Regrets – The Donald Failed The Test

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Mr. Trump once boasted that he could shoot someone in the street and not lose voters.  Well, someone was just killed in the street by a white supremacist in Charlottesville.  His refusal this weekend to specifically and immediately denounce the groups responsible for this intolerable violence was both morally disgusting and monumentally stupid.  In this, Mr. Trump failed perhaps the easiest imaginable test of presidential leadership.  Rather than advance a vision of national unity that he claims to represent, his indefensible equivocation can only inflame the most vicious forces of division within our country.
If Mr. Trump had been speaking about the overall political climate, he might have been right to say that “many sides” are responsible for exacerbating social tensions.  Yet during the events in Charlottesville this past weekend, only one side — a deranged white nationalist — was responsible for killing anyone.  To equivocate about this fact is the height of irresponsibility.  Even those concerned about the overzealous enforcement of political correctness can hardly think that apologizing for neo-Nazis is a sensible alternative.
Those of us who supported Mr. Trump were never so naïve as to expect that he would transform himself into a model of presidential decorum upon taking office.  But our calculation was that a few cringe-inducing tweets were an acceptable trade-off for a successful governing agenda.
Yet after more than 200 days in office, Mr. Trump’s behavior grows only more reprehensible.  Meanwhile, his administration has no significant legislative accomplishments — and no apparent plan to deliver any.
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Far from making the transformative “deals” he promised voters, his only talent appears to be creating grotesque media frenzies — just as all his critics said.
Those who found some admirable things in the hazy outlines of Mr. Trump’s campaign — a trade policy focused on national industrial development; a less quixotic foreign policy; less ideological approaches to infrastructure, health care and entitlements — will have to salvage that agenda from the wreckage of his presidency.  On that, I’m not ready to give up.
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—  Julius Krein
From his opinion piece / editorial:  “I Voted for Trump.  And I Sorely Regret It”  17 Aug. 2017
Appearing in: “The New York Times“
The original editorial is located at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/opinion/sunday/i-voted-for-trump-and-i-sorely-regret-it.html
[Okay, so we agree.  #DonTheCon is “monumentally stupid”.  And, yes, you made a mistake.  So what now?  What are you going to do about it?  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2016	Just Ask “The Donald”
2015	Did You Pass On It?
2014	Even When It Ain’t, It Is
2013	Still Happens
2012	Possessing Eternity
2011	I Thought We Were Talking About Afghanistan

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Adrift In The Oval Office

Ideals are the most powerful force known to man.  No nation’s greatness long survives the lowering of the greatness of its ideals.  And as with nations, so with individuals.  Low ideals and high station cannot long retain company.  We all must have ideals unless we are content to drift along aimlessly, ambitionless, ineffectually.  Ideals vitalize, ideals energize.
—  B. C. Forbes
[I would put my bet on Love being more powerful (individually), but Ideals would be close behind (collectively)… — KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2016	Just Ask “The Donald”
2015	Did You Pass On It?
2014	Even When It Ain’t, It Is
2013	Still Happens
2012	Possessing Eternity
2011	I Thought We Were Talking About Afghanistan

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Redemptive Power

Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, “Love your enemies.”  It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power.  And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals.  Just keep being friendly to that person.  Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long.  Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning.  They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them.  And by the power of your love they will break down under the load.  That’s love, you see.  It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love.  There’s something about love that builds up and is creative.  There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive.  So love your enemies.
―  Martin Luther King Jr.
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On This Day In:
2016	On Calls To Renew Waterboarding / Torture
2015	Still Struggling
2014	How To Become A Saint
2013	Not Much Change
	Our Biggest Fear
2012	Brain, n.
2011	Styles Of Leadership
2010	Face Front!

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Looking At #DumbDonald

If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
―  J.K. Rowling
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On This Day In:
2016	No Great Thing
2015	Happy Memory
	Of Two Minds
2014	Sums
2013	Memories & Binging
	Admiration Due
2012	Choices Matter
2011	Acceptance Is The Key
2010	Just A Permanent Crease…
	Bodily Functions

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Representative Government For The 99%

Exigencies create the necessary ability to meet and conquer them.
—  Wendell Phillips
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On This Day In:
2016	Trying To Ignite Ice
2015	Or Increasingly Unwilling To Pay For…
2014	Returning Time
2013	Gentle Invitation
2012	Pleading The Insanity Defense
2011	Graduations And Conservatives
	The Big Sin

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Never Give Up

… I had dinner with another English friend, now a banker, who had been a student at Harrow when its most famous alumnus, Winston Churchill, came back to the school to speak to the boys.  He was a great man, and everyone knew why.  He had carried the Western world through its worst crisis.
Now he looked out over the fresh-faced audience and said, “Never give up.  Never give up.  Never, never, never give up.”  It brought the house to its feet.
What Churchill was saying was this: You can act cleverly, selfishly or prudently in any situation, but what finally matters is character, desire and faith.  Victory never comes easy.
—  Barnaby Conrad III
From the article: “Have the Yanks Given Up?“
Published in “This World“, 18 May 1986
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On This Day In:
2016	Which Generation Are We?
	Congratulations, Kyle!
2015	Centered
2014	Economic Trinity
2013	At Both Ends
2012	Holding Allowance
2011	The Power Of Good

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Beast / General / Civil

Today I have reviews for two movies I’ve just watched (initial viewings) over the weekend and a third which is a re-watch.
Beauty And The Beast (2014) — movie review (La Belle et la Bête)
No, this is not the Disney remake which came out earlier this year of the now classic Disney animated film (from 1991).  I’ve not seen that version yet, but I hope to when it comes out on DVD.  This is the 2014 Belgium / French / German version (a romantic / fantasy) of the fairy tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.  The film stars Vincent Cassel as the Beast / Prince and Léa Seydoux as Belle.  I must admit to never having read the original fairy tale, so I can’t speak to how closely it follows the original.  With three young children growing up in the 1990’s, I have, of course seen the Disney animated musical multiple times.
This version is live action with special effects.  The “live action” is strangely European.  I’m not sure (quite) how to put my finger on it, but it is unmistakably NOT and American film.  That is not good or bad.  It just is.  The special effects were okay, but reminded me of the “Jack and the Beanstalk” movie from 2013.  (I believe that movie was titled: “Jack the Giant Slayer“.)  In other words: adequate, obviously computer generated, but okay.  The problems I had with the movie came down to this: worse than the predictability, too many parts made no sense or were never explained.  They just kind of happened.  This detracted from the overall theme of the movie: that true love is magical and can be redeeming in itself.
Having said this, I found the movie pleasantly enjoyable.  Not great, but enjoyable.  It’s not terribly frightening and can be viewed by the whole family – well, maybe not very small children.  I give it a moderate to strong recommendation.
War Machine (2017)  —  movie review
Brad Pitt stars as General Glen McMahon, a character based on General Stanley McChrystal.  McMahon is portrayed as an accomplished general with degrees from West Point and Yale brought in by the Obama Administration to bring a resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan because he is an “expert” on counter-insurgency.  Pitt’s portrayal is one of a focused, disciplined, but rather buffoonish military leader who “seems” to be caught in a situation he can’t lead his troops out of.  In a terrific casting, Ben Kingsley plays President Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan.  “Caught” in a similar situation (one of figurehead leadership), Karzai only seeks to go with the flow and enjoy the ride.
Are the portrayals of the fictionalized characters accurate to the real people?  I can’t say because I have never met them and have not read enough about them to form a solid opinion.  Do they “appear” to be realistic portrayals?  Yes, they do.  So, is the movie a satire and / or a dark comedy or is it a realistic depiction of what happened?  My gut feeling is this movie is FAR more realistic than we want to believe.  Absent the horror of combat (injuries and death) and collateral civilian casualties, when viewed externally, most of war can easily appear as satire and dark comedy.
So, is this a good movie?  Yes!  You (or I) may not like what it says about our politics or our wars, but I believe it is an accurate window into the crisis situation we place our combat troops in when we send them into (and leave them in) places where / when they cannot engage and destroy the enemy because they can’t tell the enemies from the friendlies.  Collateral damage becomes almost a certainty.
I highly recommend this movie!  If all you see is the dark comedy or the even darker portrayal of our military and civilian leadership, that’s fine.  If it is, re-watch the film and ask yourself: “What if it’s true and this is what it was (is) really like in Afghanistan?”  What does it mean to you?
Captain America:  Civil War  (2016)  —  movie review
I have reviewed this movie before (here) and watched it a couple of more times since.  Every time I watch it I see something a little different(ly) and I enjoy it even more.  Now don’t get me wrong, this is not great drama and the physical effects of the combat scenes are completely ridiculous, but it’s a comic book movie and if it’s not “JUST” the way you would imagine it from the comics, it’s pretty darn close.
I highly recommend this movie (again).  I would add one side comment.  I watched this movie on TV with commercial breaks and found it MUCH less enjoyable.  Some movies can stand the interruptions, some can’t.  I found this to be one that did not hold up well with the frequent breaks.  Again, just my opinion.  So, watch it on a movie channel or get the DVD.
Apologies for such a long post.  Thanks for hanging in there with me (and finishing it).
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On This Day In:
2016	Patronage
2015	For Blogs, Too!
2014	Righteous Anger
2013	An Irish Blessing
2012	But Is It Worth It?
2011	Let Us Start

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