Monthly Archives: February 2017

The Wrong Question

 

When trying to solve a problem or understand an event, counter-intuitive thinking requires two things.  First, make sure you are asking the right question.  Second, don’t overlook the obvious.  For a change, I’ll use an example from the world of sports.

Consider Super Bowl LI.  During the three weeks of non-stop pre- and post-game television and radio coverage, pundits of the game felt their bona fide as experts depended on the ability to see things the average fan missed.  Toward this end, they often over-analyzed the situation or focused on something that was largely irrelevant.

Yesterday, the four panelists on ESPN’s Sports Reporters–Mike Lupica, Bob Ryan, Gene Wojciechowski and Manish Mehta–shared their perspectives on the game.  For the most part, the discussion centered on how New England quarterback Tom Brady, at 39 years of age, continues to win his battle with Father Time.  While these so-called experts (sorry, I couldn’t resist) may have chosen the right variable–time, I believe they opted for the wrong unit of measurement.  They should have addressed minutes, not years.

Brady’s performance in the Super Bowl was exceptional but should not have been surprising for the following reasons.  First, he maintains a diet and exercise regimen designed to prolong his career.  Second, even with three playoff appearances, he played less games (15) versus a typical regular season (16) due to the “deflate-gate” four game suspension.  Third, as a result of an improved offensive line, Brady was sacked just 15 times during the 2016 regular season versus 38 times in 2015.

Instead of asking, “Can a 39 year old quarterback still win a Super Bowl,” the question should have been, “How long can a defense stay on the field without running out of gas?”  And the answer was right there in black and white. It’s called the stat sheet.  The Patriots ran 93 offensive plays compared to the the Falcons’ 46.  In terms of time of possession, the Falcon defense was on the field for 40 out of the 63 and a half minutes played including the overtime.  If this had been a basketball game, the Falcon defensive players would have been bent over, hands on knees, trying to catch their breath

I am not a Bill Belichick fan.  Just the opposite.  But it’s time to give credit where credit is due.  Several times, during the second half, I questioned how much time the Patriots took between snaps considering the score at the time.  In hindsight, there was a method in Belichick’s apparent madness.  The Falcons had already demonstrated during the first 30 minutes, if fresh, their defense could outplay New England’s offense. Every second on the field during the second half was time the defense was on its feet, not resting on the bench.

Sometimes, you don’t have to beat up on the opposition.  All you need to do is wear them down and outlast them.  The same can apply to non-sporting venues as well.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Keep America Great Again

 

I hope you are sitting down.  Because I’m going to make the argument Donald J. Trump, the so-called president of the United States, is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to our country.

Whether we want to admit  it or not, America, as envisioned by the founding fathers, is living on borrowed time.  Among his many observations on democracy, the Scottish judge and historian Alexander Fraser Tytler (aka Lord Woodhouselee) wrote:

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to complacency; From complacency to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.

Not only has it been 228 years since ratification of the U.S. Constitution.  In less than ten years we have raced through three of the last four stages of Tytler’s life cycle of what the  Greeks called the polis or city/state.

You want the definition of complacency.  How about believing the election of the first African-American president was the beginning of post-racist America?  Instead it was a green light for bigots to come out of the woodwork and a justification for Supreme Court judges to gut voting rights for people of color.

How about apathy?  In 2016, 41.6 percent of Americans of voting age did not think it was worth their time to cast a ballot in the presidential election.  They did not believe their vote made a difference.

And dependence?  Enough voters in critical states were compelled to vote for the candidate who, during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, declared, “Nobody knows the system than me, which is why I alone can fix it.”  Translated, don’t worry, sit back and relax, I will take care of everything.

I am reminded of the story of the frog being slowly boiled alive.  When the threat to America comes in stages, like the frog who is subjected to an incremental rise in temperature, it is almost impossible to detect one’s pending doom until it is too late.  But that all changed on January 20.  Donald Trump, in three weeks, turned the dial to high.  And the frog now knows it is in a fight for its very existence.

Ironically, Trump has done the one thing Hillary Clinton could never have done.  He has reversed a historic trend.  Instead of accepting dependence and possible bondage, many Americans, by the following actions, are saying, “Let’s prove Tytler wrong.  We will not be apathetic.  Complacency is not an option.”

  • On January 21, millions of men and women around the world marched to demonstrate they would resist efforts to roll back women’s rights and other hard-earned rewards of democracy.
  • Following an ill-conceived and incompetently implemented executive order banning legal and already extremely vetted immigrants and refugees from selected Muslim nations, average citizens swarmed every major international airport to proclaim, “This is not who we are.”
  • Post-card parties are popping up all across the nation at which citizens are letting their representatives know, in the words of the immortal Howard Beale, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.”
  • Four duly appointed federal judges told a questionably elected individual you are not king and no one in America is above the law.
  • Over a thousand Utahans jammed a town meeting to tell Republican congressman and chair of the Government Oversight Committee Jason Chaffetz, “DO YOUR JOB!”  They called for investigations of Trump violations of the emolument clause of the Constitution (pertaining to receipt of monetary or in-kind gifts from foreign governments or their representatives), inappropriate contacts by National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador prior to the inauguration and Kellyanne Conway’s violation of federal law when she used her public position to shill for Ivanka Trump’s made-in-China line of clothing.
  • Scientists are planning an Earth Day march on Washington to remind Trump, his cabinet and numerous Republican senators and congressmen climate change is real and the scientific method is still valid.

Last night on Real Time with Bill Maher, former CNN host and and U.S. editor for the Daily Mail On-Line Piers Morgan questioned the hysteria by Trump opponents and suggested they needed to give him some time. (NOTE: Is Morgan’s defense of Trump and his being named the winner on Celebrity Apprentice in 2008 a mere coincidence?)  In response, Australian comedian Jim Jeffries reminded Morgan more early hysteria in 1939 Germany might have been a good thing, “Hitler didn’t kill the Jews on the first day, he worked up to it.”

Rumor has it, Piers Morgan will now be writing for the Daily Mail under the pseudo-name Neville Chamberlain.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Coincidence or Something Else

 

As I have said on numerous occasions, my original intention for Deprogramming101 was to show how counter-intuitive thinking can open one’s mind to challenge the status quo and see new possibilities.  One major tool to promote this broader view of reality is what Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung called “synchronicity.”  The term refers to his belief that seemingly unconnected events can have meaningful relationships.

One historic example is the effort to link the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy using facts about these two events.  For instance, both were succeeded by vice-presidents named Johnson.  Both were elected President in a year ending in 60.  Both assassins were known by three names.  Both assassins’ names contain a total of 15 letters.  Kennedy was riding in a Lincoln at the time of his assassination.  I have no doubt these comparisons were triggered by someone having a sense of déjà vu following Kennedy’s death.  It all seemed so familiar.

This morning I had the same sensation about the Trump administration.  Where had I seen all of this before? The easy answer would have been the parallels to previous authoritarian rulers or regimes. But Jung was exhorting me to look elsewhere.  And sure enough, there it was.  Trump’s nomination of Linda McMahon as director of the Small Business Administration.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with McMahon, she is the the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband Vince McMahon.  And I know what you’re thinking.  Dr. ESP is going to remind us both Trump and professional wrestling are fake and rely on the star power of villains.  Again, much too simple an explanation.  Look deeper.

The more appropriate comparison is Vince McMahon’s attempt in 2001 to form a new football league, the XFL.  Consider the following similarities.  (NOTE:  All facts and quotes about the XFL are courtesy of Wikipedia.)

  • The XFL was a joint venture between WWE (then known as the WWF) and NBC.  The Apprentice was a joint venture between the Trump Organization and NBC.
  • XFL stadiums “featured trash-talking public address announcers.”  Trump’s has his own stable of trash-talkers–Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer (aka Scary Spice).
  • The XFL “was hyped as ‘real’ football without penalties for roughness and with fewer rules in general.” Trump promotes himself as the real president but does not believe he is subject to any rules or should be penalized for violations of the Constitution or other laws.
  • XFL “teams were not individually owned and operated franchises.  The league was operated as a single business unit.”  In Trumpland, the legislative authority of the individual cabinet departments has been co-opted by the White House.
  • McMahon claimed the “X” in XFL did not stand for “extreme” even though seven of the eight original teams were called the Orlando Rage, Chicago Enforcers, NY/NJ Hitmen, LA Xtreme, SF Demons, Memphis Maniax and Las Vegas Outlaws.  The eighth team was originally dubbed the Birmingham Blast until residents protested because the nickname was a reminder of the bombings of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1961 and a local abortion clinic in 1998.  The team’s name was changed to the Thunderbolts. McMahon swore XFL was chosen because it was the “eXtra Fun League.” Trump relishes the fact his supporters are outraged and view themselves as enforcers and outlaws.  And he regularly denies the obvious as was the case with the attendance at the inauguration or when he swears a Muslim ban is not really a Muslim ban.
  • McMahon was “ridiculed by mainstream sports journalists due to the stigma attached to professional wrestling as being fake.  Many journalists even jokingly speculated whether any of the league’s games were rigged, although nothing of this sort was ever seriously investigated.”  The media is finally starting to realize Trump is trying to run the country like a reality show where the outcomes are manipulated through manufactured confrontations and editing. As for speculation the 2016 election may have been influenced by outside parties, as was the case with the XFL, the Republican controlled Congress seems afraid to conduct a thorough investigation for fear of what they might uncover.
  • McMahon attacked NBC sportscaster Bob Costas who referred to the XFL as a combination of “mediocre high school football with a tawdry strip club.”  Costas later invited McMahon to appear on his HBO show On the Record. In response to the XFL’s declining ratings, Costas told McMahon, “I have to put the right spin on this because I’m also on NBC–apparently, it (the ratings) went through the toilet.”  Like the XFL, Trump has nominated individuals who, at best, are past their prime and, at worst, are amateurs.  As a result, his approval rating is also going through the toilet.

If the parallel paths of the XFL and the Trump administration continue to stay on course, there is room for optimism.  The XFL was cancelled after one year despite a commitment by NBC to broadcast games for a minimum of two years.  The WWE and NBC lost $35 million on the venture. The XFL is #2 on ESPN’s list of biggest flops in sports.  Even Vince McMahon eventually had to admit the XFL “was a colossal failure.” At this point in time, there is no reason to doubt the Trump administration is on a similar trajectory.  There is one exception. The Trump family will likely walk away with their pockets lined with taxpayer dollars and thinly veiled bribes as foreign governments and lobbyists gladly acquiesce to  pay inflated prices for meals and lodging at Trump properties.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Lenin Versus Marx

 

You may have seen the less than flattering picture of White House assistant to the “so called president” on this week’s issue of Time Magazine with the tag line, “The Great Manipulator.”  Of this, I have no doubt.  Look closely at the cover photograph.  It is posed, not candid.  If I did not know better, I would have guessed the subject of the article was a chess grand master such as Bobby Fischer or Boris Spassky.  His eyes and posture tell you this is man who is thinking several moves ahead.

As Bannon rose to power, first in Donald Trump’s campaign and now his administration, much was made of Bannon’s former position as executive director of Breitbart News, focusing on the publication’s alt-right and white supremacist slant.  Therefore, it came as quite a shock when Bannon told Ronald Radosh of The Daily Beast, “I’m a Leninist.” (August 8, 2016).  When Radosh asks Bannon what he means by that, Bannon replies:

Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.

Before submitting the article to his editor, Radosh emailed Bannon, asking if he wanted to elaborate or clarify his comments.  Bannon denied ever meeting Radosh or having the conversation.  Amnesia does seem to be this administration’s drug of choice.

Since Bannon felt comfortable enough to share his admiration for the late Russian revolutionary, in the interest of balanced blogging, the time has come to admit I am a Marxist.  Through Marx, I have gained a better understanding of Trump and the movement which led to his occupation of the White House.  Consider the following quotes from Marx’ manifesto.

 The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.  If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them…well I have others.

He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.

I have nothing but respect for you — and not much of that.

A child of five could understand this.  Send someone to fetch a child of five.

Whatever it is, I’m against it.

Oh!  Forgive me.  I forgot to mention.  When I said I am a Marxist, I was referring to Groucho, not Karl.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

“Mad Men” Reunion

 

On July 21, 2007, we were first introduced to Mad Men (Liongate Television, 2007-2015).  The title refers to the staff of a fictional Madison Avenue advertising agency in the 1960s.  Senior partner Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is the central character who struggles with both his professional and personal life when the sanitized world of the 1950s turns chaotic as Americans experience political assassinations, the Vietnam war and the sexual revolution.  The final episode aired on May 17, 2015 (spoiler alert) with Draper embracing the times and, as a result, coming up with the iconic 1971 Coca-Cola marketing campaign, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.”

I encourage AMC, the cable network which broadcast the show, to consider a sequel.  Except, this time, the major protagonist is Donald J. Trump and the location has shifted from Madison Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue.  Two weeks into the new administration, you may be thinking Mad Men is the perfect moniker for Trump and his underlings who have exhibited behavior and a thought process consistent with any of the following definitions of the word “mad.” (Source: Merriam-Webster.com)

  • arising from, indicative of, or marked by mental disorder —not used technically
  • completely unrestrained by reason and judgment
  • unable to think in a clear or sensible way
  • incapable of being explained or accounted for
  • carried away by intense anger

 But that would be too obvious when it comes to counter-intuitive thinking.  What triggered this post was the Trump administration’s use of 1960s advertising techniques to sell a product a majority of Americans have or should have no interest in buying.  At its core, 1960s marketing could be defined as “simple solutions to complex problems.”  Consider the following.  (1) Can’t get a date, try a new toothpaste or shampoo. (2) Want to be cool, smoke a particular brand of cigarettes.  (3) Want your home to be a palace of marital bliss, buy your wife the latest household appliance.

And what were the results?  Despite clean teeth and shiny hair, many consumers still found themselves sitting home on Saturday night.  Inhaling tar and nicotine was more likely to make you “stone cold dead,” rather than just cool.  And although I have no empirical evidence, I doubt the installation of a new Maytag washer and dryer prevented a single case of domestic abuse.

Now fast forward to 2017.  Losing sleep over ISIS and fear of terrorist attacks, ban Muslims from entering the United States.  Lost your job to more productive deployment of resources, cancel trade agreements and blame immigrants.  Believe a gay couple holding hands will destroy your marriage, manufacture a false war on Christianity.  If you honestly believe any of these quick fixes will make a difference, I have a pet rock listed on eBay for $1,000.00.

It took seven seasons for Don Draper to see the light.  I’m not sure we have the luxury of time for today’s Mad Men (and one woman, yes you Kellyanne) to experience a similar change of heart and mind.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP