#28 - Guess Who's NOT Coming to Dinner

**Originally posted on February 26, but updated ahead of tonight's White House Correspondent's Dinner


Our 45th President now refuses to break bread with "the enemy of the American People".   That's completely understandable, no self respecting US politician, US Government Official, Republican or Democrat, would be caught dead sitting down to dinner with Kim Jong-un, Basshar al-Assad or Vladimir Putin (ok, maybe there are one or two exceptions to this last one). 

No, this enemy of the American People doesn't use chemical weapons, strive to place nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles or assassinate members of the opposition party, these enemies write articles, present facts, opine in editorials and generally speaking, lean Left (Jesus, Mary and Joseph and all the Saints, pray for us)

President Donald Trump enjoys having dinner, surrounded by all of the beautiful people at his Mar-a- Layo Country Club, where he can eat out in the open and feel revered and loved by the people that really matter the most.   Apparently he seems to feel that the US press corps doesn't share that same level of reverence. It's true of course,  they don't really care about the conditions of the greens, or if their annual dues are going to go up next year.

Back in late February, Trump tweeted that he would not be attending The White House Correspondents Dinner. Hmmm, so, if the White House is out, I guess they are going to have rename the thing, maybe we go with the "Public Enemy No. 1 Dinner".  Yes, that's catchy, let's go with that.

This is bigger news than you might think.    This is the first time in 31 years that an American President has not attended the dinner.   The last sitting president who didn't attend was Ronald Reagan, but he had a pretty good excuse, he was recovering in the hospital from a gun shot wound to the chest from an assignation attempt.  The obvious comparison here is that Trump has just shot himself in the foot.  Reagan, the Great Communicator, could have taught the Donald a thing or two.   It makes you think that there were many lessons learned in his B-level movies,  that were lessons lost in the "Reality" TV of the Apprentice.   Reagan wasn't going to miss his opportunity.  Even though he didn't attend, he still appeared by videotape.

I have always enjoyed watching the new clips of this Dinner the day after.  They can be pretty hilarious and sometime poignant. Because all presidents have had an adversarial relationship with the Press, a fact which seems lost on Trump, it provides an opportunity to unite, rather than divide.   The President also has a unique advantage here, as he can pull from a talented cadre of speechwriters to poke fun at the press, poke fun at himself and show Americans that no matter what our differences are, when the day is done we can still break bread and have an enjoyable meal together.   

Sadly, President Trump, on the 100th day of his administration has chosen instead to go to Pennsylvania to hold another campaign rally with all of his supporters who still don't seem to have a clue that they've been conned.  Most of you are probably surprised by this, because you thought the campaign ended almost six months ago.   Well you would be wrong, President Trump has concluded that campaigning is a lot more fun than governing, so he's just going to keep campaigning for the next 1,360 days.  I mean, why not?  He's President.

It's just a wild guess, but I suspect this might be one of the topics which comes up at tonight's White House Correspondent's Dinner.

#27 - The Broken Clock Theory

We have all heard the old saying that "even a broken clock, is right at least twice a day", however as it relates to the Trump Administration, at least for the first 70+ days of its existence, it seems to me that the Broken Clock Theory has been, well, broken.  That's because I have struggled to find any action that Trump has taken, any statement he has made, any tweet that he has tweeted, that actually adds value to the world around us.

Take heart my friends, I was wrong!  The Broken Clock Theory, is not dead, it's just been dormant. Yesterday, President Trump removed his Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon from the National Security Council's cabinet-level "principals committee".  The NY Times and other sources have reported that the change was orchestrated by Lt. General H.R. McMaster who actively pushed to purge the political adviser from the Situation Room where discussions and decisions are made about war and peace.

On March 2, in #15 Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, I embraced the selection of H.R. McMaster as Trump's second selection as his National Security Advisor (acknowledging that Trump's first selection of Michael Flynn was an unmitigated disaster) and stated:  "I applaud President Trump for his most recent selection of H.R McMaster as his National Security Advisor.  It is my sincere hope that he will listen to McMaster's advice ...on important topics.  I believe it will be imperative to do so."  

The stated rationale for removing Bannon at this time, that his presence there was to "keep an eye" on Flynn, and with Flynn's ouster, his presence was no longer required, is outright laughable (but not out of ordinary for this administration), but I don't want to detract from the substance of this important course correction.

The original move placing Bannon on the National Service Council was criticized by just about everyone on the planet, as potentially politicizing the most important responsibility of government which under any and all circumstances had to be completely unfettered from politics.  

Equally baffling at the time was that the structure of the principals committee approved by Trump not only provided Bannon with formal membership, but it actually downgraded the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence to occasional participants as issues demanded.  This too, has now been corrected.

Even Karl Rove, the very political senior adviser to President George W. Bush, who was never allowed to join national security meetings — said this was a move back to a better process. “It was wrong for him (Bannon)  to be added in the first place, and it was right to take him off,” he said.

So, now it seems that McMaster has been successful in earning the ear of the President, and this should be considered a huge win for all of us, for with all the issues in the world today, this provides us with a degree of hope that Mr. Trump is not completely incapable of making an intelligent decision, now and again.  

At least a broken clock is right twice a day.   And thank God for that.

#26 - 'Fearless Girl' is Here to Stay

picture courtesy of Glamour Magazine

In the interest of full disclosure, I should let you know that I have had no formal education in the world of art.  Oh, it’s entirely possible that I took a course in college on art appreciation, but that was sooo long ago, I couldn't really say.  I do however enjoy going to museums to see the product, the creativity, the beauty, and the expressions of real artists who are so much more talented than I am.  And every once in a while, you see an exhibit or just a single piece that seems to speak directly to you, that makes you feel good, that puts a serious smile on your face, and somehow your faith in the world is replenished, at least for brief moment.  And you leave the museum with a little extra bounce in your step.

‘Fearless Girl’ does that for me

Installed in early March, ‘Fearless Girl’ was created by the sculptor Kristen Visbal and erected in lower Manhattan by the financial firm State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) in honor of International Women’s Day.  By itself, this little statute is a beautiful piece of work.  This little girl looking up at the world with confidence and strength seems to be saying “Get ready world, I am coming.  I am small now, but I am on way”.   However, the real genius is its placement directly across from the iconic ‘Charging Bull’ of Wall Street.  ’Fearless Girl’ staring down ‘Charging Bull’.  Only in America. 

Intended to encourage companies to put more women on their boards, SSGA said in a statement that the statue celebrates “the power of women in leadership and the potential of the next generation of women leaders.”   ‘Fearless Girl’ was originally only granted a one month stay in Bowling Green Park, but Mayor Bill de Blasio has granted it a longer stay, at least through February 2018.  

A few critics have commented that this is nothing more than a convoluted public relations play, including Arturo DiModica, the sculptor of ‘Charging Bull’.  ’Charging Bull’ was placed in Bowling Green park without permission under the cover of night in 1989, but the city allowed it to remain, as it served as an important symbol of American resilience following the stock market crash of 1987.    

Another champion of ‘Charging Bull’ is one Arthur Piccolo (no relation of which I am aware, but I have too many cousins to count).  artnet News reports that Piccolo has said that the placement of ‘Fearless Girl’ in front of DiModica's work effectively creates a brand new work and impairs DiModica's copyright and should be removed.   Piccolo has suggested that Visbal support his efforts to move The ‘Fearless Girl’ “where she belongs, where she can do REAL good, standing in front of the New York Stock Exchange.” 

While I believe one must give credence to Piccolo's point, I still love ‘Fearless Girl’.   I applaud Ms. Visbal’s work.  I think it's brilliant.  It is a statute for our times, just as ‘Charging Bull’ was back in 1989. 

Acknowledging my aforementioned lack of knowledge of the world of art, there is one thing I know.  Artists want viewers of their work to find their own individual interpretation. They hope that the beautiful uniqueness of their work will speak to individuals as if they were in an intimate conversation.   For me, ‘Fearless Girl’ speaks volumes.  Not only is she a young girl staring down the business titans of Wall Street, but she also represents the little startup staring down big established companies, the worker earning minimum wage starting down powerful management, and David staring down Goliath. Most notably, ‘Fearless Girl’ pays tribute to another iconic image, that of the young college student staring down a Chinese army tank in Tiananmen Square.   It's all there, in this single piece of art 

Most importantly, she is a stirring reminder of the American Dream. If you fight hard enough and work long enough, if you are smart enough and tough enough, no matter how small you are, you can still succeed.  As an old white guy with a college degree, the challenges in my life have all been small ones, but ‘Fearless Girl’ inspires hope that my own children will have the strength and the courage to take on forces larger than them. In this country, despite our issues, this remains a very real possibility.

I suspect that the debate around a permanent home for ‘Fearless Girl’ will continue for some time, and I would not attempt to handicap it.  Whether she is staring down ‘Charging Bull’ or the New York Stock Exchange or placed across the entrance to the White House (wouldn't that be fitting?) or simply placed in in an open space in Central Park all by herself staring out at the world in front of her, our little friend is here to stay. 

‘Fearless Girl’ represents the America in which I choose to live.  She stands for the America I love.   So when we all start hypothesizing about making America great again, make no mistake, I want ‘Fearless Girl’ on my side.   We all do.