Author: BC

Last year geneticists discovered that most people have 1-4% Neanderthal DNA. Turns out that at least two distinct hominid species, Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals, dwelt in European forests together and interbred.

But of course you remember this story, it dominated news cycles due to the enormity of the findings and their compelling implications, right? C’mon! You remember, right?

Not so much.

Why so little fanfare? This is among the most fascinating scientific discoveries of our lifetime, with implications from cellular biology to anthropology. It’s astonishing to discover that we Homo Sapiens interbred with another completely different hominid species.

It also adds a new element to an age old drama, the child who falls in love outside of the tribe; “Guess Who’s Come Coming to Dinner” or “Romeo and Juliet” Paleolithic style.

Coming to a theatre near you:
“Forbidden Love: The Passion of Grall and Gogg.”

“Grall, you cannot marry that Neanderthal boy. I forbid it! Can’t you see that he’s not good enough for you? Sure, you love him now but what will the Sapiens say?! Think of your children -1/2 Sapien, ½ Neanderthal? – what kind of future will they have? And honey I’m sorry, but Gogg? Really? That protruding occipital ridge…I don’t know how you can even look at him, let alone…you know…”

“Father, I love Gogg. If you can’t accept that, we will run off to the Homo Habilus, where we’ll be accepted for who we are.”

So why hasn’t this Neanderthal/Sapien comingling enrapt us? Turns out white people have the most Neanderthal DNA and the only people without a trace of Neanderthal DNA are of African descent. That’s right. African’s represent “Sapien purity” while Europeans aren’t even all “human.” Yet another jagged little pill of irony for the Eurocentric mind to swallow.

So what happened? It appears that those Sapiens who left their Mother Africa for the “new world” of Europe encountered Neanderthals and made babies; then, somehow the Neanderthals died out (which begs the question: Is the Neanderthal story the first, and perhaps most profound genocide in all of hominid history?) Whatever the answer to that one, we know that despite their disappearance for roughly 30,000 years, Neanderthals are still 1-4% of us white people!

Let’s try this thought experiment: Imagine the findings were reversed and black people had 1-4% Neanderthal DNA, while white people were “Sapien pure.” Wouldn’t the story dominate cable news every night for a while? Might we see panel discussions between right wing pundits blowing the “blacks have Neanderthal DNA and we don’t? Makes sense to me…” dog whistles, while white liberal and black pundits push back that 1-4% of Neanderthal DNA in black people is of no consequence? Would the “The Bell Curve 2.0” have exploded on the NY Times bestseller list? Would the “black Neanderthal DNA” issue have become yet another nasty right wing rallying cry? Maybe “BNDNA” could have seeped into the 2016 Presidential campaign?

Clinton: “Donald says the presence of Neanderthal DNA in black people proves their inferiority and wants to prohibit African immigration—shame on him!”

Trump: “No one cares more for the blacks than I do, believe me, but BNDNA is a real thing, and people are saying we need to look into it.”

Sadly, we know these scenarios aren’t too far fetched. As it turned out, the story made page 6 in the science and tech section. Apparently, confounding assumptions both sides of the media hold – the right wittingly, the left less so – regarding the evolutionary leg up Caucasian’s are supposed to enjoy doesn’t seem to cut it as lead story material, even on slow news days.

Europeans have traveled and inexorably disrupted all habitable continents for 6 centuries. This is our present day context and legacy. No doubt, this century and centuries to come will see shifting geopolitical and racial tides of power, as they always do and European disruption does not mean European supremacy on anything but a military level. But like it or not, this has been the era of impact, influence, and dominance of the European Continent by any and all means.

It’s a fundamental human drive to explain our own history in the best light possible. Among white people in the US, narratives that cleanse our skins of our sins, and convert those sins to virtues (eg. Columbus Day, Thanksgiving) are just normal expressions of human nature. Indeed, to the victor goes the privilege of writing one’s own history. These histories inevitably and inaccurately affirm not just the victor’s dominance, but their righteousness.

And so I conclude this thought experiment in this way: no matter our political leanings or our moral compass, we are driven by forces we don’t recognize to confirm that which we think we know (aka. confirmation bias). In the case of our poor cousins, the Neanderthals, the task starts with an entirely racist, or “Speciesist” proposal: that Neanderthal DNA is “less than” Sapien DNA. Who’s says Neanderthal DNA isn’t superior to Sapien DNA? We Sapiens say, that’s who, because we wrote our own “glorious” history, but that doesn’t make it so.

By extension, this trial helps explain racism, or any “ism,” as we move Heaven and Earth to validate our “betterness.” We only evolve as we recognize the limits of our perceptions and impulses to fill in the unknown with content that makes us feel good while batting away those inconvenient truths, like Neanderthal DNA. And if you don’t think so, just ask Darwin or Copernicus whose discoveries were not only inconvenient, but deemed heretical. Now? They’re accepted quite freely (well, Copernicus at least). Similarly, the flawed narrative of today’s racism will march on before dissolving in the ever shifting geopolitical tides, and the higher truth that my race isn’t better than yours emerges with Copernican acceptance, no matter my inherited urge to prove otherwise. JS

I have a friend named Daryl. We connected on Facebook. He is the younger cousin and brother of a couple of old high school friends of mine. Daryl served in the Air Force near 25 years ago, and is of course proud of his tenure, cherishing the relationships he made while based in locales that included South Korea. Not too many days pass that he doesn’t relay a story derived from his tour of duty, or mention his beloved, recently departed brother, Brian, who was also an airman. Daryl is deeply religious and a sharp dresser. Often, he will post a picture of himself with his wife in a stylish suit, adorned w a red, white and blue tie, or hankercheif. Yes, safe to say Daryl is not bashful with his patriotism. He also happens to be African-American.

Like most black community leaders, Daryl has been incensed by the steady stream of police brutality, as well as increasing episodal and organized racism. He lives in Georgia, which seems to have more than its share of bias, so he often posts about incidents. Reading his comments is hard because they express a patriot’s disappointment in his country. But it is perhaps the purest commentary one will find on the issue of whether two Americas exist because Daryl has no agenda, and imbibes no narrative. There is nothing gratuitous or political about his observations. He simply calls it like he sees it.

Fox/AM does disgusting things almost on the hour, but at the top of the pantheon of greatest hits is its attacks on Black Lives Matter and other groups responding to outrageous, often fully documented, police brutality against unarmed US citizens. The tide turned against the south on civil rights in the 60s when a nation watched grotesque cruelty and injustice on television. Now, 50 years later, something has changed. Not only do otherwise decent people seem desensitized to the same type of ugly images, but an entire multimedia platform spins what is right before us, while declaring those seeking redress to be extremists, even criminals. Walter Cronkite, where are you when we need you.

Daryl clearly respects the law and the uniform. He simply sees what the rest of us see and responds accordingly. He trusts his eyes and ears, and has no need for Laura Ingraham to explain how they tricked him. Of course, he is deeply offended that our POTUS seems to think bigots have valid points to make, but appears to do a remarkable job compartmentalizing his love for country from egregious examples of bigotry carried out under its banner. To my eyes, he doesn’t abide injustice, but keeps the faith.

The concept of white privilege comes up more frequently these days. It’s present in a wide range of forums, from academia, as an emerging field of study, to the Shit River, where it’s gaslighted as an egregious form of liberal psychosis. For me, it’s like Oliver Wendell Holmes’ definition of pornography… you know it when you see it. And its there in Daryl’s FB threads because white soldiers don’t have to consider the possibility that the country they served and love feels less about them because of their skin color and ancestry. It’s an emotional dilemma that will never cross their mind. Lucky them. BC

There’s a good argument to be made that Stalag 17, the Billy Wilder WWII POW classic, is the greatest US war movie ever. If you haven’t seen it you should, it is fantastic from start to finish. Detailing the day to day stress of life as American NonComs in a German POW camp, it delivers on multiple levels. William Holden won an Oscar for his portrayal of Septin, the cynical scrounger suspected of being a Nazi collaborator, but fully vindicated in the end after he uncovers who the rat really is.

I first saw this masterpiece with my father when I was no more than 10. It was one of his all time favorites, and I believe he actually suggested I watch it with him one snowy weekend afternoon, which was highly unusual. One particular scene enrapt me then and in reviewings ever since. A Lieutenant Dunbar was stopping over as the Krauts were taking him to an officers camp. Assuming no traitors were present, his friend tells the barracks Dunbar is responsible for blowing up a Nazi ammo train. When the rat clues in the camp’s commandant, a superb Otto Preminger, Dunbar is hauled in for interrogation, which consists of being kept awake and on his feet for hours on end. At one point a Red Cross representative – the “Geneva Man” – at the camp to assess whether it is abiding international law, interrupts the questioning and demands Dunbar be given quarter as a POW. The commandant coolly rejects him, explaining Dunbar is a spy and not entitled to lenience. Before the inspector leaves he warns that after the war those who violate human rights will be held to account, fully implying how nefarious Preminger is.

I remember how much the scene horrified me. As a big fan of warm covers and a good night’s rest, the idea of being denied sack time for hours on end was… well, torture. God knows how much sleep I would have lost if Wilder had depicted Dunbar being brutally waterboarded. Point is, I simply took it as a given, not worthy of a second thought, that my America would never do such an awful thing; that was what made Nazis, Nazis! Had anybody told me the US did it, too, I wouldn’t have believed them. There could hardly be a more basic differentiator between us and them than the treatment of Lt. Dunbar.

After 9/11 and into the Iraq War, Stalag 17 was vivid in my mind listening to Bill O’Reilly lustily defend US interrogation of Guantanamo inmates, who were given the same Dunbar treatment. “It’s just load music, for God’s sake,” O’Reilly bellowed when a guest suggested that refusing to allow men to sleep for days on end violated international law. Sean Hannity, not to be outdone in the tough guy patriot department, boasted he’d allow himself to be waterboarded for charity.
When the horrors of Abu Ghraib came to light, Fox/AM spun the scandal by shrugging that “things happen in war,” and besides, most of the inmates were surely guilty of worse.

That the Bush Administration, led by Darth Cheney, codified “enhanced interrogation” into US law, and actually promoted it in the field was, of course, despicable. That we now have a POTUS who has regularly vomited he’d do “a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding” is unthinkable. But the fact that we are about to confirm as CIA Director a real life supervisor of torture on the ground, and readily overlook that fact because, within the pool of this President’s applicants, she is the best we can hope for….by a lot – think Tom Cotton – clarifies more than a perilous lack of options. That we no longer even have the luxury to debate the ethical and moral records of appointees, conceding that baseline experience and competence is now to be coveted and secured wherever available, confirms our national identity has been lost. Now we stand for exactly what Trump and his wretched core are all about…nothing. Resist for your country! BC

Last January, as Trump stood on the Capitol steps and made clear responsible leadership was not his thing, I wondered what could be done to hasten his exit from office. Of course, I fully understood the paradox we faced; he was freely elected – at least until proven different – and our democracy depended on him being accorded the rights and privileges of the office. Yet and still, his 16 minute deliverance of our worst fears assured that it was not if but when he would live down to the incompetence, graft and generally wretched behavior that would fully disqualify him from such deference. His visit to the CIA the next day was the when, and we’ve been whenning ever since.

Congress has always been the key to checking a reckless executive because, while representing our ever changing inclinations, good and bad, they are presumably, if not exactly honorable enough, at least imbued with enough parochial diversity in both major parties to save us from ourselves.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Longworth Building, the GOP discovered its heterogeneity of local purpose had been consumed by uniform nihilist grievance. This wave of disdain had been growing steadily since Bill Clinton disturbed 12 years of White House dominance. It started against the usual suspects – minorities, gays, foreigners – but soon became an amorphous hatred of anything defined as destructive to an economic and societal order that was already long gone. This collective pathology actually saw government’s proper ambition as the realization of nostalgia, bringing back a time and place… a feel. And the hucksters who promoted this disorder, in between LifeLock and shares of gold – failed DJs, college dropouts, perennial fringe candidates, disgraced politicos – christened it “Reagan Conservatism.”

Of course the gap between fantasy and reality precluded most of this regressive hodgepodge from anything but lip service at the national level. But locally a cottage industry began to form and succeed, a grass roots movement of towns and then whole legislative districts electing opportunists on nothing more than their promise to get back that feeling, that sense of control. Flyover country was soon awash with pretend legislatures dedicated to turning back time, an entire political class of nihilist Walter Mittys.

Fox/AM was fully engaged defending George W throughout his tenure, particularly on all things nasty, i.e. torture, the Patriot Act, Iraq, Abu Ghraib, etc., but bristled when governance ran up against the Shit River. Anything bipartisan became RINO, and when the economy came unglued, a significant GOP number in both Houses were more concerned with optics back home than saving the world from ruin. Responsible governance had become bad politics.

The sick got sicker with the election of Obama, and the absolute preeminence of going back in time was established. Glen Beck held nightly “classes” on the evils of progress. Cass Sunstein, the otherwise obscure head of the White House Office of Reform and Regulatory Affairs, was vilified as an existential threat and agent of totalitarianism. Throughout the Obama years the GOP base absorbed two fundamental obsessions, Christians (read white nihilists) were under attack, and governance was synonymous with moving in the exact opposite direction of that Pleasantville promised land they now worshipped. The GOP leadership castrated itself in 2010 riding the Tea Party, the political branch of the Shit River, to control of both houses, and codified governance as betrayal for the rest of the Obama years.

So is it really any surprise that the loudest and most unhinged purveyor of regression as governance captured the GOP base’s heart? In Trump they got somebody viscerally committed to undoing progress, to canceling out history, to full retreat. Finally, it wouldn’t just be empty promises abandoned to the tyranny of real world concerns. Trump would deliver, come what may.

And so here we are. A POTUS fully committed to destroying American progress, with a wretched core of supporters, who will accept nothing less. The notion many had that the GOP had a line Trump couldn’t cross ignored a simple fact, right there two inches from our faces, that this is a party devoted, not to ideas, or the rule of law, or even the constitution… it is at its base a cult of followers preoccupied with going backward to recover their piece of mind, to find the safe space they remember as children. All of the pundits have it wrong. The GOP isn’t becoming Trump’s party, its base is simply now convinced he is the real deal, devoted to the war against time’s passing. That’s bad news for those of us interested in Earth as a going concern. BC

That we elected a man of abysmal character and zero sense of shame is, of course, an existential predicament for us as a nation. At 2:00pm today our problem again gets shared with the world. Trump never signed a contract he felt committed to abide by. Since becoming POTUS, he has foisted that ugly trait on numerous agreements signed by his predecessors. That his wretched core, and Republican toadies, seem to share a similar disdain for honorable national behavior should disqualify them from governance…more on that in November.

In addition to the US, the Iran Nuclear Deal has six signatories, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran. All have made clear their visceral opposition to the US undercutting the pact’s terms, and warned such actions could spark regional Mideast chaos. Moreover, it has been implied publicly, and surely conveyed to Trump privately, that this is a biggie, abrogating the deal will fully discredit the US as a partner, let alone leader, in any collective approach to the region. Moreover, the other signatories could simply ignore the US and refuse to impose new sanctions, which would fully isolate us. Virtually every past US government official of note, Republican and Democrat, has voiced similar concerns. Nobody believes Trump will heed them.

And what is driving the President to yet again isolate us from our allies and fully breach US diplomacy? Surely he has a grasp on the pact’s details and understands its strengths and weaknesses. He would never risk so much unless his exhaustive analysis led him to the conclusion he simply, in good conscience, had no choice. Right?

Opponents of the deal were always in two camps, those with genuine concerns about its ability to impact Iran’s nuclear program, and GOP/Fox AMers against everything Obama and disdainful of any diplomatic outreach to Iran. Real critics questioned verification and pointed out Iran could still develop ballistic missiles, which could then be armed fairly quickly if Iran decided to ramp back up its program. After all, it only runs to 2030. The zealots quickly linked the pact to Iranian support of Hezbollah and other groups on the terrorist list, declaring that anything less than full disavowal of its current foreign policy made the pact a sham.

A big part of the carrot Iran wanted from the deal was the unfreezing of assets dating back to the hostage crisis of 1978. This was no small figure, totaling billions of dollars of Iranian financial assets seized and held for near 40 years, most in overseas accounts. Also important to the Iranians was $400 million they had paid the US for military equipment that was never delivered after the Shah was deposed. With accrued interest the new figure was roughly $1.3 billion that the US agreed to make good on as part of the nuclear deal.

From the beginning of talks the shit river misrepresented this part of the equation, and focused on it as an outrageous cave to Iranian extortion, more than implying the assets were actually US tax payer money, billions of bucks Obama was ready to pay out of our pockets for a deal. The Hannitys and Limbaughs et al were full throated in their relentless parroting of this lie, creating imagery of bureaucrats carrying suitcases stuffed with US citizens’ hard earned cash to planes bound for Tehran, where the mullahs would get paid. Of course the wretched core ingested every word…as did our President.

Trump never gets much past that suitcase full of our money picture when shrilly denouncing the deal. At rallies it is always the same, complete with him pantomiming carrying them on the tarmac. Any poll of Foxland would clarify an overwhelming majority believe this falsehood. Sadly, it has been allowed to corrode the mainstream perception as well, a casualty of false equivalence.

Yet and still, a clear majority of Americans support the deal and do not wish to see it abandoned. But Trump has his campaign promise to keep and he’s never been one to let facts get in the way of his nihilist herd. As for US treaty obligations…that’s for suckers. Does Trump still believe Hannity’s fantasy? Who knows? But at 2:00pm in the Rose Garden he likely will rely on it to cast us further adrift from a world we are supposed to lead, and then probably make a beeline to his TV, anxious for Ernie Gutfeld’s thumbs up. Pray for your planet. BC

As tempting as it is to make a batch of popcorn and watch Giuliani and Trump compete to demonstrate who is most addled, the Daniels affair is simply a distraction. The main event is being foretold on the front page of the Washington Post today. It is at least the bump stock of a smoking gun that will prove Trump’s undoing and bring our civil discontent to a head.

The Post details how Trump, a man who literally created his brand around the reckless accumulation of debt, began all cash buying sprees starting in 2008 and running right up to when he announced as a presidential candidate. Suddenly, the guy who never chipped in more than chump change on collaborations that bore his name, was paying top dollar with millions in cash for 100% stakes in properties and golf resorts that showed no hint of profitability. In 2012 and 2014 Trump’s Organization spent over $80 million on projects that would require millions more, while taking full ownership.

Aside from the illogic of the metamorphosis, only reinforced by lame justifications put forth by Eric Trump and toadies – gibberish about the Donald’s emotional attachment to a Scotland resort because his mother was from there, and the epiphany of how full cash purchases provide the “freedom to jump on opportunities” – the real question is where all this disposable cash came from.

The cash purchases began in 2008, when the housing crisis made financing more difficult to obtain. Trump was already persona non grata in every North American financial institution due to a sordid history as a borrower, punctuated by bankruptcies, delinquencies, and a general pattern of outright refusal to live up to his obligations, so the changing macro landscape meant little. Only Deutche Bank in Europe would touch Trump, inexplicably they seemed unfazed by his deadbeat reputation. So he did have some leverage, which makes his sudden preference for paying in full a real head scratcher. But even if we ignore motive, the question of where the money came from seems very hard to answer.

Even in good times Trump revenue claims were met with skepticism. Fact is many of his business properties had a higher than normal vacancy rate, and, needless to say, real estate in general suffered badly during the Great Recession. Yet here is the Trump Organization with fresh millions to spend, and claiming the cash was simply the result of their successful business model. Really?

Of course, Trump goes to extraordinary lengths to keep his books private, but it’s not rocket science, simply analyze revenues versus costs and come up with a number. That’s what the Post is doing, and you can be certain Mueller’s team is way ahead of them. Following the money has always been the key. It is tedious and time consuming, but leads behind the wizard’s curtain. Like most all of the pieces in the collusion puzzle, meticulous uncovering, sorting and proper placement will eventually provide confirmation for anyone paying attention.

Trump has been a business failure from day one, but never let that stop him from living the lifestyle of a sultan, always on the dime of others. Things were eventually going to come unglued, not if but when. Surely the economic trauma of 2008 hit him hard, and his ability to borrow to buy time and pay bills was greatly diminished. Sketchy Deutche Bank connections led to sketchier still Russian oligarchs with Everest like piles of ill gotten gains to launder. Trump, and probably his equally inept and desperate son-in-law were ready to play; and even smart, capable crooks couldn’t bury that paper trail.

Long ago, in an 8500-word telegram from his East European State Department posting, George Kennan changed history by educating the White House on the brutal intrigue of the Kremlin. He made it clear how total their reach into Russian society was, and how nothing took place without their knowledge or promotion. Whoever Trump was working for, however deep and compromising his position was, we can be sure Moscow was well aware of every detail. At some point they figured out how they would exploit his countless vulnerabilities…and here we are.

Today’s Post article should be seen for what it surely is, the first real glimpse at the particulars that will constitute the ruin of Trump. How much chaos and damage he will bring on his way down is anybody’s guess, but things are moving apace, and he knows it. Paying off porn stars is small potatoes compared to treason. Watching Rudy get skewered by George Stephanopoulos might be painful, but it’s the best he’s going to get from now on in, and it won’t get that good again. Mueller is coming! BC

There are a couple of debilitating notions that go hand in hand with normalizing untenable developments in faltering democracies. History provides all the validation needed to confirm that, left unconfronted and allowed to metastasize, these premises prove ruinous and bear much responsibility for ushering in authoritarian regimes.

The first is equivalence. The idea that those opposed to and resisting anti-democratic forces are just as wanton and reckless as their opponents. This always relies on lies and distortions, which are propagated and given credence by a media component. Hannah Arendt, the brilliant historian and philosopher, who documented Europe’s abidence of Nazi Germany’s catastrophic agenda, observed that those who choose the “lesser evil” quickly forget they still chose evil. By relentlessly selling the proposition that both sides do it, the scope of outrage is narrowed, while the edges of normal are widened.

Every day since last January we see this at work. What was unimaginable behavior from a POTUS in 2016 is now no biggie. Yet, a multi-billion dollar multi-media operation continuously conflates what we have never witnessed or fathomed we would accept with Hillary Clinton’s use of a private computer server, or Obama’s statement that health care reform would still allow the same doctor. There is no distinction between either quantity or gravity of the behavior. Trump has publicly lied more than 3000 times since taking office, a breathtaking pace that any dictator would envy. Yet each time he is taken to task, the White House and his Fox/AM support apparatus cite the same several talking points their core take as gospel examples of comparable liberal dishonesty. Indeed, they say it so loud and often it leeches into the mainstream narrative. Many a time Chuck Todd has accepted such equivalence while supposedly grilling a Trump toadie about a fresh verifiable outrage. PBS’s Judy Woodruff seems hellbent on proving to Trumpies she is even handed. News Flash Judy! Devin Nunes and Adam Schiff are not equal.

Unchallenged, false equivalence will decimate the signposts which regulate our system and check criminal behavior. If we accept that, continuously lying about different Trump campaign figures’ encounters with Russian officials is no worse than Hillary Clinton using a private server, and then accept rehashing the very same proposition the next day when a sitting President threatens to fire an independent counsel investigating those connections, we strip away our ability to gauge events. That dilutes our appreciation of the harm overt corruption causes to the processes and institutions this republic relies on.

The other similarly destructive impulse is the visceral opposition to treating Trump and his wretched core as the crisis they are. The stability of our democratic process has afforded the luxury to compartmentalize politics from everyday life. Even during the upheaval of Vietnam, Civil Rights and Watergate we could be comfortable that the process was safe, the rule of law determinent. Johnson bowed out of the 68’ race, and even Nixon was not prepared to go to war with the US constitution. Trump provides no such comfort, and it’s anybody’s guess where he will lead the country to protect his position, no matter how precarious. Worse, most of the GOP seems prepared to abide him, come what may. Meanwhile, Fox/AM implores its viewer base to celebrate Trump’s worst behavior.

If this doesn’t constitute a crisis it’s hard to imagine what does. Yet there is a willful determination by many to neatly pack the drama into a “tribal politics” compartment and ignore its broader reach, actually ostracizing those who seem too distracted by it, and insisting that there be empathy for the nihilist tropes of “the other side”.

Of course life goes on, and we are fortunate enough that no emergency has yet occurred to impinge on daily routines. That said, so many seem determined to digest what they know is not normal, and insist it not at all alter their priorities, or penetrate relationships. The more unhinged Trump becomes, the more fierce this determination.

The overt chaos and corruption of this administration is only exceeded by the pathological narcissism and detachment of the President. This isn’t an opinion; it is an hourly fact. It’s not politics, it’s corruption. Trump plans to hold as many as three rallies per week, at which he will surely vomit all manner of seditious intent toward both means and ends of our democracy. Insisting he is simply a “side” in a political debate that should not be permitted to overshadow FB selfies and the girls’ night out, is abject denial.

Sixteen months into this Presidency we have accepted outrageous conduct that previously would have resulted in scandal too many times to count. And we willfully ignore a President who hourly threatens and attacks institutions he swore to protect. Presumably many assume the process will sort things out and we’ll move on. It will be compelling to see if their faith is rewarded, even as they appear fully reconciled to living with the alternative. BC

Latest numbers show 86% of GOP voters are satisfied with Trump as POTUS. More than four in five not only abide him, but actually support his performance. It’s hard to imagine a more depressing statistic, or a greater indictment on the GOP’s failure to offer either ideas or leadership. Trump has publicly lied more than 3000 times since January of last year, and more than 80 percent of Republicans don’t care, or more likely are so jaundicely cynical and ignorant they are quite sure Obama was just as bad. No, watching the same Fox clip of him saying you can keep your doctor 3000 times is not the same thing.

Trying to have a conversation with a Trump supporter is like having a dance partner unconcerned with stepping on your feet, and determined to blame you for it.
Nothing Trump does can be assessed on its own; it has to have the counterpoint of what Obama surely did or what Hillary would do if she had been elected, which she wasn’t because of all the things she would have done that would be equally as bad as what Trump is actually doing. You with me? Also, remember what Bill did, which was worse still. Trump at his worst can never be as bad as what Hillary would have been. He saved us from her and he deserves plenty of slack. Never forget the server!

The choice this polling foists on the GOP leadership is ruinous. There is no answer that permits survival. Of course what they should do is lead. Simply declare that his behavior and incompetence imperil GOP November prospects to such a degree he must be cut loose. Further, his corrupt wrecklessness can no longer be tolerated and disqualify him as the party leader. Make it clear that Trumpie candidates will receive no help from the RNC, and will be publicly denounced for the apostasy they practice. That’s option A.

Option B is what they are doing, what they have done since 2009, let’s call it the McConnell Doctrine. Act like Trump isn’t really the President, merely the guy who does embarrassing things that you wouldn’t condone if you weren’t so busy with the issues that really count. Warn everyone that near dead heat polling in districts where Trump and the incumbent won by 20 points spells disaster, but you’re just saying. Live in fear Trump may give you the Tester treatment, but make it clear you stand for something, uh, like tax cuts… and economic growth! Yes. Finally, have faith that this too shall pass!

The GOP leadership woke up one day to find they were no longer incorporating but had been incorporated. Populist impulses they jumped on to make Obama a one-termer became primary opponents beholden to and fully imbibed by Fox/AM. The synergy of Fox/AM and Tea Party nihilism made distinguishing the chicken and egg irrelevant. What now matters is that with us or against us has consumed the Party and delivered Trump. Nihilism is the victory of visceral disdain over creative thought. That’s where the GOP is now, and nobody should be surprised they have no answers for Trump, or even the will to try to find some. The GOP is dead man walking. Either it will splinter, with shit river nihilists and bigots going one way, and the rest going another. Or it’s wretched core will spread and America will be beguiled away from or forced to end its days as a Republic. Trump affords no half measures and will surely not be reasoned with. What was it Patsy Parisi said to Gloria Trillo? Oh yeah…it won’t be cinematic! BC

In January of 1950, still reeling from the communist victory in China, US Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a major policy speech at The National Press Club. In it he outlined vital US interests in Asia, a “defense perimeter” that included Japan, the Philippines and the Ryukyus. But it was what he left out of the address that was most significant. By not including South Korea, conventional history has it, Acheson sent the message that the nation was not worth blood and treasure to defend and was not a priority within the emerging containment structure which would define US Cold War policy.

Six months later North Korean troops and artillary were rolling effortlessly across the 38th parallel and Acheson was imploring Harry Truman to make the precise commitment he had greiviously omitted. The rest is history. More than 50,000 dead US troops and 65 years later the US still fully guarantees South Korean security as part of a “tripwire” force along the DMZ at the 38th parallel. There are more than 35,000 US Army personnel in South Korea and it is assumed many would parish in the initial stages of a North Korean assault; that’s the American guarantee.

Since the truce was put in place – the war never officially ended – North Korea, under three generations of Kim totalitarian regimes, has agitated to get the Americans off of the peninsula. This is more than a North Korean goal, it has also been a Chinese priority, and a Russian desire as well. The announcement of talks this week in Pyongyang between China and its client will probably be about just that, China reminding Kim that, despite enthusiasm for his new found moderation, China remains his only ally and will not be marginalized regardless what form negotiations with the US take. But at the end of the day both countries ultimately want the same thing…US forces off of the peninsula.

It doesn’t take a geopolitical genius to figure out they are playing Trump for a fool, probing to determine just how off the rails our diplomacy has gone. Adults like Mattis, and even back benchers like Bolton, understand any talks with the North must take place in line with our pledge that the South’s security concerns are paramount. It would be a sure sign that Kim is not really serious if he leads with a quid pro quo that US forces withdraw for denuclearization to proceed. That’s fundamental, like an opening 5 3 roll in backgammon…. except who’s to say Trump understands that, or cares? Nothing would surprise. Getting Bigly in a lather about a Nobel prize and a huge political win has trouble written all over it.

Trump has already made unhinged, fully uninformed noises wondering why we are still in South Korea. It should shock nobody if Kim, a winner from the outset just getting a US POTUS to the table, takes it right to Trump, threatening to end things before they start if withdrawal isn’t put on the agenda, which would immediately unnerve the South. Can anybody really count on L’Enfant Terrible, his hopes all up, his twitter feed laden with empty promises of success, to stand his ground and tell Kim it’s a non starter?

They call it a tripwire force because of its vulnerability. Should the North attack, Americans die, and the POTUS will have no choice because the electorate will demand we engage. Once there is no US personnel on the ground, our promises don’t mean a cup of coffee, particularly with a liar of poor character at the helm. South Korea knows this. That’s why it is a mystery they would be anything but gravely concerned at the prospect of this summit. Perhaps they still don’t appreciate what we did in November of 2016. They may be about to get an education. BC

Jack Germond was the pure newsman. First with the now defunct Washington Star and then with the Baltimore Sun, Germond teamed with Jules Whitcover to produce a daily column on beltway and national politics for almost 25 years. That he was old school in his diligence and method did not mean he was averse to change.

As news became more of a television medium he joined the McLaughlin Group, where he always seemed a bit out of place among a collection that included everything from reporters who favored punditry (Eleanor Clift and Fred Barnes) to wannabe politicians (Pat Buchanan) to self-promoters (Host John McLaughlin and Larry Kudlow). Later, after getting fed up with McLaughlin, he even moved on-line and produced content for the then newborn Daily Beast. Germond always cared about the story, not those reporting it. When he passed away at his home in 2013 at the age of 85, American journalism mourned one of its last print standard bearers, the consummate political reporter.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s Germond could often be found at Laurel Racetrack’s Sports Palace nursing a drink and studying the Racing Form. Being a regular myself, I chatted with him often about the day’s card or upcoming major races like the Derby or Preakness. He was as indiscript as one could be, and although I often fished for his insights about current events, he was far more generous with his views on the feature race than the White House. Yet and still, occasionally, if my question was particularly well thought out and timely, he would reward me with more than a cursory response. Jack Germond reported news the right way, hunting down leads, fleshing out and confirming sources, collecting as much information as possible and simply arranging it to create the story. In short, he was a great newspaper man, who I admired very much. And I am sure he hated the Washington Correspondent’s Dinner.

To Germond, socializing with those his job was to keep honest was a conflict of interest. What it has become, fully on display last night, would have surely seemed an abomination. A lavish Oscaresque gala, celebrating the media and fully consumed by corporate interests, not to mention polluted by politicians, lobbyists and even Hollywood, would have revolted Germond. Yes, I think it’s safe to say he would have despised everything about it….except Michelle Wolf.

Why am I certain Germond would have approved? Because of her honesty. The idea that a prom for the media, held in one of the world’s most cynical cities, underwritten by a collection of corporate entities as a function of their access to both the fourth estate and the government it is meant to keep in check, should have ground rules of propriety for edgy comics they enlist in an effort to demonstrate the media’s irreverence and aloofness is laughable.

With Trump actually spending nearly two hours on the same night proving why the travesty of his election underwrites the argument that the whole charade normalizes and enshrines graft as a norm of our Republic, whining about whose feelings got hurt during a monologue is particularly rich.

Huckabee and Conway want to have it both ways, tough shit; Wolf gave it to them her way. She did nothing different than anyone else at that tired, conflicted soirée – she attended to her agenda. She gave them what for, and now they want an apology? Say what you want about the Clintons, they had the balls, or is it the full lack of shame – whatever – to sit there and take it as a drunken Don Imus went on and on, getting nastier with each delivery.

Trump is too cowardly to take his medicine again after Seth Myers and Obama carved him up the last time he attended. Wolf was a hell of a lot funnier than Imus, and her knife was plenty sharp. Appropriate is not a word that has any application to her duties last night. She mixed her cocktail neat, and served it straight up. Boo hooing about stepping over lines and being nasty could only come from people who can still somehow look in the mirror and not be repulsed by the wretched hypocrite peering back. The only thing I regret about last night is that I haven’t binge watched A Hand Maiden’s Tale yet. BC