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Post Scripts #2

[Since our first Post Scripts on July 13, 2019, readers have continued to respond to Other Aspects posts with interesting comments. Thank you to all who have written. I’ll periodically gather and share items of general interest in these posts called “Post Scripts”. The headings give the name and date of the most recent post being addressed (some posts build upon previous ones). The readers’ comments are in italics, to distinguish from what I write in reply. I edit only in the interest of space and context. Enjoy, and please keep sending your thoughts to KenBossong@gmail.com. Again, if anyone does not wish to be quoted, even anonymously as I’ll be doing it, please just say so when you email me.]

Missing The Trane (7/18/19)

Really, really enjoyed the Coltrane piece. Well-written and an excellent overview of his career, recordings and influences, as well as those he affected.  One of the best short summaries I’ve read about an artist.

Thanks for saying it was “short”, since I can get carried away – especially with a topic like John Coltrane, who deserves a treatise.

Wow, Ken. I just read your Coltrane piece and was blown away. I saw the email linking it earlier in the week, but wasn’t able to read it because I had one helluva busy week. I’m glad I waited until Saturday morning to read it. I could then savor the flowing prose and insights… Even though I knew most of what you wrote of Trane, I liked the way you methodically went through his recordings and evolution. Great perspective.

Thanks for the kind words, and for subscribing. I finally realized how to make that easily available by placing the button up to the right just below the blog’s header. That way, you get new posts without having to do anything.

I’m still hoping to do an in-person presentation of A Love Supreme before the year of its 55th anniversary is over.

The Flores v. Barr Cringe Fest (8/21/19)

I watched the news snippets of the DOJ’s attorney in front of the judges and listened to the judges chastise her for the Trump Administration’s version of what constitutes “safe and sanitary conditions” for minor immigrants. I also read articles following the case. Your legal knowledge and drill down of the case really helped confirm unfortunately what this administration is doing at the border.

I would like to see money spent on better temporary hospitals, housing and vetting stations at the border instead of a wall. Taking care of those people risking their lives to get here while taking time to decide who gets to stay seems logical and humanitarian. We are better than this and what’s happening now. History is not going to be good to this administration especially on the immigration issues, but we shouldn’t be waiting for history to decide the moral responsibility we have as a democratic nation.

How often do we find ourselves saying, “We are better than this”? If there’s one theme to Other Aspects, it’s this: We better be better; it’s up to us. From the same reader a few days later:

Can Trump get rid of the Flores agreement?

Here’s an edited version of how I responded on August 27:

“There is no easy answer to this. It could play out any number of ways. If the Agreement were simply the settlement of a case, that would be one thing. But it’s incorporated into a court order. The executive branch can’t simply ignore or override a court order. Yet, I don’t think res judicata (the thing’s been adjudicated; can’t reopen) applies in the usual way to a case involving ongoing interactions.
A few scenarios:
1) Congress passes legislation comprehensively addressing the issue and obviating Flores. Not happening, which is the subject of my ire going back to the post of 5/10/19.
2) Appropriate agency in executive branch does formal rule-making and issues regulations, which are litigated. This would also involve a lot of time and work.
3) Trump announces he’s defying the court order. Plaintiffs move to hold him in contempt. Mess ensues.
4) The administration does something akin to a hybrid of 2) and 3) not simply defying, but not issuing formal regs either. Perhaps an executive order or something. Litigation ensues.
Looks like 4) has already begun, as one might expect. Trump has announced a plan to abandon Flores, whatever that means, and 19 states have joined in a suit.”

Here’s an update: Shortly after this post, the Trump Administration announced new policies called the “Final Rules”, tossing out the Flores principles (by providing for indefinite detention, diminished safety standards, etc.). Plaintiffs sought continued enforcement of Flores. On 9/27/19 Judge Gee ordered just that, with an injunction against enforcement of the Final Rules. Appeal by the Trump Administration remains pending with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

…Your Flores blog is the perfect pitch [for a non-technical book about famous legal cases]. In just a few words, you took a complex matter and made it both clear and interesting to read.

Talent and Success in Sports (Part 1, 9/18/19 and Part 2, 10/2/19)

The following is from a reader from inside the Washington D.C. beltway:

Very well done! I enjoyed your analysis despite its “inside Philly BBall” skewing and skewering. We have a process here in Skins Country, too. It consists of:

  • knowing to a certainty every year that the season is a lost cause before any games are played;
  • understanding that Snyder’s strategy is to lose now and lose later;
  • being too ignorant to understand the grammatical subtleties of terms such as “transitive verb;” and
  • being mindful that there is little to choose between “tanking” and monumental incompetence.
    At least we have Max, Steven, Anthony and Juan.

You do have them, and what a remarkably unprecedented World Series they won with the Nationals! I wasn’t kidding about being grateful as an Eagles fan that Dan Snyder owns the Redskins, by the way. Now, if only the Dallas Cowboys could have retained their head coach even longer…The only real difference between tanking and monumental incompetence is intent.

Consider the Kurds and Weigh (10/31/19)

Well said…[Trump] is a deep insult to every veteran who stood up and served our country. I have spoken to my fellow veteran friends about his betrayal of the Kurds and they are livid.
I have run out of adjectives to describe his behavior and am stunned that his “base” cannot see or understand the harm he is doing, much of it irreparable.

Another reader cited a specific line in the post before commenting:

Abandonment of the Kurds to the Turks in Syria is the single most despicable act of a president in my lifetime.

What about the Abandonment of the Iraqis to isis by the prince of darkness? Or how about the thousands of Coptic Christians left to be slaughtered by isis? No help offered … Wouldn’t even allow asylum to the US for them… ask yourself why… Or how about our own soldiers and ambassador left to be slaughtered in Libya to cover up the running of weapons to Syria. Obama let isis run unopposed throughout North Africa while they offered almost daily videos of their beheadings, burning people alive etc… Or maybe we can remember the abandonment of the South Vietnamese in 75 with untold slaughtered by the North Vietnamese after the dems leveled Nixon, then defunded the south’s ability to hold the truce.
[A]t least the Kurds have hundreds of millions in guns and weapons that you and I paid for.   After 19 years of this Middle East crap, The American People are fed up with it.

Prince of Darkness? I don’t recall Miles Davis or Ozzy Osbourne being President.

I believe Obama’s withdrawal of troops from Iraq in 2011 to have been one of his mistakes, premature at best. Perhaps he felt the American people were fed up with this Middle East crap. It was in accord with a status of forces agreement (SOFA) signed by George W. Bush on December 14, 2008 that all US troops would be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011. (Remember the press conference where W had to dodge a couple of shoes flung at him by an Iraqi journalist? That was the one.) The withdrawal followed painstaking analysis in consultation with experts, and months of unsuccessful negotiations with the Iraqi government to keep 3-5000 there. I wish we had. While it would not have prevented the rise of ISIS, 2014 may not have played out so badly had we maintained a presence.

That includes what happened to the Coptic Christians, who have been the victims of persecution for centuries. While 2014 was the worst recent year, the persecution continues to the present. This is one of the outrages in the world that must be addressed by all as simply unacceptable. Of course, we still have wackos who deny the Holocaust.

Obama has called the Libya debacle his “worst mistake”. Gadhafi deserved to be ousted by the US-led NATO intervention (approved by UN resolution), but a lack of planning for what was to happen next left the violent mess it remains. Unfortunately, we failed to learn from W’s declaration of victory in Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein. We seem astonished when the locals don’t  celebrate by rushing into the streets and setting up an American-style democracy the next day.

Then there was Benghazi, where inadequate security despite warnings left the embassy vulnerable to a deadly attack. The ambassador and three others were murdered; Obama and Hillary Clinton foolishly denied the attack was a terrorist act when they must have known better. Conspiracy theorists had a field day, especially after American arms found their way into the hands of terrorists in Syria. Altogether, Obama may be right that Libya was his worst mistake. Had I been writing a blog back then, my displeasure with Obama’s handling of Libya, Iraq, and other items would have been clear. That doesn’t change my assessment of Trump’s actions.

The misadventures of Vietnam are a whole other ballgame, well beyond the scope of the post. Mistakes go back at least to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, yet another lesson that if you must misrepresent the truth, there is something wrong with your position. The democrats did not level Nixon, however; Nixon’s behavior leveled Nixon. Back then, reprehensible behavior had consequences. It was over for Nixon when Barry Goldwater, a conservative’s conservative, and Hugh Scott told him his Watergate position was indefensible, which it was, though nothing much compared to current presidential behavior. Now, Senate republicans are led by the likes of Mitch McConnell. [Sigh]

The point remains: Any president makes mistakes, but not Trump; just ask him. He don’t need no stinking experts. Issues are easy when all you care about is what’s best for you. (In an unsettling way, actually, this was no mistake. The president deliberately sought to create a diversion from the Mueller report and Ukraine.) Trump’s unique blend of ignorance, arrogance, dishonesty, corruption, and narcissism make him as spectacularly ill-suited for the presidency as a person can be. It’s interesting that his grave flaws are finally dawning on some of his fans due to his atrocious handling of COVID-19, the only crisis of his presidency not of his own making.

As we see how much worse the pandemic gets than it had to be, the withering criticism is richly deserved. I’m still concerned, meanwhile, about what an increasingly desperate candidate for re-election will do as he realizes he was correct in wanting to run against Bernie rather than Joe. Will there be any inspector generals left? Will any act of telling the truth in the executive branch go unpunished? Will the Trump campaign simply merge into the Department of Justice? After the Memorial Day we just had, one shudders to consider the distress and harm this one man can cause leading up to November.

I, Citizen (12/15/19)

I found it very interesting. I especially thought the part where you spoke about Hamilton was amusing since the majority of its viewers/fans are actually kids or young adults…I think I’ll share this with my government teacher from last year…

It should be safe to share my post with a former teacher, since he is no longer grading you. Meanwhile, I should probably ask you to explain some parts of Hamilton to me.

Thoughts on Choosing a College (1/25/20)

Thanks for posting this, Ken, as we are in the college application process for my youngest daughter. At this time the things that hit home for me were in your summary: do not believe there is only one perfect place for your child, the option to transfer later if things don’t work out, and the chemistry or subjective feel according to the student (something I believe applies more to the girls than the boys).

We don’t want 17 or 18-year-olds thinking their lives are ruined if they didn’t get in to good ol’ Alma Mater. Or somewhere a couple friends want to attend (for no particular reason). Or…

As to the chemistry or subjective-feel thing, my two favorite stories on this point involve one girl and one boy. Since writing this post, I’ve been feeling badly for high school seniors who were relying on college visits this spring to make their final decisions. Hopefully, the post’s checklist helps.

Ken, two comments:
1. Community colleges merit mention. Some of the most dynamic programs geared to actually achieving rewarding employment upon graduation are centered here, and the cost is very reasonable. Moreover, it is a good maturation ground for those who need some maturity before moving on to a four-year school.
2. Changing majors is not so easy at places like Cornell and Penn. This is key info that students and parents need to know before they hand over the check.

These are two good thoughts. The second point is generally true at some schools, and may depend on which majors are involved at others. If a school is particularly renowned in one field, securing admission to the college may not automatically mean that major is available to all. Some places just seem to make things more bureaucratic than others, though my overall sense is that these issues have improved over the years. When frustrated, we used to call red tape the “RU screw” at Rutgers in the 70s, but it is much better there now.

McCoy Tyner, Philly’s Pianist Supreme (3/9/20)

I read your excellent ode to McCoy Tyner, then listened to some of his work. I’m afraid my tin ear doesn’t get it, but then it took me until maturity (some would argue that’s still in the future) to appreciate Mozart, Beethoven, Patsy Cline, Husker Du and Meatloaf. Keep the good stuff coming.

Give McCoy another listen sometime. He really is all that. By the way, what did Husker Du? 

Tony Allen, Fela’s legendary drummer, died [on 4/30]. He wasn’t as iconic, but he was every bit as important [as Fela Kuti].

Indeed, what is Afrobeat without the beat? The list of greats we’ve lost recently is getting way too long. In addition to McCoy and Tony, RIP: Jimmy Heath, Lyle Mays, Henry Grimes, Jymie Merritt, Bill Withers, Bucky Pizzarelli, Wallace Roney, Ellis Marsallis, Lee Konitz, Little Richard, Lucky Peterson, Jimmy Cobb.

Dynamic Duos (5/10/20)

One reader already had a suggestion for a duo:

Dolphy and Mingus

They are on the list and a compelling pair. Also under consideration was Charles Mingus and his long-time drummer, Dannie Richmond. Given the volcanic temperament that accompanied Mingus’s genius, it’s astonishing how long and how consistently Danny played with him – and how well.

Multi-reed virtuoso Eric Dolphy, like his friend Bobby Hutcherson, was one-half of a dynamic duo with a number of colleagues, including the two of them together (Out To Lunch and Iron Man, among other truly great albums).

Again, thank you for reading – and writing.

Ken Bossong

© 2020 Kenneth J. Bossong

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Consider the Kurds and Weigh

This being Other Aspects, I’ve generally avoided writing what others have been writing and, to some extent, what others have been writing about. Today I must make an exception for the topic everyone is talking and writing about.

The welcoming post to this blog on January 13 indicated that I’d address things, both good and bad, that keep me up at night. Well, we’ve hit the mother lode – at least thus far – and it isn’t one of those under-recognized good things deserving to be highlighted.

Abandonment of the Kurds to the Turks in Syria is the single most despicable act of a president in my lifetime.

I can see both sides of most legitimate disputes. I can make an argument for many diverse positions. Not this. There is no argument for this. There is no defense for this behavior.

Two Tendencies

It’s hard not to notice two behaviors in which Donald Trump is remarkably consistent:
First, when called or challenged on a statement or an action, he always doubles down. Always. The more clearly he is wrong about something, the more vociferously he doubles down.

Second, when things are not going well in one area, he says or does something outrageous in another area to divert attention. In the war of attrition that is diversion by outrage, more is better.

Donald Trump did not invent these two tactics, but he has taken them to levels beyond anything I can recall. Each tactic is a close relative to another classic – the Big Lie approach. In telling a lie, tell one so huge that in denying it, your adversary will grant you much of the false impression you wished to create.

Trouble Looming

With the Ukraine affair on the heels of the Mueller Report, things most decidedly were not going well for Donald Trump. Any notion that the Mueller Report was no big deal because it did not seem to deliver what either Trump haters or Trump supporters wanted is greatly mistaken. I will get to this in a future post, assuming it remains as important as I think it is.

Mueller had been overshadowed, though, by Ukraine. Unless the phone call transcript released is simply wrong, there seems no doubt that Trump withheld military aid badly-needed by the Ukraine to resist Russian aggression pending assurances from its president that dirt on political rival Biden would be forthcoming.

Trump’s defense is that he was merely interested, as he must be, in rooting out corruption. What corruption? As VP under Obama, the argument goes, Biden pressured the Ukraine to sack their Prosecutor General (Viktor Shokin) who threatened a company (Burisma) on whose board Biden’s son, Hunter, served.

Aside from the hilarity of the notion that Donald Trump aspired to be a crusader against corruption, the only problem with the defense is that it is exactly the opposite of the truth. Joe Biden joined an international effort pressuring the Ukraine to get rid of Shokin because he was NOT going after alleged corruption, not because he was. (The allegation’s timing is also off, but no need to go there.) Once this became clear, the rumblings of impeachment grew louder.

Other Non-starter Defenses

Two arguments offered to suggest Trump’s behavior wasn’t so bad here are silly. The first, that there was no quid pro quo because he didn’t us those exact three Latin words in the phone call, I’ll assume needs no reply.

The other, that America often conditions aid on receiving something in return is nearly as bad. Are there really people who fail to grasp the difference between (a) requiring something in the nation’s best interest and (b) requiring something in the president’s own personal interest at the expense of a political rival?

If there is any doubt as to how badly this was going for the president, consider the whopper of a diversionary crisis he felt compelled to create.

Catastrophic Treachery

Where does one begin? Among the worst of it: If you’re willing to betray a people who have lost 11,000 men and woman battling ISIS, what ally can you be relied upon not to betray? What ally will you have left anywhere in the world?

An estimated quarter million Kurds and others have been uprooted and are now homeless refugees in grave danger of genocide. The latter is what Turkey’s Erdogan has wanted for years.

Even as this goes on, the recent elimination of al Baghdadi could not have occurred without essential information provided by the Kurds. Such assistance evaporates with the Kurds’ fight for their lives. .

The void we’ve left in Syria is being filled by Russia and Iran. Once again, some of the worst men in the world are delighted with the performance of President Trump. Once again, Trump has acted precipitously, without input from aghast U.S. experts, in a way that benefits the interests of Russia, and harms those of the U.S..

The rebirth of ISIS, once on the ropes in the region through the sacrifices of Kurds and Americans fighting side-by-side, is virtually assured. One thing not assured is that all future confrontations with these violent radicals will be thousands of miles from our shores.

Video is available of our troops hastily leaving the area, with our betrayed allies throwing things at our vehicles. Like many others, military personnel at all levels are so distraught by all of this that they don’t know what to do.

The Donald

How is all this even possible? How could any president blithely betray an ally like the Kurds?

Well, Donald Trump doesn’t need any allies. Why would he? He is the best negotiator ever. He is the greatest deal-maker ever. He is both charming and brilliant. He has no need for briefings from experts because he is the expert. He is the best president ever. He is the best everything ever. He draws the biggest crowds ever. He sifted through the toxic 9/11 rubble with the first responders. The El Paso shooting victims of a madman (whose manifesto quoted Trump slogans) showed him love and respect in a visit. (He wished the reporters he banned could have been there to see it.) The Kurds are no angels, but he has done them a favor, and they are grateful. He is The Donald.

The Worst of Many Flaws

In answer to the question, “How could he do this?” I pose another question, seriously, for your consideration. Have you ever known, met, or even heard of, a person with a case of narcissism as extreme as that of Donald Trump? I mean ever.

He is incapable of empathy, or of introspection, or of compassion, or of remorse, or of grasping the notion that any human being other than himself matters. He cannot learn from his mistakes because he does not make mistakes. (My father used to joke that he’d never made a mistake; he once thought he had, but he was wrong.)

The only note on the musical scale Donald Trump’s can hear or sing is Mi – glorious Me. A repertoire so limited is crippling for a president.

Revulsion, not Glee

I take no pleasure in writing about a President of the United States this way, but there is no choice. If it seems that he is unraveling before your very eyes and ears, that’s because he is. All is the result of combining his two tendencies, above, with the narcissism out of which they are born. The crises he creates are ever worse because he always doubles down. He is always doubling down because he has always just created a senseless crisis. The spiral downward is accelerating.

I’m a little surprised that an instinct of self-preservation hasn’t kicked in to help Donald Trump notice this pattern isn’t working for him very well anymore. By now, most Americans have had one, or many more, of those moments when you wonder to yourself: “What manner of man says (or does) something like this? This is the President of the United States?” Anyway, with Ukraine and the Kurds, Donald Trump seems finally to have hit a low too low, even for him.

From the first announcement of Trump’s candidacy for office, I have found questions regarding his positions on issues amusingly inapt. Donald Trump has no “position” on anything – he barely has coherent slogans – with one exception: he is for anything that feeds his needy and insatiable ego, especially if it does so by increasing his wealth. Nothing else exists. That is Donald Trump’s position on everything.

An analogy comes to mind: Donald Trump is to a common self-centered politician as the compulsive gambler is to the problem gambler. While the latter two (politician and problem gambler) “merely” behave poorly, the former two (Trump and compulsive gambler) are addicted to the rush from doing so. I could almost feel sorry for him, but I’m too busy feeling sorry for us and for our country.

What is to be done?

Consider the Kurds and weigh the options. If inviting genocide for our staunchest and bravest allies in one of the world’s worst trouble spots isn’t enough for the Vice President and cabinet to invoke section 4 of the 25th Amendment, impeachment must proceed. The articles of impeachment should be direct, straight-forward presentations of the gravest high crimes and misdemeanors committed.

Every step of the process must be conducted professionally and ethically by serious, expert adults. It must be strictly on the merits. This includes affording the President impeccable due process. Why? Because (a) it’s the right thing to do; (b) it preempts any reasonable charges of unfairness; and (c) we want the just and correct outcome.

If I’m somehow wrong and the case against Trump isn’t that compelling, don’t impeach him. Bad behavior in pursuit of an alleged wrongdoer doesn’t strengthen the case against him. It’s just bad behavior. Anyone who just wants Trump removed through impeachment, whether or not it is the just and correct outcome, needs to look in the mirror as much as Trump supporters do.

From what we know, though, there’s little risk that’s the concern here. It’s time to take a vote and see who in Congress, if anyone, really is as craven as Trump is. Regardless of party affiliation, those not working tirelessly to limit harm by reversing atrocious policy has blood and irreparable damage to American interests on their hands.

Until recently, I was thinking we could get by just waiting for the voters to deliver the necessary message in 2020. Time is now of the essence, however; what could the next manufactured crisis be, if it is doubling down yet again, from THIS?

Not the Same-old Same-old

Make no mistake: this is not the usual left vs. right, progressive vs. conservative foolishness. It is no embrace of political correctness to know the madness must end. Republicans and true conservatives should be more appalled by Trump’s actions than anyone; many are. Indeed, how dare he bring the party of Lincoln down to such depths? While one does not lightly abandon an incumbent of one’s own party, nothing light occurred here. The damage being done to the Republican Party is enormous and likely to last.

Who’s Watching

Millions of Americans who are independent centrists are noting with disgust the behavior of congressional Republicans enabling these escalating outrages. They cannot be dismissed as the far left. Recognizing Trump’s presidency as dangerous, untenable and indefensible does not make them fans of Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, either. Far from it. They are the votes needed for anyone looking to win an election, and they are not happy with anybody.

For the system to work, America needs two major parties that are smart, principled and effective in presenting candidates who are honorable and have a clue. Right now, one such party would be a step in the right direction. Shame on us all if 2020 ends up a rerun of 2016, with most Americans (who don’t skip the election) voting for someone they can’t stand. Meanwhile, unfortunately, there’s serious work to do before the election.

Right now, in fact. That’s unless current Republican congressional leaders reduce their infamy by having with Trump the sort of discussion Hugh Scott, Barry Goldwater, and John Jacob Rhodes had with Nixon shortly before his resignation on August 9, 1974. Even if they do the right thing and have such a discussion, is President Trump likely to resign? Probably not; he is The Donald, after all. The more comprehensively his conduct is examined, however, the more Nixon’s conduct is going to resemble child’s play.

Ken Bossong

© 2019 Kenneth J. Bossong