Monthly Archives: November 2016

What Do We Do Now?

Culture, Politics

 

Even though it is cloudy this morning (literally), I’m still pretty sure the sun came up in the East as it always does.  As it will for the next four years.

I have some thoughts about why American voters chose to elect Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, but will save those for another post.  The more important question is, “How do those of us who adamantly opposed his candidacy react to last night’s outcome?”

The response is simple.  And it is based on the Hillary Clinton ad which asked the question, “Who do you want to be a role model for our children?”  Although posed to differentiate between the two major contenders, the answer is and always will be “every one of us.”

So think about all the times you believed Donald Trump set a bad example during the campaign. Then do the opposite.  If you believe he disrespected President Obama, remind others that the office, regardless of its occupant, deserves our honor.  If you cringed when he declared only he had the answers, remember none of us is all knowing and seek out the wisdom of others.  If you were offended by his philosophy to take revenge ten-fold when you feel wronged, be more understanding and forgiving.

I have no doubts there will be more Benghazis, San Bernardinos and Orlandos in the next four years.  Instead of calling for investigations to find who to blame, ask our leaders to use their energies and resources to learn from these experiences and take the appropriate actions to prevent other tragedies.

And if during his term of office, the next president is ill or injured.  Do not remind everyone how he exploited Hillary Clinton’s bout with pneumonia during the campaign. Hope for his quick recovery.

In other words, be the role model you know you should be if Donald Trump never existed.  And, maybe, just maybe, we can become a role model not just for our children but for the nation’s leadership as well.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

United States of Amnesia

Economics, Politics

 

Is it possible, a major segment of the American electorate has contracted Alzheimer’s disease? Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the private sector created another 161,000 jobs in October.  And the unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent. Equally important, average wages rose 2.8 percent compared to October 2015, the highest annual increase in more than seven years.  October was the 73rd straight month of job growth in the U.S., a new record, with an accumulated creation of 15.5 million private sector jobs.

However, in the “bizarro world” in which Donald Trump lives, the numbers were a “disaster.”  Compared to what?  Take a look at the difference between the day Barack Obama took office and current data.

  • In January 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent on its way to 10.0 percent by mid-year.  Today it is 4.9 percent.  In 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney promised he would bring the unemployment down to 6.0 by the end of his first term.  How is the economy a disaster when the current administration bested that prediction by 1.1 percent?
  • On February 25, 2012, then presidential candidate Newt Gingrich declared, “I am the $2.50 gas president, Obama is the $10.00 gas guy.”  As Donald Trump would say, “WRONG!”  Yesterday, the average national gas price reported by AAA was $2.18.
  • On inauguration day 2009 the Dow Jones industrial average clocked in at 7,949.09.  Yesterday, it closed at 17,888.28.
  • In January 2009, the consumer confidence index was 37.4 (with 100 in 1985 as the base).  Today it is 98.8.
  • In January 2009, the median value of a new home had fallen from $245,000 in mid-2008 to $208,000.  Today, the median value of a new home is $313,000.
  • In response to the 2008 financial collapse, the growth in GDP for 2009 was -2.8 percent.  For the third quarter of 2016, it was 2.9 percent.

The recovery from eight years of trickle down economics (tax cuts for the wealthy) and deregulation has been steady but, sadly, all Americans have not seen the benefits.  However, it requires a total memory lapse to believe economic policies which contributed to the 2008-09 recession will cure it.

Unfortunately, that’s not the only things Americans seem to have forgotten.  More recently they have shelved their visceral response to many of the things the Republican nominee has said and done during the course of the campaign.  The common denominator appears to be instances when Trump is unscripted.  Here are a few examples and the how voters reacted to them.

  • On June 16, 2016, Breitbart News (managed by now Trump campaign chairman Steve Bannon) reported 50 percent of those surveyed in a Morning Consult survey thought Trump’s comments about Judge Curiel (a Mexican-American judge born in Indiana) were racist.  Another 19 percent said his comments were unacceptable.
  • A Gallup poll following both national party conventions found 44 percent of Americans viewed the Democratic party as more favorable after Philadelphia while only 35 percent of Americans had a more positive view of the Republican party after Cleveland.
  • On August 3, 2016, the Daily Standard reported 69 percent of those surveyed in a Fox News poll believed Donald Trump response to the Khan family, whose son died in Iraq, was “out of bounds.”
  • CNN/ORC poll of debate watchers had Clinton winning the first presidential debate 62 to 27 percent.
  • CNN/ORC poll of debate watchers had Clinton winning the second presidential debate (the town hall debate) 57 to 34 percent.
  • CNN/ORC poll of debate watchers had Clinton winning the third presidential debate 52 percent to 39 percent.

Immediately following many of these events, members of his own party recognized Trump’s actions were outside the political norm or even standards of decency.  In reference to Trump’s attack on Judge Curiel, House Speaker Paul Ryan referred to the candidate’s comments as the definition of racism.  This week he announced he had voted for the party’s nominee.  Following release of the Access Hollywood tape, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz said:

My wife, Julie and I, we have a 15-year-old daughter. Do you think I can look her in the eye and tell her that I endorsed Donald Trump for president when he acts like this and his apology? That was no apology, that was an apology for getting caught.

On October 26, Chaffetz announced he too would be voting for Trump.  [NOTE: Chaffetz chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and has promised to continue the investigations into Secretary Clinton’s use of private email.  Ironically, ABC News reported in March 2015, Congressman Chaffetz’ official business card lists a GMAIL.COM address rather than his official HOUSE.GOV address.  Instead of “lock her up,” maybe the Republican rallying cry should be, “Hyp, Hyp, Hypocracy!”]

And the list goes on.  Florida Senator Marco Rubio seems to have forgotten he once characterized Trump as a “con-man.”  Texas Senator Ted Cruz has demonstrated a similar lapse of memory about how disgusted he was when Trump vilified his wife or referenced a story in the National Enquirer about how Cruz’s father was involved in JFK’s assassination.

I would be more forgiving if Trump supporters were more consistent in their memory lapses.  However, the veracity of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is suspect when they cannot recall anything that happened in the last 18 months, but have no problem with the most minute details of every Clinton conspiracy theory, even those from 30 years ago.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Radical Atheists

Religion

 

On July 29, 2014, American Atheists, “a non-profit activist organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating for the complete separation of church and state (Source: Wikipedia),” launched AtheistTV.

I went to the AtheistTV site and listened to the introduction by Dave Silverman, President of American Atheists.  His opening statement included the following:

AtheistTV is finally a place we can call our own where we can speak the truth as frankly as we want. If you want religious programming, there are hundreds of programs from which to choose. But if you’re looking for something new, something different, something…well…real, you’re in the right place. If we want to talk about the fact that religion harms people, we can.  And we will. If we want to show Mohammed on the screen, we can. And we will.  Being atheist means being liberated from the artificial rules religion pushes on everyone else.

Although I am an agnostic who likes to think of myself as an “orthodox Jedi,” I get nervous when anyone claims to know the TRUTH and what is REAL when it comes to spiritual matters.  I have no doubt the leadership of American Atheists is outraged any time representatives of the religious right, who defend a bakery for refusing to cater a gay wedding, claims a violation of their religious freedom. Or when the religious right accuses “godless Americans” of pushing THEIR artificial rules on the rest of us.

American Atheists claims it is an outgrowth of the law suit filed by Madelyn Murray O’Hair who challenged forced prayer in public schools (Murray v. Curtlett, 1959).  Although, O’Hair was an atheist, the organization she founded was called the Society of Separationists.  It’s primary purpose was to ensure public institutions operated in accordance with the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution.  While she defended atheists as moral and compassionate people in her opening statement before the Supreme Court, she did not vilify others’ beliefs.

I often wonder how different the discussion would have been if a devout Christian had filed suit against a school system which mandated public prayer. How refreshing it would have been to hear an opening statement before the Court which included the following.

This case is about prayer in our schools.  As a Christian, I believe Jesus Christ is my savior.  I try to follow his teachings.  I and my family attend church regularly where we are reminded Christ preached of our responsibility toward our fellow man.  That is why I am here today, as both a Christian and an American who believes in the Constitution and especially the First Amendment.  Today, many of my fellow Christians support reciting the Lord’s Prayer in schools.  But would they be equally supportive if their children were required to recite the Koran or Satanic verses.  The founding fathers did not want to take that chance.  We should honor their wisdom and vision of a nation where government and religion each have their own time and place.

By claiming the superiority of their own religious preference as the justification for enforcing the Constitution, American Atheists do exactly what they claim to abhor.  They have perverted the mission of their “prophet” Madelyn just as some members of all of the major religions have perverted the teachings of their prophets and teachers to justify political preferences.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

My Rejected Screenplay

Culture, Media

 

The “butterfly effect” is defined as the scientific theory a single event, regardless of size, can change the course of the universe.  The concept has been used in many contexts.  For example, environmentalist have warned extinction of the most seemingly insignificant species might be the trigger that unleashes a  catastrophic ecological disaster.  And as one might suspect, the butterfly effect is rich fodder for many fictional books, movies and television shows.

The concept plays a prominent role in an episode of the original Star Trek series titled “The City of the Edge of Forever.”  Written by science fiction icon Harlan Ellison, the time travel theme revolves around the eventual outcome of World War II being dependent on the fate of a social welfare worker in depression-era America.  Ellison received the 1968 Hugo Award, science fiction’s most prestigious honor, for Best Dramatic Presentation. This is just one of many Hollywood treatments in which the butterfly effect plays a pivotal part. TasteOfCinema.com has identified at least 10 movies since 1990 which draw on the theory.

Being a political junkie, I was disappointed none of these tales centered on the electoral process and decided the time had come.  I began working on a screenplay in which a small, unrelated event determines the outcome of a contentious presidential contest. Knowing Hollywood loves salacious subplots, I decided the triggering event had to involve sex.

The following is a brief summary of the characters and the plot.

  • One candidate is the first female nominated by a major political party.
  • Her husband has a history of sexual misbehavior which her opposition exploits throughout the campaign.
  • She also has demonstrated some instances of questionable judgment.
  • Two weeks before election day, she appears to have overcome voters’ concern about both these perceived weaknesses and is posed to become the next president.
  • Somewhere in Midtown Manhattan, a divorced, former Congressman is sexting with an underage female.
  • During the investigation of the potential charge of child pornography, the FBI discovers material which turns the trajectory of the election upside down.

The working title for my screenplay  is “The Un-Buttoned Fly Effect.”  I sent the manuscript to several major studios and independent producers.  The response was unanimous, best summed up by the following in a letter from the Weinstein brothers at MiraMax.

While we find your treatment to be highly imaginative, we are afraid it lacks the credibility needed to draw a broad audience.

So much for my career in fiction.  But never give up.  I’m thinking about re-packaging the screenplay as a documentary.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

How Trump Could Close the Deal, But Can’t

Politics

 

For most voters, the question of Barack Obama’s nation of birth was no longer an issue during his 2012 re-election campaign.  When he finally released the original, long-form birth certificate on April 28, 2011, many people, myself included, wondered why he waited so long to debunk the conspiracy theories about his citizenship.

The answer is simple.  When you’re holding a full house in poker, you do not show your hand until it will have the maximum impact.  In other words, don’t encourage your opponents to fold.  Get them to go all in.  Then play them for a fool.  And that’s exactly what President Obama did.  For three years, he let the birthers spew their nonsense.  Only when they found someone (now who could that be?) to become the voice of their gibberish, did Obama turn over his trump card (pun intended).

Many thought the President’s use of this disclosure during the 2011 White House Correspondences Dinner was his comedic highlight of this annual event.  What we did not realize at the time, it was also his best magic act.  Any successful magician will tell you getting the audience to believe is all about misdirection.  While the media focused on the President’s birth certificate, Obama and his national security team set in motion the mission which would lead to Osama Bin Laden’s death three days later.  Well played, Mr. President.

Ironically, if Donald Trump really wanted to be president, he should take a page out of the current president’s playbook.  Ever since the Republican nominee stated he would release his tax returns at an appropriate time, he and his surrogates have provided excuse after excuse why he cannot.  This has created what one might call “the taxer movement,” a coalition of Democrats and some Republicans who speculate Trump refuses to follow presidential election tradition for one or more of the following reasons.

  • He is not as rich as he claims to be.
  • He has not paid any federal income taxes for multiple years.
  • He is less charitable than he avows.
  • He is in debt to foreign banks and private investors.

On September 7, 2016, Fox News released a poll in which 60 percent of the respondents felt Donald Trump was hiding something by not releasing his returns.

With one week left until the election, Mr. Trump, this is your chance to turn this race upside-down.  This is your opportunity to make all your critics look like fools.  Turn over your cards.  Show us you are worth $10 billion, you pay your fair share of taxes, you are a major philanthropist and your business deals do not represent conflicts of interests.

Do you want voters to forget about the Access Hollywood tape? Your insults and temperament issues? Your conflicting policies or lack of policies?  How sweet would it be to prove billionaires like Michael Bloomberg and Mark Cuban wrong?

Forget the audits.  Forget the lawyers and accountants.  If you honestly believe the future of America depends on your election, why would you not do the ONE thing that could turn the election around overnight?

There is only one logical answer.  YOU CAN’T.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP