“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
Those hearings were a symptom not a cause. He changed long, long before that. When McCain became ill and Lindsey started playing golf with Trump. My own theory is there is something in his personality that makes him a Sancho Panza who must attach himself to an alpha male. For years it was McCain, now Trump. Remember last year when he attacked all the pundits for claiming that Trump was an unqualified kook, when that is verbatim what he said during the campaign (almost)?
Last edited by concerned; 01-25-2019 at 03:56 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Pelosi hardest hit by the shutdown. Surprising.
0946CB56-69BF-4474-8081-79D61E501886.jpgIn fact, the percentage of respondents with a “very negative” of Pelosi increased by six points from 28 percent in December to 34 percent in January. President Trump’s “very negative” numbers held at 43 percent over the last month, and McConnell’s numbers actually improved by one point. Pelosi’s total numbers show a 19-point gap between her positives and negatives, larger than McConnell (18 points) and Trump (12 points).
Last edited by LA Ute; 01-28-2019 at 08:46 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
While I think the blame on the shutdown lies solely upon Trump, I don't think anybody in the government came out looking good from all of this. And if they really want fuel for the fire of negative emotion, they'll let the government shut down again on Feb 15. At that point I don't think the public will care about any 'principle' either side is claiming to stand on.
You all know how much I dislike Trump. You also know that I think the “Russia collusion” attack on him will, if it turns out to be unfounded, the most cynical, highly-organized political stunt in American history. Here are some hints about where it’s going.
As The Russia Hoax Begins To Unravel, The Gaslighting Begins
http://thefederalist.com/2019/02/14/...ghting-begins/
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Good grief. Did this really happen? I don’t know what to think anymore about any of this stuff.
Eight days in May: New revelations about intrigue to remove Trump
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/o...resident-trump
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Well, any question that may have arisen in the mind of any member of Trump's core regarding his declaration of a state of emergency will be wiped out as Trump hits the Twitter trail today excoriating the NFL for settling with Colin Kaepernic yesterday. He couldn't have timed his announcement better.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I think there are many Republicans who will not like David Brooks' latest NYT editorial.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/o...gtype=Homepage.
Hey, I posted this last week! Brooks writes it better, of course.
Do they think that having anesthetized their moral sense in this case they will simply turn it on again down the road? Having turned off their soul at work, do they think they will be able to turn it on again when they go home to the spouse and kids?
Interesting new poll. Lots of information here, and this bit caught my eye:
“And regarding socialism, just 18 percent of all Americans say they view the term positively, versus 50 percent who see it in a negative light.”
NBC News/WSJ poll: 2020 race will be uphill for Trump, but he has strong party loyalty
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/mee...-trump-n978331
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
There have been times where David Brooks provided a reasoned view of conservative thinking that made me re-think by own biases. His take on Cohen's testimony was an interesting angle.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/o...testimony.html
When Bill Clinton's misdeeds were revealed, I was repulsed. It soured my enthusiasm for him. But it was essentially one (sizable) moral defect, his presidency was winding down, and he'd otherwise done a decent job as president. Reports that Hillary slapped in the face were believable, and if true, it was just.This is how moral corrosion happens. Supporting Trump requires daily acts of moral distancing, a process that means that after a few months you are tolerant of any corruption. You are morally numb to everything. You end up where Representative Jim Jordan blandly ended up Wednesday, in referring to the hush-money scheme: “I think it’s news we knew about.”
With Trump the catalog of defects and morally reprehensible behavior is far more expansive, to overwhelm the senses. "Supporting Trump requires daily acts of moral distancing, a process that means that after a few months you are tolerant of any corruption. You are morally numb to everything."
Most of the good people I know who support Trump don't really follow the news, objectively. They can't. He assaults their morals in a wholesale manner. If one of their children started acting like Trump, they would be aghast, because they've been unable to teach the moral principles they espouse while rationalizing their support of the president. Their morality is getting dusty, sitting on the shelf.
Last edited by Ma'ake; 03-03-2019 at 10:13 AM.
Newest Democratic presidential candidate, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, asserts "Reasonable Republicans admit concerns about Trump after 2 beers". https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/0...ld-trump-beer/
It's an amusing, but insightful quip, lightly broaches the topic of defensive partisanship clouding patriotism... and it also indirectly explains why Nixon still was over 50% in approval in Utah, *after* he resigned and was far lower nationally, among Republicans. (Just ribbing LA and others. My sense of why Nixon was so revered in Utah after leaving office is because most Utah Republicans are too busy to really pay attention to what's going on.)
I don't know much about Hickenlooper, but Colorado is definitely a swing state, so he knows how to interact with Republicans, and with he & Jay Inslee of Washington in the mix, it balances out the field with a couple of white males. (Granted, this doesn't mean much on the surface, but to the extent they can bring a perspective and a voice that speaks to the alienation of many Democrats who voted for Trump, this may steer the dialog in a good direction.)
Just for the record, I do object to the silly idea that if any Republican doesn't want Trump out of office immediately and isn't OK with replacing him with any progressive or liberal, such a Republican has sold his soul, given up his integrity, is complicit in evil, or other such nonsense.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Kristof is one liberal columnist I respect and pay attention to.
We Will Survive. Probably.
American democracy is too resilient for Trump to destroy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/o...hen-trump.html
I did take issue with parts of this paragraph:
I think the FBI, the Justice Dept. to a lesser extent, and the news media all have a lot to answer for in the Trump era. They’ve all behaved disgracefully in too many occasions.One of the most troubling elements of Trump’s presidency has been his systematic assault on our institutions: the F.B.I., the Justice Department, the intelligence community, the news media, the courts. Yet for the most part, they have stood up to his bullying.
Last edited by LA Ute; 03-10-2019 at 03:30 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I said I liked Kristof’s column. If you think Trump is actually trying to destroy our democracy, you need to produce some evidence. Like a Kristof, I think it is highly doubtful that he can pull that off. Of course I would care if he were trying to do destroy democracy, but I have never seen any evidence that he actually thinks that way. He is coarse, a bully, ego-driven, vain, thin-skinned, impulsive, often a fool, and all the rest. But the leap from being a guy with that set of character deficits to being a dangerous power-hungry megalomaniac is a huge one. I’m not sure he even wanted to be president or has ever thought or cared about politics, beyond everyday issues that interest him at a superficial level, usually regarding trade and business.
I don’t mind AOC and her ilk as long as they don’t gain real power. I suspect you feel the same way. Unrestrained and in power, either the far right or the far left in this country would be pretty scary.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell