion as well as the free exercise of any other.
And Bob Ferguson, the Washington State attorney general, noted that the president could well face a contempt of court citation if he refuses to follow the court order.
Meanwhile, the administration is moving to defend the executive order, and the process will quickly rise through the various levels of the judicial system, very likely to be decided eventually by the Supreme Court.
SCOTUS, here we come.
So the nation is once again facing a challenge of the separate and equal judicial branch by the executive branch of the government.
The last time that happened was when President Andrew Jackson refused to follow a Supreme Court order preventing the relocation of the Cherokee Nation and other Native American tribes from eastern states to Oklahoma.
The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Marshall, who pointed out that the State of Georgia had no jurisdiction over the Cherokee Nation. President Jackson ignored the decision, and ordered the removal of the tribes.
Remember the Trail of Tears.
Remember the Trail of Tears.
Respect cannot be demanded. It must be earned.
A federal judge in Seattle on Friday suspended nationwide President Donald Trump's executive order stopping travel from predominantly Muslim countries, and government agencies immediately reinstated visas that had been cancelled because of the order.
The president's response was to call the decision "outrageous," and that it was made by a "so-called judge."
In a television interview, Lawrence Tribe, professor of law at Harvard University, said the executive order cast "a very dark constitutional cloud," because it was "clearly a Muslim ban," and gives preference to Christianity and other religions.
The Constitution itself prohibits any religious test, and the First Amendment bans the establishment of a religion as well as the free exercise of any other.
And Bob Ferguson, the Washington State attorney general, noted that the president could well face a contempt of court citation if he refuses to follow the court order.
Meanwhile, the administration is moving to defend the executive order, and the process will quickly rise through the various levels of the judicial system, very likely to be decided eventually by the Supreme Court.
SCOTUS, here we come.
So the nation is once again facing a challenge of the separate and equal judicial branch by the executive branch of the government.
The last time that happened was when President Andrew Jackson refused to follow a Supreme Court order preventing the relocation of the Cherokee Nation and other Native American tribes from eastern states to Oklahoma.
The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Marshall, who pointed out that the State of Georgia had no jurisdiction over the Cherokee Nation. President Jackson ignored the decision, and ordered the removal of the tribes.
Remember the Trail of Tears.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Now Hiring
More people found jobs in January as the unemployment rate held steady at 4.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Payroll employment nationwide rose by 227,000, the agency said, led by hiring in retail trade, construction and financial activities.
Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed fell by 244,000. And the labor force participation rate -- the number of people actually working as a percentage of those able to work -- rose slightly to 62.9 percent.
All these numbers mean that the economic recovery continues, with more people successfully connecting with employers and leaving the unemployment rolls.
Payroll employment nationwide rose by 227,000, the agency said, led by hiring in retail trade, construction and financial activities.
Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed fell by 244,000. And the labor force participation rate -- the number of people actually working as a percentage of those able to work -- rose slightly to 62.9 percent.
All these numbers mean that the economic recovery continues, with more people successfully connecting with employers and leaving the unemployment rolls.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Peace Through Threat
"My way or the highway" is no way to make friends
Last month, we noted the new administration's practice of "negotiating" with business through a practice we called "government through threat."
Now, only two weeks into the job, Donald Trump and his minions have expanded that practice to the international level, treating leaders of major nations as if they were merely business sub-contractors or labor union chiefs who must be bullied into doing what Trump wants.
He has "offered" to send U.S. troops into Mexico to "help" that nation deal with drug traffickers.
He cut short a telephone talk with the prime minister of Australia when the leader of that key ally would not agree to modify what Trump called "a dumb deal" that would allow refugees now sheltering on two Australian islands to come to America. He has since backed off slightly.
He has threatened to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the U.S. border.
He has called NATO "obsolete," and suggested it should be disabled.
He has called NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, two mutual international trade agreements, destructive to the American economy.
When you insult your friends, don't be surprised when they go away and form new friendships.
Last month, we noted the new administration's practice of "negotiating" with business through a practice we called "government through threat."
Now, only two weeks into the job, Donald Trump and his minions have expanded that practice to the international level, treating leaders of major nations as if they were merely business sub-contractors or labor union chiefs who must be bullied into doing what Trump wants.
He has "offered" to send U.S. troops into Mexico to "help" that nation deal with drug traffickers.
He cut short a telephone talk with the prime minister of Australia when the leader of that key ally would not agree to modify what Trump called "a dumb deal" that would allow refugees now sheltering on two Australian islands to come to America. He has since backed off slightly.
He has threatened to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the U.S. border.
He has called NATO "obsolete," and suggested it should be disabled.
He has called NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, two mutual international trade agreements, destructive to the American economy.
When you insult your friends, don't be surprised when they go away and form new friendships.
Pulpit Politics
"We pay taxes for the right to complain about paying taxes." -- Steve Allen
Church and state must remain separate. -- Pug Mahoney
For many years, federal law has prohibited churches from talking politics at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.
Now, President Trump wants to "totally destroy" the ruling, enabling political talk to come from pulpits around the country. The law known as the Johnson Amendment, named after Lyndon Johnson, its sponsor, says religious groups can lose their tax breaks if they take an active part in political discussions.
The president made his comment at the annual Prayer Breakfast in Washington, showing support for activist evangelicals and other groups pushing their religious agenda in the political arena.
If the proposal succeeds, churches could then lose their tax-exempt status. But with the enormous real estate holding by many churches, that would be a severe economic and financial blow.
Unless Trump's plan is to free churches to speak freely about politics while retaining the benefits of not paying real estate and other taxes.
You can't have it both ways, guys. If you want to talk politics from the pulpit, you should pay taxes like the rest of us.
Church and state must remain separate. -- Pug Mahoney
For many years, federal law has prohibited churches from talking politics at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.
Now, President Trump wants to "totally destroy" the ruling, enabling political talk to come from pulpits around the country. The law known as the Johnson Amendment, named after Lyndon Johnson, its sponsor, says religious groups can lose their tax breaks if they take an active part in political discussions.
The president made his comment at the annual Prayer Breakfast in Washington, showing support for activist evangelicals and other groups pushing their religious agenda in the political arena.
If the proposal succeeds, churches could then lose their tax-exempt status. But with the enormous real estate holding by many churches, that would be a severe economic and financial blow.
Unless Trump's plan is to free churches to speak freely about politics while retaining the benefits of not paying real estate and other taxes.
You can't have it both ways, guys. If you want to talk politics from the pulpit, you should pay taxes like the rest of us.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Non-Carnage
Employment continues to rise, the jobless rate continues to fall in major metro areas around the country, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts more economic growth through the coming year at about the same pace as 2016, the Federal Reserve says it will hold interest rates where they are and it plans on only "gradual increases" in its key federal funds rate.
So how does all this square with the dire warnings and lamentations of "carnage" in America, a "disastrous" economy and severe job losses?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rates were lower in December than a year earlier in most of the nation's major urban areas, with 27 of them posting jobless rates of less than 3 percent as the national rate was 4.5 percent.
Also, payroll employment rose in 292 of the nation's 387 metropolitan areas, the BLS said.
The CBO, meanwhile, said it expects national output to grow by 2.3 percent this year, with a potential slowdown to 1.9 percent in 2018.
Given all this, and its own statistical information, the Fed looks to "only gradual increases" in the federal funds rate, and it's likely to remain "for some time," below its long-run target range. In the minutes of its most recent meeting, the Fed's Open Market Committee said it will maintain its target range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent as it waits for "further strengthening" in the labor market.
Yet for all the good news coming from various sources that the economy is relatively healthy as more people find jobs and unemployment remains low, the new president talks of a staggering economy and promises to push for a GDP growth rate of as much as 7 percent.
"We report, you decide," as the slogan goes on the conservative Fox News channel.
You can choose to accept hard data -- solid numbers from independent, non-partisan career professionals, or you can believe the unsupported rantings of a political braggart.
There is always a choice.
So how does all this square with the dire warnings and lamentations of "carnage" in America, a "disastrous" economy and severe job losses?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rates were lower in December than a year earlier in most of the nation's major urban areas, with 27 of them posting jobless rates of less than 3 percent as the national rate was 4.5 percent.
Also, payroll employment rose in 292 of the nation's 387 metropolitan areas, the BLS said.
The CBO, meanwhile, said it expects national output to grow by 2.3 percent this year, with a potential slowdown to 1.9 percent in 2018.
Given all this, and its own statistical information, the Fed looks to "only gradual increases" in the federal funds rate, and it's likely to remain "for some time," below its long-run target range. In the minutes of its most recent meeting, the Fed's Open Market Committee said it will maintain its target range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent as it waits for "further strengthening" in the labor market.
Yet for all the good news coming from various sources that the economy is relatively healthy as more people find jobs and unemployment remains low, the new president talks of a staggering economy and promises to push for a GDP growth rate of as much as 7 percent.
"We report, you decide," as the slogan goes on the conservative Fox News channel.
You can choose to accept hard data -- solid numbers from independent, non-partisan career professionals, or you can believe the unsupported rantings of a political braggart.
There is always a choice.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Heroic Assumptions
If you can't deal with contrasting opinions, the problem is yours, not mine. -- Pug Mahoney.
"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean." -- Humpty Dumpty
"The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things." -- Alice
"The question is, which is to be master -- that's all." -- Humpty Dumpty
Assumption 1: Everyone will do as I say because I say so.
Assumption 2: Truthful hyperbole is only harmless exaggeration.
Assumption 3: Alternative facts have equal importance, especially when they support what I already believe.
Assumption 4: The story that five million votes were illegally cast in the election is true.
Assumption 5: It must be true because it matches my belief.
Assumption 6: All five million were cast for my opponent.
Assumption 7: I would have won the popular vote if not for all that fraud.
Assumption 8: Anyone who disagrees with my beliefs and opinions is an ignorant liar and a totally dishonest person.
Assumption 9: I am exempt from laws, traditions and regulations because I am the president.
Assumption 10: All those things must be true because I heard it from a lot of people or I read it somewhere. Once I post it on Twitter, that makes it all even more true.
Therefore, I can do what I want and say what I want and everyone must agree or be fired.
Welcome to the White House Wonderland.
"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean." -- Humpty Dumpty
"The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things." -- Alice
"The question is, which is to be master -- that's all." -- Humpty Dumpty
Assumption 1: Everyone will do as I say because I say so.
Assumption 2: Truthful hyperbole is only harmless exaggeration.
Assumption 3: Alternative facts have equal importance, especially when they support what I already believe.
Assumption 4: The story that five million votes were illegally cast in the election is true.
Assumption 5: It must be true because it matches my belief.
Assumption 6: All five million were cast for my opponent.
Assumption 7: I would have won the popular vote if not for all that fraud.
Assumption 8: Anyone who disagrees with my beliefs and opinions is an ignorant liar and a totally dishonest person.
Assumption 9: I am exempt from laws, traditions and regulations because I am the president.
Assumption 10: All those things must be true because I heard it from a lot of people or I read it somewhere. Once I post it on Twitter, that makes it all even more true.
Therefore, I can do what I want and say what I want and everyone must agree or be fired.
Welcome to the White House Wonderland.
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