Category Archives: Morning Joe

GREAT AGAIN?

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October 2, 2018 Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. He never walked out. Indeed, over time it became clear that he had been brutally slaughtered, and his body dismembered with saws by Saudi government agents. The President of the United States defended not the American resident journalist Khashoggi, but the Saudis, emphasizing the monetary value of the U.S./Saudi relationship. He continued to provide advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia. Republican support and popularity with his base did not suffer at all.

The Turks, however took note. Turkey was already very aware of the power of money within the Trump Administration. The former National Security Adviser, Mike Flynn had been on Turkey’s payroll as a “consultant”. Flynn had failed to disclose his status as a foreign agent for Turkey, or his role in the conspiracy to kidnap Turkish cleric Fathullah Gulen from the United States and secret him off to Turkey, likely for a fate not dissimilar to that of Khashoggi. Seeing Trump’s continued approval of the Saudis and Flynn, Turkey’s ruler, Recep Erdogan decided to push for an end to American protection in Syria of the Kurds, whom Turkey wanted displaced and weakened. To the astonishment of many, President Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops, leaving the Kurds, who had fought side by side with Americans against the Islamic State abandoned and fleeing for their very lives from Turks and Russians. Trump’s support never wavered.

Even as an investigation of President Trump’s relationships with Russia, led by Robert Mueller yielded potentially damaging details, and his documented and witnessed blackmail of Ukraine for investigations of enemies in exchange for desperately needed weapons led to his impeachment in the House of Representatives, the Republican led Senate held him free and harmless, weakening Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression and cowering Trump’s domestic rivals as Bill Barr, more a Trump consigliere than an Attorney General, began helping Trump allies and investigating investigators.

Emboldened, President Trump’s exertion of his power and disdain for the rule of law escalated, along with his overt racism. So did his open embrace of Vladimir Putin. He railed against N.A.T.O. allies, announced withdrawal of American troops from Germany, and insisted that Russia be readmitted to the G8 (now G7) despite its annexation of Crimea, invasion of Ukraine, and poisoning of Russian exiles in England. North Korea’s Kim Jung Un became disgusted that even as Trump publicly courted his friendship as well, he was unable to extract such tangible benefits as the Saudis, Turks, and Russians.

Perhaps the most interested observer of all was President Xi Jinping of China. Economically and militarily, China continues to emerge as the primary rival of the United States for world supremacy. Accordingly, Mr. Trump regularly ignites his base with anti Chinese rhetoric. Their personal interactions though are quite different from the rhetoric. Trump even asked Xi Jinping for help in Trump’s reelection effort in the form of investigations of his rival Joe Biden, and a successfully concluded trade deal to bolster the U.S. economy. Astutely, Xi Jinping mentioned the prison camps in construction in China to house the Uyghurs and other minorities. Mr. Trump expressed comfort with it all. Seizing on this compromise of the moral high ground, China began publicly denouncing U.S. hypocrisy on human rights, and oppressive measures in Hong Kong.

The most grievous action however involves Mr. Putin. It is now revealed that he offered and paid bounties to Taliban in Afghanistan to kill American troops. President Trump, despite this being in his President’s Daily Briefings claims to have been unaware of it while in frequent friendly phone calls with Mr. Putin, inviting him to Washington, D.C., and campaigning for Russian reentry to G8.

A cadre of former Trump Administration officials, including former Chief of Staff John Kelly, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former Secretary of State Rex Tillis, and former National Security Adviser John Bolton have denounced President Trump’s discourse with foreign leaders as injurious to the national security of the United States, but his Republican and base support remain strong. Legions of Americans are dying due to his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, and his advocacy of mass gatherings with resistance to face coverings even as te sicknesses become more pervasive. Still wherever he goes there is a welcoming sea of adoring fans in red baseball caps bearing his trademark phrase, “Make America Great Again”.

Taking A Knee

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I’m a military veteran: four years in the U.S. Navy, mostly on ships. When I was on the carrier U.S.S. Wasp, CVS-18, if it were to go down at sea, or if it were being boarded by Russians, it was my responsibility to destroy the top secret cryptographic materials on that flagship rather than have it fall into enemy hands. I would have died doing that, and was prepared to do so. It was my solemn duty. So while I often tease about how little real action I saw during my military tour, there were those times like in Guantanamo Bay at night when I stood watch with my loaded M-1 aft ship while my shipmates slept, and if a Cuban or Russian tried to board that ship it was up to me to prevent that from happening, and I would have, or would have died trying.

Fast forward to my late twenties. I’m a junior officer at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. My best friend from college, Terry Wright, was a manager at Consolidated Edison, New York’s public utility. We were proud and dedicated corporate types. One of the benefits of having a decent job was going to the Knicks game, which we did. We went after work, so had on our corporate uniforms. I had on a blue pinstriped suit, white shirt, and yellow tie. Terry had on a brown pin striped suit, white shirt, and red tie. Before the games, when the national anthem was played, we always stood with our hands on our hearts, loyal and proud Americans (both with Caribbean roots.) That wasn’t always the case with people of color in those days. There was much racial and ethnic strife in the 1970s, as the nation struggled with the emerging civil rights and integration rules. FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional) were blowing things up in New York City, seeking Puerto Rico’s independence. There were several black nationalist organizations advocating the same, and militancy was rampant. We understood and were empathetic, having experienced daily racial indignation all our lives, and having been active in the Student Organization for Black Unity on our college campus. However, it was our belief and hope that times were changing, and that through dedication and hard work one could overcome the circumstances of one’s birth, and integrate successfully into mainstream society.

At this particular game, we arrived early. We had good seats, and walking to them we passed some white teens that we noticed only because there were about 5 of them, and they were sort of loud, joking and having fun, and most of the seats were empty at the time. At any rate, we got to our seats, settled in, and began discussing how our individual work days had gone. At one point, we noticed that the teens we had seen sitting far behind us had moved, and were now sitting in a lower section even than ours, to our right. We commented on it, and returned to our conversation. We were interrupted by a Madison Square Garden attendant who walked past those teens, as well as other fans who were by this time arriving, and came to Terry and I. He asked us to show him our tickets. I asked him why he needed to see them, and he replied that he needed to know if we were in the right section. Terry asked him why was he asking for our tickets, and not asking any of the people around us for theirs? His reply was “Never mind them. I’m asking you, and if you don’t show me your tickets, security can escort you out of here.”

We showed him the tickets, he looked at them, handed them back, and left. The teens who were in front of us snickered, but when the people arrived who had paid for the seats they were in they moved back to the seats they were properly assigned. When they played the national anthem, Terry and I did not stand. We sat silently, broken hearted.

That was long ago. Today when I attend sporting events, I stand for the national anthem. That is not to say that I do not experience fairly constant reminders that I’m not viewed as other Americans are; but time has passed, I’ve matured, and I react differently to different things. However, when I see people take offense to real life injustices and indignities, I understand it. This current controversy isn’t going to make me change my posture, but I understand those who will react differently. I have a son whom I worry about, whom I have worried about since he started driving on the roads in high school. I’ve been mistreated personally by policemen, and fear what some of them might do to my son. I have also been assisted by policemen, and have personal friends who are or have been policemen. The person who offended me most in this current situation is President Donald Trump, the opportunist who used this device for the purpose of dividing people, and appealing to our worst instincts.

While people are name calling and passing judgment about taking a knee or not, American citizens in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are reeling from unprecedented challenges. I think of Turnbull from St. Croix and Jiminez from Santurce, who served with me in the military, and hope they are okay. I see the President focused on tweets about taking a knee when those guys may be somewhere trying to survive, and it angers me. I read his tweet about how irresponsible Puerto Rico is, as opposed to expressing sadness and determination to help those people, and it angers me. The next game I go to, when the national anthem is played, I will stand as I always do; but if I see Turnbull or Jiminez there and they are sitting, I would understand. And I wouldn’t question their integrity nor their patriotism. They’ve earned the right to be less than pleased.

The “Trump Russia Thing”

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During the 2016 Presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton suggested, to the chagrin of Donald Trump, that he might be a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Of course, Mr. Trump was indignant; but it did seem strange that he not only suggested that he would have closer relations with Russia, but appeared never willing to criticize Russia in any way. Rather than a narrative, I will herein mention 20 facts that individually are suspicious; combined they are chilling, but not to congressional Republicans nor to the hordes of Trump supporters believing he will “Make America Great Again”.

1. To handle the numerous inquiries into Russian connections, President Trump has hired attorney Marc Kasowitz. Mr. Kasowitz represents OJSC Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank in U.S. civil court disputes.
2. Trump’s “leading candidate” to replace Jim Comey as F.B.I. Director is Joe Lieberman, an associate at Mr. Kasowitz’ law firm.
3. Law firm Morgan Lewis was named Russia Law Firm of the Year 2016 for their extensive ties to Russia. Trump turned to them to get a certified letter which he claims proves he has no business ties to Russia.
4. Trump fired F.B.I. Director Comey after Comey refused to pledge loyalty to Trump, rejected Trump’s request to stop investigating former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn’s Russian connections, and refused to end the investigation of the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia in hacking and other influences on the U.S. election.
5. Mr. Trump maintains communication with Mike Flynn after reluctantly firing him, advising Flynn to “stay strong” under intense investigation, as Flynn has sought immunity and fifth amendment protections.
6. Mike Flynn was removed due to not declaring then lying about his interactions with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
7. Jared Kushner, Trump Senior Adviser and son in law had undisclosed meetings with Russian Ambassador Kislyak along with Mike Flynn, and with Sergey Gorkov, head of Russian state owned bank Vnesheconmbank, which has been under sanctions since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.
8. The day after firing Jim Comey as F.B.I. Director for continuing to investigate “the Russia thing and Trump”, the President at Vladimir Putin’s request hosts Russian Foreign Minister Sergy Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the White House, brags to them about relieving pressure on himself about his Russian connections in doing so, and divulges highly secret intelligence to the Russians, possibly endangering an agent of the U.S. ally who provided the intelligence. U.S. media was excluded from the meeting, but Russian were not, and Vladimir Putin offered to provide transcripts if needed.
9. Mr. Trump asked the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Adviser to deny that there is evidence of Trump campaign collusion with Russia in the 2016 election, even though the matter is under investigation.
10. Devin Nunes, Head of the House Intelligence Committee and Richard Burr, Head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, at the behest of the White House call media outlets to discredit news stories about contacts between the Trump campaign team ad Russians, while these committees are investigating just that.
11. Mr. Nunes pulls a stunt with White House staff, pretending the take data he actually got from those staffers to the White House in an attempt to validate Mr. Trump’s discredited assertion that former President Obama wiretapped President Trump.
12. Due to his behavior, Mr. Nunes has to recuse himself from the Russian investigations.
13. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also has to recuse himself because he was part of the Trump campaign being investigated, and he like others did not properly divulge his meeting with Russian Ambassador Kislyak.
14. Mr. Trump defends Vladimir Putin constantly while denouncing the U.S. intelligence agencies who unanimously conclude that Russia was behind the hacking and misinformation efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections, including Wikileaks activities. He even compares them to Nazis.
15. Even though warned about Mike Flynn by President Obama who had fired Flynn, and being told by Flynn about his foreign entanglements, Mr. Trump hired Flynn as National Security Adviser and had Flynn getting the Presidential Daily Intelligence Briefings. After Acting Attorney General Sally Yates went to the White House to warn that Flynn had lied to the F.B.I. about his Russian contacts, he remained in position with unlimited access for another 18 days.
16. Vice President Michael Pence denied knowing about Mr. Flynn’s foreign payments and lobbying even though the Trump Transition Team, headed by Pence, got a letter from Rep. Elijah Cummings about these matters, and Flynn himself had informed the Trump Transition Team that he was under investigation for his work on behalf of Turkey.
17. Mike Flynn’s lobbying client in Turkey actually had business dealings in Russia, and worked with an executive in Russian oil companies on Turkish lobbying projects.
18. Former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele compiled a dossier on Donald Trump which concluded that Trump is under Russian influence. Much in the dossier has been proven accurate.
19. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was paid by former Russian ally Ukraine to influence U.S. attitudes toward Ukraine ties to Russia. The Republican Party platform deleted language critical of Russia’s actions in the Ukraine reportedly at the insistence of the Trump campaign.
20. Carter Page, former adviser to the Trump campaign and a constant advocate for warmer relations with Russia visited Russia during the campaign, and met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak during the Republican convention. He is evasive about why he is under investigation Similarly, Roger Stone, another Trump associate visited Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and seemed to have pre-knowledge of what Wikileaks would reveal.

This is just a partial list. Concerning?