BLAME THE NICE PEOPLE: |
Her posture is perfect: head high, shoulders squared, never slouching in her chair during even the most tedious hours of testimony. She never has a bad hair day. Yet the courtroom artists find Martha Stewart hard to draw. Her face, lively and beautiful on TV and in her magazine, emerges as taut and severe in their drawings. It isn’t a question of poor draftsmanship. On trial, with her freedom and fortune on the line, Martha Stewart looks like a different person. Today, Stewart’s top lawyer and the lead prosecutor will paint their opposing portraits of the media entrepreneur and her actions between her now-notorious sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock on Dec. 27, 2001, and her interview with federal investigators the following April. Is Stewart the victim of a trophy-hunting U.S. Justice Department, or a shrewish multimillionaire who thinks the rules don’t apply to her? |
In four paragraphs, Tom wrapped together the business background of the alleged crime, the legal arguments and of course, the intriguing woman at the center of the story, seen not only through his eyes, but those of courtroom artists.
AFTER CAREERS ON TWO COASTS, Tom and Irene retired to Providence, to the delight of friends like me and my wife, who had remained in Rhode Island. Still, we didn’t see enough of them, even though we lived in Newport, just 40 miles away, not hundreds or thousands. People our age should know better than to squander time and opportunity. |
After Tom’s diagnosis, we were in better touch.
Selfishly, I peppered Tom with emails about business subjects that baffled me but about which I was sure Tom had the answers, like Elon Musk’s vast wealth and the absurd stock market success of Donald Trump’s puny social media company. And I remembered how scornful Tom had been about state lotteries.
“I like lotteries better than sports betting, which I think has much greater potential to wreck young people’s lives,” Tom wrote back, “not to mention that it’s already coarsening and even adding violence (hostility, death threats) to the atmosphere of pro & college sports.”
As to Musk’s billions, Tom noted that his income at least was tied to remarkable success of companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and PayPal. Trump’s ventures mostly were “black holes of failure or frauds or both. The main point is no investor ever made a dime on Trump; only he did.”
We talked about the couples getting together at a Newport restaurant, with Tom joking whether his New York-based toll pass would bill him and Irene $80 for crossing the Newport Bridge.
He ended one email this way:
“Thanks for your friendly thoughts. I’m sure we’ll see you in Newport before long.”
Selfishly, I peppered Tom with emails about business subjects that baffled me but about which I was sure Tom had the answers, like Elon Musk’s vast wealth and the absurd stock market success of Donald Trump’s puny social media company. And I remembered how scornful Tom had been about state lotteries.
“I like lotteries better than sports betting, which I think has much greater potential to wreck young people’s lives,” Tom wrote back, “not to mention that it’s already coarsening and even adding violence (hostility, death threats) to the atmosphere of pro & college sports.”
As to Musk’s billions, Tom noted that his income at least was tied to remarkable success of companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and PayPal. Trump’s ventures mostly were “black holes of failure or frauds or both. The main point is no investor ever made a dime on Trump; only he did.”
We talked about the couples getting together at a Newport restaurant, with Tom joking whether his New York-based toll pass would bill him and Irene $80 for crossing the Newport Bridge.
He ended one email this way:
“Thanks for your friendly thoughts. I’m sure we’ll see you in Newport before long.”
Election countdown
A FATEFUL FORK IN THE ROAD IS 5 MONTHS AWAY
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” – Yogi Berra
ONE OF THE MOST TANTALIZING aspects of the Nov. 5 election – which is just five months away as of today - is the enormous good turn American history will take if voters make the correct choice.
Much of the focus in the campaign has been about keeping Donald Trump out of the White House, to prevent the man-made catastrophe he and his acolytes have been planning in detail.
But much less attention has been focused on the positive turn the country will take if voters elect Joe Biden – and not just because Biden is the obvious better choice.
I believe that the United States is on verge of sweeping advances and reforms far beyond what most of us imagine, bringing the country closer to its idealistic but elusive historic goals.
Take racism – America’s original and, until now, its perpetual sin.
I think the county’s increasing diverse population, plus the collective accomplishments of the Civil War, the 1960s civil rights movement and the more recent Black Lives Matter crusade, are about to give birth to an era in which prejudice loses its grip.
There’s simply too many different kinds of people, of different colors and origins, to tolerate segregation, Jim Crow apartheid and the backlashes that have followed every advance in human rights. The bigots, simply put, will be outnumbered.
And then there’s climate change. What if, instead of a nearly inevitable disaster, America could lead the world community in an unprecedented global campaign for survival?
So much is known about the human-generated causes of a warming climate, as well as the emerging technologies which can reverse a burning planet, that it’s no longer a pipe dream to imagine that the planet can - and will - be saved.
Also, much has been made of the growing divide between rich and poor, not just in the U.S., but throughout the world. Be we also know how to even the scales.
Housing is an example. Right now, ensuring that every person has an absolute right to a safe and sustaining home, seems hopeless. Houses and apartments are priced beyond the means of increasing numbers of people, particularly young people, forcing a rise in homelessness that now is not only accepted but regarded as a public nuisance.
But we know how to build houses and apartments; we know how to do that without destroying open space. We know how to subsidize housing costs when they exceed the buying power of paychecks. We know how to treat substance abuse and mental illness and how to deal with other contributors to homelessness. All that we need to do to provide homes is the will to do it. It’s not hard to imagine a consensus that demands solutions, simply because so many people need a place to live.
Those are just three of the remarkable opportunities that lie ahead if we choose – in this election – to take the country in one direction and not the other.
There are so many advances and breakthroughs in the arts, in education, in science, transportation, social science, healthcare, in space and at the bottom of the oceans – that you can practically feel collective knowledge and creativity straining to be set loose.
WHAT’S CLEAR about this election is the stark nature of the choices.
We’ve come to a profound cliche, a national fork in the road, one way leading to promise, the other to despair.
The choice, now merely five months away, is not simply electing Joe Biden, a well-meaning and often competent master of the mundane details of government, or choosing Donald Trump, a felon, liar, rapist, psychopath and dictator-in-waiting determined to destroy democracy.
The choices we make on Nov. 5 will outlive both men, who are well beyond their natural and political shelf lives.
The election of an agingJoe Biden has the potential to open an astonishing future far beyond the outlines of his own policies; while the election of an aging Donald Trump will destroy any hope of advances in equality, ecology, the economy and so much more.
I don’t mean to say that the Biden second term and the decades beyond will be rosy and without blemish; only that democracy, particularly the freedom to think and speak, fosters progress. Dictatorship crushes creativity, innovation, discovery and dialogue.
AT THE BEGINNING of this piece, I quoted one of famous witticisms of the baseball player and manager, Yogi Berra, which seemed to prescribe directionless directions: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
Actually, Yogi meant what he said.
According to the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in New Jersey, Berra was telling his pal, the catcher and broadcaster, Joe Garagiola, how to get to his home: at the fork, either road would bring him there.
That is not the case with the electoral fork in the road we’re speeding toward on Nov. 5.
Swing to the right, and we’re doomed.
Take a left, and the future is as promising as it is profound.
VERDICT:
DON’T GIVE UP ON HOPE
HERE’S WHAT I got wrong about the Manhattan trial that has now marked Donald John Trump as a felon.
It wasn’t the guilty verdict itself; or the jury’s speed in reaching it; or even the clean sweep decision – guilty on all 34 counts.
Almost everyone got some or all of those guesses wrong.
The pundits, the legal eagles, analysts, inside-the-courtroom, outside-the-courthouse reporters – collectively, The Experts – didn’t forecast what happened late on a May 30 afternoon.
It’s a lesson that as much as we lean on and even respect The Experts, who arguably do their best, they are mortals and rarely have all the answers.
What I got wrong was forgetting that the most important factor of the 2024 election is hope.
I should know better.
Hope is the real X-factor of any crisis, no more so than an election that’s the most consequential of my lifetime .
None of us knows what’s going to happen on Nov. 5. At best, some are “worried;” and, at worst, others are "resigned" to an outcome in which America delivers itself to a dystopian dictatorship.
The odds often seem unsettling.
Bad enough that Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, and other Republican notables, dressed up like Trump, showed up at the courthouse to support the defendant, then, after the verdict, attacked the justice system.
The most depressing factor in this campaign was, and is, that millions and millions of Americans say they’ll vote for a failed president, a serial liar, an insurrectionist, a racist and an anti-environmentalist.
All of which takes a toll on hope.
SO IT WAS with the New York trial.
My prediction was that there would be a hung jury – that one or more jurors would disagree with her or his fellows, resulting in a mistrial, which Trump would claim as an acquittal.
The case sounded too complicated. The jury needed to believe that Trump – long, long ago in 2016 - purchased the silence of porn celebrity Stormy Daniels about an even earlier encounter with her, then faked business records to pay the bill, all with the purpose of cheating on election laws.
Frankly, a fair-minded anti-Trumper could reasonably agree to disagree with the prosecution. We also could suspect that a member of the Trump cult had lied during jury selection to become the stealth hold-out.
There was also Trump’s most inscrutable, mysterious characteristic that has served him throughout his P.T. Barnum career in business and politics – his ability to fool so many, then to get away with it.
He’d managed to stall the other three pending indictments, about the far more serious charges of attempted election subversion and possession of secret records possession, so that those trials won’t occur until after the election – if ever.
HOPE WAS AT A LOW EBB when I returned from an errand late in afternoon and my wife reported that the jury had reached a verdict.
She been listening to the radio (we are old enough so that’s how we still get a lot of our news).
My reaction was that it was too soon, just two days of deliberations, rather than the two months I’d expected, and so this had to mean acquittal.
Rather than have my heart broken with the next “Breaking News” report, I went outside to adjust the pressure of the tires on our car. Better to do something positive.
When I returned, my wife had more news.
“Guilty!” my wife announced. “On all counts. Thirty-four counts.”
STUNNED. AND ASHAMED.
Shame on me: I had gotten it wrong. No mistrial, as I’d predicted. Nobody likes to be wrong, although I knew that somehow, I’d get over that.
But the real shame was that I’d forgotten the most important factor of the crusade to protect American democracy: hope.
I’d let Trump mess with my brain, nearly extinguishing hope. There were no excuses for that. After all, I live in a state whose motto is “Hope.” “Hope” is on the state flag. Hope is on the Rhode Island state seal.
It’s possible that the conviction, in the end, will work in Trump’s favor and inspire even more voters to come to his rescue.
And while it’s unlikely he’ll end up in prison, even that wouldn’t necessarily be the end of Trump. Many giants of history have spent time in the slammer, heroes like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and in Trump’s case, Adolf Hitler.
Appellate courts surely could overturn the jury’s verdict – The Experts tell us there’s plenty of legal wriggle room.
But the Manhattan jury did more than declare Donald John Trump a felon 34 times. It reminded me, and I think lots of others, of the power of hope.
As individuals, we can’t do much to influence the outcome of an election. We can cast our one vote; donate money; write letters; argue with neighbors; maybe go to the Six States That Count to ring doorbells.
But hope – that’s something we can control.
Hope is scary, uncomfortable, energizing and essential.
In the end, hope is not an option for a democracy. The future of our country and the planet depends on it.
It wasn’t the guilty verdict itself; or the jury’s speed in reaching it; or even the clean sweep decision – guilty on all 34 counts.
Almost everyone got some or all of those guesses wrong.
The pundits, the legal eagles, analysts, inside-the-courtroom, outside-the-courthouse reporters – collectively, The Experts – didn’t forecast what happened late on a May 30 afternoon.
It’s a lesson that as much as we lean on and even respect The Experts, who arguably do their best, they are mortals and rarely have all the answers.
What I got wrong was forgetting that the most important factor of the 2024 election is hope.
I should know better.
Hope is the real X-factor of any crisis, no more so than an election that’s the most consequential of my lifetime .
None of us knows what’s going to happen on Nov. 5. At best, some are “worried;” and, at worst, others are "resigned" to an outcome in which America delivers itself to a dystopian dictatorship.
The odds often seem unsettling.
Bad enough that Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, and other Republican notables, dressed up like Trump, showed up at the courthouse to support the defendant, then, after the verdict, attacked the justice system.
The most depressing factor in this campaign was, and is, that millions and millions of Americans say they’ll vote for a failed president, a serial liar, an insurrectionist, a racist and an anti-environmentalist.
All of which takes a toll on hope.
SO IT WAS with the New York trial.
My prediction was that there would be a hung jury – that one or more jurors would disagree with her or his fellows, resulting in a mistrial, which Trump would claim as an acquittal.
The case sounded too complicated. The jury needed to believe that Trump – long, long ago in 2016 - purchased the silence of porn celebrity Stormy Daniels about an even earlier encounter with her, then faked business records to pay the bill, all with the purpose of cheating on election laws.
Frankly, a fair-minded anti-Trumper could reasonably agree to disagree with the prosecution. We also could suspect that a member of the Trump cult had lied during jury selection to become the stealth hold-out.
There was also Trump’s most inscrutable, mysterious characteristic that has served him throughout his P.T. Barnum career in business and politics – his ability to fool so many, then to get away with it.
He’d managed to stall the other three pending indictments, about the far more serious charges of attempted election subversion and possession of secret records possession, so that those trials won’t occur until after the election – if ever.
HOPE WAS AT A LOW EBB when I returned from an errand late in afternoon and my wife reported that the jury had reached a verdict.
She been listening to the radio (we are old enough so that’s how we still get a lot of our news).
My reaction was that it was too soon, just two days of deliberations, rather than the two months I’d expected, and so this had to mean acquittal.
Rather than have my heart broken with the next “Breaking News” report, I went outside to adjust the pressure of the tires on our car. Better to do something positive.
When I returned, my wife had more news.
“Guilty!” my wife announced. “On all counts. Thirty-four counts.”
STUNNED. AND ASHAMED.
Shame on me: I had gotten it wrong. No mistrial, as I’d predicted. Nobody likes to be wrong, although I knew that somehow, I’d get over that.
But the real shame was that I’d forgotten the most important factor of the crusade to protect American democracy: hope.
I’d let Trump mess with my brain, nearly extinguishing hope. There were no excuses for that. After all, I live in a state whose motto is “Hope.” “Hope” is on the state flag. Hope is on the Rhode Island state seal.
It’s possible that the conviction, in the end, will work in Trump’s favor and inspire even more voters to come to his rescue.
And while it’s unlikely he’ll end up in prison, even that wouldn’t necessarily be the end of Trump. Many giants of history have spent time in the slammer, heroes like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and in Trump’s case, Adolf Hitler.
Appellate courts surely could overturn the jury’s verdict – The Experts tell us there’s plenty of legal wriggle room.
But the Manhattan jury did more than declare Donald John Trump a felon 34 times. It reminded me, and I think lots of others, of the power of hope.
As individuals, we can’t do much to influence the outcome of an election. We can cast our one vote; donate money; write letters; argue with neighbors; maybe go to the Six States That Count to ring doorbells.
But hope – that’s something we can control.
Hope is scary, uncomfortable, energizing and essential.
In the end, hope is not an option for a democracy. The future of our country and the planet depends on it.
DON'T HEAD FOR THE STORM CELLAR YET. BIDEN CAN - AND MUST - WIN
I HAVE FRIENDS who are resigned to a Trump victory – and for sound reasons.
They believe that Donald Trump has momentum in the presidential campaign; that Joe Biden is stalled; and that the polls are stubborn in asserting that a psychopath is leading.
So, it makes sense that preparations are in order: Psychologically, to get through a terrible election night; Tactically, to survive a Trump catastrophe.
If you see a tornado coming ....
My view is different.
I believe that Biden will win. More about that later.
Even if the election looks seems close or worse – like a Trump landslide – it is too soon to head for the storm shelters.
Call me crazy, but I believe this fact: the only effective way to survive a Trump second term is to make sure there isn’t one.
They believe that Donald Trump has momentum in the presidential campaign; that Joe Biden is stalled; and that the polls are stubborn in asserting that a psychopath is leading.
So, it makes sense that preparations are in order: Psychologically, to get through a terrible election night; Tactically, to survive a Trump catastrophe.
If you see a tornado coming ....
My view is different.
I believe that Biden will win. More about that later.
Even if the election looks seems close or worse – like a Trump landslide – it is too soon to head for the storm shelters.
Call me crazy, but I believe this fact: the only effective way to survive a Trump second term is to make sure there isn’t one.
I DON’T BLAME PEOPLE for being worried, which is too mild a word for the terror that vaporizes our brains, the thought of a return Trump presidency.
If you are a Biden supporter, there's already a lot that's gone wrong, and now we'll have to contend with all the terrible events that surely will unfold the rest of this spring, summer and fall.
There's no question that Biden’s road to a second term is just like one of my state's infamously defective highways: nasty potholes, time-bomb engineering, time-wasting detours, confusing highway signs, all of which must be navigated by an elderly driver who may not have figured out his car's GPS system or remembered to charge his EV.
Roadblock One is the Constitution.
I'm sorry to say this. We were taught that the nation's central founding document is a work of genius, a miraculous tapestry of checks and balances that guarantee perpetual democracy.
But we now know that the Constitution is an antique, like one of those family heirlooms that visitors are warned not to sit on, too fragile to carry the weight of their original purpose.
You know the major problem: a presidential candidate can win the most votes overall, but lose the "electoral" count, so that the “winner” is decided by six or so special "battleground" states.
When Biden won four years ago, he did so not just because he got 7 million more total votes than Trump, but because he won the battlegrounds, three of them by a combined total of only 43,809 votes.
Polls say that, at the moment, Biden is losing in most of the battlegrounds, and that's been the case for months.
No wonder discouragement is setting in.
There are lots more wrong turns that could produce an Election of Doom:
People may decide not to vote, seeing Biden and Trump as too yesterday, too alike, too unlikable. These abstainers probably would vote for Biden, while Trump voters never have second, third or twenty-third thoughts.
Then there are the "principled" voters. Worried their souls will be corrupted by choosing either Biden or Trump, they might seek to protect their moral immorality by voting for someone else. Anyone will do: crazy Robert Kennedy Jr. Or how about write-in choices like Ben, the lovable option. Ben is our family cat. Ben will take votes away from Biden, not Trump.
Gloomier and gloomier.
Inflation. Gaza. Inflation. The Border. Inflation. Black and Hispanic voters determined, in this election, not to be taken for granted. Inflation. A Biden flub at a debate. Trump’s flubs don't matter. Inflation.
How about that Manhattan trial? What will an acquittal mean? A hung jury? Even a conviction? All good. Because when you're a Trump voter, nothing matters. Anyway, come Nov. 5, the Trump trial will have faded from the national memory. Stormy who?
Worry away, Democrats and anyone else who cares whether democracy survives, whether the climate can be rescued and whether the U.S. can continue its imperfect pledge to try to be better this year than last year.
If you are a Biden supporter, there's already a lot that's gone wrong, and now we'll have to contend with all the terrible events that surely will unfold the rest of this spring, summer and fall.
There's no question that Biden’s road to a second term is just like one of my state's infamously defective highways: nasty potholes, time-bomb engineering, time-wasting detours, confusing highway signs, all of which must be navigated by an elderly driver who may not have figured out his car's GPS system or remembered to charge his EV.
Roadblock One is the Constitution.
I'm sorry to say this. We were taught that the nation's central founding document is a work of genius, a miraculous tapestry of checks and balances that guarantee perpetual democracy.
But we now know that the Constitution is an antique, like one of those family heirlooms that visitors are warned not to sit on, too fragile to carry the weight of their original purpose.
You know the major problem: a presidential candidate can win the most votes overall, but lose the "electoral" count, so that the “winner” is decided by six or so special "battleground" states.
When Biden won four years ago, he did so not just because he got 7 million more total votes than Trump, but because he won the battlegrounds, three of them by a combined total of only 43,809 votes.
Polls say that, at the moment, Biden is losing in most of the battlegrounds, and that's been the case for months.
No wonder discouragement is setting in.
There are lots more wrong turns that could produce an Election of Doom:
People may decide not to vote, seeing Biden and Trump as too yesterday, too alike, too unlikable. These abstainers probably would vote for Biden, while Trump voters never have second, third or twenty-third thoughts.
Then there are the "principled" voters. Worried their souls will be corrupted by choosing either Biden or Trump, they might seek to protect their moral immorality by voting for someone else. Anyone will do: crazy Robert Kennedy Jr. Or how about write-in choices like Ben, the lovable option. Ben is our family cat. Ben will take votes away from Biden, not Trump.
Gloomier and gloomier.
Inflation. Gaza. Inflation. The Border. Inflation. Black and Hispanic voters determined, in this election, not to be taken for granted. Inflation. A Biden flub at a debate. Trump’s flubs don't matter. Inflation.
How about that Manhattan trial? What will an acquittal mean? A hung jury? Even a conviction? All good. Because when you're a Trump voter, nothing matters. Anyway, come Nov. 5, the Trump trial will have faded from the national memory. Stormy who?
Worry away, Democrats and anyone else who cares whether democracy survives, whether the climate can be rescued and whether the U.S. can continue its imperfect pledge to try to be better this year than last year.
WHY AM I OPTIMISTIC?
Because Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States. That's a fact. He is too corrupt, too cruel, too inept, too evil.
It simply cannot be allowed to happen.
I'm optimistic because Joe Biden has been a competent president, and will be the same for another four years.
Joey's not a perfect president now, nor will he be in 2025. There never has been President Perfect. I don't like Biden's Gaza strategy or China tariffs. But he makes some historic choices, like his defense of Ukraine, the climate and democracy.
Across the country, people - smart people, determined people, imaginative people - are working hard to reelect Biden and keep the nuclear codes out of a madman's hands.
I believe there are more people of good will than otherwise, and you have to factor them into any election equation. We pay attention to members of Trump's cult and to his Republican opportunists, but there are other powerful forces at work, and they count.
Many Americans - most Americans - believe in justice, more than are committed to a legal system that punishes only the weak and the enemies of the powerful, but pardons the rest.
More people are committed to climate-saving technology and policies than support a poisoned, burning planet. More people want to move forward with civil rights than hope to return to the Jim Crow days.
More people dream of an economy that provides homes, food, education and medical care for all Americans than would rather have millions living on sidewalks, going hungry, growing up ignorant and dying too early.
I’m betting that there are lots of people, who once were embarrassed by cliches like “patriotism,” “the flag” and “citizenship,” but who now see that their country is in peril, so they've decided that to defend it.
The election of 2024 seems complicated, but it comes down to a series of yes or no choices:
Even an optimist knows the outcome of this election isn't certain - only that it’s possible.
This is no time to head for the storm cellar.
Because Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States. That's a fact. He is too corrupt, too cruel, too inept, too evil.
It simply cannot be allowed to happen.
I'm optimistic because Joe Biden has been a competent president, and will be the same for another four years.
Joey's not a perfect president now, nor will he be in 2025. There never has been President Perfect. I don't like Biden's Gaza strategy or China tariffs. But he makes some historic choices, like his defense of Ukraine, the climate and democracy.
Across the country, people - smart people, determined people, imaginative people - are working hard to reelect Biden and keep the nuclear codes out of a madman's hands.
I believe there are more people of good will than otherwise, and you have to factor them into any election equation. We pay attention to members of Trump's cult and to his Republican opportunists, but there are other powerful forces at work, and they count.
Many Americans - most Americans - believe in justice, more than are committed to a legal system that punishes only the weak and the enemies of the powerful, but pardons the rest.
More people are committed to climate-saving technology and policies than support a poisoned, burning planet. More people want to move forward with civil rights than hope to return to the Jim Crow days.
More people dream of an economy that provides homes, food, education and medical care for all Americans than would rather have millions living on sidewalks, going hungry, growing up ignorant and dying too early.
I’m betting that there are lots of people, who once were embarrassed by cliches like “patriotism,” “the flag” and “citizenship,” but who now see that their country is in peril, so they've decided that to defend it.
The election of 2024 seems complicated, but it comes down to a series of yes or no choices:
- Democracy or dictatorship
- Progress or regression
- Compassion or violence
- Truth or lies
- Good or evil
- Joe Biden or Donald Trump
Even an optimist knows the outcome of this election isn't certain - only that it’s possible.
This is no time to head for the storm cellar.
A “SORDID” STORY, TOLD IN COURT
THIS SPRING; WORTH RECALLING
IN AN ELECTION THIS FALL
WHAT DID WE LEARN from the Trump hush-money/doctored business records/election-influence trial last week as Stormy Daniels swept in and out of the witness chair?
Nothing really new.
We already understood the basics about the defendant: Donald John Trump is a sleaze, a bully, a liar, a sexual outlaw, a misogynist, a corrupter, an adulterer and a creep.
Still, Daniels’ appearance was a reminder of some of Trump’s key character traits as he seeks a second term as president of the United States.
With the election less than six months away, it’s helpful to remember a word that’s often used in news reports about the trial, that so perfectly describes Trump: “sordid.”
Unfortunately, it’s also one of the the words that's often been used about Ms. Daniel’s testimony, making it seem like the “sordid” stuff is her fault and might even favor Trump.
For example, this headline from a Wall Street Journal analysis:
How Stormy Daniels’s Sordid
Testimony Could Help Trump
Porn stars’ details about alleged sexual encounter took trial about
falsifying business records off course, some lawyers say
Reporters also speculated about the possible backfire effect of Ms. Daniels’ testimony as being so explicit that, as one New York Times writer put it: “...the jury develops some sympathy for Trump.”
Sympathy for Donald Trump?
Ladies and gentleman on the jury (of public opinion), we are asked today decide who, exactly, is the “sordid” one:
LET’S GO TO THE TRANSCRIPT of May 7, 2024.
In which Ms. Daniels describes her “encounter” with Trump in 2006 as he slithers his way into bed with her – just briefly, just once, just one of many times he’s abused women.
Ms. Daniels testifies she is at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, part of a team from her employer, Wicked Pictures, which has sponsored a “hole,” (she notes the irony) at the golf course, and later, she hands out company swag at a gift room visited by players, including Trump.
She’s 27 and Trump is “older than my father.” Later, he dispatches “Keith” to see if she’ll have dinner with Trump at a hotel.
At first she answers “F. no.” But after consulting her publicist, she decides there might be an advantage to her career, and she goes to his room.
They chat about her career, and Ms. Daniels asks about Trump's wife:
"Oh, don't worry about that," he tells her. "We are -- actually don't even sleep in the same room."
Trump brings up the possibility of Ms. Daniels appearing on his hit TV show, “The Apprentice,” which she first dismisses, doubting a national TV network would feature a porn star.
But Trump assures her can put in the fix, the way pro-wrestling shows do when they script a match.
“I can't have you win, but we can -- I am in control. I know what's going to happen,” Trump tells her. “I can give you some advantage to make sure you at least make a good showing.”
Sounds good to her.
As they talk, Trump flatters her progress in the adult film industry, praises how she’s overcome stereotypes that belittle participants as bimbos, even comparing Ms. Daniels to his own daughter:
“You remind me of my daughter, because she is smart and blond and beautiful and people underestimate her was well.”
Wow.
Nothing really new.
We already understood the basics about the defendant: Donald John Trump is a sleaze, a bully, a liar, a sexual outlaw, a misogynist, a corrupter, an adulterer and a creep.
Still, Daniels’ appearance was a reminder of some of Trump’s key character traits as he seeks a second term as president of the United States.
With the election less than six months away, it’s helpful to remember a word that’s often used in news reports about the trial, that so perfectly describes Trump: “sordid.”
Unfortunately, it’s also one of the the words that's often been used about Ms. Daniel’s testimony, making it seem like the “sordid” stuff is her fault and might even favor Trump.
For example, this headline from a Wall Street Journal analysis:
How Stormy Daniels’s Sordid
Testimony Could Help Trump
Porn stars’ details about alleged sexual encounter took trial about
falsifying business records off course, some lawyers say
Reporters also speculated about the possible backfire effect of Ms. Daniels’ testimony as being so explicit that, as one New York Times writer put it: “...the jury develops some sympathy for Trump.”
Sympathy for Donald Trump?
Ladies and gentleman on the jury (of public opinion), we are asked today decide who, exactly, is the “sordid” one:
- The businessman, author, TV star and politician who has won and lost presidential elections?
- The actor, writer and director, who once wanted to be a veterinarian, but built a career in pornography?
LET’S GO TO THE TRANSCRIPT of May 7, 2024.
In which Ms. Daniels describes her “encounter” with Trump in 2006 as he slithers his way into bed with her – just briefly, just once, just one of many times he’s abused women.
Ms. Daniels testifies she is at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, part of a team from her employer, Wicked Pictures, which has sponsored a “hole,” (she notes the irony) at the golf course, and later, she hands out company swag at a gift room visited by players, including Trump.
She’s 27 and Trump is “older than my father.” Later, he dispatches “Keith” to see if she’ll have dinner with Trump at a hotel.
At first she answers “F. no.” But after consulting her publicist, she decides there might be an advantage to her career, and she goes to his room.
They chat about her career, and Ms. Daniels asks about Trump's wife:
"Oh, don't worry about that," he tells her. "We are -- actually don't even sleep in the same room."
Trump brings up the possibility of Ms. Daniels appearing on his hit TV show, “The Apprentice,” which she first dismisses, doubting a national TV network would feature a porn star.
But Trump assures her can put in the fix, the way pro-wrestling shows do when they script a match.
“I can't have you win, but we can -- I am in control. I know what's going to happen,” Trump tells her. “I can give you some advantage to make sure you at least make a good showing.”
Sounds good to her.
As they talk, Trump flatters her progress in the adult film industry, praises how she’s overcome stereotypes that belittle participants as bimbos, even comparing Ms. Daniels to his own daughter:
“You remind me of my daughter, because she is smart and blond and beautiful and people underestimate her was well.”
Wow.
TIME FOR A BATHROOM BREAK, Ms. Daniels tells the jury, and when she emerges, Trump is lying on a bed in his undershorts and t-shirt.
Too late, she realizes that the author of “The Art of the Deal,” has set up a sex-for-a-favor arrangement.
“I felt the blood basically leave my hands and my feet and almost like if you stand up too fast, and everything kind of spinned,” Ms. Daniels testifies.
She indicates she wants to leave, and Trump seems to block her exit, mocking her efforts to walk way from both hotel room and the quid pro quo.
“I thought we were getting somewhere,” she recalls Trump’s comment. “We were talking, and I thought you were serious about what you wanted. If you ever want to get out of that trailer park....”
(She is offended, telling the jury: “I never lived in a trailer park.”)
“Then I just thought, ‘Oh, my God, what did I misread to get here?’ Because the intention was pretty clear, somebody stripped down in their underwear and posing on the bed, like waiting for you.”
She next recalls being on the bed, naked except for her bra, staring at the ceiling; Trump doesn’t use a condom, even though she’d told him how important condoms are in her industry; they are, briefly, in the missionary position.
Afterwards, Ms. Daniels struggles to put on her clothes.
“My hands were shaking so hard. I was having a hard time getting dressed. He said: ‘Oh, great. Let’s get together again, Honeybunch. We were great together.’ I just wanted to leave.”
THIS PROBABLY ISN’T the kind of sex scene Ms. Daniels would script for one of her films, perhaps too tame, maybe too lame.
It’s up to the jury of public opinion – just like the one in courtroom – to decide how credible it is.
Over the years, Ms. Daniels has changed her story, first denying they had sex, then altering some of the details. And for a while, she stayed in touch with Trump, hoping for the “Apprentice” spot that never materialized.
To me, the story she tells in a Manhattan courtroom describes a Total Trump: the sexual opportunist he bragged about being on the “Access Hollywood” tapes that emerged in the closing days of the 2016 election: a celebrity entitled to grab women’s crotches, to kiss women and to screw them.
Indeed, the story Ms. Daniel’s tells seems to warrant Trump paying $130,000 to keep secret, certainly until after the election, about a man who sent a go-between to proposition her; describing a man who suggested he could advance her career, then extorted some sex.
I don’t know what the jury in New York will decide. My guess is that the case is legally convoluted, so maybe he’ll be acquitted, or that one or two holdout jurors will cause a mistrial. And then there’s this week’s expected testimony by Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s dicey star witness.
But in the court of public opinion, I think the verdict on Stormy Daniels' testimony is uncontested.
I hope that on Nov. 5, a majority of voters will remember her spring testimony as being among the hundreds of reasons not to elect Donald John Trump.
“Just too sordid.”
Too late, she realizes that the author of “The Art of the Deal,” has set up a sex-for-a-favor arrangement.
“I felt the blood basically leave my hands and my feet and almost like if you stand up too fast, and everything kind of spinned,” Ms. Daniels testifies.
She indicates she wants to leave, and Trump seems to block her exit, mocking her efforts to walk way from both hotel room and the quid pro quo.
“I thought we were getting somewhere,” she recalls Trump’s comment. “We were talking, and I thought you were serious about what you wanted. If you ever want to get out of that trailer park....”
(She is offended, telling the jury: “I never lived in a trailer park.”)
“Then I just thought, ‘Oh, my God, what did I misread to get here?’ Because the intention was pretty clear, somebody stripped down in their underwear and posing on the bed, like waiting for you.”
She next recalls being on the bed, naked except for her bra, staring at the ceiling; Trump doesn’t use a condom, even though she’d told him how important condoms are in her industry; they are, briefly, in the missionary position.
Afterwards, Ms. Daniels struggles to put on her clothes.
“My hands were shaking so hard. I was having a hard time getting dressed. He said: ‘Oh, great. Let’s get together again, Honeybunch. We were great together.’ I just wanted to leave.”
THIS PROBABLY ISN’T the kind of sex scene Ms. Daniels would script for one of her films, perhaps too tame, maybe too lame.
It’s up to the jury of public opinion – just like the one in courtroom – to decide how credible it is.
Over the years, Ms. Daniels has changed her story, first denying they had sex, then altering some of the details. And for a while, she stayed in touch with Trump, hoping for the “Apprentice” spot that never materialized.
To me, the story she tells in a Manhattan courtroom describes a Total Trump: the sexual opportunist he bragged about being on the “Access Hollywood” tapes that emerged in the closing days of the 2016 election: a celebrity entitled to grab women’s crotches, to kiss women and to screw them.
Indeed, the story Ms. Daniel’s tells seems to warrant Trump paying $130,000 to keep secret, certainly until after the election, about a man who sent a go-between to proposition her; describing a man who suggested he could advance her career, then extorted some sex.
I don’t know what the jury in New York will decide. My guess is that the case is legally convoluted, so maybe he’ll be acquitted, or that one or two holdout jurors will cause a mistrial. And then there’s this week’s expected testimony by Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s dicey star witness.
But in the court of public opinion, I think the verdict on Stormy Daniels' testimony is uncontested.
I hope that on Nov. 5, a majority of voters will remember her spring testimony as being among the hundreds of reasons not to elect Donald John Trump.
“Just too sordid.”
Election countdown
SIX MONTHS TO THE ELECTION
What will happen to Thanksgiving?
SOMEBODY MENTIONED THANKSGIVING recently, and a shiver went through me.
It’s my favorite holiday, and I’m sure that’s the case with lots of people. No obligatory gifts and a lot fewer holiday themed cards and music. Mainly a gathering of family and friends and the year’s best food. It’s a lot of effort for the cooks. Old and repurposed grievances are always on the menu. But on the whole, it’s a day to look forward to.
Not this year.
Come Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, the election will be three weeks in the proverbial rear-view mirror, so we’ll know whether the United States' future is that of a dictatorship or a democracy.
It’s not that I think Donald Trump will win the presidency.
Just that it’s possible he might.
And that possibility, because it's real, plausible and odds-even, is a nightmare that will haunt the country the rest of this spring, all summer and into the fall.
For me, anything that occurs after the Nov. 5 election - any holiday, any event, any date, anything scheduled beyond when the votes are all in and counted –fills me with one part dread, one part hope.
Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy New Year.
Maybe. Maybe not.
It’s my favorite holiday, and I’m sure that’s the case with lots of people. No obligatory gifts and a lot fewer holiday themed cards and music. Mainly a gathering of family and friends and the year’s best food. It’s a lot of effort for the cooks. Old and repurposed grievances are always on the menu. But on the whole, it’s a day to look forward to.
Not this year.
Come Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, the election will be three weeks in the proverbial rear-view mirror, so we’ll know whether the United States' future is that of a dictatorship or a democracy.
It’s not that I think Donald Trump will win the presidency.
Just that it’s possible he might.
And that possibility, because it's real, plausible and odds-even, is a nightmare that will haunt the country the rest of this spring, all summer and into the fall.
For me, anything that occurs after the Nov. 5 election - any holiday, any event, any date, anything scheduled beyond when the votes are all in and counted –fills me with one part dread, one part hope.
Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy New Year.
Maybe. Maybe not.
TODAY, MAY 5, we are exactly six months away from that fateful turning point.
It means there is still time.
The question is, is there enough time to affect the outcome?
Minds still can be changed. Mind you, not many minds, because changing your mind is among the hardest of human endeavors, and few of us are up to the challenge.
It asks us to admit we were wrong, that we made a mistake, that we hadn’t thought something through.
It took me a long time to admit that Bill Clinton was deeply flawed, most obviously the way he abused women in a way that called into question any of the things he said and did during his presidency.
Similarly, it took me a while to admit that Hilary Clinton wasn’t the ideal candidate it thought she was for the Democrats to put up against Donald Trump. In retrospect, she only seemed to be unusually capable, experienced and talented. But she flunked the test, the only judgment that mattered, and the nation has been paying the price ever since.
So, it’s a big ask to persuade someone who has signed on with Donald Trump to switch to Joe Biden.
I, for sure, don’t know the magic combination that will unlock the mind of a Trump supporter. In part, that’s because I’m astounded that anyone could find common ground with such a flawed, repulsive person in the first place.
A MORE PROMISING use of the time remaining until Nov. 5 is to persuade people to vote, but who today are actively or unconsciously planning to sit out the election.
There are a lot of reasons not to vote.
I hate politics.
I hate politicians.
All politicians are alike.
I don’t like Trump or Biden.
I voted for Biden, but he’s let me down.
My vote doesn’t count.
Even if I vote, nothing will change.
Nothing matters.
A lot of people have little room in their lives for politics, much less a spare hour or two to vote.
Many lives are overwhelmed by the effort it takes just to make it through the day, to get to tomorrow and maybe to next week.
There is too much illness; too little money; too many brutal parents and partners; too much energy needed to manage unmanageable preschoolers and high-schoolers; too far to drive the jobs that pay too little; too many gossipy neighbors; too many drugs and too much booze; too many leaks in the plumbing and on the roof; too many worn out parts in cars that are too old; too many apartments with rents in the stratosphere; too much gunfire.
The White House is too distant, too irrelevant, too removed from so many lives.
The irony, of course, is that all of these non-voters, whether they are simply cynical, lazy or genuinely worn out, are the very people who have power to determine their own fate and the fate of the nation.
Anyone planning not to vote, for whatever reason, is just plain wrong. It’s a democracy, and there’s enough time in most lives to think about the election and to vote.
How we vote makes a difference in every aspect of our lives. Politics and government determine whether rents and medical care can be available and affordable; whether the streets are paved and driveable; whether the water is poison-free; whether guns can be tamed; whether the plumbing gets fixed; whether paychecks are big enough to pay the bills; whether another bridge falls down; and whether the earth will be livable.
My guess is that if enough non-voters decide to vote, they’ll vote for Joe Biden, because, on balance, he’s a decent man, as much as that’s possible in politics, and because they realize that he’s a champion of democracy. More of them will decide against voting for Trump, because he’s so despicable, dreadful and dangerous; and enough people will realize Donald Trump isn’t joking about destroying democracy.
THERE’S STILL TIME, six months, to change a few minds and to encourage millions of others to vote.
It means there is still time.
The question is, is there enough time to affect the outcome?
Minds still can be changed. Mind you, not many minds, because changing your mind is among the hardest of human endeavors, and few of us are up to the challenge.
It asks us to admit we were wrong, that we made a mistake, that we hadn’t thought something through.
It took me a long time to admit that Bill Clinton was deeply flawed, most obviously the way he abused women in a way that called into question any of the things he said and did during his presidency.
Similarly, it took me a while to admit that Hilary Clinton wasn’t the ideal candidate it thought she was for the Democrats to put up against Donald Trump. In retrospect, she only seemed to be unusually capable, experienced and talented. But she flunked the test, the only judgment that mattered, and the nation has been paying the price ever since.
So, it’s a big ask to persuade someone who has signed on with Donald Trump to switch to Joe Biden.
I, for sure, don’t know the magic combination that will unlock the mind of a Trump supporter. In part, that’s because I’m astounded that anyone could find common ground with such a flawed, repulsive person in the first place.
A MORE PROMISING use of the time remaining until Nov. 5 is to persuade people to vote, but who today are actively or unconsciously planning to sit out the election.
There are a lot of reasons not to vote.
I hate politics.
I hate politicians.
All politicians are alike.
I don’t like Trump or Biden.
I voted for Biden, but he’s let me down.
My vote doesn’t count.
Even if I vote, nothing will change.
Nothing matters.
A lot of people have little room in their lives for politics, much less a spare hour or two to vote.
Many lives are overwhelmed by the effort it takes just to make it through the day, to get to tomorrow and maybe to next week.
There is too much illness; too little money; too many brutal parents and partners; too much energy needed to manage unmanageable preschoolers and high-schoolers; too far to drive the jobs that pay too little; too many gossipy neighbors; too many drugs and too much booze; too many leaks in the plumbing and on the roof; too many worn out parts in cars that are too old; too many apartments with rents in the stratosphere; too much gunfire.
The White House is too distant, too irrelevant, too removed from so many lives.
The irony, of course, is that all of these non-voters, whether they are simply cynical, lazy or genuinely worn out, are the very people who have power to determine their own fate and the fate of the nation.
Anyone planning not to vote, for whatever reason, is just plain wrong. It’s a democracy, and there’s enough time in most lives to think about the election and to vote.
How we vote makes a difference in every aspect of our lives. Politics and government determine whether rents and medical care can be available and affordable; whether the streets are paved and driveable; whether the water is poison-free; whether guns can be tamed; whether the plumbing gets fixed; whether paychecks are big enough to pay the bills; whether another bridge falls down; and whether the earth will be livable.
My guess is that if enough non-voters decide to vote, they’ll vote for Joe Biden, because, on balance, he’s a decent man, as much as that’s possible in politics, and because they realize that he’s a champion of democracy. More of them will decide against voting for Trump, because he’s so despicable, dreadful and dangerous; and enough people will realize Donald Trump isn’t joking about destroying democracy.
THERE’S STILL TIME, six months, to change a few minds and to encourage millions of others to vote.
Out my window in Newport, the trees are more than halfway to turning green; the temperatures are on the cool side but not for much longer; the days seem brighter and they stay that way for longer.
What will we be talking about on Thanksgiving?
Is there enough turkey for seconds, even thirds?
Did the polls get it wrong? Instead of a close election, was it a landslide? Was the outcome determined by people who voted in just three states, where the tallies were astonishingly close?
Was voter turnout low?
Did the numbers set a record?
Had enough of us worked hard enough; did we do everything we could?
Were we persuasive enough? Did we raise the alarm sufficiently about the historic stakes?
Did we make the point that this time, the choice wasn’t just between Candidate A and Candidate B, but about freedom and autocracy?
What will we say to one another on Thanksgiving?
Will Christmas be merry?
What will we be talking about on Thanksgiving?
Is there enough turkey for seconds, even thirds?
Did the polls get it wrong? Instead of a close election, was it a landslide? Was the outcome determined by people who voted in just three states, where the tallies were astonishingly close?
Was voter turnout low?
Did the numbers set a record?
Had enough of us worked hard enough; did we do everything we could?
Were we persuasive enough? Did we raise the alarm sufficiently about the historic stakes?
Did we make the point that this time, the choice wasn’t just between Candidate A and Candidate B, but about freedom and autocracy?
What will we say to one another on Thanksgiving?
Will Christmas be merry?
TRUMP BEHIND BARS
IT FEELS DIFFERENT. BUT IS IT?
DONALD TRUMP, as his criminal case continues in New York City, and the limits of his power are argued in Washington, seems caught and caged.
I find the most symbolic photos are those in the hallway outside the Manhattan courtroom, where Trump gives his fact-challenged “analysis” of the day's proceedings.
He stands in a small corral of fencing that seems designed protect him from his frenemies in the media. But to me, the barrier hints at jail.
For the first time, Trump does not appear quite as exempt from the laws of man and the universe that apply to the rest of us, and that extended even to Trump’s peers in the political and corporate stratosphere.
Looking also at the photos inside the courtroom, with Trump seated at the defense table before the formal hearings begin, we see a guy who seems a tad vulnerable.
But how much should we read into the pictures?
I find the most symbolic photos are those in the hallway outside the Manhattan courtroom, where Trump gives his fact-challenged “analysis” of the day's proceedings.
He stands in a small corral of fencing that seems designed protect him from his frenemies in the media. But to me, the barrier hints at jail.
For the first time, Trump does not appear quite as exempt from the laws of man and the universe that apply to the rest of us, and that extended even to Trump’s peers in the political and corporate stratosphere.
Looking also at the photos inside the courtroom, with Trump seated at the defense table before the formal hearings begin, we see a guy who seems a tad vulnerable.
But how much should we read into the pictures?
His face looks blotchy and unhealthy, which is to say, kind of normal for him.
As for his expressions, those always have seemed rehearsed, just as what’s left of his hair is extensively engineered.
And his courtroom scowls, those angry eyes, are not necessarily credible indicators what is going on inside the lizard brain.
Because television cameras and microphones are banned from the formal courtroom proceedings, we are at the mercy of reporters – some of them America’s best – to tell us what’s up, if anything.
Has the defendant really fallen asleep? Is he affecting boredom to show his contempt for the legal process? Is his dopiness a function of his long-reputed short attention span?
“Donald Trump just gave a big yawn....” during a break in hearing, reported the Washington Post’s Hannah Knowles today as part of her paper’s minute-by-minute updates.
Alternatively, “Trump is growing more animated,” said the New York Times’ Kate Christobek, as testimony focused on Stormy Daniels, the actress whose alleged one-night stand with Trump is at the core of the hush payments case. “He has motioned to both of the lawyers sitting next to him, adjusted his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest.”
What does it all mean?
FOR THE SMALL-MINDED – a large, but shameful group if Americans, of which I am a member in good standing – there is much to savor in the New York proceedings.
It is rich in one quality lacking in the other, more important cases Trump faces: sleaze.
Sleazy ethics. Sleazy sex. Sleazy money. Sleazy journalism. So much sleaze.
Just the last name of the prosecution’s first witness proves the point.
It’s a name that would cause any middle school classroom to erupt in hysterics, the same effect produced by mention of one of the solar system’s lesser planets, Uranus.
Here we have a man who once presided over one of the tabloid press’s premier publications, with a last name that perfectly describes his role and perhaps his character.
How fitting, but also cruel. Shouldn’t his family have changed its last name generations ago?
Or should the witness be grateful that he ended up with a mediocre first name, whereas truly malevolent caretakers might have chosen “Big,” or, even more humiliating, “Little,” as a first name, instead of David.
MEANWHILE, IN WASHINGTON today, the putative grownups on the Supreme Court of the United States spent hours thrashing out arguments into Donald Trump’s claim that, as president, or a former one, he had/has immunity from prosecution for crimes like trying to overturn an election.
Would the nation’s highest court hand Donald John a get-out-of-jail free card? Would the court carve out an exception to the most scared principle of American government, that no man is above the law?
The Washington case was as monumental as the New York one was trivial, although either or both could eventually send him to the slammer.
Justices whom Trump himself appointed seemed impressed by the stakes.
“This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,” intoned Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.
“We’re writing a rule for the ages,” said Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
For you and me, both cases – the sleaze one and the Constitutional one - ask the same question:
Are we finally witnessing the beginning of the end of Donald Trump?
Or has Trump merely been experiencing a few bad photo-ops as he continues his relentless crusade to destroy American democracy?
As for his expressions, those always have seemed rehearsed, just as what’s left of his hair is extensively engineered.
And his courtroom scowls, those angry eyes, are not necessarily credible indicators what is going on inside the lizard brain.
Because television cameras and microphones are banned from the formal courtroom proceedings, we are at the mercy of reporters – some of them America’s best – to tell us what’s up, if anything.
Has the defendant really fallen asleep? Is he affecting boredom to show his contempt for the legal process? Is his dopiness a function of his long-reputed short attention span?
“Donald Trump just gave a big yawn....” during a break in hearing, reported the Washington Post’s Hannah Knowles today as part of her paper’s minute-by-minute updates.
Alternatively, “Trump is growing more animated,” said the New York Times’ Kate Christobek, as testimony focused on Stormy Daniels, the actress whose alleged one-night stand with Trump is at the core of the hush payments case. “He has motioned to both of the lawyers sitting next to him, adjusted his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest.”
What does it all mean?
FOR THE SMALL-MINDED – a large, but shameful group if Americans, of which I am a member in good standing – there is much to savor in the New York proceedings.
It is rich in one quality lacking in the other, more important cases Trump faces: sleaze.
Sleazy ethics. Sleazy sex. Sleazy money. Sleazy journalism. So much sleaze.
Just the last name of the prosecution’s first witness proves the point.
It’s a name that would cause any middle school classroom to erupt in hysterics, the same effect produced by mention of one of the solar system’s lesser planets, Uranus.
Here we have a man who once presided over one of the tabloid press’s premier publications, with a last name that perfectly describes his role and perhaps his character.
How fitting, but also cruel. Shouldn’t his family have changed its last name generations ago?
Or should the witness be grateful that he ended up with a mediocre first name, whereas truly malevolent caretakers might have chosen “Big,” or, even more humiliating, “Little,” as a first name, instead of David.
MEANWHILE, IN WASHINGTON today, the putative grownups on the Supreme Court of the United States spent hours thrashing out arguments into Donald Trump’s claim that, as president, or a former one, he had/has immunity from prosecution for crimes like trying to overturn an election.
Would the nation’s highest court hand Donald John a get-out-of-jail free card? Would the court carve out an exception to the most scared principle of American government, that no man is above the law?
The Washington case was as monumental as the New York one was trivial, although either or both could eventually send him to the slammer.
Justices whom Trump himself appointed seemed impressed by the stakes.
“This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,” intoned Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.
“We’re writing a rule for the ages,” said Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
For you and me, both cases – the sleaze one and the Constitutional one - ask the same question:
Are we finally witnessing the beginning of the end of Donald Trump?
Or has Trump merely been experiencing a few bad photo-ops as he continues his relentless crusade to destroy American democracy?
Election countdown
7 MONTHS LEFT, BIDEN
STILL TRAILS TRUMP
So, there's lots to do before Nov. 5;
And some reasons to be upbeat
SEVEN MONTHS, that’s all that’s left until the most fateful election of our lifetime.
In the blink of an eye, April 5 will turn into Nov. 5,
And we’ll know whether the United States has a future as a democracy under President Joe Biden, or becomes a dictatorship under Donald Trump.
A lot can happen between today and the first Tuesday of November.
Joe Biden’s age can catch up with him. Donald Trump’s age can catch up with him. China can make a move on Taiwan. We could betray Ukraine and let Putin have his way with that brave country.
Many good things can happen. The Israel-Hamas crisis may find resolution. The majority of Americans could decide this spring and summer that Biden is one of history’s the best presidents.
As of today, however, the race seems stuck where's it's been for months: Donald is leading Joe in the average of polls tracked by the Real Clear Politics website, 46.9 percent to 45.8 percent – a 1.1 point advantage for the dictator-in-waiting.
We are warned not to put too much faith in such “early” polling – can you imagine you or any other rational person actually answering a phone with an alleged pollster on the other end?
What we can conclude from the polls is that Donald Trump has substantial support, despite the fact that he is a repulsive, unqualified, traitorous, criminal and cruel psychopath.
What to do?
Here are two positive suggestions:
The first is to do the practical things within the reach of most of us. They might seem inconsequential, but when multiplied by thousands of people, they can produce thrilling results.
The second is to stay positive, because there are reasons to be optimistic.
SEND A POSTCARD
As to real actions: we can send postcards to folks in other states, people who may need a friendly nudge to do something they hadn’t considered: voting.
Many groups have organized ways to do this. I’ll mention one: Activate America. The organization focuses on campaigns that can help Democrats control congress.
Activate America has identified registered voters who might not be focusing on the election, but might be encouraged to vote, and vote Democratic. Volunteers sign up online, and Activate America emails a list of voters, and instruction of what to do.
Volunteers supply their own postcards and stamps.
In the blink of an eye, April 5 will turn into Nov. 5,
And we’ll know whether the United States has a future as a democracy under President Joe Biden, or becomes a dictatorship under Donald Trump.
A lot can happen between today and the first Tuesday of November.
Joe Biden’s age can catch up with him. Donald Trump’s age can catch up with him. China can make a move on Taiwan. We could betray Ukraine and let Putin have his way with that brave country.
Many good things can happen. The Israel-Hamas crisis may find resolution. The majority of Americans could decide this spring and summer that Biden is one of history’s the best presidents.
As of today, however, the race seems stuck where's it's been for months: Donald is leading Joe in the average of polls tracked by the Real Clear Politics website, 46.9 percent to 45.8 percent – a 1.1 point advantage for the dictator-in-waiting.
We are warned not to put too much faith in such “early” polling – can you imagine you or any other rational person actually answering a phone with an alleged pollster on the other end?
What we can conclude from the polls is that Donald Trump has substantial support, despite the fact that he is a repulsive, unqualified, traitorous, criminal and cruel psychopath.
What to do?
Here are two positive suggestions:
The first is to do the practical things within the reach of most of us. They might seem inconsequential, but when multiplied by thousands of people, they can produce thrilling results.
The second is to stay positive, because there are reasons to be optimistic.
SEND A POSTCARD
As to real actions: we can send postcards to folks in other states, people who may need a friendly nudge to do something they hadn’t considered: voting.
Many groups have organized ways to do this. I’ll mention one: Activate America. The organization focuses on campaigns that can help Democrats control congress.
Activate America has identified registered voters who might not be focusing on the election, but might be encouraged to vote, and vote Democratic. Volunteers sign up online, and Activate America emails a list of voters, and instruction of what to do.
Volunteers supply their own postcards and stamps.
Yesterday, just to get started, I signed up for a list of 10 Arizona voters, who are to be asked to consider Ruben Gallego, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. One suggested message, to be written on the back of the postcard:
Dear (Voter’s name), MAGA Republicans support a national abortion ban. And that’s just the beginning. Republicans are also attacking birth control and fertility treatments. We all deserve freedom to make these personal decisions. Elect Democrat Ruben Gallego to the U.S. Senate to protect our rights. Thanks, Brian, a volunteer |
Activate America says to print the message, because some people aren’t familiar with cursive handwriting. Also, sign your first name only, with no return address. Stick to the wording – a lot of thought has gone into it.
Let’s be real. No one of us can sit at our dining room table and change the course of history.
It takes millions and millions of postcards to move just a tiny fraction of voters. But many elections are close, and a relatively few postcards might make the difference.
AS FOR STAYING OPTIMISTIC
A friend suggested looking at the website of Simon Rosenberg. It’s thankfully NOT titled “Simon Says,” but has a mischievous name “Hopium Chronicles."
Rosenberg is a glass half-full kind of guy, and is crazy positive about Biden’s and the Democrats’ chances this fall.
If Biden is behind in the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Rosenberg cites 14 polls that since February have Biden ahead.
He says he should be taken seriously, because he’s been right about Democrats’ success in recent elections.
Rosenberg is two-note messenger:
Let’s be real. No one of us can sit at our dining room table and change the course of history.
It takes millions and millions of postcards to move just a tiny fraction of voters. But many elections are close, and a relatively few postcards might make the difference.
AS FOR STAYING OPTIMISTIC
A friend suggested looking at the website of Simon Rosenberg. It’s thankfully NOT titled “Simon Says,” but has a mischievous name “Hopium Chronicles."
Rosenberg is a glass half-full kind of guy, and is crazy positive about Biden’s and the Democrats’ chances this fall.
If Biden is behind in the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Rosenberg cites 14 polls that since February have Biden ahead.
He says he should be taken seriously, because he’s been right about Democrats’ success in recent elections.
Rosenberg is two-note messenger:
- Worry less.
- Work hard. Work really, really, really hard. Donate to candidates, help key candidates, going door-to-door, calling on the phone, texting (and sending millions of postcards). Wishing won’t do. Elections are won because people act on their hopes.
Joe Biden is a good President. The country is better off. The Democratic Party is strong, unified, and winning elections all across the country. And they have Trump - the ugliest political thing we’ve all ever seen. |
Rosenberg is not a modest man, and he is obviously pleased - very pleased - that he’s recently been interviewed by the New York Times, and, with no hesitation or apology, he linked to the article on his own site.
In their back and forth, Rosenberg and Adam Nagourney, the Times' interviewer, don't get into the whether or not the fairy godmother is coming to rescue us.
Which I find refreshing.
In a democracy, it comes down to us, actual little people, with our postcards and our ballpoint pens.
Which I find refreshing.
In a democracy, it comes down to us, actual little people, with our postcards and our ballpoint pens.
NO-TRUMP TUESDAYS
A proposal for political and psychic sanity
I'M SICK OF IT.
I’m sick of the sacrilege, the serial outrages, the lawlessness, the insults, the racism, the sneering, the double-speak, the analyses, both expert and amateur; he pointless, endless, useless polls; the fibs, the cheating, the innuendoes, the threats, violence, the jokes, the gutter-talk and most of all the fear, the stomach churning, sleep-robbing panic at the prospect of another Donald John Trump presidency.
Going on nine years now, Trump has possessed our lives.
Day after day, in and out of office, every day, all day, weekends, holidays, nights, mornings, it’s always all about Trump.
In the month just passed, there were the golden sneakers, the debate about Trump’s mention of a “bloodbath” – was he talking just about the international car market or the terrible strife that would happen should he lose yet another election? These are subjects that must be examined, parsed and defined.
And with Easter bunny limbering up, announcement of the God Bless the USA Bible, raising this question: Can you put a cost on God’s word? Donald Trump priced it at $59.99. Should he have charged extra on Easter? What did God think about sharing space in Her book with the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance?
And what to do with the 10 Commandments?
Should Trump have taken his famous Sharpie pen – which, as president, he used to doctor a weather map to show that he was right about the course of a hurricane – black out some if not all of the Commandments, the thou shall not steal and the thou shall not bear false witness sections? And while at it, maybe he should have redacted those pesky do-not-covets: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, not your neighbor’s manservant, not his maidservant, not his ox and not his ass?
The point is that day after day, we are living in Donald Trump’s world.
Did Donald Trump really say that? Did Donald Trump slither his way out of this or that gag order? Did that businessman, this politician, and those voters swear allegiance to Trump in violation of the admonition that thee shall have no other gods before me?
And always, the question that begins every week: what will Trump get away with next? Which indictment? What impeachment? What report? Will he ever pay?
As for the rest of us, will we ever be free of Donald Trump?
I think there’s a chance. In fact, I’ve been thinking about a two-step plan.
STEP ONE: NO-TRUMP TUESDAYS.
Every Tuesday, do not read about Trump. Do not watch TV if you suspect it will even mention, much less feature, Donald Trump. Do not listen to NPR news on the radio, or Morning Joe on TV or any political streaming podcasts. Thou shall not talk about Trump at breakfast, at lunch, or supper. As much as this pains me, avoid the “Dangerous Times” blog or its archives, which are 99.9 percent about Trump.
Every Tuesday, wipe Donald Trump from your mind; cleanse your soul of Donald Trump.
Do something else.
It’s officially spring, so appreciate it.
Seek out the daffodils. Review your St. Patrick’s Day parade snapshots. Look forward to summer.
Go for a ride (you already know which routes to avoid because of certain yard signs). Read a book. Paint a picture. Work overtime. Take the afternoon off. Brush the dog. Give the cat a treat. Visit the sick. Play with the kids. Drop in on friends who used to be sick. If you live in New York, visit the Statue of Liberty for the first time. If you live near the Rhode Island seashore, take a walk on the beach before they start charging for parking. Mow the lawn. Better idea, forget the lawn.
I’m sick of the sacrilege, the serial outrages, the lawlessness, the insults, the racism, the sneering, the double-speak, the analyses, both expert and amateur; he pointless, endless, useless polls; the fibs, the cheating, the innuendoes, the threats, violence, the jokes, the gutter-talk and most of all the fear, the stomach churning, sleep-robbing panic at the prospect of another Donald John Trump presidency.
Going on nine years now, Trump has possessed our lives.
Day after day, in and out of office, every day, all day, weekends, holidays, nights, mornings, it’s always all about Trump.
In the month just passed, there were the golden sneakers, the debate about Trump’s mention of a “bloodbath” – was he talking just about the international car market or the terrible strife that would happen should he lose yet another election? These are subjects that must be examined, parsed and defined.
And with Easter bunny limbering up, announcement of the God Bless the USA Bible, raising this question: Can you put a cost on God’s word? Donald Trump priced it at $59.99. Should he have charged extra on Easter? What did God think about sharing space in Her book with the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance?
And what to do with the 10 Commandments?
Should Trump have taken his famous Sharpie pen – which, as president, he used to doctor a weather map to show that he was right about the course of a hurricane – black out some if not all of the Commandments, the thou shall not steal and the thou shall not bear false witness sections? And while at it, maybe he should have redacted those pesky do-not-covets: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, not your neighbor’s manservant, not his maidservant, not his ox and not his ass?
The point is that day after day, we are living in Donald Trump’s world.
Did Donald Trump really say that? Did Donald Trump slither his way out of this or that gag order? Did that businessman, this politician, and those voters swear allegiance to Trump in violation of the admonition that thee shall have no other gods before me?
And always, the question that begins every week: what will Trump get away with next? Which indictment? What impeachment? What report? Will he ever pay?
As for the rest of us, will we ever be free of Donald Trump?
I think there’s a chance. In fact, I’ve been thinking about a two-step plan.
STEP ONE: NO-TRUMP TUESDAYS.
Every Tuesday, do not read about Trump. Do not watch TV if you suspect it will even mention, much less feature, Donald Trump. Do not listen to NPR news on the radio, or Morning Joe on TV or any political streaming podcasts. Thou shall not talk about Trump at breakfast, at lunch, or supper. As much as this pains me, avoid the “Dangerous Times” blog or its archives, which are 99.9 percent about Trump.
Every Tuesday, wipe Donald Trump from your mind; cleanse your soul of Donald Trump.
Do something else.
It’s officially spring, so appreciate it.
Seek out the daffodils. Review your St. Patrick’s Day parade snapshots. Look forward to summer.
Go for a ride (you already know which routes to avoid because of certain yard signs). Read a book. Paint a picture. Work overtime. Take the afternoon off. Brush the dog. Give the cat a treat. Visit the sick. Play with the kids. Drop in on friends who used to be sick. If you live in New York, visit the Statue of Liberty for the first time. If you live near the Rhode Island seashore, take a walk on the beach before they start charging for parking. Mow the lawn. Better idea, forget the lawn.
If you are a political wonk, or simply a patriot, do the many things that a democracy demands of its citizens: have an argument about the best series to stream. Plant a tree. Stand up straight. Fall asleep and try not to dream about politics. Be nice. Muse about democracy’s blessings: fee speech, the rule of law, the positive possibilities of free enterprise.
Our democracy has many deficits, so maybe use your free time on No-Trump Tuesdays to think about how promote voting, provide affordable housing and medical care for everyone. Take a minute to wonder how to rid ourselves and our country from racism and make sure our schools work.
Don’t let the selfish, the greedy, the short-sighted and the stupid undermine our crusade to prevent the destruction of the planet because of climate change or nuclear war. Think about what government should do to ensure jetliners have enough bolts when they take off, and that bridges won’t collapse when container ships get too close.
HOLD ON, YOU SAY: Isn’t this No-Trump Tuesdays silliness just so much old fashioned head-in-the-sand, ostrich stuff, Neville Chamberlain-style approach to Hitlerian Armageddon? Just pretending that Trump’s gone won't make it happen.
Quite the opposite. I’m suggesting that we remember what this political fight of our lifetimes is really about: What will it feel like if Donald Trump is out of our government, out of our lives and out of our minds for good?
Instead of thinking about golden sneakers, make-America-pray again Bibles and Project 2025 - the Trump & Friends plan to end democracy as we know it - we need to dream, to imagine, to be inspired by the possibilities and privileges of living in a free society where citizens call the shots or try to.
And certainly, on the other six days, we need to do everything possible to get rid of Donald Trump. On Wednesdays, we need to catch up on the news we missed on Tuesdays, and to follow the news closely the rest of the week. We need to give money to Joe Biden, to congressional Democrats and state and local officials. We need to argue, persuade, pray, anything within our ability to fashion a positive election outcome. To go door-to-door, bother people on the phone, find those organizations that will help us do all of those things and more.
STEP-TWO
As I mentioned, I was thinking of a two-step plan.
Step Two is to vote for president on or about Nov. 5.
Nov. 5, you will remember, is a Tuesday.
And if we try our best, that particular Tuesday will turn out to be the ultimate and final No-Trump Tuesday.
Our democracy has many deficits, so maybe use your free time on No-Trump Tuesdays to think about how promote voting, provide affordable housing and medical care for everyone. Take a minute to wonder how to rid ourselves and our country from racism and make sure our schools work.
Don’t let the selfish, the greedy, the short-sighted and the stupid undermine our crusade to prevent the destruction of the planet because of climate change or nuclear war. Think about what government should do to ensure jetliners have enough bolts when they take off, and that bridges won’t collapse when container ships get too close.
HOLD ON, YOU SAY: Isn’t this No-Trump Tuesdays silliness just so much old fashioned head-in-the-sand, ostrich stuff, Neville Chamberlain-style approach to Hitlerian Armageddon? Just pretending that Trump’s gone won't make it happen.
Quite the opposite. I’m suggesting that we remember what this political fight of our lifetimes is really about: What will it feel like if Donald Trump is out of our government, out of our lives and out of our minds for good?
Instead of thinking about golden sneakers, make-America-pray again Bibles and Project 2025 - the Trump & Friends plan to end democracy as we know it - we need to dream, to imagine, to be inspired by the possibilities and privileges of living in a free society where citizens call the shots or try to.
And certainly, on the other six days, we need to do everything possible to get rid of Donald Trump. On Wednesdays, we need to catch up on the news we missed on Tuesdays, and to follow the news closely the rest of the week. We need to give money to Joe Biden, to congressional Democrats and state and local officials. We need to argue, persuade, pray, anything within our ability to fashion a positive election outcome. To go door-to-door, bother people on the phone, find those organizations that will help us do all of those things and more.
STEP-TWO
As I mentioned, I was thinking of a two-step plan.
Step Two is to vote for president on or about Nov. 5.
Nov. 5, you will remember, is a Tuesday.
And if we try our best, that particular Tuesday will turn out to be the ultimate and final No-Trump Tuesday.
BRIAN C. JONES
I'VE BEEN a reporter and writer for 60 years, long enough to have learned that journalists don't know very much, although I've met some smart ones.
Mainly, what reporters know comes from asking other people questions and fretting about their answers.
This blog is a successor to one inspired by our dog, Phoebe, who was smart, sweet and the antithesis of Donald Trump. She died Feb. 3, 2022, and I don't see getting over that very soon.
Occasionally, I think about trying to reach her via cell phone.
Mainly, what reporters know comes from asking other people questions and fretting about their answers.
This blog is a successor to one inspired by our dog, Phoebe, who was smart, sweet and the antithesis of Donald Trump. She died Feb. 3, 2022, and I don't see getting over that very soon.
Occasionally, I think about trying to reach her via cell phone.
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