You Might Say That's OK. But I Don't Think It's OK

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) does not think it's OK for the president of the United States and his minions to behave the way they did and do, while his sycophantic allies in the Republican party generally, and on his own committee specifically, blindly follow that president no matter how egregious his actions or lies.

In an impassioned and fact-filled speech prior to a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff admonished his GOP colleagues after they issued a letter calling for Schiff to resign from his chairmanship based on Donald Trump’s contention that Schiff is a liar and should be forced out of office. Here is Schiff’s five-minute speech in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8gAYUupm2k

Schiff’s words will go down in history as the You Might Say That's OK. But I Don't Think It's OK response to the malfeasance, misbehavior, misconduct, misdoing (you pick the word) of Trump and his minions. 

For his part, Trump’s thoughtful response to Schiff’s words was, “Little pencil-neck Adam Schiff. He has the smallest, thinnest neck I’ve ever seen. He is not a long ball hitter but I saw him today. These are sick people and there has to be accountability because it is all lies and they know it’s lies.”

That, my friends, is the sitting PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Trump, Enemies List, Lies and Chutzpah

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

 I learned today that President Trump said that a Congressman who he claimed lied to the public should be “forced out of office.”

And, in a letter to TV news producers, Tim Murtagh, director of communications for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., listed several guests “who made outlandish, false claims” in their TV news appearances, “including, but not limited to: 

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal
• Rep. Adam Schiff
• Rep. Jerrold Nadler
• Rep. Eric Swalwell
• DNC Chairman Tom Perez
• Former CIA director John Brennan"

The letter went on to request that TV news shows “employ basic journalistic standards when booking such guests…by asking the basic question, ‘Does this guest warrant further appearances in our programming, given the outrageous and unsupported claims made in the past?’”

I guess the letter wasn't sent to Fox News.

To quote the late, great Jack Paar – “I kid you not.”

Trump, for his part, added fuel to the fire by calling House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff a "bad guy" who has been knowingly lying about him for nearly two years. 

"Schiff is a bad guy. He knew he was lying. He's not a dummy. He knew he was lying," Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News. 

Going on, Trump told Hannity, “Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress! He should be forced out of office. He is a disgrace to our country. In one way you could say it’s a crime what he did, because … he was making horrible statements that he knew were false.”

By the way, in a continuation of his attack on the people on his enemies list, Trump called former CIA director John Brennan “a sick person. There’s something wrong with him. He lied to Congress.

All this from a man whom the Toronto Star’s fact-checker, Daniel Dale, documents has said 4,682 false things as U.S. president. And whom the Washington Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, reports that President Trump has made 9,014 false or misleading claims over 773 days.

I thought I’d actually never write this phrase, but is this truly a “case of the pot calling the kettle black?”

So, dear readers, what does all this mean? It means it’s time for a survey. 

I’d like to know how you would characterize a man, who by all accounts is a serial liar, saying those who lie are knowingly lying and should resign from their positions or be forced out of office. Or, in the case of Brennan who is already out of office, are sick.

Given this:

1. Is Donald Trump guilty of hubris?
2. Does Donald Trump have astonishing chutzpah?
3. Does Donald Trump have gigantic cojones?
4. All of the above?

(Note: to help you in your decision, remember – Trump, despite the fact that he has many words, would not know the meaning of hubris. And, since cojones is a Spanish word, and we all know what Trump thinks about Latinos, he couldn't have those either. So, the only real choice is chutzpah, which makes sense because we all know how much Trump loves the Jewish people)

FAA; Boeing's Extra-cost Options

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today, that both the Indonesian and Ethiopian Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff lacked two important safety features in their cockpits. 

Why were the jets missing these devices, known as the “angle of attack indicator” and the “angle of attack disagree light?” Why? Because the devices are optional, extra-cost add-ons that the airlines opted not to purchase to keep costs down.

Really!

This comes on top of yesterday’s revelations that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) managers pushed the agency’s safety engineers to delegate safety assessments to Boeing itself, and to speedily approve the resulting analysis.

Houston (or Seattle or Chicago or DC or wherever Boeing and its lobbyists are now), we have a problem!

At least European and Canadian regulators think there's a problem: they plan to conduct their own reviews of changes Boeing is making to the jets and not rely on Boeing, er, the FAA.

But let’s get back to the optional equipment.

I’ve never bought a jetliner. But I have purchased many, many cars. And I’m beginning to wonder if Boeing's sales techniques are just like the ones at your neighborhood Ford store. 

I mean, does Boeing run ads in Aviation Weekly with a low price leader on a 737 MAX and the caveats “only one at this price” and “sale ends Monday?” And does the ad have a picture of a guy surrounded by American flags and wearing a cowboy hat saying, “Come on down!”

Look, adding these kinds of safety devices in an airplane is not like opting for the Bose stereo and Sirius/XM radio when you buy a car. These systems and devices are fundamental to a plane’s operation and safety. In the car business, as safety has become a critical selling point, almost all cars, even the inexpensive ones, are coming with certain safety features as standard equipment. Does it take two major crashes to get Boeing to make these devices standard? And does it take two major crashes for the FAA to realize that they cannot let Boeing sell planes without them?

Of course, speaking of cars, it took millions of crashes and literally tens of thousands of deaths before our government mandated that all cars be sold with seat belts and then air bags. But I digress...

By the way, I'm sure some people will argue that airlines are a business with an objective to make a profit; if they feel they can make more money by not opting for certain extra-cost devices, that's their prerogative. Not really. Airlines are a regulated industry. Safety, as they say in their pre-takeoff videos, is their most important priority. No wriggle room here...governing authorities must make these things happen.

The latest news is that Boeing is rushing to make sure all 737 MAX planes have these devices installed. But remember, it's good old Boeing who, according the Seattle Times, “hustled in 2015 to catch up to Airbus and certify its new 737 MAX.”

Hustling in 2015 and rushing today does not a good feeling make in light of past history. Is this the best we can do?

Is Trump deranged? Do Trumpsters care?

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today, courtesy of Vanity Fair, that Donald J. Trump maybe truly deranged.

As Eric Lutz of VF writes, “For someone as prolific in his Twitter usage as Donald Trump, it takes a particularly deranged day online to register on the political Richter scale. The president had just such a day and then some on Sunday, firing off a wild, 32-tweet rant over the course of several hours on a range of topics. The tirade, much of which was in direct response to whomever was speaking on TV, was peppered with self-pitying laments about perceived slights against him and provided a real-time glimpse into the president’s fraying psyche.”

Lutz continued, “It’s unclear what, exactly, prompted the tweet storm—his favorite Fox News programs coming under fire? Anxiety about the anticipated release of Robert Mueller’s report? Some bad corned beef? But Trump cast a wide net on Sunday, beginning his morning by grousing about a Saturday Night Live rerun he found 'not funny' because it always makes fun of 'the same person (me).' He followed this up with several attacks on the late John McCain; railed against Shep Smith and other Fox hosts he doesn’t like; called on the network to defend Tucker Carlson and Jeanine Pirro, two hosts he does like; engaged in some anti-immigrant fear-mongering, mere days after a far-right terrorist who espoused similar rhetoric murdered dozens of Muslims in New Zealand; and, of course, raged against the Mueller probe.

As Lutz reported, there was considerable searching for the why’s of Trump’s Sunday diatribe:

Matthew Miller (former Department of Justice spokesman and MSNBC analyst): “There has to be something coming, right? Trump is incredibly unhinged today even for him, and with no apparent prompting,” going on to say, that then again the president could simply be “crazy and doesn’t need any particular prompting to show it.”

Even conservatives piled on, with Bill Kristol tweeting, “Averting your eyes is refusing to come to grips with Trump’s mental condition and psychological state. It’s avoiding reality,” and George Conway, husband of Kellyanne, simply noting (and pinning to his profile), “His condition is getting worse.”

According to VF, even Trump officials seemed worn out by his relentless bellyaching. “When The Daily Beast asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders if the president’s tweets ‘speak for themselves,’ her default line when he goes off the rails, she simply replied: ‘Yes.’ One former Trump official told the publication that he’d had to turn off notifications from Trump’s Twitter handle, saying that it had become ‘too much.’ 

But, as VF suggests,  “it doesn’t seem like they’ll get a respite anytime soon. Trump was off to the races early on Monday with an avalanche of tweets about General Motors, his approval rating, and Joe Biden—'another low I.Q. individual.’”

C’mon Trumpsters. (I know there are a few of you out there reading Around the Block). Own up to it. You’re supporting an unbalanced, disturbed, unhinged, crazy man. Please note – I stopped the synonyms at “irrational” because, I believe, he knows exactly what he needs to do to garner your support. And that’s not “irrational.” The fact that you buy into it, however, might be.

Boeing Max; Trump does the right thing

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today that Donald J. Trump finally did the right thing. 

Earlier today, Canada joined more than 40 countries in grounding the Boeing 737 Max citing “newly available satellite-tracking data suggests similarities between the deadly crash involving one of the jets in Ethiopia on Sunday and another accident last October in Indonesia.”

According to the New York Times, Marc Garneau, Canada’s transport minister and a former astronaut and engineer, said that there were similarities that “exceed a certain threshold in our minds with respect to the possible cause of what happened in Ethiopia. This is not conclusive, but it is something that points possibly in that direction, and at this point we feel that threshold has been crossed.”

Based on that reporting, I began writing a criticism of the U.S. FAA and it's feet dragging on grounding the jet as well:

The United States has not grounded the Boeing jetliner, the fastest selling airplane in its history and a huge contributor to both Boeing’s reputation and profitability and U.S. trade. Boeing is the nation’s largest single exporter.

In the U.S. the F.A.A. has cautioned against drawing too many similarities between the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia before the investigation is completed. It could still be weeks before investigators are able to point to the likely cause of the latest crash. 

 So, despite the fact that 42 countries have banned the airplane and Canada, our closest ally and neighbor feels that a “threshold has been reached” regarding the Max, the U.S. seemingly has thrown caution to the wind by continuing to fly a possibly fatally flawed airplane while it takes weeks to investigate the reasons for two similar crashes of the plane in the last four months. 

 Is this a case of commerce trumping safety? 

 With a president constantly and consistently railing about our trade deficit and how we’re being taken advantage of by the rest or the world, could it be that a little bit of pressure has been put on the FAA to delay joining the rest of the world in taking a prudent, cautious approach while the investigation is on-going? 

 I don’t know. Nor do I know if the plane is safe or not. Time will tell on that one. But while we’re waiting for time to tell, wouldn’t you want your government to do whatever it can to keep you save? 

 I guess this is simply another example of American Exceptionalism!

And then, just as I was going to press "publish," the Times reported, "President Trump announced that the United States was grounding Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, reversing an earlier decision by American regulators to keep the jets flying in the wake of a second deadly crash involving one of the jets in Ethiopia," saying, “The safety of the American people, of all people, is our paramount concern,” Mr. Trump said.

I apologize, Mr. Trump, for my cynicism. And, thank you for doing the right thing.

Pastrami, Cancer, Oy Vay!

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today that eating deli meat can increase your risk of cancer significantly. 

 According to a report in the New York Times, Dr. Nigel Brockton, director of research for the American Institute for Cancer Research writes, “We see a four percent increase in the risk of cancer even at 15 grams a day, which is a single slice of ham on a sandwich. And, a 2011 review of studies found, “eating a more typical serving of 50 grams of processed meat a day would increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.”

Also, according to the Times, “there is some evidence suggesting an association between processed meat and stomach cancer. And a recent study found an increased risk of breast cancer among women who ate the most processed meats.”

On top of these findings, the Times went on to say, “many of these meats tend to be high in salt and saturated fat.”

Oy gevalt!

Now, I thought that this would be shocking news – particularly for my fellow residents of south Florida generally, and Palm Beach County specifically. 

Palm Beach County has one of the highest concentrations of New York-style delis in the country. At my favorite, 3 G’s Gourmet Deli in Delray, they hand carve their pastrami and corned beef as well as their house-baked, incredibly crusty rye. Flakowitz of Boynton Beach and Boca was touted in Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. (Unfortunately, Flakowitz’s foray into Wellington in Palm Beach was a failure – apparently not the right demographics in polo horse country). TooJay’s has 23 locations around Palm Beach and south Florida. And Ben’s is actually kosher, not kosher-style (but not glatt kosher to the chagrin of the shoppers at Glick’s Supermarket in Delray Beach). And these are just the famous ones!

As the Times reporting spread through the county, I was determined to find out how the news was affecting the regulars at these palaces of deli. So, I went to 3 G’s to find out (and to have a hot pastrami sandwich on rye and a Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray tonic, of course – full sour pickles only).

My first stop at 3 G’s was to talk to the counter-man, Santiago, responsible for hand carving the meats and bread. (Did you really think in 2019 that the counter-man a NY-style deli would be named Moishe?) 

Since the Times article talked about the risks of eating 15-50 grams of deli meat a day, I wanted to find out from Santiago how many grams were in 3 G’s' pastrami sandwich. Pushing my way through the crowd of ravenous Jews, shouting at me to get in line and wait my turn, I reached the counter and Santiago

“I don’t know nada about grams,” Santiago told me, “but the boss demands that our sandwiches have a ½-pound of meat.”

For us non-metric Americans, ½ pound equals 227 grams or over five times the study’s “typical” daily serving of 50 grams. 

Oy vay!

Next, I stopped at the table where Wednesday’s regular Happy Hour group convenes. Morty, Murray, Moe and Manny, otherwise known as the Mensches (no alliteration is too much for this group) to see if the bad news had reached them. 

Murray, the group’s most articulate spokesman, told me, in between bites of an extra-cost tongue on rye, that he hadn’t seen the Times article as he doesn’t read the Times and only gets his news from Fox.

“What, this is news?” That corned beef and pastrami isn’t good for you,” Murray yelled. (Apparently, Murray always yells – I'm not sure if it’s because he’s perpetually angry or because Morty, Moe and Manny can’t hear anything). “Cancer, shmancer. We’re alter cockers. We’re going to die anyway. Might as well enjoy living while we can. And, let me tell you boychick, eating this sandwich, yelling at Morty, Moe and Manny every Wednesday, this is really living. Not to mention my regular Sunday’s at 3 G’s with my wife, Mildred, where I get the pastrami. What a mechiah!”

So, the Times news notwithstanding, 3 G’s, TooJay’s, Flakowitz and the others needn’t worry. Business will continue to boom as people in Palm Beach are literarily dying to get in.

As I turned to leave, the heretofore silent Morty yelled out to me, “Tedeleh, before you go, you have to try the kishka, it’s not like that ongepotchket dreck they sell at TooJay’s.” 

Bloomberg — Mensch; Trump — Gonif

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today that former New York City mayor and multi-billionaire, Michael Bloomberg will not run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.

Bloomberg instead will work on helping Democrats win in 2020 while focusing on issues that are important to him including, public health, gun control and climate change.

As David Leonhardt writes today in the Times:

“Michael Bloomberg wanted to run for president in 2016, as an independent. But he decided that doing so brought an unacceptable risk of helping to elect Donald Trump.

Bloomberg wanted to run again in 2020, as a Democrat. But he decided that the party’s voters weren’t looking for a 77-year-old billionaire this time around. 

So he passed on both races.

In 2020, he will instead focus on helping Democrats win and advocating for solutions to climate change. And his foundation will continue to promote public health, gun safety, clean energy, economic mobility and other issues. 

It’s a vastly better way to spend some of his billions than to run an ego-driven vanity campaign.

It’s a case study of putting country before self. 

As New York’s mayor, Bloomberg tried to bring a reality-based, data-driven approach to running the city. The result was not perfect. No politician is. But his 12-year mayoralty was highly successful and highly progressive. 

He brought the same reality-based, data-driven — and honorable — approach to his decisions not to run for president.”

Clearly, Michael Bloomberg is a “mensch*.”
(*Mensch – Yiddish: a person of integrity and honor")

I also learned today that Phillip Bump of the Washington Post reported that a new Quinnipiac University poll shows that most Americans think Trump is not honest, is less honest than previous presidents, committed crimes, and believe him less than admitted liar Michael Cohen.

Some highlights:

• Think Trump is not honest: Yes – 65%; No 30% 
• Think Trump is less honest than previous presidents: Less – 50%; More – 20% 
• Who would you believe more Trump or Cohen: Cohen – 50%; Trump – 35% 
• Think Trump committed any crimes before he was president: Yes – 64% 
• Think Trump committed any crimes while he has been president: Yes – 45%; No – 43% 
• Think Trump is not a good role model for children: 71% 

If Bloomberg is clearly a mensch, Trump is clearly a “gonif.”
(*Gonif – Yiddish: a thief or dishonest or disreputable person; a scoundrel)

Of course, this is just what the people think. And a large percentage of people thought this way in 2016 and Trump was elected anyway. (And for full disclosure, the numbers are completely, and astonishingly, reversed looking at Republicans only.)

Importantly, we’re still waiting for what the special counsel says, the federal, state and city prosecutors do, and the Congress finds. Therein lies the big risk for Trump – actions that could lead to indictment, trial and prison.

But with a notably fickle public, with a divided Democratic party with no real leadership and the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, and an unwritten rule that presidents cannot be indicted while in office, the 2020 election might be Trump’s saving grace.

In fact, it could be that the real reason he’ll run for reelection is to delay his inevitable prison term for another four years.

Hillary, Bill, 2020 and News 12 NY

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today…

I learned today that Hillary Clinton is not going to run for president in 2020.

Wow, what a relief!

I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep lately, tossing and turning waiting for Hillary to make her decision. With so many Democratic politicians throwing their hats in the ring, I would just lay in bed worrying, Hillary, where are you? Who’s going to stop those can’t possibly beat Trump candidates like John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard or Steve Bullock?

Oh right – Hillary can’t possibly beat Trump either. 

But seriously, Hillary actually announced that she won’t be running for president. Really? Was that necessary? I kind of doubt that anyone else, anywhere, was having the kind of (facetious) sleepless nights I’ve been having agonizing over her decision. Was her announcement just another example of Clinton hubris? 

But wait, was there someone else somewhere having sleepless nights agonizing over her decision?

Could it be, Bill?

I can imagine Bill, one sleepless night, sneaking into Hillary’s bedroom saying, “Hey hon, I really need some satisfaction. Want to have…?” And Hillary responding, “Not now Bill, I have a headache.”

"But hon," Bill says, “It’s not that kind of satisfaction I’m hankering, it’s just… I miss the political game and since I can’t run again, I just thought we could talk about you running against that deplorable Donald again. I know you ran a wretched campaign last time and you basically lost an unlosable election, but if not you, who? Warren, old Joe, Kamala? Bernie? – so help me I’d like to wring his chicken neck, that socialist phony. He’s more responsible for your loss than Comey or Putin.”

“You’re the only one, hon. It would be great, me getting back on the trail, making speeches, meeting people, working with your campaign interns. And then, when we win…we’ll fulfill all our dreams – two more Clinton terms and you’ll set the stage for Chelsea.”

  

Now, that’s Clinton hubris!

Of course, one thing about Hillary’s announcement does suggest that perhaps her hubris has been toned down a bit – it was made on New York TV station News12. Not ABC, or CBS, or NBC, or CNN, or even MSNBC, but News 12, a cable-exclusive channel that is available in seven regions of the New York tri-state area. 

Guess no one in the mainstream media cared. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.