As a periodic running bit on his late night show, James Corden will offer to take over people's jobs in order for them to get a breather. On one show, for instance, he did numerous jobs at a posh London hotel. The other day, they took it in a different direction. He offered to fill in for one of the Backstreet Boys
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This is a very good, and fairly short (most-especially for him) article by Adam Davidson of the New Yorker magazine. Davidson is a terrific investigative reporter who wrote a particularly great article that I posted here back in March of last year about Trump and money laundering that centered on a Trump hotel that never opened -- and which was basically impossible to even get to -- in Azerbaijan, a story which included ties to Iran's terrorist Revolutionary Guard.
It's an article rich in meticulous details and quotes, including from people inside the Trump organization on how they do business, even providing Davidson with internal documents, I've referenced the article often and pointed others to it regularly after it was published, noting how it lays bare what I've long sensed, that the biggest problem I believe Trump has faced since Day One is money laundering with Russia. In this new analysis, Davidson looks at the issue of kompromat, and why Trump may be so compliant to Putin. But what I like most about it is that, among the many financial problems that Trump faces, Davidson circles back to that Azerbaijan piece. You can read this new article here. But if you haven't read his earlier masterpiece, do yourself a favor and check it out at the link above. Today would have been the 70th birthday of the wonderful singer-songrwriter Steve Goodman. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1984 of leukemia at the age of 36. To honor the day, here are two videos. Two, because of course we have to start with his classic. Here he is when he was a young cherubic fellow singing "The City of New Orleans." And this is how it's supposed to be sung -- And a second video because for all his many strengths as an artist, at the top of the list may well be his skill as a live performer. His albums are wonderful, his studio videos are wonderful, he songwriting, musicianship and singing are wonderful. But when he got on a stage in front of audience, he leaped to another level. I got to see him three times on stage, and they were each memorable. The most memorable was the story I told here before, about going to the Universal Amphitheater when Steven Martin was at his height of maniacal popularity. And Steve Goodman was the opening act. None of the crazed Martin fans wanted an opening act. They were screaming for their hero before the concert even began, many with "arrows" in their head. An opening act??!! No, they wanted Steve Martin, and they wanted him now. But by the end of Steve Goodman's set, he had the 13,000 people in his hands all going crazy for him. In fact, halfway through his set, the guy in front of me (who'd heard me talking about Steve Goodman to my date throughout) turned around and with huge, wide eyes agog shouted out, "Who is this guy??!! He's GREAT!!" He was great. Personal, outgoing, and infectious, with a rich connection to the audience. Here he is on, I believe, Austin City Limits, with two wonderful numbers, "Banana Republics" (one of my favorite of his songs, with some of his most-clever lyrics) and "The Twentieth Century is Almost Over," where he goes into Full Steve mode.
Yesterday morning, Trump posted perhaps one of his most Trumpian tweets yet, since it encompassed so much that is malevolent about his persona and time in office. He wrote --
I read this and, almost more than so many of his other pronouncements -- perhaps because of the accumulation of all the others, perhaps because of recent news stories (like standing next to Putin and taking Russia's side over U.S. intelligence services and also, this week, threatening to take away the security clearances of the former intelligence chiefs), or perhaps just on general principal for what it is -- and all I could immediately think was to write him back and suggest, "How about for once in your life think about others -- others, as in EVERYONE on ALL sides in the country you've *sworn an oath* to preserve and protect -- and just take a break and shut up until you have something presidential to say." What I also realize is that, at long last, I've figured out the two "proofs" of why Trump statements like this -- and all his others about how he supposedly accepts that Russia meddled in the U.S. elections and that he's actually really tough on Russia -- are treasonous lies. 1) Trump has long prided himself in being the kind of bully who hits back TEN TIMES HARDER whenever he is attacked. So, if Russia actually hates Trump, as he so often insists, and we can even stretch reality and accept it when he says that he's been tough on Russia, more than anyone in the world has ever been, we've not yet once seen where he's hit them back a mere twice as hard, let alone the Trumpian TEN TIMES HARDER. But mostly -- 2) Trump gives silly nicknames to his enemies. So...Where Is His Nickname for Putin?! That Trump hasn't ever come up with one of his childish nicknames for the Russian leader screams loudly that he doesn't see Putin as a threat to himself, despite all U.S. intelligence services, the Senate and House Intelligence Committees and 12 indictments from the U.S. Justice department to the contrary saying that Russia did attack the U.S. during the elections, and it was directed by Putin. But no nickname. He gave "Rocket Man" to Kim Jong Un, after all -- well, until he got snookered and became Best Buddies and was sent a big letter. But no "Puny Putin" or "Vlad the Immeddler." Just "He's a nice guy!" But far worse than this, his tweet yesterday morning was part of pie with two other pieces. Yesterday afternoon, only a few hours later at a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Trump said -- among other head-shaking things -- “Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what’s happening.” Much as one would like to believe that to mean Hillary Clinton actually won the election, it's doesn't and instead is entering the land of George Orwell, where the totalitarian government tries to control the perception of reality through "Newspeak," which the 1984 author describes as a way for the government "to diminish the range of thought." And this -- in fact, all this yesterday, the tweet and speech -- ties into the infamous July 16 Helsinki press conference just a week earlier with Putin and Trump, who took the side of Russia over U.S. intelligence. At one point there was an exchange between a reporter and Putin that got attention at the time, though less than some of the more glaring and treasonous comments from Trump. That was when reporter Jeff Mason of Reuters asked the Russian dictator -- MASON: "President Putin, did you want President Trump to win the election and did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?" PUTIN: "Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the US/Russia relationship back to normal." Bear with me a moment, because there a very big point to this all. And just to be clear, accurate and the word of the day, "transparent." here's footage from the press conference itself where that exchange takes place. (You hear to Russian translator first, as Jeff Mason's quieter question underneath overlaps briefly with it.) And by the way, I specifically chose this clip since it comes from RT, the Russian state television network, in case anyone wants to think it was edited by the "fake media" in the U.S. But coming from Russian state TV, this is clearly what Russia wants to the world to hear. And to read, as well, since the text headline on the video is theirs. Which, in this case, is in fact what actually occurred, because this exchange is on all other video feeds from the news media throughout the world. That from Putin, on its own, is a pretty remarkable and damning statement. Even if you accept that Putin isn't answering the second question, but just the first, that first question alone lays waste to Trump claims for the past year. Vladimir Putin says clearly, on the video record, yes, he wanted Donald Trump to win the election. For the world to see. It was live, on television. And remains on video. And not only does it lay waste to Trump claims for the past year -- it makes gallingly pathetic Trump's pathetic insistence in his tweet yesterday morning that Russia is "pushing very hard for Democrats," that Russians "definitely don't want Trump!", something he wrote mere days after Putin said to Trump's face and to the world, yes, he wanted Trump. Now keep in mind, three things, as we build to the point. First, we all saw and heard what Putin actually said, and we're not all idiots. Second, just hours after tweeting this, Trump told the Veterans of Foreign Wars, "Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what’s happening.” And now third -- and as egregious as the first two comments above are, they don't compare to this third: in the official White House transcript of the Helsinki press conference (okay, are you ready? Sit down first), the administration LEFT OUT THE FIRST QUESTION by Jeff Mason! They edited out Jeff Mason of Reuters asking, "President Putin, did you want President Trump to win the election?" So, Putin's answer seemingly relates to something else entirely that's not only totally benign but makes no sense. But it's even worse! (Yes, really. Worse) Because in case anyone wants to think or desperately try to suggest this was just a "clerical error" -- in the official video of the press conference released by the White House...they went to the effort of editing out the same first question by Jeff Mason of Reuters, as well!! Really. Here's the official White House copy of the live stream. Jump to 2:18:20. And listen to the end of Putin's preceding answer, and then see the cut to Jeff Mason -- without his first question. You know, that first question that YOU SAW in reality above. And so, it is clear what Trump and his administration are trying to do -- change our perception of reality. Edit out all evidence of Putin saying he wanted Trump to win. Trump telling the world not to believe what you see and what you read, because they are not happening. Trump claiming that Putin supposedly said, not the reality that it was Trump (which is what he actually said), but that it was instead "the Democrats" who he wants to win. I'm not sure what words to use to describe this. Go through your thesaurus for words to describe fascist political hell. But bizarrely, Trump is trying to gaslight an entire country -- or at least gaslight his crazed base who at this point not only will believe anything from him but to appear to be begging to be lied to. Happily, videotape exists. Happily, reality exists. Happily, this editing is getting reported. Happily, people saw what was actually said. Unhappily, there will be Trumpet cultists who believe it -- and worse, who will believe the Trump-pushed false narrative for after the mid-terms that the Russians fixed things FOR the Democrats if Democrats win back the House, and even win the Senate. Because that's what Trump appears to be setting them up here to believe. But the "good news" is that Trump acolytes would have believed that anyway without all the editing and set-up, so it's a lot of wasted effort for nothing, and worse there's now video evidence of Trump's perfidy disproving it all. Could it all possibly, maybe just been a big technical snafu?? The Washington Post's Phillip Bump makes a thoughtful case here that it was. What it leaves out though is that it's been nine days since the transcript and video were released, and they haven't yet been corrected. And it leaves out, too, that Trump -- who was standing right next to Putin and heard the Russian dictator say, "Yes," he wanted Trump to win -- sent out a tweet yesterday morning insisting that Putin supposedly wants the Democrats to win. And that Russians "definitely don't want Trump." And leaves out that yesterday afternoon Trump said not to believe what you hear or read. Without those three realities, their otherwise objective piece leaves out significant context in determining what happened. Besides, given that this same Washington Post determined here in May that Trump has made over 3,000 false or misleading claims since taking office, he long-since lost any benefit of the doubt. It's long been up to the White House to prove their statements beyond all reasonable doubt. And since it's been nine days without them correcting two records, that speaks far louder. Because even if by some possible chance there was a ghastly error, it seems to be a position they happily want the public to believe. But mainly, as always now -- this is not about Trump. This is about the elected officials of the Republican Party who are accepting this attempt to change reality, it is about the Republican Party officials who are enabling Trump telling the country not to believe what they hear and read. It is about the elected members of the Republican Party foregoing their sworn duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States in order to act as a check-and-balance on the Executive Branch. This is about the Republican Party. This is about a Republican Party not rising in horror condemning this. A Republican Party not standing to defend the United States. It is a Republican Party acting as if they are complicit in it all, and like they have something to hide and are treasonous themselves. There. Treasonous. That's a good word to describe it. The is the star of the Tony-winning Best Musical The Band’s Visit, Katrina Lenk, who herself won the Tony as Best Lead Actress in a Musical (whose riveting Tony performance I posted here). Here, though, she sings a fascinating interpretation of “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof But what makes this even more intriguing is that she’s an accomplished violinist and accompanies herself. This comes from this year’s annual MisCast concert in New York, which as far as I can figure out has performers singing songs that would never been cast in – usually men singing songs for women, and vice-versa. She gives an interpretation which not only is fascinating, but unique, with a few liberties, which is sort of the point of the yearly show. And overall, I think it’s admirable to see what she does with it. I sent a link to the video to Sheldon Harnick, but not just because as the lyricist of the song I'd thought he'd be intrigued by the performance. But also, he went to Northwestern University -- where Ms. Lenk went, as well. and even more whimsically, he's a trained violinist. (When he went to Northwestern, it was in the School of Music, and he was planning to be a violinist.) I was watching the Tour de France today -- yes, I know, I'm one of those. I don't have a clue how the rules of the sport actually work, but I find it great fun, unique, and utterly beautiful as the event takes place through the mountains and gorgeous countryside. It was Stage 16. I don't watch it for the crashes. They make me cringe, not only for the speed of the accidents, but after riding so long and hard, it can knock a person out of the race. But every once in a while, a crash comes along that is SO spectacular, yet no one is badly hurt -- and can even continue. Today, there was one of those. This is Philippe Gilbert, from Belgium. As you'll see, without giving it away, this is about a classic a bicycle crash as you can find. In fact it's almost something you'd expect to find in a cartoon. As it happens, the drop-off wasn't into a valley (fortunately...), but "just" into a bank of a few feet. But still, remember he's going awfully fast. But remember too, as you see at the 3-minute mark, he only has some scratches (and bumps) and actually is able to continue the race. See! If you also watched the Tour de France, you too could see stuff like this, for hours. Well, okay, not for hours, but it's fun seeing them cruise along throughout rural France. Well, okay, I find it fun... |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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