Gaga and Melissa Rule

     Americans have experience with this idea. A quick look follows-but first tribute to two Americans who rocked the super weekend.

THE MOST VALUABLE

      Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer is destined for the SNL Hall of Fame. The unannounced star and her skit were a devastatingly hilarious take down of the White House press secretary. The video is already a classic.

       The Super Bowl champion is Lady Gaga. Her beautiful patriotic opening atop the stadium was ample politics before she dropped and tumbled into a stunning explosion of song and dance. As good as was the game it was secondary to a production and performance by the extraordinarily talented and perceptive young artist. "We Were Born This Way" is an anthem and at this time in our history carries even more power.  

America first?

       There's a good chance Trump had no idea the America First movement and slogan is an American artifact. 

       It was one of the oddest amalgamations of Americans and one of the shortest movements in our history.

       Founded at Yale in 1940 it was a movement to pressure the United States from entering the second World War. It lasted barley more than a year but was the largest anti war organization in history. It boasted diverse members, Republican and Democrat Senators, wealthy business leaders, writers, poets, political activists and had nearly 1 million paying members in 450 Chapters. 

       Associated with America First were future presidents Gerald Ford, John Kennedy, a future Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, future Peace Corp director Sargent Shriver, Walt Disney, Gore Vidal, novelist Sinclair Lewis, poet EE Cummings, Frank Lloyd Wright, actress Lillian Gish, political activists as diverse as Charles Lindbergh and Socialist Norman Thomas, members of the House and Senate from both parties.

        The group disbanded three days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. If the current occupant of the oval office read, or studied history he probably would have struck another slogan to hang his shortsightedness on.

THE TRUMPET

news for a post-truth world

      Rest easy Americans, the Donald's got this covered. He and the master counselor Bannon remain one step ahead by use of their blitzkrieg of disruption.

      As heads spin at the production line executive orders the strategy of diversion is working well. As the crooked media react and try to keep up with the Tweets everybody is forgetting about all the other fake news

• the still pending charges and accusation of sexual assaults. There will be no Clinton moment in this White House. 
• the non release of his tax returns and his claim "I will release them after the audit."
• the first failed military operation and US fatality
• the excoriation on Goldman Sachs instead of his appointment of five Golman Sachs to his team
• People have already forgotten he has no previous foreign policy experience, no government experience. Not a problem. Look how he's handled Mexico and Australia. Plus he's got good advisers, like Kellyann Conway who is fortunately recovering from her near death experience in the Bowling Green Massacre.  
• Ethics advisers to George W. Bush and Barack Obama claim trump has not gone "nearly far enough" to absolve himself from potential conflict of interests
• The Donald will still benefit financially from his business interests while president-but why shouldn't he. He's above the law.
• There are stricter ethics rules in place for his cabinet members than for him-but why shouldn't there be?
• The President is the sole beneficiary of his Trust and he can revoke the trust any time. Now that will help make America great again huh? 

         At $400,000 a day it will cost American tax payers $548,000,000 to keep Melania Trump in New York City for four years.

           Or one wonders why shouldn't the first lady be on hand at the White House? One wonders if the old man is as wealthy as he claims to be, why not pay for it himself? 

            Or why not sell or license images from her modeling career to pay for it?

             Wonder what Nancy Reagan, Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Bush, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Rosalyn Carter, and a few other former First Ladies would think? Until now would you ever have wondered how those former firsts would rock a bikini?

            Yep,  Make America Great Again!

         See you down the trail.

A SECRET ABOUT THE MEDIA & THE TRUMPET DEBUT

1969 WIBC Radio Wire Room & Temple of Coffee

     Into the Wayback Machine boys and girls to a time before Redbull or 5 hour energy drinks, laptops or news by flavor.

     Teletype machines, telephone feed lines, balance and coffee were the order of the day.

     Those machines ran 24 hours a day, clacking and clanging the events of the world in a never ending unrolling river of paper. When I hired on to this news shop we had AP, UPI, a weather wire, our own weather gear and the most important item, the coffee maker. 

      Pictured is the "new" coffee maker and it was a sore spot in the newsroom. Someone had cleaned the previous maker, probably for the first time in 15 years and what ever they used "left a taste," no doubt the lack of whatever inhabited the sludge encrusted walls in the old brewer. 
      This nod to modernity came with emphatic instruction to NEVER clean it and to NEVER let it go empty. We had ground beans, favored by some and instant crystals favored by others and it all went together to create the curious, hair on your tongue taste. By the time I left for another job we had evolved a "vintage brew"  that included vestiges of a previous decade. That is how it was, and why it tasted liked it did. Coffee was our lifeblood in a 24 hour operation and our hearts beat to the constant rattle of the news wire.

       We had nails on a wooden header where we "hung" the wire copy, sorting it by topics. It never stopped, and we read it all.

       You can't see it, but in that wire room were the guts of an electronic sign we updated hourly.  You've seen those news tickers that wrap around buildings, giving the latest headlines. It was part of our job when we were on the news desk to write them on a special keyboard and then flip the switches so that news would appear on a major building downtown. Improper grammar or mis-spelling was embarrassment writ large, followed by a lecture from the boss in non broadcast language. 

       Before the digital era and lattes news rooms smelled of coffee and cigarette smoke. They were clamorous with police and fire scanners, reporter and network "feeds" coming in, audio tape being logged and edited, wire machines bells and constant keystroking, typewriters, telephones and usually at least one person yelling. It was a helluva way to earn a living.  A couple of "vintage photos follow below, but first---

introducing a news source

a companion in a post-truth world

the trumpet

you da best, boss !  

     In an outstanding, just outstandingly heroic effort, the President demonstrated how tough a Great America is when he verbally bludgeoned those damned Aussies and cut off the telephone conference.

     "Tough, time to get tough. Don't worry about it!" the fearless leader told us.

     In this age of lone wolf terrorism, radicalized by Isis and Putin's adventurism it's good to know the President is on target. Just think how troublesome those Australians have been! The underpinning of our many woes. 

     Kick their Ass, Donnie, kick their ass. Best ever conversation with an ally!  Outstanding!

#################################################################################

     The President's success in "reality" television gave him a little juice in announcing his nominee to the supremes. For years we've seen the nominee stand along side the chief executive. Donnie does it differently- a little suspense, no shared spot light until.... up pops the judge. The showman in chief couldn't contain his glee "That was good surprise wasn't it."  Keep asking Donnie-you had the best ever, everyone knows that. Largest audience ever for a nominee announcement. The best!

but oh those enemies in the crooked press

      Republicans and Democrats have reacted to reports the Trump White House told the congressional staffers it called on to help with the controversial immigration order they had to sign non-disclosure agreements. Members of both parties say that is a serious breach of separation of powers. Some reports said it is a troubling sign of paranoia in the new administration. 

         Careful there press, do you think you have freedom to question Der fuhrer entertainer in chief? He is the "only person" on earth who can fix our ills! He told us that. Can't you remember anything? Pitiful. Crooked press!

Trump Apologizes to Reporter

          (Special to The Trumpet via The 710 Brother's Network)

          Today Donald Trump invited the physically challenged reporter he mocked during the election cycle to Trump Tower. After a humble apology by the President the two enjoyed lunch and polite conversation. Trump then handed the reporter an envelop that contained a check for $50,000 made out to the charity of his choice. The two shook hands and promised to keep in touch!

the Trumpet riddle

       How will the Democrats respond to the Gorsuch nomination?
       A) Will they be big boys and girls and give the nominee a fair hearing?
       B)  Will they be like Republicans and create a political obstruction?
       C)   Will Charles Schumer act like Mitch McConnell and declare no nominee hearing?
       Our Bonus Question-How does McConnell speak when his head remains so deeply implanted in his lower descending colon? 

       Tune in again some time for another edition of THE TRUMPET.

we called it reporting

   on assignment -Anderson Indiana-reporting for a documentary on the effects of a recession--with furloughed auto workers

       It's clear that Trump was about the only person who "noticed" the pain of millions of under or unemployed workers and they ended up being the edge in a few states

       The Clinton campaign ignored them, so did everybody else-media and pollsters included. Much is to be written and said as historians review the 2016 campaign, but it's been a long time coming. 

       Media has become more about audience size and entertainment than journalism. There are exceptions but are too few and far between. You may recall when David Broder of the Washington Post or David Brinkley of NBC would travel off into the country to listen, "mood of the electorate" pieces they were called. They set the standard and most serious news organizations did something similar. In fact it was the backbone of old fashioned reporting. Get out of the newsroom or studio, get away from the government bubble and go listen to people, citizens. That was what we used to do and how we knew what people thought and felt. 

        Someplace along the line, probably a non journalist decided the world needed a fancy set, with pretty anchors and yakking, squawking, ego's-call them analysts-telling us what they thought. Modern political campaigns are also frequently hapless. (Think how much the 19 Republicans and Hillary Clinton threw down the drain.) 

        Well, we have lots of famous and wealthy fools these days don't we?

they were called typewriters

        Found this in the Wayback machine, a contact sheet for an ad campaign when Karen Dillon and I were "working" news anchors at NewsCenter 13. By the way, we did write and report and leave our not so fancy set to go listen to people.
      Then we came back and used an antique called a typewriter. I trust most of you remember those?

 another of those "great haircut" shots to amuse the grand daughter

    They were great for leaning on as we used that other appliance, the one with a tail, a telephone.  Amazing what you can learn by listening. 

    Indeed it was a great way to make a living. 

     See you down the trail.

TRICKLES TO TORRENTS

Photo from GOES-16  Courtesy of NOAA via Agency France-Presse

           As my friend Tom said when reviewing the recently released photo, "Spaceship earth still looks pretty good, despite all of the abuse." Indeed it does.

          But it confronts us with the challenge of protecting it and all of us from a dangerous man. We look at that in a moment, but first we celebrate.

forces of nature

    The rains of January have turned Santa Rosa Creek in Cambria into a river. These shots, where the creek meets the Pacific, show how a normally trickling creek has re-contoured the beach.

  It has moved with such force as to cut embankments and deposit drift wood in piles.

emergency signals

    First a word to readers, an apology. When I began Light/Breezes 7 years and more than 1,000 posts ago it was not my intention to fill this space with political analysis or rants. It still is not. However 42 years of journalism including investigative and political reporting and international documentary work has shaped and instructed my world view. I have devoted more words to politics in the last couple of years because of the reality we are living. 
    During my career I assiduously tried to remain non-partisan. In my personal life I have been bi-partisan. I have voted for Democrats, Republicans and Independents. But I tell no one who I vote for. I am a pragmatist and favor those candidates who tilt toward solutions. I distrust all politicians and especially those who are ideologues. I admire those who engage in realpolitik.
    Some readers, and some friends have responded that I have been unfair to Donald Trump and so that brings us to the realpolitik of this moment.

                    

dump trump

     Donald Trump is a danger to this Republic. He lacks the skill, temperament, ability to reason, finesse, character and intellect required of the President. He is a liar, tax cheat, shifty business hustler, sexual predator, narcissist and is not smart enough to know he is being used. I will give him this, he knew his reality television show audience would love him and he knew both parties had ignored some who had been damaged by the near depression and the changing nature of work in America. 
      It is not just that he has no mandate, a minority president behaving as if he'd won by a landslide, I think he lacks the mental balance to hold the office. I have posted all of this but everyday bears it out. 
      That is about Trump, a sick and deplorable cretin. More important is what this means to everyone else?
     I would not assail you were it not a great challenge to our future in several ways. You can read better analysts or ethicists but I would think it failure and cowardice should I not use this opportunity to engage your concern. 
   This is not merely sour grapes, or simply disagreeing with policy or politics. You win and you lose, that is life. No, this is to support the case Trump is unfit and a danger. 

where do they stand?

     What about the Republican Party? What about Trump voters? Before we wade any deeper there is an undeniable reality at work. He is acting, via executive orders, to do things the majority of American voters disapprove. It is fact most Americans don't want him in the office. They certainly don't want him doing what he is and threatening not only this nation but the planet. Presently most Trump supporters are in denial of that, even his serial lies. 
      It is important the Republican party leadership stand up to and even challenge Trump. Sadly, it appears, Mitch McConnell and even Paul Ryan would like to have it both ways. They want to use Trump for their own advantage. Unless they make a break they will be seen as cowards.
      Think I have overstated that? Consider this-from a man who served as counsel for Condi Rice when she was Secretary of State. This is a conservative Republican speaking to others of that stripe. The writer is Eliot A. Cohen in the Atlantic. 

"For the community of conservative thinkers and experts, and more importantly, conservative politicians, this is a testing time. Either you stand up for your principles and for what you know is decent behavior, or you go down, if not now, then years from now, as a coward or opportunist. Your reputation will never recover, nor should it."

      Mr. Cohen is director of the Strategic Studies Program at Johns Hopkins, an author and a highly regarded international analyst.  Consider this as he echoes what former Presidents, national security, intelligence and military leaders have said of Trump.  

     Precisely because the problem is one of temperament and character, it will not get better. It will get worse, as power intoxicates Trump and those around him. It will probably end in calamity—substantial domestic protest and violence, a breakdown of international economic relationships, the collapse of major alliances, or perhaps one or more new wars (even with China) on top of the ones we already have. It will not be surprising in the slightest if his term ends not in four or in eight years, but sooner, with impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment. The sooner Americans get used to these likelihoods, the better.

     I believe this. History has shown us a precedent. So, I am sorry if you come to this blog for something else, that I intrude  with these passionate thoughts. I write this as a defense for my daughters and my granddaughter. When I am gone I will have, at least, left an honest effort to help motivate people to think about the seriousness of how we live and respond, especially now, in the face of this unprecedented menace. 

 a future

     I will seek to guide this blog with photos, reflections and thoughts that are indeed filled with light. Still I will use the energy I have to cast light where it may illuminate.

     Now is not the time to bury your head in the sand and that is especially true for those of you who provided the minority votes that were enough to put this threatening menace in office. How much do you need to see? Millions around the world take to the streets, experts by the score warn about him, mental health experts offer their advice, he's already begun to destabilize international relations, he's replaced a military chief from his top council and replaced him by a Neo Nazi malcontent as strategist, he lies and obsesses about the size of a crowd, he believes he is above the law. It is madness. No administration in history has begun like this. Already social order is being pushed. When enough of you come to your senses it will help to remove this man.

     See you down the trail.