Rishi Sunak for King of the World I awoke this morning at what I’ve learned MSNC calls “Way too early”. Having flown back to NYC yesterday for a dinner (actually a grazing gathering) at the Pierre Hotel, my circadian rhythms are all messed up. I should have been able to stay up late on west coast time, but I was too tired. That meant that I had lots of time to sleep in this morning,…
Slip Slidin’ Away We’re into the first week of the Trump “Hush Money” trial in Manhattan as the jury selection process or “voir dire” is underway. As of yesterday, seven jurors including the foreman have been chosen. That leaves five more regular jurors and six alternates to go. I have predicted for some time that the criminal prosecution process was going to be the great unraveling of the Trump candidacy and perhaps the Trump existence…
An Uncivil War This afternoon, Kim and I will join brother-in-law Jeff and his wife Lisa at our local Angelika Theater for an opening weekend showing of Civil War, the Alex Garland movie about an all-too-close-to-home dystopian near future for America where certain factions revolt against the established U.S. government leadership. The perspective it takes seems very pertinent in that it follows the actions of a group of imbedded photojournalists who are tracking and reporting…
The Talented Mr. Trump Twenty-five years ago, a young Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow starred in a strangely interesting film called The Talented Mr. Ripley. The story was about an underachiever who has enough education and self-awareness to choose a course of action to improve his circumstances by committing dastardly deeds and assuming someone else’s personality and life. What makes the movie so eerie is that Tom Ripley seems like a polite and…
The World According to Rich I just had an exchange with my red, but supposedly anti-Trump friend Kevin. This is that text group that I have been engaged with for several years that used to be two Florida residents (read that was them being red in political orientation) and one too blue Californian (blue ex-New Yorker…same thing). We added another friend from Arizona, Steve, who is appropriately purple, less by political leaning and more by…
When Did We Get So Stupid? Today’s top New York Times story is about China and its efforts to bolster the Trump presidential campaign, joining Russia in its clear preference for the United States to choose the stupider path for the future of a MAGA resurgence. The Times suggests that there are two reasons for China’s support, first that China, like Russia, wants the U.S. to butt-out of global politics. Russia wants to inflict its…
My Politics I don’t make much of a secret about my political leanings. I keep telling myself that I need to tone it down, but everything going on in the political arena makes it increasingly difficult to do so. Last night I was watching a new series Kim and I are following called Loudermilk and the aggressively outspoken protagonist, who is a [published music critic and currently an addicted drug and alcohol counselor, tries to…
Trump & Gaza My morning has started with two pieces of news that may seem disconnected, but which I connect in a very direct sense in my mind. To begin with, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as the unconditional release of all hostages. This may sound like the same resolution put forth by the United States last Friday, but apparently both Russia…
Saving the Planet There are many big issues that can overwhelm us and make us small, insignificant and. Probably first among those issues, alongside world peace and the need for universal fairness and equality, is climate change. What used to be a hotly debated and very politicized issue has, through our day-to-day life experiences, particularly with the changing weather patterns, become more of a foregone conclusion. What we are left with is the big question…
Seeing Further Whenever I finish a blog story, I try to give myself a head start on the next story by creating a template and a title to get myself going. I usually write to suit that title and only occasionally find myself writing something for which a better title is required. Having just finished writing a story this morning and just finished Round 8 with my big life insurance carrier (I sent them a…