Mattis' Farewell

Today is the last day of Secretary Mattis' tenure as Secretary of Defense.  As I've posted elsewhere, he is an American hero.  The letter he sent to DOD is a class act.  All the way.  Fair winds and following seas, Mr. Secretary.

A Providential New Year's Message

I'm occasionally called upon to read one of the lessons at our Episcopal Church.  There is usually an Old Testament reading and a New Testament reading.  New Testament readings are much more desired because they don't have all those unpronouncable names and because it's usually a little more relevant to the modern person.  At least it seems that way to me.  And so today, Dec 30th I was on the list to read.

My reading was from the New Testament and it was taken from St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians.  Here it is:

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Now...not everyone who is reading this is a Christian.  But everyone reading can take this message in and think about it in general terms.  It's about how we treat each other, how we love one another, and how we live our lives, day by day.

If this isn't a great message as we move into the new year, I don't know what is.  And in 2019...I think we're gonna need it!  Happy New Year!

Friday Funnies

Festivus

Happy Festivus.   Another thing to take our minds off of the craziness around us!

Mattis

By now everyone who is interested (which seems to be everyone these days) has heard the story of Defense Secretary Mattis' resignation over President Trump's abrupt announcement that we will pull out our troops from Syria.  So what should we think about this?

First, the media narrative (which I didn't buy) from the beginning has been that Trump would be saved from his worst impulses by Gen Mattis, Gen Kelly, Gen Flynn and LtGen McMaster.  Well...so much for that.  They are all now gone.  And I can't see that their impact was so dramatic.  That's because Trump was the one who was elected.  He went through the months and months of pain and was never going to let his power go.  He listens to close advisors and considers what his team says.  But he fundamentally trusts himself more than anyone.  Just look at his ego and some of his statements.  So checking him is not in the cards.  But maybe educating him is.  Maybe he'll listen...sometimes and to a few people.  I think that is what Mattis was banking on.  He found out that is not in the cards.

So let's focus on Mattis.  There is not one little tiny shred of a doubt that he is a great American patriot and hero.  He is a legendary figure.  His accomplishments have been enormous and virtually no one would debate his importance on the national security scene.  I'm not so sure he ever really wanted to be Secretary of Defense, but he answered the bell when called.  I suspect he saw a neophyte in national security affairs and decided he could make a difference in helping to define our engagement strategy with the world.  I also am very sure he loves the troops and would do anything to make their lives better.  As the months unfolded it sounds to me like he became increasingly frustrated that Trump, while learning, wasn't listening.  Like I said, he was elected and he trusts himself.  The other thing about Trump is that because of the antipathy he has experienced with the media, he strongly feels that he needs to go direct to the people via Twitter.  That is about as alien to Mattis as anything imaginable.  If there is any knock on Mattis, and this isn't even a knock, it's that he's a product of and believer in the system.  By definition he is a believer of working within the system and adhering to generally accepted norms when it comes to developing national security strategy and engaging with allies.  He has found that isn't a priority with Trump.  Mattis developed what I consider one of the best, if not the best, national security strategies every produced by this country.  I've read that Trump didn't even read it.  I don't know if that's true, but it's believable.  Trump is his own national security strategy.  As the past two years unfolded there were successes and failures.  Maybe not so much failures as missed opportunities.  And on the international stage a missed opportunity is a failure.  So Mattis soldiered on trying to educate and get Trump to fit within the norms.  It was never going to happen.  The day of his resignation was going to happen at some point and the weird announcement, without consultation with his national security team and allies, that we were pulling out of Syria was literally the straw that broke the camels back.  So he resigned.

At this point let me say that I admire the resignation enormously!  How many times have we seen people in our government object to a policy under their breath and then go back to work.  All the while undermining the person they disagree with.  There is a huge breath of fresh air that Mattis resigned in the face of something he couldn't accept.  No drama.  No antipathy. Just here's why I'm doing it and here's my letter.  And oh by the way, no snarky excuses or sneaking around badmouthing the boss.  I'm resigning and here's 50 copies of the letter for all to see.  Class act!

Now, there are those who are gnashing teeth and lamenting that Mattis was the "adult in the room" and now Trump will be unconstrained to respond to his worse instincts.  I don't buy it.  There's always someone else.  There's an old saying....cemeteries are filled by indispensable people.  There's always someone else.  He will leave a hole, but the hole will be filled.

Here's another, more humerous way to look at it.  Cracks me up.  But there's a lot of truth between the lines.

As to the decision, I come down on the side of withdrawal.  I would have done it differently.  I would have consulted and taken some time and worked with both allies and NGO's.  But that's not Trump.  He did his thing and he's the elected President.  So the average person like me doesn't have to make a resignation decision.  If I were in Mattis' position, I might have focused on process vs. outcome.  But Mattis clearly objects to the withdrawal.  So be it.  He is now gone.

UPDATE:  The WSJ Opinion page has a good summation of this whole mess.  They are much more eloquent than me and express concerns that any of us should hold.  You can read it here.  Since it's off their site it might be locked so you'll have to find it somewhere else if you're interested.

I can't articulate my position better than one of the guys I read regularly.  IMHO CDR Salamander nails it.  You can read his post here.

In a larger context, this is a providential prelude to the next two years.  Trump is going to suffer greatly.  People will resign.  Policies will be challenged.  Nothing will get through the Congress.  He will be embattled on all sides.  I don't think there will be an impeachment challenge, but that could change.  People I respect don't think he'll be able to or be willing to weather it.  I'm not so sure.  He's proven to be a strong guy with a thick skin.  So I suspect he'll hang in there.  Whether he will have a shot at reelection is another story.  At some point in the past I would have said it was a done deal.  Now I'm not so sure.

Friday Funnies

SHUT IT DOWN

The drama of the week (which has been building for a while) is the impending government shut down over funding to build the border wall that President Trump has promised since he declared for the Presidency in 2015.  The numbers are all over the board but Trump essentially wants $5B from this Congress.  They have offered $1.2B.  The original request was for $25B but that seems like a long time ago.  There has been a dance going on between Trump and the Democrats for 2 years to get the wall funded.  And it's no longer about the wall.  It's clearly about hating Trump and denying him anything he wants.  So this is a preview of the next two years.

There are some interesting things about this whole sordid mess.

1. I think Trump made a tactical communications mistake from the beginning when he focused on the term "the wall".  I know it was about plaing to his base, but it's an easily misunderstood term that can be exploited.  Everyone knows it's not about a wall and that a wall won't be build along the whole Southern border.  It's really about border security.  But the term "the wall" both boxes him in and allows the Dems something that they can rail against.  They can disengenuously say they want border security but not a wall.  They can say it won't work (which is BS because there are walls in many places around the world that do work).  They can say they don't want to waste money.  And all the while the people who resonate with a wall is his base.  But most everyone else recognizes that funding is needed for a lot of things along the border, and a wall in some places is needed.
2. $5B is a rounding error in the U.S. budget.  It's chump change.  To say that they can't afford it is intellectually insulting.
3. It was in the news today that we are getting ready to send $10.6B to Mexico and Central American countries for foreign aid.  That's like adding insult to injury.  
4. There is a Continuing Resolution on the table that will fund the government until sometime in February so as to get thru the holidays and kick the can down the road a bit.  But a new Congress comes in next month that is a Dem majority.  So there is not even a remote chance that this will get done in Feb.
5. Virtually all of the Dems have advocated for and voted for increased border security to include a wall in certain places in the past.  It's the heighth of hypocracy to now be against it.  It is clearly just a tactic to shove it up Trumps ass.  
6. The shutdown is a "partial" shutdown.  Don't really understand that but as I understand it there will be a lot of functions continuing.  There will be some bureaucrats who feel the pain, but it won't be terrible.
7. The media are clearly hoping for a shutdown.  They want the show.  They want the ability to go out and find the sob stories to put on TV and show everyone what a heartless asshole Trump is. They are almost salivating over it.  They don't care about the human stories.  They just hate Trump and want him to squirm.

I'm usually moderate in most things.  I believe in seeking a bipartisan solution.  I think dialog between the parties should result in compromise.  But right out of the gate the Dems are signalling that they are going to war.  They have the majority and are going to beat him over the head with it.  There will be NO bipartisan work done in the next two years.  So the next few weeks are the end of his ability to exert leverage.  Why not use it.  If he's going to stand on principle and say enough is enough...

SHUT IT DOWN!

Motivation Monday

Friday Funnies

The Shopping Mall

Like many (most?) I've found myself doing most of my shopping online.  Whatever kind of site it is, it is just so much more convenient to shop online.  And if you are a member of Amazon Prime the shipping is free.  So what's not to love.

But it's Christmas.  Shopping at the mall is sort of a ritual at Christmas.  I'm not not sure if I've been to a mall since last Christmas, but if so it wasn't a memorable trip.  So even though we've done a lot of shopping online for Christmas gifts, last week we set off for the mall to pick up a few items, do some window shopping and a fair amount of people watching.  We have a mall fairly close that has been totally redone in the last few years and recently reopened with a lot of high end stores that cater to all different tastes.  There were a few things that struck me about the mall that I'd never thought of or observed before.

1. How in the world does a store stay in business and make money when it caters to a very narrowly focused clientele?  I saw 4 stores at the mall selling sunglasses.  And these sunglasses aren't the $10 drug store specials.  They were expensive.  Very expensive.  And in all the stores I saw very few people shopping. I also saw stores selling flipflops.  How can you support a whole store on flipflops?
2. Kiosks are rampant.  When did they become a thing?  There is a kiosk for everything.  And no matter how high end the mall, the kiosks (at least to me) generally sell cheesy stuff.  Who buys stuff from a kiosk?  I saw no one browsing a kiosk.  Wait. I take that back.  I saw a kiosk selling 2019 calendars and there were several people browsing around.  But I suspect it was to look at the photos.
3. When did women and girls wearing ripped jeans become a thing?  I didn't see just a few women with ripped jeans.  I saw a ton of them.  It caused me to scratch my head pretty hard.  And while I'm on it, how do some of them fit in those jeans.  I mean, they are skintight!  I was tempted to ask a few women how they got into and out of them but that probably wouldn't have ended well.
4. Where has Cinabon gone?  That used to be a mall staple.  No more Cinabon.  I never bought any but the smells were sure nice.
5. Why do women and girls put their cell phones in their rear pocket?  Doesn't it break when you sit down?  That seems to me the last place to put a phone.
6. I couldn't believe all the places to eat in the mall.  And not just foodcourt kinds of places.  How do these places make money other than at lunch?  Who goes to the mall for dinner?  Is that a thing now?  I wasn't there at dinner time, but I might go back just to check out the crowds.
7. There was a store in the mall called "Untuck It".  They sell shirts for guys that are regular shirts except apparently they are cut a little different so when they are worn outside pants they look good.  Another strange niche store.  
8. You can buy a Tesla at the mall.  A Tesla.  As in a car.  It's a storefront just like The Gap or Pottery Barn.  I guess you go in with your checkbook and come out with a car or something.  But I didn't see any back lot for checking out different colors.
9. There is a huge furniture store right in the middle of the mall called "ARHOUS".  Get it?  Our House.  A play on words.  I hate clever plays on words.  I was turned off before I even went in. But I have to admit the stuff was pretty cool.  But very, very expensive.  
10. Nortstrom is still Nordstrom.  Snooty and expensive.  When I was working I used to buy clothes there once in a while.  I was usually a Jos A Bank or Brooks Brothers guy.  But Nordstrom has some good suits.  The problem at Nordstrom is getting past the sales people.  I mean, they are sales people.  They act as if they own the store and are a little offended that you'd want to take some of their things out of the store.  The other interesting phenomenon are the women who work the cosmetics department.  They are scary.  They have clearly taken trying their products to heart.  They seem to have a permanent wide-eyed glare.  

There were others but those are a few off the top of my head.  It was a fun experience and we laughed about these and others.  Now excuse me while I fire up the computer.  I need to do some shopping in my jammies.

Tweets

I've been on Twitter for a few years now.  I heard about it several years ago and didn't really jump on board because it seemed so limiting and shallow.  But since I like to keep up on what's happening in this new social media world, I finally decided that I should jump in.  Around that time the Presidential election was gaining momentum and all of the candidates, especially Trump, were on Twitter and providing info direct to their constituents.  So it seemed like a good thing to try out.  I have to admit than when I first got on Twitter it was a bit addictive.  In a very short time you can scroll through a lot of Tweets and receive a lot of info.  You can easily choose who you want to follow so if you're a mind to validate your thoughts and not listen to people who you disagree with, then it's easy to just stay in an echo chamber.  Conversely, if you want to get really annoyed by people who you think are idiots, then you can find them and follow them.  It then becomes pretty easy to get in arguments with complete strangers over some subject that you both disagree on.  It's also pretty easy to mindlessly spout either good or evil on various things depending upon your frame of mind.  And most assuredly it's very easy to become a Twitter warrior and rant and rave over things that in real life is something you might take a few minutes to think about and then go about your day.  On balance, I've come to believe that the bad dramatically outweighs the good!  

After being on Twitter for a few years I've found myself turning away, largely with disdain.  Of course we all see our President tweeting on various things almost every day.  And I have to admit that it really is a good way for him to get his thoughts out directly to the people without the filter of the media, which clearly hate him and will put their own spin on whatever he says.  The problem though is that with someone in his position, I think people expect more.  They are turned off by the name calling and hostility he exhibits on Twitter.  How many times have you heard people who otherwise like many of the things that he has accomplished remark that they wish he'd just stop Tweeting.  But if you've been on Twitter for any length of time, you are aware that being active on Twitter results in a coarseness that many times doesn't reflect well on the user.  You almost can't help but react emotionally to the things you see there.  The other thing is that this form of social media allows people to have a voice who otherwise would be anonymous.  Do they need that voice?  Well, that's a whole other conversation but it seems that many want to engage on the issues of the day and see Twitter as a way to do that.

The other thing about Twitter is the recent phenomenon of the company (and don't forget that's what it is.  A company whose goal is to make money!) has engaged in pretty egregious suppression of many people who they don't agree with.  Read that as conservatives.  There are many, many examples of conservatives being censored or outright banned.  In what is supposedly a free society, it is at best concerning and at worst really disturbing.  Don't know where they are going with this but I don't see any solutions anytime soon.

And now we get to the latest dustup on Twitter.  Just last week Keven Hart was dumped from hosting the Oscars because of some tweets that were dredged up from several years ago that were supposedly offensive and homophobic.  Several years ago.  And the young Quarterback from Oklahoma, Kyler Murry who won the Heisman Trophy this week was confronted with tweets from when he was 14 that were supposedly Homophobic.  He was 14.  I say supposedly on both these cases becuase I haven't seen the tweets.  They were from several years ago and both are not remotely the peopole they were then.  These cases are tragic, maddening, and stupid.  And I think the average person believes that.  If this isn't a great lesson to any young person that whatever you put on social media never, ever goes away, I don't know what is.  I'm never going to be in the spotlight for anything, but I sometimes thank my lucky stars that Twitter wasn't around when I was a young dude.  Like most, I said a lot of stupid things.  I'm not the same person as the person who said stupid things in their youth.  Just like Kevin and Kyler.  Like I said, it's tragic.  

Motivation Monday

Cool Pic

USS GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH

Friday Funnies

THE FIANCE'

A young woman brought her fiancé home to meet her parents.

After dinner, her mother told the girl's father to find out about the young man.

The father invited the fiancé to the living room for a talk.

"So, what are your plans?" the father asked the young man.

"I am a biblical scholar," he replied.

"A biblical scholar, hmmm?" the father said. "Admirable, but what will you
do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in?"

"I will study," the young man replied, "and God will provide for us."

"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she
deserves?" asked the father.

"I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replied, "God will provide for us."

"And children?" asked the father. "How will you support children?"

"Don't worry, sir, God will provide," replied the fiancé.

The conversation proceeded like that ... each time the young idealist insisted that God would provide.

Later, the mother asked, "How did your talk go, honey?"

The father answered, "another Democrat, He has no job, he has no plans, and he thinks I'm God."

President George H.W. Bush Funeral

It's been a special week.  As Americans we bicker and fuss and hate on each other constantly.  The political partisanship is almost intolerable.  Most of us who call ourselves moderates become sick and frustrated with it.  That's why the week has been special.  The death of President Bush has served to bring people together, even for a short time.  America has had 45 Presidents.  45 in 242 years!  When they die the country always comes together.  I remember when Reagan died the majesty and ceremonies were awesome.  Maybe because we've become so polarized and partisan, when a President dies, the bipartisanship seems even more special.  Add in that President Bush was probably the most decent man to hold the office in most of our lifetimes, and you get something to remember.

If you didn't see the funeral today at the National Cathedral, you missed an amazing event.  It was, quite simply the most beautiful, majestic, moving and fitting ceremony I've ever seen.  Ever!  I can't even describe all of the facets of the day, but it was truly special.  Maybe you don't have a couple hours to watch a replay, but the eulogies and homily are certainly worth some part of your time.  They all were magnificent.  So I'll link them here.

Historian John Meacham 

Former Canadian PM Brian Mulroney

Senator Alan Simpson

President George W. Bush

And here is the homily given by Father Levinson.  It was amazing!

Sully

The photo of President Bush's service dog, Sully lying in front of his casket is heartbreaking and inspiring.  It is no wonder that it has gone viral in both conventional and social media.  There will be a lot more images this week as President Bush is laid to rest, but I daresay none will be as poignant as this one.  RIP President Bush!

Motivation Monday

President George H. W. Bush

We lost a hero, a gentleman, a statesman, a President last night.  But he would say we lost a husband, a father and a grandfather last night.  He was many things, but certainly at the core was his humanity. RIP President Bush!