January 28, 2019

I read today in the New York Times that Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, visited with President Trump this week with her right wing cohorts and agenda. Putting aside the propriety of meeting with the wife of a Supreme Court Justice to discuss political matters, what is up with these faux conservatives? I thought conservatives were for keeping the government out of our private lives.

No one is forcing you have to get an abortion. Roe vs. Wade says that a woman has a right to privacy, and can choose what is best for her and her family under very difficult and extremely complicated circumstances. No one is preventing you from praying in school or anywhere else. You can pray anytime you want to as long as it not organized and/or mandated by a governmental entity. No one is forcing you to marry someone of the same sex. No one is even forcing you to like a gay individual, or recognize gay marriage in your place of worship. The law just says you cannot discriminate against gay individuals. No one says you have to serve in the military even though that might be a good idea. Why are you opposing anyone who willingly volunteers for hazardous duty? No one says you cannot have a gun. All we are asking is that you use it responsibly.

January 25, 2019

During the height of the Viet Nam War, then heavyweight champion of the world, Cassius Clay, changed his name to Muhammad Ali to fully embrace his adopted religion of Islam. Ali was pilloried for claiming conscientious objector status, and refusing to report for active duty. He was eventually stripped of his title. This was the lead up to his 1967 championship bout with Ernie Terrell. Terrell refused to use Clay’s new name. Ali called Terrell an “Uncle Tom.” During the fight, Ali savagely beat Terrell, refusing to knock him out, all the while, yelling “What’s my name?” Two years earlier, Ali also punished Floyd Patterson for not using his Muslim name.

Fast forward to today where we have another epic heavyweight battle between Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi. Trump is famous for his puerile habit of calling people names like “Lying Ted,” and “Low Energy Jeb.” However, he cannot come up with a name for Nancy Pelosi, saying I just call her Nancy. Is it out of fear or respect? Who knows? However, I have a suggestion. She has shown you the appropriate respect for your office by calling you Mr. President. Why not call her Madam (and not “Madame” as you Tweeted) Speaker or The Honorable Nancy Pelosi. Until you do, I think she should torture you like Ali tortured Terrell, and we know who won that fight.

January 23, 2019

Everyone agrees that we need to spend billions, if not trillions, of dollars on a massive infrastructure program. Roads, bridges, airports, and train service are decaying. Broad-band internet service lags many industrialized countries. I could go on. The political and financial problem is where is the money going to come from to pay for this program? Trump should have made this his top priority rather than focusing on repealing Obama care, and pushing through a huge corporate tax cut. I think many Republicans would agree. We are now living with the fallout. The federal deficit is growing, and the economy is slowing.

It seems to me that some of our most successful companies are the most dependent on public infrastructure. Amazon, like Apple, Google, and Microsoft, is fabulously successful. However, what happens when you order something from a company like Amazon? You place the order over the public internet. A worker, who either drove to work on public roads or took a train or subway to work, packages your order, and puts it on a truck. The truck travels on public highways, probably heading to a public airport. Once it arrives at its destination, it goes back on a truck, which goes back on public roads and over bridges until it gets to your home.

Given this scenario, I think it’s time to roll back the corporate tax cut, and get serious about infrastructure. The corporate tax cut has crowded out all other government initiatives, which is exactly what it was designed to do. Good luck to any company when it has to deal with potholes, unsafe bridges, slow and unreliable train service, and crowded airports.

January 19, 2019

You can’t handle the truth! Son we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it you? You Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility that you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have the luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Santiago’s death while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence while grotesque, and incomprehensible, to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall! We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something, you use them as a punchline. I have neither the time, nor the inclination to explain myself, to a man who rises and sleeps, under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide them! I’d rather you just said ‘thank you’, and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn, what you think you are entitled to!

January 15, 2019

I recently had a friend and Trump-supporter say that at least Trump is better than Jimmy Carter. I said, “Really?” Are we talking about the same Jimmy Carter who went to the Naval Academy? Are we talking about the same Jimmy Carter, who served his country in the Navy, and then went on to be Governor of Georgia? The same Jimmy Carter who brought Israel and Egypt together in the Camp David Accords? And the same Jimmy Carter who won a Nobel Peace Prize? That Jimmy Carter?