Jake–Gifts Beyond Measure

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Monday evening, for probably the sixth time, we saw the virtuoso ukulele player, Jake Shimabukuro, perform at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria.

Physically, Jake is rather diminutive, proving yet again that giants come in all sizes. His intimate connection with his music and his obvious joy when he performs keep him looking much younger than the 46 years in which he has graced the planet with his talent. You can read his biography here. https://jakeshimabukuro.com/biography/

The main Birchmere performance hall seats 500 guests at tables for six people each. It is a massive space, but in the hands of someone like Jake, it becomes remarkably intimate. We have seen Jake and other performers at the Birchmere many times. This time he was doing his magic on a Monday night and while the doors opened at 5 pm, the show wasn’t scheduled until 7:30. We figured to have plenty of time to arrive around 6:15 and finish dinner before the show started. The parking lot rings one half of the large building that houses the venue. We were shocked to find it was almost completely full when we arrived. The crowd knew Jake and had come early for the best seats. There were probably a few empty spots at show time but not many.

Jake wastes no time in displaying his prodigious musical gifts. It can be overwhelming for first-timers. You just can’t anticipate such sounds from a ukulele, even one electrically amplified. When Jake bounded onto the stage, the audience went nuts. He was obviously excited to be back at the Birchmere, and they were equally excited to see him again.

I don’t have words adequate to convey the power and quality of Jake’s playing. This evening he was accompanied by a young electric bass player, Jackson Waldhoff who has some impressive chops of his own:

[Waldhoff]  grew up in Kyoto, Japan, and moved to Hawaii when he was 15 years old. Jackson did not speak English at the time, and started to play music as a way to break language barriers. Later he fell in love with bass guitar, and decides to follow his passion for music. Since then Jackson has performed and recorded with wonderful artists such as Jake Shimabukuro, Mick Fleetwood, Alan Parsons, Sonny Landreth, Keb Mo, Sam Bush, Taku Hirano, Fiji, Mark Yamanaka, Conner Johnson, and many others. [https://www.jacksonwaldhoff.com/]

After a few pieces, Jake welcomed Conner Johnson to the stage. Johnson was an “America’s Got Talent” contestant whose voice and guitar riffs attracted Jake’s attention. He clearly loved to sing. Johnson performed and sang several great pieces, among them the amazing Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.

We thought Johnson would stay for the remainder of the show, but he departed after four or so pieces. We anticipated the show would wrap up soon thereafter, but Jake has so much fun performing that he continued with bassist Waldhoff into the night. He managed to work in two of my absolute favorite pieces, While My Guitar Gently Weeps [https://tinyurl.com/mr2scjjr] and Sakura, Sakura [ https://tinyurl.com/ye2aat4r?v=FuqdeFqtxCg]

Then, when we were sure the show was about to end, Jake broke into the great anthem by Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYhcN8p4yhg] followed by, yes, We Will Rock You. On the ukulele. The audience was transfixed, singing the words (hundreds of people knew the words) as everyone joined in the excitement.

The YouTube videos of Jake playing do not do justice to his astonishing talent. But they give you a small hint of what it’s like to witness his performance live. If you ever have the chance to see him, do yourself a favor. You will, quite simply, be amazed and uplifted.

Two closing notes.

Jake played for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, which is extraordinary in itself. He closed the show by thanking everyone involved in producing it and the people in the venue, the waiters, the cook-staff in the kitchen, and delivered a message to the young people in the audience to stay drug-free. After all that, he appeared in the outer hall to speak with every person there who wanted to meet him. He stood for hugs, for photos, signing CDs, books, shirts, ukeleles. Always smiling. Always friendly. Never rushing anyone. The line was long – my wife waited in it for over a half hour and there were still many people behind her when she finally had her minute with Jake. She had him sign her CD and, typically, another one for the kumu hula (hula master) for her hula troupe with which she has been dancing hula for more than 15 years. Jake was probably there another half hour or more speaking to the last guests who wanted to meet him.

The other note is that Jake’s website mentions one of his

dearest friends and favorite singers — Pōmaika`i Keawe. In addition to her incredible musical talent, Jake is always so inspired to see how much time she dedicates to local non-profit organizations, lifting up the community through outreach opportunities. Pōmaika`i had always wanted to record “Ho`okahi Akua,” as a tribute to her late grandmother, the legendary Aunty Genoa Keawe. It was Aunty Genoa who arranged the music with the help of her friend Malia Craver who provided the Hawaiian translation. They had originally recorded the song during the pandemic and both were in tears by the end of it. Fate would have it that the song had to be re-recorded and the recent track captured the more hopeful and joyful feelings they now share.

As it happens, Pōmaika`i Keawe is the daughter of Eric and Marlene Keawe who are wonderful friends of ours in Hawaii. The entire Keawe family are exceptionally talented musicians on multiple instruments, carrying on a multi-generational love of Hawaiian music and culture. Pōmaika’i’s voice is spectacular. We were thrilled to see the entire family perform at a local show some years ago on a visit to Oahu and had dinner with them on our last visit. We saw Jake at the Hawaii Blue Note together. Eric on his guitar accompanied my wife’s surprise performance of a special hula dance as a treat for the audience at a travel industry business conference where she spoke a few years ago. She and he were a smashing success. It’s Hawaii. It’s what they do.

Now, go see Jake.

Only a Matter of Time Before Firearms Disaster On a Plane

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“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

You’ll be thrilled to know that the Transportation Security Administration has released its first-half 2023 firearm interception numbers. https://tinyurl.com/vtnnazfd You will not be surprised, I suspect, to learn that the 3,251 total interceptions, an average of 18 firearms per day (of which more than 92 percent were loaded) was a 6.5 percent increase from the first half of 2022 (3,053 interceptions; 86 percent loaded). TSA is expecting a year-end increase over last year’s record of 6,542.

Granted that 3,251 is a miniscule percentage of the total domestic passenger enplanements during the first half of 2023 (396,154,000), the fact remains that the discharge of a pistol in a pressurized confines of a cruising airplane could have catastrophic consequences for everyone on board and possibly many more on the ground. So far, we’ve been fortunate that the security systems at airports, and the people who staff them, have detected so many weapons before they were taken on board an aircraft. Whether the 3,251 represents all such weapons, however, we can only hope, but we can’t be sure.

In fact, there is a recent report of an on-duty flight attendant who was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport trying to take a loaded pistol onto a plane. https://tinyurl.com/3fxscr3k The weapon in this case was a loaded .38 Ruger semiautomatic handgun. It was in her purse. With five rounds in the magazine.

The article does not specify which of the many Ruger semiautomatic handguns she carried, but assuming it was among the less expensive, it weighed just under 10 oz with a barrel length of less than 3 inches. The online ads describe it as “highly concealable.” Great. Holds 6 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. (In this instance no round was in the chamber, a minor inconvenience if quick shooting were at hand).

Further,

The arrest comes just two weeks after an airport concession worker was stopped trying to take a loaded handgun into the secure airside area of the airport. The worker claimed he forgot the gun was in his bag.

“I forgot I had the gun in my … purse, briefcase, pocket” is the standard excuse offered when TSA detects these items which, in the context of an aircraft in flight, could easily become a “weapon of mass destruction.”

The article says the flight attendant faces firearms charges under Pennsylvania law and “a potential federal financial penalty” related to trying to take a gun through a TSA checkpoint.

And there lies the issue: a “potential financial penalty.” And in many states, no charges would lie under local gun laws because they basically don’t have any.

When passengers bring firearms to the TSA security checkpoint, TSOs contact local law enforcement to check the contents of the carry-on bag, safely unload and take possession of the firearm and process the passenger in accordance with local laws on firearms. TSA will impose a civil penalty up to $14,950, eliminate TSA PreCheck eligibility for five years and may require enhanced screening.

Some passengers will be arrested or cited, depending on local laws on firearms.

Not good enough. Some, but not all?  Why not all?

Then, there’s this:

Aircrew can often skip most security screening at US airports as part of the ‘Known Crewmember’ initiative ….

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) issued an urgent circular earlier this year warning crew members not to break KCM rules and to be particularly mindful of not accidentally trying [??] to take a firearm through the security checkpoint.

In some cases, the union warned that flight attendants had managed to leave the United States on international trips with a firearm in their luggage only for it to then be discovered as they went to return to the US resulting in hefty fines and even imprisonment.

According to another report, the flight attendant caught in PHL lives in Arizona. https://tinyurl.com/ms36hpmkOne wonders how the pistol came to be with her in PHL if it wasn’t flown there from Arizona. That article notes: “It’s possible that the flight attendant may lose her job here, but generally the consequences for being caught with a gun at a security checkpoint are quite minimal (at least compared to what they’d be in other countries).

A recent report in CNN https://tinyurl.com/3y6tmx4e notes that a June 20023 IATA report shows that “there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021.”

Thus, we have reports of deranged passengers fighting with other passengers and crews on in-flight aircraft coming in weekly combined with a multitude of pistols, the vast majority being loaded, being stopped almost literally at the boarding door (and apparently some getting through) – the perfect recipe for an in-flight catastrophe.

We know from statistical principles that even though the chances of an event may be very small, such low-probability events do happen. What will we say when an in-flight disaster brought on by a loaded pistol in-flight brings down an aircraft?

Here’s what: “Oh my, we will undertake a thorough examination of our security protocols because, you know, your safety is our top priority, and we take it very seriously.” That, by the way, is probably the most-repeated and least meaningful cliché in the English language. It is standard public relations formula for after-the-fact, but readily foreseeable, disaster events.

Two days ago, the local news outlet, Patch, reported that a VA Man Blames Wife For Loaded Gun In Carry-On Bag At Reagan National; the man

told officials that she packed his carry-on bag and did not know that he already had his loaded gun inside,” TSA said.

What the article does not discuss is why the gun was already in the man’s carry-on bag. Had he succeeded in taking it on another flight previously and just left in the bag for his next flight when his unsuspecting wife dutifully packed his bag for him?

In a classic example of understatement, TSA’s security director for National Airport was quoted,

It is disappointing to continue to see travelers carrying their loaded guns to our security checkpoints.

Disappointing, yes, indeed. But, more accurately,

There is no reasonable excuse for not knowing you are carrying an unsecured, loaded firearm in your bag. It presents a danger to everyone around you.

Here are the reported firearms captures at National Airport alone:

The current one is the sixth capture in the last three weeks.

What does this tell you? Answer: the current approach is not working and the risk to passengers on planes and people on the ground is growing.

The solution, I suggest, while imperfect, is to have an absolute policy of strictest law enforcement against every person caught with firearms in their carry-on luggage. Every one of them should be prosecuted under federal law and visited with the maximum penalty. Then, maybe, just maybe, gun owners would begin to take the rules seriously.

We can, of course, expect Second Amendment challenges to such an approach. The “originalist” argument will be that that when the Constitution was adopted there was no general prohibition against carrying firearms on planes, therefore, we cannot enforce one now. I don’t have to explain how ludicrous that argument is, so I won’t bother.

View from the 50th floor–Memories of New York City [CORRECTION]

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An astute follower has reported to me an error in the post below. She is correct. The sentence should read this way:

Protests & Celebrations – we attended many, walking for miles sometimes, in good weather and bad; the best was the day Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020 was announced, absolutely the best.

Has been corrected below. Apologies.

*******

As I work on a new writing project, I have revisited posts from my now-removed blog, AutumnInNewYork, covering the period from early 2018, very soon after we moved there, to late 2020 when we returned to the Washington DC area. I have been reminded of the many extraordinary experiences we had in New York, many of which I posted about, but all of which remain firmly and vividly etched in my memories of that glorious and horrific (the pandemic) time. The list is long. We miss it every day.

Continuum Contemporary/Ballet – seeing them at Bryant Park in the spring of 2018 converted me to a lover of classical ballet.

New York City Ballet & American Ballet Theater- extraordinary in every way

Alvin Ailey – the studio was a few blocks from our apartment; my wife took lessons there; you could, on some lucky days, stop by and look through the gaps in the window covers to watch the lessons, often attended by professionals whose grace and power marked them from the majority of amateurs there for the exercise; it was not uncommon to see a ballerina or male dancer on the street—they had a distinctive way of walking and were obviously in perfect physical condition.

Central Park – a ten-minute walk from our apartment; our salvation during the COVID horror and always uplifting and interesting; no better place for people watching. And for observing the mystery of the Mandarin Duck who left us too soon. And Barry the Barred Owl, may she rest in peace.

High Line – a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side, a lovely place to walk on a sunny day with flowers and other interesting displays.

World Trade Center – the new complex and accompanying memorials to 9/11 are a must-do, along with the Oculus; spectacular views from the top.

Jazz Clubs – New York City remains the epicenter of jazz music and culture in America. Some (Jazz Standard) were killed off by the pandemic, but the Village Vanguard, Dizzy’s Club, Smoke, Birdland, and Blue Note were regular visits for us.

Special Places – Nuyorican Poets Café, the ultimate in basic (folding chairs for the audience; get your own drinks; platform stage with a mike) but we had an amazing experience of slam poetry there one evening, highlighted by L.J. Hamilton who later posted on Facebook about our encounter that night:

The winning point for me was when an elderly White gentleman came up to me afterwards and shook my hand and said “You should be published. You have the most powerful voice and words I’ve ever heard.”

Being that my first piece was on racial profiling, racism, and injustice, and my second piece was on domestic violence, I definitely appreciate him actually acknowledging and appreciating my work.

A sample of Hamilton’s remarkable voice can be heard at https://tinyurl.com/2p9y4aus but buckle up first.

Street Fairs – entire avenues would be shut down to accommodate these massive affairs, often involving elaborate musical/dance performances along with seemingly endless booths of food, clothing, and random stuff.

Parades – Labor Day parade of unions, Macy’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, Feast of San Gennaro, Chinese New Year.

Christmas Lights – often freezing with massive crowds, but oh so spectacular displays on department and specialty stores along the avenues.

Protests & Celebrations – we attended many, walking for miles sometimes, in good weather and bad; the best was the day Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020 was announced, absolutely the best.

Zoos & Gardens – Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo

Museums –9/11 Memorial, MOMA (Modern Art), Natural History, Moving Image, Guggenheim, Art, Pierpont Morgan Library, Whitney.

Broadway Shows – all the great ones.

Buildings – many reflective surfaces creating art within the skyscrapers; from our windows, the twin towers of Time Warner Center on one side, the Empire State Building on the other; and the Hudson River and … and ….

Restaurants – many unusual places (Mari Vanna – Eastern European/Russian), Bricco – great family-owned Italian place where the owner kissed all the women goodbye (inexplicably out of business one day); Kalustyan’s (food from dozens of countries), DeGrezia, lovely upscale Italian (killed by the pandemic); Grand Central Oyster Bar; New York hot dogs, Zabar’s (bagels and lox).

Sounds & Weather – rushing, traffic, ambulances, fire engines … always; weather changing every few blocks.

Special Experiences – Late Show w/Stephen Colbert, NBC Studios, NY Philharmonic Orchestra streaming.

New Yorkers – a special breed; but not what you think; impatient but not unhelpful; many instances of kindness shown.

Pandemic – unimaginable that literally thousands of people in the city were dying each day; we lived next door to Mt Sinai West Hospital; ambulances around the clock; death and despair everywhere; evenings participating in shouting out the windows/banging pots/applauding, displays of appreciation and affection for the hospital workers risking and often sacrificing their lives for everyone else; six weeks of lock down. With help, we survived.

Who Was Samuel Johnson?

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Doesn’t much matter. If you must know, Wikipedia has an extensive article on his life as “poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson That’s a lot of jobs for one life.

One of Johnson’s most well-known attributed quotes is: “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

I thought of that when reading the reports that Jenna Ellis, an unknown lawyer until she joined forces with Donald Trump to overthrow the government and install him as president/king/despot/rule-for-life, had turned on her liege lord. And make no mistake, overthrowing the government and anointing Trump was the plan.

Of course, it failed. Miserably. Not only was the incitement thoroughly documented on video and otherwise, but the attack itself was also filmed by multiple people, including some of the participants themselves in one of the great self-owns of all time. One of the best videos of the attack was produced by the New York Times:  https://tinyurl.com/4btuf4y5

For her efforts, Ms. Ellis has earned the distinction of being indicted, along with Trump and many others, in Georgia. For reasons currently unknown, she was not indicted by the Special Counsel Jack Smith but that could still happen.

Reports now indicate that Ms. Ellis, like some of the other insurrectionists, has had a change of heart. Jenna Ellis Denounces ‘Malignant Narcissist’ Trump, Publicly Distances Herself From Former President,https://tinyurl.com/km4z7v8b:

I simply can’t support him for elected office again. Why I have chosen to distance is because of that, frankly, malignant narcissistic tendency to simply say that he’s never done anything wrong.” The most notable component of Ellis’ remarks was her criticism of Trump supporters. She claimed that some of them had elevated Trump to the level of “idolatry” and were prioritizing their devotion to him over their dedication to conservative ideas, the Constitution, and the country. She challenged Americans, particularly conservatives and Christians, to reconsider their voting and allegiances.

… And the total idolatry that I’m seeing from some of the supporters that are unwilling to put the constitution and the country and the conservative principles above their love for a star is really troubling. And I think that we do need to, as Americans and as conservatives and particularly as Christians, take this very seriously and understand where are we putting our vote.

And in the Guardian, it is noted that “in 2020 Ellis rose from relative obscurity to become part of what she called an “elite strike force team” working to overturn Trump’s defeat by Biden.” https://tinyurl.com/bsk4rjyp

Covering all her bases, Ellis, while rejecting Trump as a candidate to vote for, hastened to assure him that, “I have great love and respect for him personally.” Trump, being the great transactionalist that he is, will not likely find such professions of affection meaningful if she’s going to withhold her vote.

Reading those reports reminded me of some of the defenses offered by Proud Boys and others like them who conspired to pull off the insurrection and have been sentenced to long prison terms.

One popular one was “I was just following the direction of my commander-in-chief,” an apparent reference to the Constitutional provision (Article II) that “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States….” The problem with that defense, of course, was, among other things, that the Proud Boys were not inthe Army, Navy, or a Militia of the any state called into the actual service of the United States.

But, as the Samuel Johnson quote reminds us, the mind concentrates when faced with hanging and the Proud Boys being sentenced to decades in prison is the functional equivalent of being hanged. The defense has been uniformly rejected by the courts, as it should be.

As for Jenna Ellis’ sudden “awakening” to Trump’s “malignant narcissism,” her statements smack of performative timing inspired by being indicted for multiple felonies for which she has few, if any, realistic defenses. If she had been awake during the months leading up to January 6, she would already have been aware that Trump a cancer on American democracy. Many of the tear-shedding insurrectionists in their pleas for leniency have, once sentenced, reverted to type, and continued to declare their allegiance to Trump and the false-flag “stolen election” nonsense. One can’t help wondering if Ellis won’t do the same thing once she knows just how high her hanging will be.

Memories of 9/11

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As this day has progressed, I have, involuntarily, been drawn back to specific memories of that dreadful morning. I will share what I recall, hopefully accurately. I believe so.

I was driving to my office at the Alexandria, VA-based trade association where I was employed as head of the legal, industry affairs and government affairs departments. We represented what were then called travel agents, now known, more accurately, as travel advisors. I don’t recall how many employees we had back then. but it seems like 50 or so.

My cell phone rang, and our head of communications told me, in a somewhat anxious voice, that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York City. I said, “you mean like a small plane?” Instinctively, it did not seem plausible that a full-sized airliner could have flown into New York City airspace and collided with one of the tallest buildings in the world. It had to be an accident or a person committing suicide in a small plane.

I don’t recall what she replied, but it was clear that this was a major event that would affect the travel industry immediately, among many other things. “I’ll be right there. I’m close.”

When I arrived at our offices, there was much obvious concern. We now knew that there were two aircraft involved in New York and that another had crashed into the Pentagon, about five miles away. Our staff leader was in Europe, unreachable and in any case unable to get back. I was de facto in charge. Through a quick series of meetings, I learned what little had been gleaned from frantic news reports. With the rest of the world, we watched the collapse of the Twin Towers. I learned that one member of our staff had a brother working at the Pentagon. She was hysterical, understandably, because he was not responding to her calls and the reports indicated extensive damage to the building with fires and many casualties. A small staff group was with her offering such comfort and support as they could.

Six years before this, I had miraculously survived a cardiac arrest. One industry friend sent me a card that read, “Now, at least, we know you have a heart. Get well.” It was time, I realized, to be that guy, a calming influence against the chaos and panic that were setting in. My reputation for being calm and emotionless was required by the situation even though inside I was a roiling mess of concern, frustration anger and despair. Who would do something so insane? Why? Like everyone else, I had no answers.

I called a meeting in our large conference room. I decided the best path forward was to be brutally truthful. “I don’t know much more than you do about what has happened or why,” I said. “I believe, however, that everyone will be safest right now by staying in the office. I can’t make you stay. You can leave when you want to, but this is not a good time to be on the streets. I will be here with you until it is safe for the last of you to leave, no matter how long that takes. You are safe here. We will continue seeking information and will share all reliable information.”

I answered the questions I could and urged everyone to remain alert and try to work. The impact of the events on travel would be immediate and our members around the country would be looking to us for guidance.

After the meeting, one staff member came to my office to ask me to lift the policy I had put in place years earlier that prohibited possession of a firearm in the office. He felt we “need to be able to defend ourselves. They’re going to put nails and bombs in post office boxes.” I rejected the idea while trying to reflect understanding of the anxiety that led to the proposal. “Even if you’re worst fears are true, having a gun in the office isn’t going to be much help and could make everything much worse. Let’s just stay calm until we understand more about what has happened.”

As the day progressed into the afternoon with no more attacks, staff began to drift out of the office to make their way home. The brother at the Pentagon came out safe, to our great relief. Air travel was completely shut down by government order. For the moment, there was nothing for us to do realistically. When all were gone, I left too.

As the recovery began and information about the attackers and the ease with which they were able to bring box cutters onto aircraft was revealed, the President and Congress, along with existing federal and state agencies, went into action. Everyone hopefully is at least generally familiar with what all that led the nation to do, some great and some not.

For our part, our head of communications produced a brilliant idea. Seeing that the public needed to be encouraged to resume traveling as soon as it was allowed and working with American Express and the Airlines Reporting Corporation for funding, she proposed a Public Service Announcement using a famous figure, like an astronaut, to assure the public it was safe to travel again. Eventually, we arranged with Jim Lovell, commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, to participate in a filmed short subject. Commander (retired) Lovell was an absolute delight to work with. He hosted us for dinner at his restaurant, Lovells in Lake Forest, outside of Chicago where we discussed the plan for the PSA. After dinner, Lovell took us into his private museum in the basement where we saw many artifacts of the Apollo 13 and other missions.

Commander Lovell approved the short script I wrote for the PSA and met us very early in the morning at O’Hare Airport for the taping. The airport was under the tightest imaginable security at that time, but United Airlines, the principal carrier there, worked to get the necessary permissions for our access. We did multiple takes at the ticket counter; Lovell never hesitated to do what was asked of him. The only record of the PSA exists on a VHS tape, but my best recall is that we had Lovell approach the ticket counter to get his boarding pass, turn to the camera and say, roughly,

When Apollo 13 was in trouble, our best people went to work and solved the problem. Our country is facing another crisis and our best people are working to make sure you’re safe. It’s time to get moving again.”

He took his boarding pass and walked confidently through the security gate.

The PSA was seen by millions and, hopefully, was reassuring that America would indeed overcome the latest challenge.

Today, many ceremonies around the country have been performed to honor the memories of those lost to the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath. To those who question American resolve in the face of our current political turmoil, these ceremonies should serve as a reminder that We Will Never Forget. I know I never will.

Shame on the New York Times

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The comments are closed, or I would have posted this in the New York Times following the frontpage article that somehow the Times believes is part of “all the news that’s fit to print,” the legendary creed it places on every print edition. The article by Katie Rogers, “a White House correspondent, covering life in the Biden administration, Washington culture and domestic policy” since 2014, is entitled, The Peril in Biden’s Inability to Say No to Son. The online version is titled differently: President Biden Keeps Hunter Close Despite the Political Peril. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/10/us/politics/joe-biden-hunter-relationship.html Both titles imply that Hunter Biden somehow controls or exerts undue influence over the President.

I have searched this 2,400-word piece for “news,” something that was not previously reported and widely known about Hunter Biden and his problems along with President Biden’s continuing struggle to support his son and hold his family together following tragedy after tragedy. I searched again and again. Nothing. No news. Nothing not known before.

The article begins with the collapse of Hunter’s Justice Department plea deal, leading the President to a state of “sadness and frustration” according to “several people close to him” and “more than a dozen” who spoke only anonymously. [I counted at least 7 references to unnamed sources for the various slights and jabs laced through the piece.] Predictably, this will lead to renewed Republican attacks that, even though lacking any factual basis, Ms. Rogers asserts leave “no doubt that Hunter’s case is a drain, politically and emotionally, on his father and those who wish to see him re-elected.” The link is to a CNN article about a poll asserting that, largely along partisan lines, a majority of Americans think President Biden was inappropriately involved in Hunter Biden’s business affairs. Yet, later in the article,

Mr. Biden does not believe that Republican attacks on his son will hurt him with voters as he runs for re-election in 2024, and there is data to suggest that is largely true, at least for now. A June poll by Reuters and Ipsos found that 58 percent of Americans would not factor Hunter Biden into their decision in the presidential race.

“At least for now.” Of course, in case you missed it, Ms. Rogers wants to be sure you don’t think this sad story isn’t going to affect the election.

And when it comes to polls, you can pick your poison. See Jennifer Rubin’s excellent piece on polling in Sunday’s Washington Post. I don’t write about polls. You shouldn’t bother with them, either.https://tinyurl.com/mpj94udv

The Times piece then turns to the family history, Hunter, Beau, all of it, 830 words, more than a third of the entire article, rehashing Hunter’s descent into addiction.

The article then goes subtle as a sledgehammer to the head. It describes Hunter traveling with the President on Air Force One. The piece notes that “No hard evidence has emerged that Mr. Biden personally participated in or profited from the business deals or used his office to benefit his son’s partners while he was vice president.” It’s likely true, of course, as the article suggests, that Hunter used his father’s prominence to create the “illusion” of access, but that is on Hunter, not on the President. And the “revelation” is not new or surprising that someone in Hunter’s position and condition would try to exploit his “connections.”

The article then turns back to Hunter’s life in California and his continuing struggles, another 357 words to be sure we know what a problem Hunter is. Like father like son. You know the cliché. If Hunter is bad, Joe Biden must also be bad.

Then, the final knife in the President’s back:

Last month, when asked by reporters at Camp David about the special counsel investigation into his son, Mr. Biden’s response was terse. “That’s up to the Justice Department,” Mr. Biden said, “and that’s all I have to say.” Mr. Biden then left Camp David and rode aboard Air Force One to Lake Tahoe for vacation. Hunter joined him there.

That time, the president’s son flew commercial.

End of article. Very cute.

What possible purpose in “all the news that fit to print” could this piece serve other than to remind readers yet again that (1) Hunter Biden has a lot of problems, (2) Republicans are trying to pin those problems as evidence of corruption by the President (because, you know, the Republicans are supporting a twice-impeached, four-time felony indicted man named Trump to lead the country). And, oh yes, (3) the President loves his son despite his problems but cannot solve those problems, yet still supports him. No news. Zero. Yet, the Times puts it on the Sunday front page and devoted an entire page, replete with photos, inside the paper.

Why? The continued undermining of President Biden by publishing this no-news hit-piece is obvious and obnoxious. The editors of the New York Times should be ashamed that they published this attack and, worse, prominently featured it on the front page of the Times where it would garner the most attention.

OMG – Trump’s Lawyers!!!

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Since the New York Post is only a hair’s breadth away from a super-market tabloid rack, I never know whether what is published by it is satire, just plain false or merely negligent journalism. With that caveat, I have seen the remarkable story of the Shokin affidavit in the NY Post’s reporting on August 29: DC judge apparently strikes down Viktor Shokin affidavit from Trump Jan. 6 case https://tinyurl.com/4wa6rvnf

One of the many striking aspects of this report is the use of “apparently” – if the author read the judge’s order, why is this qualifier used? In any case, the rejection by Judge Chutkan was also reported by the Washington Examiner. https://tinyurl.com/y7dpdftk  and Newsweek.  https://tinyurl.com/4whnh6ne Conclude what you will.

I tracked down the docket listings for the six orders rejecting various filings by non-parties to United States v Trump and found this:

LEAVE TO FILE DENIED-Motion of D.A. Feliciano for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief Supporting Neither Plaintiff Nor Defendant as to DONALD J. TRUMP.

LEAVE TO FILE DENIED- Motion for Judicial Notice Affidavit of Victor Shorkin [sic] as to DONALD J. TRUMP.

LEAVE TO FILE DENIED-Motion to Intervene as to DONALD J. TRUMP

LEAVE TO FILE DENIED-Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus as to DONALD J. TRUMP

LEAVE TO FILE DENIED- Galaxy Bar Association as to DONALD J. TRUMP

LEAVE TO FILE DENIED- Amicus Curiae in Support of Donald Trump as to DONALD J. TRUMP

And finally, but no less curiously: LEAVE TO FILE DENIED- Moton of Former Judges and Senior Legal Officials for Leave to File an Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Government Proposed Trial Date and Schedule as to DONALD J. TRUMP

As to each document the notation from Judge Chutkan reads:

This document is unavailable as the Court denied its filing. Although Courts have in rare instances exercised their discretion to permit third-party submissions in criminal cases, neither the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures nor the Local Rules contemplate the filing of amicus curiae briefs. At this time, the court does not find it necessary to depart from the ordinary procedures course by permitting this filing.

Who are these people?

D.A. Feliciano does not come up in a Google search.

I found one reference to the Galaxy Bar Association on Twitter (now X or something): “Tomi T Ahonen With Galaxy Bar Association @ tomiahonen. His X bio reads: Author, consultant, motivational speaker. Biggest social media slut in mobile. A mAd vidiot, F1 fan, globetrotting digital gypsy 007 wannabe. The T Dawg.”  He is apparently no fan of Trump.

The most interesting filing rejected by Judge Chutkan purportedly was from Viktor Shokin, former Ukrainian prosecutor fired for corruption in 2015-2016. Since the actual filings are unavailable, it seems we will not learn whether the Shorkin [sic] filing (misspelled in the docket listing) was from the real Viktor Shokin or someone else.

However, if it wasn’t the real Shokin, it’s mighty odd that Trump’s attorneys refused to comment. You would expect them to want to distance themselves and Trump from fake docket filings. There is an implication here, speculative I admit, that they knew about and perhaps even procured the Shokin filing. The filings and their summary rejection by the judge did serve Trump’s interests by affording a ready excuse for the NY Post and Washington Examiner to dredge up the entire collection of conspiracy claims about the Shokin firing and the still unproven claims of bribes taken by then Vice President Biden. Recent fact-checking by the Washington Post continues to undermine the Republicans’ obsessional claims about Biden family corruption, https://tinyurl.com/47au99hx

The other rejected filings show no names in the docket listing, so we’ll not know who filed those as well. At some point not too far down the road, however, I expect Judge Chutkan is going to call the question on this garbage. The filing of false and/or disingenuous requests for court action by fake or anonymous “persons” consumes court resources and is sanctionable. Trump and his lawyers better be careful. Judge Chutkan has made it clear she’s not fooling around and is not going to be played by Trump and his lawyers.

Can We Please Stop Blaming Everything on the Pandemic?

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A short while ago, Vox.com published an article decrying how people are acting in public now: People forgot how to act in public https://tinyurl.com/mur5rx3x Reports describe concert attendees throwing phones & other items at performers (I cheered when I read about Cardi B launching her microphone at the person who threw a drink at her), Broadway audiences engaging in grotesque displays, and people using cell phones disruptively during movies. The conclusion, after consulting some “experts,” was that this behavior related to the forced closures and isolation everyone experienced during the pandemic.

I found the article confusing.  On the one hand, it claimed people during the pandemic had simply “forgotten” how to act. Now that they can return to these collective experiences, “[w]hen someone makes a scene in public at a group event, we’re disturbed in large part because these gatherings are extremely important to our intellectual and emotional selves …. The “collective effervescence” of live events is something humans crave, whether they know it or not.”

The quoted term apparently refers to the fact that while we’re buying a ticket for the performance, we’re also “buying that electric feeling of a crowd of humans appreciating the same thing …. these events are moments of highly pleasurable social connections.” The idea seems to be that in addition to our personal experience of the performance, we are also stimulated by the enjoyment of others around us, even though we don’t know any of them, and we resent the disruption of that collective and connective response by people who seem more interested in what’s on their phones.

I readily admit that I prefer the other people attending a show to actively enjoy it, but only up to the point just before their “enjoyment” lapses into hysterical enthusiasm that detracts from the show. We experienced this during the musical MJ in New York a while back. Some members of the audience, seated near us, apparently came to believe that the actor playing Michael Jackson was Michael Jackson inexplicably risen from the grave and there for their personal entertainment, in return for which they were obliged to scream and shriek at every cool move the actor made to imitate the real MJ. The noise was overwhelming and detracted from our experience of the show. The “collective effervescence” spilled over into something else.

Tne academic cited in the Vox article thought that “the lockdown’s impact on social gatherings has affected our social skills, such as conversation and general awareness … and I’m sure it has impacted social skills.”

The pendulum swing from gathering in real life to being relegated to social media to now, in 2023, coming back to real-life events may explain why some people are being disruptive and not fully comprehending the impact they’re having on their fellow audience members. They’re using the modes of social connection they got accustomed to — posting a video from a movie theater, scrolling through social media during a Broadway play, or treating a concert like a performance they’re watching from home — in a setting that’s inappropriate. In some cases, it’s an upsettingly tangible example of the self-interested behavior we’ve come to call “main character syndrome,” wherein a person seems to believe that everything that happens around them only contributes to their own story.

That is a bridge too far for me.

I suspect the explanation lies in a broader social phenomenon associated with generational attributes that lead some groups (broad generalization here) to only be seriously interested in things that are about themselves. They therefore can easily block out the interests of those around them. This explains the hysterical laughter and ultra-loud conversations in restaurants that ignore the impact on people at adjoining tables. These people simply don’t care that their “good times” are affecting other people’s “good times,” because everything important and relevant is just about them and them alone.

Make all the excuses you want, but I reject the idea that people in the space of one year lost entirely their awareness of the people around them to such an extent that upon returning to a movie theater, for example, they think it’s fine to text and even talk. We’ve attended three movies in the past month and in every case the end of the previews includes a prominent, loud warning to “don’t text, don’t talk, don’t ruin the movie.” That same warning was played at movies well before the pandemic closed everything. People who violate that warning simply don’t care much about anyone else. They didn’t care before or during the pandemic either. They saw the pandemic as an unjust inconvenience in the world that should still be revolving around them exclusively.

As for the “fans” throwing things at performers, I have tried to understand what might cause such odd behavior. Several possibilities came to mind:

  1. The throwers are obscenely wealthy, which explains their up-front seats, and don’t place real value on their phone – they have more than one or can easily afford another.
  2. The perps are resentful of the notoriety of the performers and want to show them they’re not so special compared to the anonymous ticket-holder in the audience, so “take that, Taylor Swift; you’re not so special.”
  3. The perps have been suppressing their violent hostility toward everyone in authority and now they can release their angst against a live target who is “up” on the stage while they are stuck “down” here with the other screaming masses.

There is no way to sort this out. The truth probably is “all of the above and more” for many people in the audience. But it’s not the pandemic.

So, please, let’s stop with the overreaching explanations for why people behave like inconsiderate boors. It’s most likely because they are inconsiderate boors. The pandemic may have made us more aware of their presences because collective activities still seem “new,” but these particular people are the same as they always were. Once a boor, always a boor, someone once said. You can see them taking videos at the ballet immediately after being told to turn off their phones and put them away because videoing the performance is “strictly prohibited.” Better not sit near me ….

 

A Group of Election Pundits Walked Into a Bar ….

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And they began to debate the Republican debate and, just like the real debate, they agreed on almost nothing of importance.

After reading several “expert” analyses of the debate, it’s clear the “experts” are as uncertain as the candidates. Not surprising, I suppose, given that this was the first debate and Trump, the most prominent criminal in American political history, decided to debate from another location where he could not be called to account for his endless lies, incompetence, and criminality.

Speaking of which, most of the Republican “contenders” did agree on one thing: if Trump wins the nomination, they’ll support him against Joe Biden. There is little doubt that if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were to rise from their graves and run as a Democratic ticket, the Republican contenders would support Trump for president over them. Trump’s hold on these people tells you all you need to know about this collection of losers. They will say nothing to offend the MAGA crowd that, perfectly happy with a fascist criminal like Trump, will determine the Republican nomination. Even Mike Pence, who has “boldly” observed the obvious – that Trump had demanded he raise Trump’s ambition over the Constitution — raised his hand when asked if he would support Trump as the nominee.

Profiles in courage, these are not.

One of the more substantive treatments of the debate was produced by Vox.com, seen in full at https://tinyurl.com/2bw44t8y. The author noted that the early part of the debate was a simulacrum of a Republican-style debate from yesteryear in which issues like abortion bans (they all want to control women’s bodies and health decisions, the reality of climate change (they all agree with Trump that it’s a hoax), urban crime (we need more guns), K-12 education (education is for libtards – ban the books!), immigration (furriners, keep ‘em out), the Russia-Ukraine war (appease Putin with Ukraine’s territory – communism bad, Putin OK), and the rise of China (COVID, the gift that keeps on giving).

The Vox view was that an absent Donald Trump still won the debate. The moderators, despite their Fox “News” credentials, also came in as losers (they always lose control of “debates,” apparently even when Trump is absent–remarkable).

How any of these folks expect to win much support from the MAGA crowd, or indeed any remaining “Republicans,” if they’re not willing to say anything bad about the MAGA love child remains a complete mystery. Is this just some kind of “show” designed to fool people into thinking the Republican Party is legitimate and has real options in its ranks to the fascism promoted by Trump? It’s a mystery. Seriously, why bother going through the motions when anyone there with a plausible case to make (?) is terrified of speaking ill of the poll leader?

As noted in the USAToday report, https://tinyurl.com/34bt8suy, Vivek Ramaswamy, the other billionaire candidate (do we need another billionaire president??), called Trump “the best president of the 21st century.” One positive thought about Ramaswamy: if he became president, the aliens hanging out at Area 51 would break out and immediately head back into outer space, never to return to what will remain of Earth after its habitable phase ends at the hands of climate change (I know, I know, climate change is the Democrats new hoax – Trump said so and therefore it must be true, nothing to worry about, move along).

A clear example of what we could expect in the way of logical thinking from a President Ramaswamy may be found in this quote:

Your claim that Donald Trump is motivated by vengeance and grievance would be a lot more credible if your entire campaign were not based on vengeance and grievance against Donald Trump.

Think about that for a moment: Trump can’t be “motivated by vengeance and grievance” because their campaigns are based on “vengeance and grievance against him.”

But then, of course, the great moralist Mike Pence scolded the only woman on the stage regarding a national abortion ban by offering this beauty: “consensus is the opposite of leadership.” What he meant to say was “when I’m president, I won’t care what people think; I’ll tell you female hussies what to do and you’ll do it or else.”

All in all, it was a rough night for rationality. And history, as always in Republican circles, took a back seat to ideology. While there was minority support for continuing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, there was much sentiment for the old “America First” claptrap: appease Russia with a big piece of Ukraine and hope the Russian Bear’s appetite for conquest is sated. Isolationism in another wrapper. It has never worked but, hey, Republicans need to have something to say, so ….

What’s left of the Republican Party thus has only this to offer: a multiply-indicted criminal lunatic or one of a cast of confused, ignorant wannabes who haven’t got the courage of their, or anyone’s, convictions to challenge the lunatic. Elect one of these beauties and it’s game over.

Everything You Have …

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…and everything you will ever have, including all your physical possessions and all your loves and everything else, depends on what these men and women did.

This morning, while the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington was getting under way to celebrate, re-enact and remind us of how far we have yet to go to realize Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of a more just society, a smaller but no less dramatic event was unfolding at the World War II Memorial. An Honor Flight of veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam wars delivered a bus load of survivors, many in wheelchairs and accompanied by their “guardians,” for a recognition of their service to this country. My wife and I were there with a small group of other Americans to welcome and respect the sacrifices these people made on our behalf. We have attended special flights for Gold Star families at National Airport when, before the pandemic, her hula troupe performed for families who have lost loved ones in military service.

An Honor Guard was on hand today to present the colors. A bugler playing Taps. The National Anthem was sung by Ms. District of Columbia. The speaker reminded us to look at the Wall of Stars. Each of the 4,048 gold stars represents 100 Americans who gave their lives in service during World War II. You can do the math. And that’s only the dead, not the almost 700,000 wounded. The mind boggles at such devastation. And those were just the Americans. In one war.

After a brief ceremony, the veterans were able to visit the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The pictures speak for themselves, so I won’t go on at length about what these people did. I will add only that if you are in the Washington area at any time you should visit the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir that we visited recently. The website has the details, https://www.thenmusa.org, but does not do the place justice. The scale of it is overwhelming, a solemn and imposing reminder of how many wars this country has fought since the Revolution that led to our independence from Britain and the freedom and prosperity that have followed.