Unilateral disarmament

It was sad yesterday to see Al Franken, formerly one of the Senate's most widely respected leaders, announce his resignation amid charges of inappropriate conduct.   I realize as an old white man who has been afforded the benefit of the doubt my entire life, it is not easy for me to comment on the foibles of other old white men.   However, in this case it would seem the democrats are indulging in the fantasy that their moral propriety will be reciprocated by the republicans, and I won't let that misconception pass.  Yes, Franken probably indulged in some crude behavior, but did it rise to the level of forced resignation.  I guarantee there are at least a half dozen republican senators who have done that much or worse and will never be called on it and if they were they would not resign.  As Dahlia Lithwick pointed out recently, democrats are right to exercise zero tolerance in a perfect world.  The fact their opponents refuse to do so is the cautionary part of the equation. 

Another date that will live in infamy

Of course, any date since Jan. 20, 2017 is a pretty good candidate for that designation, but since I haven't seen any mention of the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, I figured I would mention it.  As the "Greatest Generation" has continually reminded the rest of us, Dec. 7, 1941 was the beginning of the struggle to preserve democracy around the world.  We won that fight and the victors reaped an unrivalled era of prosperity.  It's a pity that many from that generation and more than a few of the baby boomers are flushing democracy down the proverbial toilet.

What a deal!

If Donald J. Trump took over Monty Hall's old slot at "Let's make a Deal", instead of offering the contestants a choice of doors #1,2, or 3, he would allow them to look behind 2 doors before having to choose.   What a deal!  That's exactly what he did for the state of Israel yesterday when he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.   The Prime Minister was probably turning cartwheels as America surrendered a potential bargaining chip in the peace process.  By granting recognition with no strings attached, tRump managed to unite Jordan, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia in condemnation of the move.  Meanwhile, this move will undoubtedly re-energize Hammas and Hezbollah as the foci of Palestinian resistance to Israel.  We will never know what Netanyahu would have been willing to give up in return for US recognition of Jerusalem, because no one asked him for any concession.  What a farce.

Bubbles

As Rachel Maddow's show fades out and Lawrence O'Donnell and his latest guests eviscerate the GOP and its titular head, I wonder what my crazy uncle would make of the proceedings on MSNBC on an average weeknight.  I know I'll never find out, because the uncle in question would never tune into the above mentioned shows any more than I would check out the latest stylings by Sean Hannity.  We live in mutually exclusive bubbles and both of us consider ourselves in possession of the only truthful narrative of our national politics.  Ordinarily, the alignment of Maddow, et. al with the national media's interpretation of the facts would be an open and shut case.  However, after a nearly 40 year campaign by the GOP and its counterfactual universe, the New York Times and Washington Post are deemed by most voters who identify as republicans as "fake news" and dismissed when reality collides with their chosen narrative.  These views are reinforced by social media which verifies such idiocies as Hillary running a child sex slavery ring out of the basement of a D.C. pizzeria.   How the truth can compete with this is problematical at best.

Obsessing

This may be a repetitive post, but even on the cusp of retirement, I find the future of work a fascinating topic.   Growing up in mid to late 20th century America, most people, myself included, measured their self worth by the work they did and the value they produced.  Not working was something hippies and welfare cheats did and they were properly excoriated by society for violating this norm.  The recent spate of articles about AI or artificial intelligence explores the potential of this technology to change how we measure self worth in the future.  Many of these explorations of AI blithely claim it will be like many revolutions in the past.  It will take over many jobs now done by humans, but somehow many new jobs we can't even imagine will be created.  Unfortunately, there is a huge hole in this logic.  As Kevin Drum points out, if AI can meet or exceed human intelligence, then by definition it will also be able to do any new jobs created better than humans.   Many in Silicon Valley and other AI incubators are worried about what to do with a population with basically no work function in a future society.   With the automation of most routine jobs which will include many highly technical and well paying professions, how will our grandchildren and their progeny define themselves if they have not work function.   As we build machines with the ability to build more and better machines, will these super powerful computers decide humanity is disposable?  Or will the material abundance eliminate poverty and usher in a virtual heaven on earth where everyone can live up to his or her potential, freed from the drudgery and lack of choice forced on most of us in the present.   These are the questions our generation should be asking as we quite possibly face the end of work as a measure of social worth.

What to say

If this was a recording, I would be speechless.  Living in the first term of a Trump presidency can have that effect on anyone who expects the chief executive of the nation to at least pretend to be a grownup.  After his pick to be leader of the National Security Council was indicted for lying to the FBI by the special counsel investigating tRump's campaign's ties to Russia, all he could do was relentlessly attack the agency all weekend.   As one commentator pointed out the press and law enforcement agencies, in the absence of congressional oversight, represent the only check on  the president's power.  This inability to suborn the free press and the law drives Orange Narcissus crazy.  I wonder how long he will be able to resist the urge to use the substantial powers he controls to actually damage his remaining adversaries.  

Tax follies

It looks like faux deficit outrage by a small number of republicans is all that stands in  the way of the latest redistribution plan by the GOP.  Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, neither of whom is running for office again are free to voice their inner deficit hawks, albeit not too loudly if they wish to feed at the wingnut welfare trough when they leave the Senate.  Their objections have put a speed bump in an otherwise smooth road to send more middle class money to the 1%.   This horrible tax bill is unpopular and opposed by economists, interest groups on both sides of the political divide and the general public, but aside from the aforementioned senators, there is no outrage in Congress.  This bill is a big wet kiss to the donor class.  I hope the "little people" realize there is strength in numbers and while it may be too late to kill this monstrosity, we can at least make the perps pay for it in 2018.