Day 748

Day 748 Thursday January 24, 2019    845 Days to Go

How the Shutdown will End.

A closer look at Kamala Harris.

In Mayan studies, there is a story that while the archaeologists were trying to figure out the glyphs someone came up with the idea that maybe there were still people around who spoke the language and maybe the archaeologists should talk to some of those folks. I’m not sure how long it took to come to this stunning conclusion, but it was decades. (In fairness, I think there was another group who had lived among the current Maya and spoke the language and were using that knowledge, but it didn’t make it into the main stream of academic thought for quite awhile.) 

The British Navy had a huge problem with scurvy. Ships were outfitted with 150% of the manpower needed because they knew 30% would die of scurvy. It was Captain Cook who insisted that his ship be kept clean and that his crew eat citrus everyday. A companion ship did not follow those guidelines and many of that crew succumbed to illness while on Cook’s ship there was little or none, yet, it took the British Navy seventy years to adopt Cook’s practices, well after he was eaten.

Things take time.

Yesterday, there were a number of data points brought up about the shutdown that are worth noting, and some ideas of how it might end.

Datapoints:

Trump is a sociopath and therefore has no compassion. i.e. He doesn’t understand it, doesn’t get it, doesn’t have that gene.

It has now become clear that McConnell doesn’t have it either.

It is also being said that the position of Speaker of the Senate, a job created in the 1920s, has not had that many speakers but it is now being said that McConnell is the weakest person to ever hold the job.

It has been said that Trump is not a great negotiator, and that he likes simple deals, because that’s what he can understand.

It has been noted that Trump is the kind of guy who will look at a deal laid in front of him, say it is terrible, then change a minor point and declare it fixed and that it is his deal now.

Another thought being considered is “ask the experts.” By that it is suggested that one could go to the southern border and ask the people who are actually doing the job what they need. 

The situation is getting so desperate that the last item is seriously being considered. That is ask the people what they want. Yikes! There is some need for a barrier, and the folks at the border know where. Okay, so we got a wall. Great. There is a much bigger need for other stuff to stop drugs etc. I’ve talked about the x-ray machine used on trucks, that the two times I saw stories about the border, it was broken. Maybe, get that fixed? We could call it Trump-Vision.

In other news Mr. Trump has demonstrated that he has no idea how government works. He sent a note to Nancy Pelosi saying he was going to come on the appointed date and time to give his State of the Union (SOTU for those in the know). Nancy replied that she was not entertaining a concurrent resolution. The baffled Trump, arms wrapped around his waist, said that was a pity, etc. etc. etc. It was clear he had no idea what that meant. 

(In order to give a SOTU in the House of Representatives both the House and the Senate must pass a resolution – hence the term concurrent – inviting the president to come do so.) 

In other words – It ain’t happenin’ – and oh by the way, the Speaker of the House controls the cameras and the lights in the House of Representatives… and the doors…and the locks.

So I think Trump should come on down at the appointed hour, motorcade and all, camera rolling and get to the door of the House and find it locked. 

Moving on, Kamala Harris was on Rachel last night and I got my first look at her as a person, not just a Senator asking questions. She seems genuine and real. She fielded questions well. By that I mean her answers seemed realistic and genuine. I’m not sure I saw the magic as in Kennedy magic that some have alluded to, but I did watch an appeal to our better selves by her without getting goofy. It was inspiring. I think she has a good shot at getting the nomination.

I’ve been reading Alec Baldwin’s memoir. Here is a quote page 120 of his book “Nevertheless.”

“Once you abandon your instincts and begin polling people about your choices, once you attempt to reshape yourself into someone you are not, it affects nearly every decision you make. You begin to see your entire life through a distorted prism.”

Hum.

It seems to me that the person who will win the Democratic nomination in 2020 is the person who doesn’t abandon themselves to someone or something other than who they are.

 845 Days to Go

PS Yuknoom Took’K’awill king of Calakmul, Stela 51 

“The Dude abides”