The Mighty Titans of Tone in our element at the Jazz in the Valley festival in Ellensburg, Washington. Great gig, especially the indoors part. Thanks to the festival promoters for inviting us back this year! Left to right: Bob Knetzger, Brady Daniel Kish, yours truly, Tim Sherman, and David Hudson.
Trump's not on the ballot in November. So why vote?
If we turn out and vote, the Democrats have a good shot at winning the House and a very slim chance to win the Senate.
This won't result in the Democrats stopping the Republicans' legislative strategy, because they literally have none.
It won't result in Democrats passing legislation, because Trump will veto any bill that passes and the Democrats won't be able to get the two-thirds majorities to override.
It won't mean that Trump will be impeached, because the Democrats won't be able to get 67 votes in the Senate. Not a chance in hell that will happen, no matter WHAT Trump did or does.
So who cares? Why vote?
Because of what it will mean to Trump's reelection chances to have all the House committees and the power to serve subpoenas and hold public hearings. If the Democrats win the House, they will:
Use their chairmanship of the tax committee to get access to Trump's tax returns, which they could reveal to the American public by reading them into the Congressional Record from the floor of the House.
Launch investigations into the blatant corruption in Trump's Cabinet--Wilbur Ross' shady business deals and attempt to politicize the 2020 census, Ryan Zinke's ethics charges and politicization of offshore drilling decisions, Ben Carson's hiring of family members, and Betsy DeVos' connections to private prisons, Mnuchin's travel and ties to the banks and Wall Street--there is literally no end to this work.
Investigate Devin Nunes' treasonous activities.
Re-open the Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation, hold public hearings with the Trump Gang under oath, subpoena Trump's Deutsche Bank records, and expand it to include Russian interference in the 2018 election.
Protect Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller.
Hold floor votes on common-sense gun control, immigration reform, tax reform that favors the 99%,, Medicare for all, abolishing ICE, universal college tuition, the environment, DACA and other votes that the Republicans have been purposefully avoiding for years. None of these bills will survive Trump's veto, but GOP members of Congress will finally be on record on these issues, which will be vital in the Democrats' to increase their margins in Congress and remove Trump (kicking and screaming, no doubt) from the White House.
Kidnapper Trump
Today was the deadline for the Trump Gang to return the children they kidnapped to their parents. They succeeded in reuniting only slightly more than half.
The Trump Gang says it released 378 children to someone other than their parents. Who were they released to?
The Trump Gang says that 711 children are INELIGIBLE to be reunified with their parents. In what moral universe, under what conditions, under what circumstances, are children ineligible to be reunited with their parents?
Twenty-one children, the Trump Gang says, had parents with "red flags" in their background checks, but these were not explained. What are these "red flags"? What will happen to these children?
Forty-six children, according to the Trump Gang, had a parent with a "red flag" that didn't show up on their background checks. What are these "red flags"? What will happen to these children?
Seventy-nine children, says the Trump Gang, have parents who "were released into the U.S. and could not be reunited." This means that the Trump gang can't find the parents, because they had no system that linked separated children with their parents. What will happen to these children?
The Trump Gang swears that the parents of 120 children "declined to be reunited." Who believes this? Who will check with these parents--if they can be found--to check the accuracy of this claim? What will happen to these children?
The Trump Gang told the court today that they already deported the parents of 431 children and that they are not responsible for reuniting these families. The Trump Gang is refusing to pay the cost of flying these children out of the country. What will happen to these children?
The Trump Gang admits that it can't find the parents of 94 children. What will happen to these children?
The Trump Gang says that seven children were impacted by a different court case. What will happen to these children?
These numbers don't add up to 711. The Trump Gang hasn't explained the discrepancy.
Interviews with the separated families by the ACLU and Families Belong Together offer evidence that the Trump Gang was not honest with many of the parents and children who were separated.
This is heinous. It's heartbreakingly clear that some of these children will NEVER be reunited with their parents. This disaster is on Trump and the Republican Congress, which has refused to allow a vote on immigration legislation.
Why aren't the members of the Trump Gang being prosecuted for child abuse and gross negligence?
Contact your Senator and Congressperson. Contribute to the ACLU and Families Belong Together (familiesbelongtogether.org), who are the organizations working on behalf of these families. March. Protest. Show your anger!
Johnny Hodges
Years ago I was listening to the car radio during a long commute on the Mass Pike when a tune came on that literally stunned me. I took the next exit and parked the car so I could listen closely, and when I got home (this was before cell phones) I called up the radio station to find out just what the hell I had been listening to--a live version of Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower" with the incredible Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone. It's Johnny Hodges' birthday today. Hodges played in Duke Ellington's band from 1928 until 1970, except for a period during the 1950s when he led his own successful small group. Hodges was one of those exceedingly rare players in whom it all came together: astonishing technique, perfect intonation, dynamics, endless creativity, and a huge heart. I was reading an interview with Basie drummer Jo Jones last night in which he said "To be a good jazz musician, you must try to hear and see things that are beautiful." You could think of Hodges' playing as the difference between pretty and beautiful. In 1956 Ellington, who had slipped out of the public's consciousness to a degree, took the stage at the Newport Jazz Festival with Hodges and delivered a concert that put Duke right back in the center of the jazz world. The stellar program included a Hodges feature, "Jeep's Blues," and Hodges reminded everyone that night that the blues, in the hands of a true artist, is all music.
B.B. King tribute at the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival
Had a beautiful drive yesterday over the North Cascades Highway to Winthrop. Had a genuine blast performing at the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival today as part of a B.B. King tribute with David Hudson, Guy Quintino, Jeff Conlin, Mark DuFresne, John Hodgkin, Al Keith, Brian Kent, and the totally amazing Tim Sherman, who summoned the spirit of B.B.'s guitar like few can. Thanks to all the Winthrop crews for having us and for producing another beautifully run, stellar festival!
Shooting in LA hits close to home
My son Devin had just pulled into the parking lot of his local Trader Joe's in Los Angeles when an armed suspect who was being chased by police opened crashed his car about twenty yards from him and began opening fire on police officers. Devin dove behind a barrier, where he was joined by three police officers as they returned fire. When the gunman trained his fire on them, Devin and the three policemen flattened themselves on the ground behind the barrier. After the shooter ran into Trader Joe's and the shooting subsided momentarily, Devin was able to belly crawl away and run to the next block. He sent some of the first tweets from the scene and was tracked down an interviewed by CNN. A friend who lived in the neighborhood saw his interview at the scene and walked over, found Devin, and gave him a ride home. Devin is shaken but unhurt and safe at home. All our thoughts are now with the people in that store and for their safety.
Stop With The Freud And Start With The Fighting!
The frantic Trump resistance, the Democratic Party, and the inherently analytical legitimate media are literally killing themselves trying to figure out Donald Trump, especially since the Surrender Summit.
After a year and a half of Trumpworld, we who inhabit the Other Reality have overthought ourselves into exhaustion, disorientation and existential hospice care from trying to process a daily avalanche of lies, cruelty, doublespeak, jaw-dropping incompetence, upside-down-and-backwards nonsense, arrivals and departures on the hectic Trump train, open collusion with Russia and every manner of slimy despots via the worldwide media, and other treasonous and unnatural acts.
At this rate, we won’t survive to topple Trump. All the collective cognitive power and energy that we should be expending on bringing Trump down is being wasted on trying to define him so that we can have the right game plan for going toe to toe with him. Trump, who despite the typhoon of daily chaos he generates lives a remarkably stress-free existence thanks to being born without the part of the brain that gives most of us memory and a conscience, will at this rate clearly outlast us all. In fact, that may be—really and truly—his re-election strategy: to destroy the opposition by making our heads explode.
It’s fair to contend that you need to know your enemy in order to fight him effectively, but we can conclude this debate about Trump now and move on to the battle plan.
The various schools of thought around our Chief Executive can be boiled down to four core profiles:
• Trump #1: The successful business man beholden to no one who has sacrificed an impossibly sweet private life to come to Washington as the first President with the guts and deal-making ability to take on the more-than-two-hundred-years’ reign of the swamp-dwelling deep state. (This is the version of Trump that his core supporters pray to.)
• Trump #2: A deeply flawed but brilliant con artist who managed to hijack the Republican party, give it enough energy/momentum/support to retake not only the White House but Congress in the bargain, and, following that unbelievable trifecta win, completely remold it in his own pompadoured and painted image to the point where he downside any disloyalty to him on the Republican side means instant political death. (This is the perception of Trump held by professional, office-holding or office-aspiring Republicans.)
• Trump #3: A brilliant strategist for all that is bad, truly evil, or just plain stupid about America. The Monster of Mar-a-Lago, the cunning commandant of the screaming flying monkeys, the apocalyptic communicator who is swiftly making his hillbilly hordes proud flag wavers for racism and fascism and methodically destroying governmental institutions and the very rule of law. (This is the bogeyman Trump feared by many who despise him.)
• Trump #4: A lazy, unprincipled, moronic, and unbelievably weak narcissist who can’t even comprehend, much less realize, the standard human survival skills of hard work, preparation, knowledge and empathy and who is driven not by a brain but by some kind of awful, prehistoric lizard gland—a supremely crude mechanism that our species supposedly left behind eons ago and was thought to now only survive in lampreys, vampire bats, guano-eating beetles and those blind fish that live at great depths in underwater caves--that enables him to improvisationally careen, second by second, through a world inhabited only by himself, completely clueless about the wreckage he leaves in his wild wake. (This is the imbecilic Trump familiar to the Russians and those who have worked closely with him.)
We can quickly dispense with Trump #1. Trump parlayed a multimillion gift from his old man to finance four bankruptcies before being hired by NBC as the star of a television show. He IS a tenacious press agent (he actually used to call up reporters using a fake name and pretend to be his own spokesperson) and he knows how to make money licensing his name, but he’s a wizard at bankruptcy, not at business.
Trump #2 is part myth and part reality. Winning the Republican nomination against the likes of Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz doesn’t require brilliant political instincts—more qualified candidates can be found in any high school student council slugfest. It’s absolutely true that no one—no one—thought he would win against Clinton. But he lost the popular vote by a considerable margin and won the Electoral College by getting 70,000 more votes in three pivotal states. The key point about the election is that no one was more stunned by his victory than Trump himself. A failed run at the Presidency was, in Trump’s version of career planning, designed to get him a Fox New contract after the cancellation of “The Apprentice.” But since his improbably victory Trump has completely hypnotized 35% of Americans, which means he completely owns the Republican Party, the NRA and Fox News.
Trump #3 is based on a complete myth but otherwise spot on. The true part is the demagoguery and Trump’s effort to make racism and fascism okay again. The mythic, bogus part is the brilliant strategist piece. Trump has no strategy. He rewarded the far-right Republicans who supported him during the campaign with Cabinet-level jobs and has allowed them to gut their departments and allow themselves and their cronies to loot the government till, but in no way is he managing these people or orchestrating an overarching plan to destroy government. He is actively using his demagogic skills to attack the rule of law, the intelligence agencies, and the Justice Department not because of any personal philosophy or credo but because those are the people who could put him in jail.
Trump #4 is completely and utterly accurate.
So the most accurate composite of Trump the politician political is a pathological, lazy moron completely driven by self interest and self promotion who has connected in a profound way with the sizeable portion of the electorate that is driven by racism and a taste for authoritarianism over the rule of law, and who has used that base of support to complete the transformation of the Republican Party and Fox News as white supremacist, fascist gangs. This connection is what makes this hopelessly random goofball the most dangerous internal threat in American history.
As we can see by reviewing the perceptions of Trump, it’s impossible to separate his politics from his personality. To cut to the chase and get to a final Trump diagnosis, then, it is appropriate to leverage the centuries of research compiled by behavioral scientists. Not surprisingly, they have formally codified a personality type that fits Trump like one of the Vaseline-filled gloves with which he covers his tiny hands: the narcissistic sociopath.
Behold the specific traits identified by the medical community that characterize the narcissistic sociopath, which scientists categorize as “a malignant personality.” According to the experts, the presence of any five of the following characteristics means that you’re dealing with a narcissistic sociopath:
• A grandiose opinion of themselves and a belief that they are superior to other people. Narcissistic sociopaths will state that their goal is to rule the world. They believe that they are all powerful and all knowing and that, when it comes to getting what they want, that the end justifies the means.
• A marked tendency to lie pathologically and make false promises to build up a complex belief about their own powers and abilities—to the point where they can pass lie detector tests.
• An excessive and persistent need for others' admiration and praise coupled with a strong, often violent, response to negative feedback.
• A hostile and domineering personality and a tendency to humiliate others.
• A noticeable lack of regard for the rights of others and a tendency to violate those rights.
• A lack of a conscience and empathy for others. An inability to show remorse, shame, or guilt or to apologize. A lack of religion and morality in their lives.
• A marked tendency to divide and conquer by smearing people and pitting people against each other.
• A marked tendency to employ other people with psychological problems.
• An inability to take responsibility. Whatever the problem, it is always someone else’s fault.
• The inability to display emotions like love, warmth, compassion and humor.
• Poor listening skills.
• A marked tendency to impulsive and reckless behavior.
• A marked tendency to be sexually promiscuous.
• A marked tendency toward extreme paranoia.
• A marked tendency toward drama and the association of that drama with “bad” people.
Trump, obviously, exhibits every single one of these traits to an extraordinary degree.
The diagnosis of narcissistic sociopath is not armchair psychobabble. This profile not only suits Trump to a T, it also explains his politics. Narcissistic sociopaths are NEVER going to defend the country if that doesn’t help them personally. They are going to be racists. They are going to think that they, and they alone, understand the problem enough to fix it. They are going to be secretive and authoritarian. They are going to admire other tyrants. They are going to make war on anyone who dares to question or counter them—anything but an ass-kissing festival is going to be “fake news.” They are going to despise the rule of law because they can’t control it and because it is a threat to them. They are going to hire sycophants and yes men, and then fire them willy nilly. They are going to divide people. Their policies are going to be cruel. Above all, they are not going to have a strategy about anything because their reaction to events and to others will be improvised depending on how they are affected by them personally.
Okay, Doc, you’ve nailed it. Trump to a T. In fact, we’ve seen all these traits in Trump for nearly three years now. We have our diagnosis and we can close his file. But you can’t stop there—you’ve got to tell us how to best deal with this lunatic. After all, he’s not just the biggest asshole at work or the shittiest neighbor in the apartment building—he’s THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Literally the entire world wants to know how to live with—or effectively take on—this malignant wild man.
The behavioral scientists have this advice for dealing with narcissistic sociopaths:
• Realize that you will never change them.
• Pay attention to your instincts.
• Cease contact. Take steps to protect yourself.
• Do not try to reform them or give them more chances.
• Realize that it’s not your fault.
• Don’t wait for them to agree or ask you permission.
• Don’t feed their ego.
• Don’t wait for them to overpower you—take control whether they like it or not.
• Give up fear—respond with reason and calmness.
There is a framework here for the next phase of the resistance—the actually-doing-stuff phase.
Stop thinking about Trump and start fighting him. Don’t ignore Trump’s hourly lies and crimes, and be ready to show up in the streets to protest particularly odious actions and policies, but don’t obsess about them or let him or the GOP sap your energy or destroy your morale. Swap cable news and Facebook time for hours spent volunteering on the front lines.
Don’t expend ANY of your finite energy engaging with Trumpists. The vast majority did not vote for him because of his economic platform (whatever that was) or because the Democrats didn’t care about them (which is true). They are white people who voted for him because they didn’t like the prospect of the end of white supremacy in this country. Uncle Joe didn’t pull the lever for Trump because you didn’t give him an effective counterargument—not your fault!—and we don’t need him, anyway. We can beat Trump without converting a single Trump voter, because they are still the minority in this country. Our task is to make our election results look like the electorate. Given the GOP gerrymandering, this will take an enormous get-out-the-vote effort by all of us. Focus on that.
Take action now, because soon it really will be too late. Vote for Democrats. Don’t nullify your vote and your opposition to Trump by voting for write-in or third-party candidates. Volunteer in your neighborhood and city to get anti-Trump people elected mayor, to your city council, and to your local school board, and donate to their campaigns. Work and donate within your state to get Democrats elected as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state (a role that is vitally important, as it oversees elections), and state legislator. If you live in a Congressional swing state, you are especially important and influential—work for, and donate to, the Democratic candidate.
If you live in a completely safe Republican district, sign up with SwingLeft (https://swingleft.org/) to find the swing district nearest to you and learn how to volunteer for Democrats there.
Join or start an Indivisible group in your city (https://www.indivisible.org/), the group that has created a powerful template for local political organizing that really works.
Join and donate to the ACLU (https://www.aclu.org/). The courts have already shown that they and the rule of law can be major disruptors to the Trumpists’ agenda, and the ACLU has been the most aggressive and successful group to leverage the courts to throw sand in the GOP’s gears.
Subscribe to legitimate news outlets. There has been some incredible reporting on Trump that has helped to counter his lies and Fox News and to publish new details of his crimes.
Keep expressing your anger to your elected representatives (https://countableaction.com/ and https://democracy.io/#!/).
Don’t expend any energy on being afraid. The best antidote to fear and anxiety is to join like-minded people and take action. There are more of us than there are of them.
Edgar Degas
Today is the birthday of the artist Edgar Degas. As a draughtsman he matches up with anyone, from any era. His work displays such mastery that you can't help but conclude that the man was born to draw and paint. But that belies the years Degas spent painstakingly studying the paintings and drawings of those who came before him, especially Ingres, his great inspiration. Degas himself said that "no art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and of the study of the great masters; of inspiration, spontaneity, temperament, I know nothing." Considered a founder of impressionism, he called himself "a realist" and expressed relentless disdain for painters who worked outdoors. Degas mastered every medium he tackled: drawing, painting, pastels, prints, monotype, sculpture, and photography. Degas believed that "the artist must live alone, and his private life must remain unknown," and he followed that credo. He cultivated a reputation as a misogynistic curmudgeon (although he was an advocate for women artists like Mary Cassat, who is the figure in the painting above) and held deeply conservative beliefs all his life. He hated Protestants and was a vicious anti-Semite. One of the great perks of the two years I recently spent in New York City was the ability to visit the Met whenever the spirit moved me and spend a few hours in the three or four galleries devoted primarily to Degas. Thrilling.
Bill Jennings
Been happily stuck in a huge Bill Jennings jag lately. Jennings was a phenomenal guitarist active from the '50s to the '70s. He excelled in every style--from bebop to soul to pop to R&B--but the thread that runs through his work is his righteous, greasy tone. A lefty, Jennings played the guitar upside down. If you're not hip to him, you're missing out on being thrilled by one of the great, swinging six-stringers. Check him out!
Treason Time
Why don't we just move the U.S. capitol to Moscow?
I read the most recent Mueller indictments, which lay out the Russian interference in our elections in staggering detail. (Every American should read them.)
I just watched the press conference with Trump and Putin.
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil with the corrupt dictator of a third-rate nation, thereby putting the United States on the same footing.
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil and established a moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, as he established for the white supremacists in Charlottesville.
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil and took the word of a former KGB agent who is attacking the United States over the massive proof of Russian interference compiled by American intelligence and law enforcement agencies and validated by the Senate and House intelligence committees.
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil and gave Putin the green light to continue his interference in our elections.
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil and called a request by Putin to allow Russian intelligence officers to interview their American counterparts "an incredible offer."
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil and happily accepted the gift of a soccer ball from the leader of a country that is currently attacking us.
Our President stood before the world on foreign soil and made it crystal clear that he will not protect the United States from foreign attacks.
Kudos to the press corps for asking, in clear, blunt language, the fundamental questions.
There is no longer any wiggle room for any American when it comes to Trump. Trump is a traitor, and any American who supports him or works for him shares that status.
As far as the rest of us, we need to work with MoveOn, Indivisible and other groups to organize and participate in massive public protests to demand that our elected officials take a stand.
Bollywood Blues
Had a great time playing and being a fan at last week's Waterfront Blues Festival. Kudos to Peter Damman for corralling another stellar collection of topflight acts, and thanks to Bill Rhoades for inviting me to be part of his Harmonica Blowoff. A highlight for me was the great set by Mumbai's Maharajah of the Mouth Organ, Aki Kumar, and his killer band. Aki somehow blended Bollywood, the blues, politics, showmanship, and humor ("I got a girl named Linda Lou, I put the lamb in her vindaloo") into a totally entertaining concept. So great to see a talented young artist doing something creative and different. Be sure to pick up a copy of his great new record, "Hindi Man Blues." Killer stuff!
Mission Accomplished
Congratulations to Vladimir Putin on his unimaginably successful campaign to use the United States to implement his global strategy.
In just a year and a half, Putin has managed to help elect Donald Trump, pit Americans against each other, use U.S. government officials to try to shut down the Mueller investigation, establish a private communications back channel with the President of the United States (including private meetings with him), isolate the United States and diminish its influence on the world stage, and to use the President to sabotage the NATO alliance and drive wedges between the U.S. and our allies.
Putin has accomplished all of this despite operating from a position of striking weakness, with a Russian economy that lags far behind that of western nations, a long period of diminishing Russian influence, and the ascendancy of China as the strongest non-western nation. And the key to Putin's against-all-odds success is not any brilliant overt actions or leadership on his part. He was just a corrupt leader of a third-rate country until his aspirations were attracted the energetic, willing assistance of the President of the United States and the Republican Party.
July Shows
Really looking forward to being part of some great shows in July.
On Wednesday, July 4th, between 8 and 10 pm, I'll be joining fellow harp players Bill Rhoades, Hank Shreve, and Mike Moothart for Bill's annual Harmonica Blow-Off at the fantastic Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland. (Check out Hank's set with his big band at 1 pm the same day.)
On Sunday, July 22, at 12:30 pm, I'll be part of "Riding With The King," a tribute to B.B. King, at the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival. I haven't played Winthrop in a few years and am excited about being back this year. This tribute also features fellow front men Mark DuFresne and John Hogkin, a truly killer band including Tim Sherman channeling B.B. like no on else, David Hudson and GHuy Quintino, and a great horn section.
The following Saturday, July 28th, I'll be joining my legendary band the Mighty Titans of Tone--Brady Daniel Kish, Tim Sherman, Bob Knetzger, and David Hudson--at the great Jazz in the Valley festival in Ellensburg, Washington. We're adding the phenomenal guitarist Al Kaatz for this show. The Mighty Titans and I will be playing an hour-long set at 3 pm in the Rotary Pavilion, and a longer show that same evening (8 pm-11 pm).
Hope to see you at one of these great showcases in July. Support live music this summer!
Above and Beyond It All
In the midst of all this national turmoil, I would like to grab a moment to congratulate the folks who stayed home or voted for a third-party candidate on November 8, 2016 because there wasn't a dime's bit of difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump or because there was no candidate on the ballot who mapped seamlessly to their personal politics. We got a fascist President making the USA into a beacon for racists around the globe and a Supreme Court assisting in the rapid deconstruction of voting rights and a Constitution grounded on American values. Many of us will be spending the next twenty years trying to get back to the not-so-great place we were as a country on that day--that is,if we're not jailed or completely disenfranchised as non-Trumpists. You, on the other hand, can bask whenever things get tough in that noble, pure, space--brightly lit and warmed by the light of your infinite wisdom--that you carved out for yourself. And yourself only.
Holding Brown People for Ransom
The fifteen and a half months of the Trump nightmare have been a long nightmare. The last few weeks, with the legalization of child abuse by the United States Government, have been torture. I was spun up enough last night, but then I watched Rachel Maddow break down as she read about the "Tender Age" detention camps. Dealt with my insomnia by drawing this cartoon.
Woke up this morning to the news that Trump will supposedly sign an executive order today ending the separation of families at the border. I'm posting the cartoon anyway, if only to remind myself in the middle of what will no doubt be a day of feverish rewriting of history by the Trump mob, that the President of the United States abused innocent child children to get Congress to pay for his insane wall.
If Trump does sign such an order today, there is no doubt, regardless of the details (which will doubtlessly be far less than satisfying), that this is a watershed moment. For the first time Trump has bailed on a key policy. And in doing so, he has admitted that his prior rationales (the policy was based on a law, the law had to be repealed by Congress, there was nothing that he could do personally) were lies. He has clearly buckled under the worldwide outrage that he and his gangsters purposely ignited and were reveling in just a few hours ago. They were utterly convinced, until this morning, that cruelty at the border would be their winning issue in the November midterms.
Today's developments don't change the reality that the effort to rid this country of Trump and his gang will be long, brutal, and horrific. But this is his first retreat, and the fact that he surrendered may perhaps make this the "emperor has no clothes" moment that the resistance has been hoping for--the crack in the fascist dam that begins to separate Trump from at least part of his family of supporters. For weeks now, Trump supporters have been loyally defending the separation of children from their parents. Most will continue to do so, but take a look at the comments on Breitbart and the Fox News web site this morning from the many Trumpists who are feeling betrayed this morning. Now, for some of them, Trump is not racist enough. As Ann Coulter put it in a tweet this morning, "Liberals cried and America died." As usual, she got it wrong.
Father's Day
The first Father's Day without you. The absence is felt every day, but there are no regrets because we made sure that there were no mysteries or questions about the love we had for each other. Just another thing you did for me. You landed at Omaha Beach in '44 to ensure that we never had to face fascism here at home, but you lived to see that happen. You weren't granted your last wish--to live long enough to vote Trump out of office--but, thanks to you, we know what we have to do. Miss you.
Shithole America Hell
The First Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump is elected on a racist platform and a promise to shut down the southern border.
The Second Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump institutes a new policy designed to deter LEGAL immigration by rejecting families applying for asylum, declaring them as illegal immigrants, and separating children--including babies and toddlers--from their parents.
The Third Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump institutes this policy without having prepared for it. Two thousand children are separated from their parents in just six weeks. Existing facilities are quickly overwhelmed. New tent cities for detained children are thrown up in Texas under 100-degree heat. HHS staff is not trained on how to care for these children. The government cannot say if there is a database that maintains information on these children and their parents. It is not clear that whether the government may will be able to reunite these families.
The Fourth Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump, at the G7 Summit, stuns world leaders during a discussion on migration by telling Prime Minister Abe of Japan "Shinzo, you don't have this problem, but I can ship you 25 million Mexicans and you'll be out of office very soon."
The Fifth Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump, in a brazen lie, claims that his new policy of separating of families at the border is mandated by "a law passed by the Democrats and forced on us by the Democrats."
The Sixth Level of Shithole America Hell: Jeff Sessions quotes the same Biblical passage used by 18th and 19th century American clergy to justify slavery as a religious rationale for his terrible new policy.
The Seventh Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump, in another brazen lie, claims that he "hates" his own policy of separating families at the border.
The Eighth Level of Shithole America Hell: Trump uses the human tragedy at the border as a bargaining chip to get the Democrats to vote for his border wall next week.
We haven't reached bottom on this despicable chapter in American history. To be continued...
Matt "Guitar" Murphy
RIP Matt Murphy. Saw him many times in the '70s when he was with James Cotton. I opened for those guys once in Belllingham and had a nice long chat with Matt in the dressing room. We got around to the topic of harp players and I figured that Matt, with his jazz chops and sensibilities, would be a big Little Walter fan. "Walter was great," he said, "but Sonny Boy could get stuff out of the harp that nobody else could." The records Matt did with Memphis Slim are really choice. A wonderful player.
Fighting Dirty
A proposal to split California into three separate states won enough votes in last night’s primary to be added to the midterm ballot in that state.
It’s a great idea. It just doesn’t go far enough.
I saw a poll today stating that 61% of Americans would like to see major updates to our system of government. You don’t have to be a genius—or a partisan—to see that we’ve spiraled down into a state of paralysis.
There’s just one huge problem with those “major updates.” Most of them can’t be done without amending the Constitution, and we are at the point that this is literally impossible, given that an amendment requires supermajorities in both houses of Congress and the blessing of two-thirds of the state legislatures.
What kind of “major updates,” then, are even possible without making a change to the Constitution?
I just read a fascinating book on this topic, “It’s Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics,” by David Faris, a political science professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Faris is an unapologetic Democratic partisan who, like many of us, are ready for taking bold steps to relevel the playing field in American politics. “It’s Time to Fight Dirty” is a short, highly engaging read on a deadly serious topic. And it makes clear-headed, specific suggestions that at first read struck me as audacious or beyond the pale but now seem sensible, pragmatic, and—possibly—doable.
Some core precepts of the book:
• The book’s title is provocative, not literal. Nothing that Faris proposes is illegal or unethical.
• None of Faris’ supposed changes would require a Constitutional amendment. “If progressive leaders are going to craft workarounds to some of the problems of contemporary American politics, they are going to have to do so within the framework of the U.S. Constitution rather than outside of it.”
• The actions proposed by Faris are only possible if the Democrats take control of both houses of Congress and win control of more governorships and state legislatures. (These are possible outcomes from this year’s midterms.)
• Faris wastes no time on delusional pipe dreams like impeachment or the invocation of Article 25 to depose Trump. First of all, those actions will never happen, and Faris is focused on steps that are at least theoretically achievable. Second, Faris is concerned with our outdated system of government, not the deficiencies of its key players.
• “Almost all of the design flaws in U.S. politics today empower Republicans at the expense of Democrats.”
• “The GOP has proven that it no longer exists somewhere along the ordinary two-party ideological spectrum in America. Rather, they have morphed into an antisystem party, whose goal is to destroy voter participation and erect a kind of ‘hybrid democracy,’ where façade elections are held but where real executive power is not at stake.”
Faris lays out a convincing host of actions that progressive Democrats can take if and when they achieve power, beginning with this year’s midterm elections. I strongly recommend that you read this book, so I don’t want to telegraph all of Faris' suggestions in this post, but I can mention some of the most impactful ones.
Chop California up into three states? Faris contends that we should create SEVEN states from what is now California. And give Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood, too. This would address what Faris contends is the biggest problem keeping us from making progress in this country: the representational structure of the Senate. California has 37 million people. South Dakota has 869,000 people. Yet both states have two votes in the Senate. Insanity, and a built-in recipe for a tyranny of the minority. Congress has the power to create new states.
Still (for good reason!) fuming about the theft of the Garland Supreme Court seat? Reclaim it, says Faris, by adding another seat. Better yet, says the author, add FOUR more seats to the Supreme Court. Congress decides how many justices are on the Supreme Court; it decided on nine in 1869.
Faris goes on to offer concrete suggestions on other important actions, including changes to Senate rules, the abolishment of winner-take-all elections, and a modern Voting Rights Act to ensure that voting is universal and easy.
Of course, each of Faris’ recommendations has major implications and is worthy of an in-depth, coherent rationale not possible on Facebook, and he does a great job of setting the context for each change and making the case for why they are not just doable but essential to our survival and to our progress.
Check out “It’s Time to Fight Dirty.”
The View From First Place
The 2018 Seattle Mariners are for real.
I was in Safeco Field on Saturday, October 6, 2001 when the Mariners won their 116th game by beating the Texas Rangers 1 to 0. Ichiro was a rookie that year. After setting the record for most wins in a season, we made the playoffs, beating the Indians but dropping the ACLS to the fucking Yankees. That was the last time the Mariners made it to the postseason.
This year’s Mariners, who as of this morning are 19 games above five hundred with the third-best record in baseball and in sole possession of first place in the AL West. This fall will definitely be different for long-suffering Mariners fans.
Given that much of last year’s roster is still with the team, the remarkable improvement is testament to what the addition of few players can mean at the major-league level. The 2017 Mariners’ success is no mystery—the team is playing at a crazy high level in all three of the keys to the game: pitching, offense, and defense.
Felix Hernandez is now the Mariners’ worst starter, which is sad on many levels but which speaks volumes about how James Paxton, Marco Gonzales, Mike Leake, Wade LeBlanc, Roenis Elias, are stepping up this year. Paxton entered the No-Hitter Club this year and is making a serious case for a Cy Young award. Gonzales, and his ERA is SECOND to that of Wade LeBlanc, who only has two wins because he is the sole victim of what used to be the curse of all Mariners pitchers—lack of run support. Marco Gonzales, who showed great promise last year, has been insanely great and is demonstrating that he has the stuff and the determination to be a force as a big-league starter. He is tied for the most wins on the staff with Mike Leake, the quiet, slim guy who just keeps winning games. And Hisashi Iwakuma, an excellent, crafty veteran, is still rehabbing from an injury and could reappear later in the year as a real bonus.
The Mariners relievers are the best in baseball and probably represent the main reason for the team’s turnaround in 2017. There is literally no downside with this group. Diaz is the 9th-inning-closer-from-hell. Pazos’ aggressiveness has made him a star—he’s been in 27 games and has a 1.54 ERA. Alex Colome has faltered in his last two outings, but kudos to the front office for getting him another late-inning flamethrower on the squad. Ryan Cook is a very cool story—the former All-Star who comes back after nearly two years out of the game after surgery to pitch really well.
The long-moribund Mariners bats have come alive all the way up and down the lineup this year—the team is currently third in AL team batting average. Jean Segura is hands down the most underrated player in baseball. It’s hard to believe that this guy was let go by the Angels, Brewers, and Diamondbacks. The arrival of Dee Gordon, who has made all of us remember what it can mean for a team to have a lead-off hitter who can truly wreak havoc on the basepaths, meant moving Segura to second in the batting order, which has helped him become a literal hitting machine. Segura is current second in batting in the AL with a .342 average and has THIRTY (not a typo) multi-hit games already this year. The way he can hit to all fields and in all situations is uncanny. Ben Gamel is starting to warm up, which is cause for salivation—this guy led the league in batting briefly last year. The team has a lot of power at the plate, and it’s beautifully distributed: Cruz and Haniger both have 15 home runs and Seager and Healy each have a dozen.
The pundits continue to lowball the Mariners’ defense this year, but they are full of it. Heredia gets incredible jumps on fly balls and is proving that he can totally handle center, and Mitch Haniger has been phenomenal in right field. He chased down a sure double deep in the corner last night and threw out the runner with a perfect strike to second. Ryon Healy had been the biggest defensive surprise—he has saved countless double plays with a sure glove and a monster stretch at first base. And let’s give it up for pitcher Marco Gonzales’ defensive skills—he has picked off FIVE base runners this season, including two at second base.
This team lost All-Star Robinson Cano in May. For EIGHTY games. The professional odds makers gave the Mariners a 17% chance of making the playoffs, and, even if we were able to make them, Cano was banned from that action, too.
That kind of blow—and the rippling impacts from it—would have rocked most teams. The Mariners have responded by going 21-7 since that dark day, and the aftershocks have actually IMPROVED the team. Guillermo Heredia, a player with enormous promise, now gets to play almost every day. The replacement at second is Dee Gordon, who has been an All Star at that position. And new GM Jerry Dipoto, hampered by a paper-thin farm system, leapt into action and added the solid Denard Span and reliever Colome.
The result is that the Mariners are winning the close games for the first time in eons—and doing it at a pace rarely seen. We are 21 and 9 in one-run games and 7 and 2 in two-run contests. That’s why I think you have to point to the bullpen as the #1 driver of our success, among many.
The team chemistry—often hard to fathom from television—seems to really be there. Of course, winning helps that considerably, but the smiles and positive reinforcement in the dugout seem genuine. Scott Servais seems like a smart man who really understands his team.
The last season the Mariners played in mid-October was the cosmically spectacular rookie year of Ichiro Suzuki. One of the sweetest aspects of the 2018 season has been the way the Mariners organization handled Ichiro. One of the greatest players of all time returned to Safeco Field this year to a wave of nostalgic goodwill, but he struggled to make a contribution in the early part of the season. It was obvious to everyone that Suzuki had to make way for Heredia and Gamel, and the Mariners and Ichiro worked out an incredibly civilized arrangement in which Suzuki has become a “team advisor.” No one knows what that means and no one cares—seemingly not even Ichiro, who, for an athlete with one of the most pathological work ethics ever seen in sports, seems actually content with pitching batting practice, cracking jokes in the dugout, and shaking everyone’s hand after yet another win.
Sure, we’re headed to Boston and New York in the coming week, and we may not win those series. But make no mistake—this year’s Mariners are for real, and we fans should savor every minute of it.