Trump’s Travel Ban
The View from the Middle
I was just watching The Five on Fox News and heard one of the great comments yet on the media’s reaction to Trump’s travel ban. Dana Perino compared the coverage of the Trump travel ban to the coverage of hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Her point was that the coverage was devastating and that the pictures of protesters and weeping passengers were so very compelling. The entire group just nodded their heads in agreement. But they all missed the point. Unfortunately, even Dana missed the real perspective she was bringing to this story.
In the Trump ban, 115 or so people were inconvenienced. I’m not suggesting that I don’t feel for those people. I’ve been stranded in airports, and I was not being questioned as a potential terrorist. I’m sure it was not fun. I was, however in Israel once and was vetted pretty aggressively. I made no complaints.
So, 115 people inconvenienced. Let me give you some of the statistics of the fallout from Katrina.
-1,833 deaths
-One Million people displaced
-108 Billion dollars in property damages
I could go on with the statistics, but please get the point. The media covered a minor inconvenience for 115 people, who, as of today, have been released and are on their merry way in America (oops, 2 people were sent back) with the same passion, volume and criticism as they did Katrina. Enough said. Just think about that.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
The Trump Inaugural - One for the Ages?
Trump’s Inaugural – One for the Ages?
The View from the Middle
The measure of every inaugural address rests in a combination of the words articulated but also the delivery of their messages. I can still remember seeing John Kennedy’s breath in that cold morning in 1961 as he implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. I can also recall the great communicator, Ronald Reagan, as he suggested that “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government IS the problem…”
While Donald Trump adequately delivered his speech today, I don’t think he delivered it with the same affect of Kennedy or Reagan. To insure, however, that I captured the essence of his speech, I printed the transcript and read his words, which I think may elevate this speech to a more memorable level.
Personally, I was looking for a message of unity, and I was disturbed when some commentators insinuated that he didn’t deliver it. After reviewing the transcript, I found at least nine accounts on unity. In fact, I concluded that unity was the major theme. So, what else had the talking heads missed?
President Trump had some great one-liners, all under the theme of unity. The first one that stuck out to me was short but inclusive and positive as he said that, “We (all) share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny.” We are all together in this struggle called life, and while we have different approaches to resolving issues, we must remember that we share the same goals. We all want smart kids, less violent crime and less poverty and misery. It is these goals the bind us together.
He next opened the door to healthy debate as he said that, “We must speak out minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.” This is an open door to Democrats and event the “never Trump” Republicans to have a dialogue in pursuit of progress and solutions. We all must admit that Donald Trump has already demonstrated this ability as we have watched his cabinet nominees differ from his positions with his encouragement. We have also watched the eclectic collection of people he has met at Trump Tower including Kanye West, Al Gore, Steve Harvey, Andrew Cuomo and Martin Luther King III.
And possibly my favorite line of the speech was, “whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their hearts with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.” Is there a race or gender or faith that wishes for poverty and government dependency? No! We are all born with the same aspirations for success and righteousness and freedom to pursue our own beliefs and goals. And who didn’t like the line that stated, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.”
Even his condemnations were non-partisan, and unbiased. He criticized Democrats and Republicans and the mainstream media alike as he said, “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while ‘the people’ have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians (Democrat and Republican) prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.”
At a time when 81% of Americans don’t trust our government, this is not only the prevailing sentiment of the citizenry, but this statement actually captures the truth. And, THIS is what Americans are sick of and what swept Donald Trump into the White House.
He started slow and a little dark, but ended strong and aspirational with the vision of those two kids in urban Detroit and the wind-swept plains of Nebraska. Some have called this the “Forgotten Man” speech, although those words were only used once in the speech. I will call this the “Unity” speech because of its dominant theme.
If you have not read this speech, I would encourage you to do so with an open mind. The words may go down in history as the right message for the right time for the American people.
The View from the Middle
The measure of every inaugural address rests in a combination of the words articulated but also the delivery of their messages. I can still remember seeing John Kennedy’s breath in that cold morning in 1961 as he implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. I can also recall the great communicator, Ronald Reagan, as he suggested that “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government IS the problem…”
While Donald Trump adequately delivered his speech today, I don’t think he delivered it with the same affect of Kennedy or Reagan. To insure, however, that I captured the essence of his speech, I printed the transcript and read his words, which I think may elevate this speech to a more memorable level.
Personally, I was looking for a message of unity, and I was disturbed when some commentators insinuated that he didn’t deliver it. After reviewing the transcript, I found at least nine accounts on unity. In fact, I concluded that unity was the major theme. So, what else had the talking heads missed?
President Trump had some great one-liners, all under the theme of unity. The first one that stuck out to me was short but inclusive and positive as he said that, “We (all) share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny.” We are all together in this struggle called life, and while we have different approaches to resolving issues, we must remember that we share the same goals. We all want smart kids, less violent crime and less poverty and misery. It is these goals the bind us together.
He next opened the door to healthy debate as he said that, “We must speak out minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.” This is an open door to Democrats and event the “never Trump” Republicans to have a dialogue in pursuit of progress and solutions. We all must admit that Donald Trump has already demonstrated this ability as we have watched his cabinet nominees differ from his positions with his encouragement. We have also watched the eclectic collection of people he has met at Trump Tower including Kanye West, Al Gore, Steve Harvey, Andrew Cuomo and Martin Luther King III.
And possibly my favorite line of the speech was, “whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their hearts with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.” Is there a race or gender or faith that wishes for poverty and government dependency? No! We are all born with the same aspirations for success and righteousness and freedom to pursue our own beliefs and goals. And who didn’t like the line that stated, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.”
Even his condemnations were non-partisan, and unbiased. He criticized Democrats and Republicans and the mainstream media alike as he said, “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while ‘the people’ have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians (Democrat and Republican) prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.”
At a time when 81% of Americans don’t trust our government, this is not only the prevailing sentiment of the citizenry, but this statement actually captures the truth. And, THIS is what Americans are sick of and what swept Donald Trump into the White House.
He started slow and a little dark, but ended strong and aspirational with the vision of those two kids in urban Detroit and the wind-swept plains of Nebraska. Some have called this the “Forgotten Man” speech, although those words were only used once in the speech. I will call this the “Unity” speech because of its dominant theme.
If you have not read this speech, I would encourage you to do so with an open mind. The words may go down in history as the right message for the right time for the American people.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Obama's Farewell Address
Obama’s Farewell
The View from the Middle
If you have read my articles, you must know that I am a small government guy. I totally agree with Carly Fiorina’s assessment that our government is too large, too expensive, too corrupt, too inept, too wasteful and it is stifling the aspirations of our citizens. And since most Americans agree with most if not all of that appraisal, why would we want to make government bigger?
Yet, Barack Obama is a big government guy. If we have a problem, government is the solution. Have a problem with healthcare? Let’s put it under government control. Our kids’ math and science scores continue to fall behind other developed countries? Let’s throw gobs of money at our failing public school system. I don’t hate Barack Obama, but I do fundamentally disagree with most of his policies.
But when he says something good, I will be glad to report it and support it. With that in mind, I must confess that I actually agree with almost everything he said in his farewell address, and I hope ALL Americans were listening and willing to implement his suggestions. Let me layout a few of the themes I identified.
I thought his major overall message was one of unity, which I have written about often. He said, “We have to start with the premise that every American loves this country as much as we do.” Absolutely! He suggested that we must embrace new American citizens and allow them to participate in the promise of freedom that brought them here. But he also added that THEY must accept the American creed and assimilate into our society. I certainly can support both sides of that challenge.
He laid out a theme of civility, which I believe is sorely needed in our country today. He said, “ we must reject the bitter rancor in politics today”, and I do. Whether it is the grade school insults like “crooked Hillary”, or “lyin’ Ted” or the multi-syllabic, pseud-intellectual epithets like misogynist, or xenophobe or homophobe or bigot, he was denouncing them all. While the crowd cheered wildly at that comment, I hope they understand that there have been mountains of offenses from both sides of the political equation in this area.
He even proposed that Democrats and Republicans should listen and pay attention to “the middle-age white guy”. This was particularly gratifying to me for a couple of reasons. First, I am one of those guys, maybe at the high end of “middle-age”, but I’m in there. Secondly, it seems that it is still politically correct to denigrate, malign and even discriminate against that group. Now, he may have done this for political expediency, since this is the group that kept Hillary out of the White House, but it’s still nice to have the President stand up for me and my peeps.
Finally, he stated that we must have a peaceful transition of power from his administration to the new Trump administration. He also gave credit to George W. Bush for the handoff he gave to him. I am proud of George Bush for his transition, and I would hope that every President would see the benefit of such coordination. It is clear, however, that his fellow Democrats do NOT agree with the President on this subject as they try their best to distract, obstruct and delegitimize our next President. There is still time, however, and I hope Democrats, the media and even some “never Trump” Republicans will see the wisdom of President Obama’s words and stand down.
In my opinion, this farewell address rivaled his famous “there is no Black America and White America” speech of 2004. It was well constructed and well delivered (there was a bit of an echo problem, but you can’t blame Obama for that). But it was just words. Even according to President Obama, he did not deliver the unity that famous speech vowed.
Over the next few months and years, we, the American people, should continue to remind Mr. Obama and his supporters of the words he spoke in this farewell address. We need to hold them accountable and point out when they are being hypocritical of these promises. If they actually deliver on this pledge of unity and civility, I will be surprised, but pleased.
The View from the Middle
If you have read my articles, you must know that I am a small government guy. I totally agree with Carly Fiorina’s assessment that our government is too large, too expensive, too corrupt, too inept, too wasteful and it is stifling the aspirations of our citizens. And since most Americans agree with most if not all of that appraisal, why would we want to make government bigger?
Yet, Barack Obama is a big government guy. If we have a problem, government is the solution. Have a problem with healthcare? Let’s put it under government control. Our kids’ math and science scores continue to fall behind other developed countries? Let’s throw gobs of money at our failing public school system. I don’t hate Barack Obama, but I do fundamentally disagree with most of his policies.
But when he says something good, I will be glad to report it and support it. With that in mind, I must confess that I actually agree with almost everything he said in his farewell address, and I hope ALL Americans were listening and willing to implement his suggestions. Let me layout a few of the themes I identified.
I thought his major overall message was one of unity, which I have written about often. He said, “We have to start with the premise that every American loves this country as much as we do.” Absolutely! He suggested that we must embrace new American citizens and allow them to participate in the promise of freedom that brought them here. But he also added that THEY must accept the American creed and assimilate into our society. I certainly can support both sides of that challenge.
He laid out a theme of civility, which I believe is sorely needed in our country today. He said, “ we must reject the bitter rancor in politics today”, and I do. Whether it is the grade school insults like “crooked Hillary”, or “lyin’ Ted” or the multi-syllabic, pseud-intellectual epithets like misogynist, or xenophobe or homophobe or bigot, he was denouncing them all. While the crowd cheered wildly at that comment, I hope they understand that there have been mountains of offenses from both sides of the political equation in this area.
He even proposed that Democrats and Republicans should listen and pay attention to “the middle-age white guy”. This was particularly gratifying to me for a couple of reasons. First, I am one of those guys, maybe at the high end of “middle-age”, but I’m in there. Secondly, it seems that it is still politically correct to denigrate, malign and even discriminate against that group. Now, he may have done this for political expediency, since this is the group that kept Hillary out of the White House, but it’s still nice to have the President stand up for me and my peeps.
Finally, he stated that we must have a peaceful transition of power from his administration to the new Trump administration. He also gave credit to George W. Bush for the handoff he gave to him. I am proud of George Bush for his transition, and I would hope that every President would see the benefit of such coordination. It is clear, however, that his fellow Democrats do NOT agree with the President on this subject as they try their best to distract, obstruct and delegitimize our next President. There is still time, however, and I hope Democrats, the media and even some “never Trump” Republicans will see the wisdom of President Obama’s words and stand down.
In my opinion, this farewell address rivaled his famous “there is no Black America and White America” speech of 2004. It was well constructed and well delivered (there was a bit of an echo problem, but you can’t blame Obama for that). But it was just words. Even according to President Obama, he did not deliver the unity that famous speech vowed.
Over the next few months and years, we, the American people, should continue to remind Mr. Obama and his supporters of the words he spoke in this farewell address. We need to hold them accountable and point out when they are being hypocritical of these promises. If they actually deliver on this pledge of unity and civility, I will be surprised, but pleased.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Putin's Big Mistake
Putin’s Big Mistake
The View from the Middle
While we are never going to find an e-mail signed by Vladimir Putin authorizing the hacking of the DNC, let’s assume that the Russians did it. Is anyone out there shocked? Is it totally unreasonable to suggest that Putin might even have authorized such a hacking? The answer to both of these questions is, “No”. But the more important questions are, what was the impact of this hacking and what was the intent.
Did the slow-drip release of these e-mails impact the outcome of the election? I would say, no. Hillary was a flawed candidate who had e-mail problems of her own making. She also made some strategically poor decisions trying to win states like Texas and Arizona while ignoring her “assumed” blue wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
And it’s not like Donald Trump had smooth sailing throughout the general election. First there was the daily onslaught by the mainstream media. Then there was the devastating Billy Bush video and finally there was Hillary’s suggestion that the hacked e-mails were tantamount to an endorsement of Trump by Putin. Many would argue that the people most hurt by the hacking of the DNC were Debbie Wasserman Schultz, John Podesta, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in that order.
All of this mud slinging in the final days of the campaign just served to strengthen the resolve of each base, and at best confuse the middle. Let’s face it, everyone (Hillary, Obama, the mainstream media, Putin, and yes even I) expected Hillary Clinton to win the Presidency on November 8th. President Obama even performed a “mic dropping moment” in late October suggesting that Trump would never be President. He obviously thought the election was in the bag. They all believed that the e-mails were not having an impact and were literally planning fire works for election night.
That brings us to the $64,000 question. What was Putin’s intent? Now that the intelligence community has released their final report, it is being suggested that it was not Putin’s intent to change the outcome of the election. Even Vladimir Putin believed that Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President of The United States. His intent, they surmise, was to weaken our next President and our country and thus improve his position in the world. BTW – I suggested this in my 12/17 blog entitled “Of Electors and Putin”.
After a few minutes of celebration in Moscow, Putin must have experienced an “Oops” moment. He had devoted significant resources and took a tremendous risk to collect dirt on our next President, and now Hillary was out. The President of the United States was going to be Donald Trump who favors a strong military, energy independence for the US and improved nuclear capabilities, among other things that are all bad for Russia. Damn!
Could this be why Putin has been so magnanimous in his response to Obama’s sanctions? Let’s just hope that Trump can see Putin for who he is, a ruthless killer and no friend to the US. If he can play Putin like he played Hillary and the US press, this could be a very good thing for America in next four years
The View from the Middle
While we are never going to find an e-mail signed by Vladimir Putin authorizing the hacking of the DNC, let’s assume that the Russians did it. Is anyone out there shocked? Is it totally unreasonable to suggest that Putin might even have authorized such a hacking? The answer to both of these questions is, “No”. But the more important questions are, what was the impact of this hacking and what was the intent.
Did the slow-drip release of these e-mails impact the outcome of the election? I would say, no. Hillary was a flawed candidate who had e-mail problems of her own making. She also made some strategically poor decisions trying to win states like Texas and Arizona while ignoring her “assumed” blue wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
And it’s not like Donald Trump had smooth sailing throughout the general election. First there was the daily onslaught by the mainstream media. Then there was the devastating Billy Bush video and finally there was Hillary’s suggestion that the hacked e-mails were tantamount to an endorsement of Trump by Putin. Many would argue that the people most hurt by the hacking of the DNC were Debbie Wasserman Schultz, John Podesta, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in that order.
All of this mud slinging in the final days of the campaign just served to strengthen the resolve of each base, and at best confuse the middle. Let’s face it, everyone (Hillary, Obama, the mainstream media, Putin, and yes even I) expected Hillary Clinton to win the Presidency on November 8th. President Obama even performed a “mic dropping moment” in late October suggesting that Trump would never be President. He obviously thought the election was in the bag. They all believed that the e-mails were not having an impact and were literally planning fire works for election night.
That brings us to the $64,000 question. What was Putin’s intent? Now that the intelligence community has released their final report, it is being suggested that it was not Putin’s intent to change the outcome of the election. Even Vladimir Putin believed that Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President of The United States. His intent, they surmise, was to weaken our next President and our country and thus improve his position in the world. BTW – I suggested this in my 12/17 blog entitled “Of Electors and Putin”.
After a few minutes of celebration in Moscow, Putin must have experienced an “Oops” moment. He had devoted significant resources and took a tremendous risk to collect dirt on our next President, and now Hillary was out. The President of the United States was going to be Donald Trump who favors a strong military, energy independence for the US and improved nuclear capabilities, among other things that are all bad for Russia. Damn!
Could this be why Putin has been so magnanimous in his response to Obama’s sanctions? Let’s just hope that Trump can see Putin for who he is, a ruthless killer and no friend to the US. If he can play Putin like he played Hillary and the US press, this could be a very good thing for America in next four years
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)