"Solar Eclipse"; robrogers.com, August 21, 2017

Rob Rogers, robrogers.com; "Solar Eclipse"

One more lesson from Charlottesville: Our comedians are more ethical than our president; Salon, August 19, 2017

Sophia A. McClennen, Salon; One more lesson from Charlottesville: Our comedians are more ethical than our president

"This week we have now seen another key feature of satire: It offers ethical responses to unethical actions.

The ethics of satire is often hard to see, especially because comedy can so often be crass and crude...

This is all to say that comedians are unlikely moral leaders. And yet in the Trump era, when literally every value in our nation seems to have been turned upside down, we are now seeing comedians play an increasingly larger role as champions of good versus evil.

This is why as Meyers ended his monologue he directly went after Trump for failing to uphold his moral obligations as president of our nation:

The leader of our country is called the president because he’s supposed to preside over society. His job is to lead, to cajole, to scold, to correct our path, to lift up what is good about us and to absolutely and unequivocally and immediately condemn what is evil in us. And if he does not do that, if he does not preside over our society, then he is not a president. You can stand for a nation or you can stand for a hateful movement. You can’t do both. And if you don’t make the right choice, I am confident that the American voter will.

Meyers wasn’t just scolding Trump for failing at his job; he was also showing his audience what real leadership looks like." 

Trump Makes Caligula Look Pretty Good; New York Times, August 18, 2017

Paul Krugman, New York Times; Trump Makes Caligula Look Pretty Good

"Anyone with eyes — eyes not glued to Fox News, anyway — has long realized that Trump is utterly incapable, morally and intellectually, of filling the office he holds. But in the past few days things seem to have reached a critical mass...

For here’s the situation: Everyone in Washington now knows that we have a president who never meant it when he swore to defend the Constitution. He violates that oath just about every day and is never going to get any better.

The good news is that the founding fathers contemplated that possibility and offered a constitutional remedy: Unlike the senators of ancient Rome, who had to conspire with the Praetorian Guard to get Caligula assassinated, the U.S. Congress has the ability to remove a rogue president."

The Week When President Trump Resigned; New York Times, August 18, 2017

Frank Bruni, New York Times; The Week When President Trump Resigned

"Trump resigned the presidency already — if we regard the job as one of moral stewardship, if we assume that an iota of civic concern must joust with self-regard, if we expect a president’s interest in legislation to rise above vacuous theatrics, if we consider a certain baseline of diplomatic etiquette to be part of the equation.

By those measures, it’s arguable that Trump’s presidency never really began...

On Tuesday he “relinquished what presidents from Roosevelt to Reagan have regarded as a cardinal duty of their job: set a moral course to unify the nation,” wrote The Times’s Mark Landler, in what was correctly labeled a news analysis and not an opinion column. Landler’s assessment, echoed by countless others, was as unassailable as it was haunting, and it was prompted in part by Trump’s perverse response to a question that it’s hard to imagine another president being asked: Did he place the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va., on the same “moral plane” as those who showed up to push back at them?

“I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane,” Trump answered.

Indeed he wasn’t. And if you can’t put anybody on a moral plane, you can’t put yourself on Air Force One."

Trump again blamed ‘both sides’ in Charlottesville. Here’s how politicians are reacting.; Washington Post, August 16, 2017

Kevin Uhrmacher, Denise Lu, Kevin Schaul and Aaron Steckelberg, Washington Post; Trump again blamed ‘both sides’ in Charlottesville. Here’s how politicians are reacting.

"Tim Scott R

SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR

Aug. 15, 9:43 p.m. 

The moral authority of this nation rests upon clarity of convictions & actions that reinforce our commitment to the greater good for all! My party&our nation must stand united against hate, racism& groups/individuals who want to reject the truth that we are all from one blood.

Kamala Harris D

CALIFORNIA SENATOR

Aug. 15, 4:26 p.m. 

“Many sides” suggests that there is no right side or wrong side, that all are morally equal. But I reject that. It's not hard to spot the wrong side here. They're the ones with the torches and the swastikas.

Marco Rubio R

FLORIDA SENATOR

Aug. 15, 5:27 p.m. 

The organizers of events which inspired & led to #charlottesvilleterroristattack are 100% to blame for a number of reasons [Later tweet:] Mr. President,you can't allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame. They support idea which cost nation & world so much pain

Patty Murray D

WASHINGTON SENATOR

Aug. 15, 5:38 p.m. 

There is only one side. White supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazis, & hate groups have no place in our country. The President needs to say that.

Paul Ryan R

HOUSE SPEAKER AND WISCONSIN CONGRESSMAN

Aug. 15, 6:01 p.m. 

We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity."

Under Armour and Intel C.E.O.s Follow Merck Chief, Quitting Panel in Rebuke to Trump; New York Times, August 14, 2017

David Gelles and Katie Thomas, New York Times; Under Armour and Intel C.E.O.s Follow Merck Chief, Quitting Panel in Rebuke to Trump

"Though three C.E.O.s had spoken out by the end of the day, for much of it, Mr. Frazier of Merck was the lonely voice of opposition.

On Sunday, Mr. Frazier, the son of a janitor and grandson of a man born into slavery, watched news coverage of white nationalists clashing with counterprotesters in Charlottesville, and of Mr. Trump’s ambiguous response to the violence.

That evening, he informed his board members that he was preparing to resign from Mr. Trump’s American Manufacturing Council, one of several advisory groups the president formed in an effort to forge alliances with big business...

“America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” Mr. Frazier wrote. “As C.E.O. of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against extremism.”

What a presidential president would have said about Charlottesville; Washington Post, August 12, 2017

Editorial Board; Washington Post; What a presidential president would have said about Charlottesville

"HERE IS what President Trump said Saturday about the violence in Charlottesville sparked by a demonstration of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members:

We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides.

Here is what a presidential president would have said:

“The violence Friday and Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., is a tragedy and an unacceptable, impermissible assault on American values. It is an assault, specifically, on the ideals we cherish most in a pluralistic democracy — tolerance, peaceable coexistence and diversity.

“The events were triggered by individuals who embrace and extol hatred. Racists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and their sympathizers — these are the extremists who fomented the violence in Charlottesville, and whose views all Americans must condemn and reject.

“To wink at racism or to condone it through silence, or false moral equivalence, or elision, as some do, is no better and no more acceptable than racism itself. Just as we can justly identify radical Islamic terrorism when we see it, and call it out, so can we all see the racists in Charlottesville, and understand that they are anathema in our society, which depends so centrally on mutual respect.

“Under whatever labels and using whatever code words — ‘heritage,’ ‘tradition,’ ‘nationalism’ — the idea that whites or any other ethnic, national or racial group is superior to another is not acceptable. Americans should not excuse, and I as president will not countenance, fringe elements in our society who peddle such anti-American ideas. While they have deep and noxious roots in our history, they must not be given any quarter nor any license today.

“Nor will we accept acts of domestic terrorism perpetrated by such elements. If, as appears to be the case, the vehicle that plowed into the counterprotesters on Saturday in Charlottesville did so intentionally, the driver should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The American system of justice must and will treat a terrorist who is Christian or Buddhist or Hindu or anything else just as it treats a terrorist who is Muslim — just as it treated those who perpetrated the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

“We may all have pressing and legitimate questions about how the violence in Charlottesville unfolded — and whether it could have been prevented. There will be time in coming days to delve further into those matters, and demand answers. In the meantime, I stand ready to provide any and all resources from the federal government to ensure there will be no recurrence of such violence in Virginia or elsewhere. Let us keep the victims of this terrible tragedy in our thoughts and prayers, and keep faith that the values enshrined in our Constitution and laws will prevail against those who would desecrate our democracy.”"

Amid all the craziness, don’t forget: Trump is using the presidency to enrich his family; Washington Post, August 11, 2017

Sarah Posner, Washington Post; Amid all the craziness, don’t forget: Trump is using the presidency to enrich his family

"As Walter Shaub, the since-departed director of the Office of Government Ethics, has said of Trump’s refusal to divest from his business holdings, “a conflict of interest is anything that creates an incentive to put your own interests before the interests of the people you serve.” Trump’s continued stake in the hotel and ongoing promotion of it by using his name as the draw risks the appearance of “using the presidency for private gain,” Shaub told Vox.

One of the biggest challenges of the post-Trump era will be how to restore the norms and standards that Trump has so blithely trashed. Someday, Americans — from the people who run our government to the citizens in every corner of the country — will have to reckon with what he has done, and figure out how to undo it. That process will probably have to start with some basic reminders that the presidency is not for sale."

The Danger of an Incurious President; New York Times, August 9, 2017

Sarah Vowell, New York Times; The Danger of an Incurious President

"Having just read Barbara Tuchman’s book “The Guns of August,” about the madcap rush into World War I, Kennedy said, “I am not going to follow a course which will allow anyone to write a comparable book about this time, ‘The Missiles of October.’ ”

Would a more curious mind like Kennedy have made different decisions from Truman in 1945? Probably not — once “the Gadget” worked, it was going to be used. But he might have asked more questions beforehand. What we do know is that in 1962, nuclear holocaust was averted in part because a president read a book and learned from it.

We know that our current president reads neither books nor the Australian prime minister’s mood. And thanks to a leaked talk to congressional interns last week, we know that his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, the administration’s supposed voice of reason who is charged with ending the opioid epidemic, brokering peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and presumably proving the existence of God, actually said these words, out loud, to people with ears: “We’ve read enough books.”"

"Trump Day", robrogers.com, August 6, 2017

Rob Rogers, robrogers.com; "Trump Day"

Trump is a one-man assault on the rule of law; Washington Post, August 4, 2017

Ruth Marcus, Washington Post; Trump is a one-man assault on the rule of law

"Some readers have asked a fair and important question: Why is nearly every column of mine about Trump? The answer is: Trump. His behavior is so extreme and so dangerous that to respond only episodically and occasionally is to risk allowing it to appear acceptable. Outrageous words and outrageous actions require expressions of outrage in return, each and every time. That will continue until the danger subsides."

We will survive this; Washington Post, August 1, 2017

Garrison Keillor, Washington Post; We will survive this

[Kip Currier: Interesting insights from Garrison Keillor about taking a long-view of life, as well as voicing a carpe diem gratitude--embodied in the perfect imperfections of an heirloom tomato.

I first learned about "heirloom tomatoes" from a 2015 radio episode of The Splendid Table (Thanks, National Public Radio!), featuring tomato expert Craig LeHoullier. 

[Aside: Great quote by The Splendid Table host Lynne Rosetto Kasper, after LeHoullier notes that tomatoes are "very perishable": 

"But I think some of the best things in life have to be fragile. We appreciate them more."]

Soonafter, I tried my first heirlooms from the incredible year-round open-air Freshfarm DuPont Circle Market in Washington, D.C.: it was love at first bite.

A week ago I picked up these beauties in DuPont for a killer (Fair Use-transformed!) Caprese Salad:

"It’s a privilege to know people over the course of a lifetime and to reconnoiter and hear about the ordinary goodness of life. By 75, some of our class have gotten whacked hard. And the casualty rate does keep climbing. And yet life is good. These people are America as I know it. Family, work, a sense of humor, gratitude to God for our daily bread and loyalty to the tribe.

If the gentleman stands in the bow and fires his peashooter at the storm, if he appoints a gorilla as head of communications, if he tweets that henceforth no transcendentalist shall be allowed in the armed forces, nonetheless life goes on.

He fulfills an important role of celebs: giving millions of people the chance to feel superior to him. The gloomy face and the antique adolescent hair, the mannequin wife and the clueless children of privilege, the sheer pointlessness of flying around in a 747 to say inane things to crowds of people — it’s cheap entertainment for us, and in the end it simply doesn’t matter."

The ‘No Guardrails’ Presidency; New York Times, July 28, 2017

Bret Stephens, New York Times; The ‘No Guardrails’ Presidency

"In the meantime, we have a “No Guardrails” [see here] presidency, in which Trump’s contempt for law, procedure and decorum are a license for the behavior of his minions and a model for future American demagogues and their apologists.

Scaramucci’s outburst — to a reporter, no less — is insignificant in itself. But it exactly represents what this administration is and will continue to be, with the blessing of an intellectual class that has done as much to betray honorable conservatism as the liberal intelligentsia of the ’60s did to betray honorable liberalism.

As Scaramucci said, paraphrasing a proverb, “The fish stinks from the head down.” Yes, it does, Mooch. And you’re merely the mouth."

Trump doesn’t really get the difference between rights and wrongs; Washington Post, July 27, 2017

Tom Toles, Washington Post; Trump doesn’t really get the difference between rights and wrongs

"I needed to throw somebody under the bus."

Sally Yates: Protect the Justice Department From President Trump; New York Times, July 28, 2017

Sally Q. Yates, New York Times; Sally Yates: Protect the Justice Department From President Trump

"The strict separation between the Justice Department and the White House applies to even the most mundane of criminal investigations, and nowhere does it matter more than when the investigation reaches into the White House itself. In short, no one at the White House should have anything to do with any decisions about whom or what to investigate or prosecute. Period.

We must do more than rubberneck as we drive past this car crash. We all have a responsibility to protect our Justice Department’s ability to do its job free from interference. The very foundation of our justice system — the rule of law — depends on it."

The worst is yet to come; Washington Post, July 27, 2017

Eugene Robinson, Washington Post; The worst is yet to come

"The Court of Mad King Donald is not a presidency. It is an affliction, one that saps the life out of our democratic institutions, and it must be fiercely resisted if the nation as we know it is to survive.

I wish that were hyperbole. The problem is not just that President Trump is selfish, insecure, egotistical, ignorant and unserious. It is that he neither fully grasps nor minimally respects the concept of honor, without which our governing system falls apart. He believes “honorable” means “obsequious in the service of Trump.” He believes everyone else’s motives are as base as his.

The Trump administration is, indeed, like the court of some accidental monarch who is tragically unsuited for the duties of his throne. However long it persists, we must never allow ourselves to think of the Trump White House as anything but aberrant. We must fight for the norms of American governance lest we forget them in their absence...

Do not become numb to the mad king’s outrages. The worst is yet to come."

On ethics, Trump is leading America in the wrong direction; CNN, July 26, 2017

Jeffrey D. Sachs, CNN; On ethics, Trump is leading America in the wrong direction
"In a recent speech in Poland, President Donald Trump asked whether the West "has the will to survive." It's a good question, but aimed in the wrong direction. While Trump spoke about foreign aggression, the real threat to the West is the collapse of ethical norms, led by Trump and others like him. America is engulfed in a tsunami of unethical activity, and there is no assurance it has the will to save itself."

The Cruelty and Cynicism of Trump’s Transgender Ban; New Yorker, July 26, 2017

David Remnick, New Yorker; The Cruelty and Cynicism of Trump’s Transgender Ban: The President’s tweets are a naked attempt to divert attention from his scandals.

"Let’s begin with the retrograde cruelty. There are thousands of transgender people already serving among the 1.3 million active-duty members of the military. These are people who have volunteered their service and have potentially put their lives on the line, and yet their President, who managed to come up with a flimsy doctor’s note back in the day, denies them their dignity, their equality. He will not “accept or allow” them in the military. Imagine the scale of this insult...

It is implausible that Trump paid much attention to his highest-ranking generals, or to experts, generally; Secretary of Defense James Mattis has supported transgender individuals joining the military. And the hardly radical Rand Corporation has published an in-depth study refuting the idea that transgender soldiers are somehow expensive, or that they undermine the morale and cohesion of the military over all. Trump’s decision to bar transgender people from the military is pure politics, cheap and cruel politics, a naked attempt to divert attention from his woes, to hold on to support from his base—a base that he believes will cheer his latest attempt to do battle with the secular-humanist coastal élites who are so obsessed with identity politics. (One Administration official told Axios’s Jonathan Swan that the move was intended to force Democrats from Rust Belt states to take “complete ownership of this issue.”) In other words, it is a decision straight out of the Steve Bannon playbook. Cue the organs of the alt-right press.

Trump likes to declare what a “disaster” the military is, how deeply it has fallen into disrepair, and how he will be its salvation. When you begin to consider the meanness of what Trump has done, it is worth remembering him saying that he was “smarter” than the generals on military matters, and that he mocked John McCain’s service in Vietnam because “I like people who weren’t captured.” When you begin to think about the scale of this offense, it is worth remembering Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who lost a son in Iraq, addressing Trump directly from the lectern of the Democratic National Convention: “You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”"

Trump Fills Top Job at Government Ethics Office With a Temporary Appointment; New York Times, July 21, 2017

Eric Lipton, New York Times; 

Trump Fills Top Job at Government Ethics Office With a Temporary Appointment

"President Trump picked a new leader for the Office of Government Ethics on Friday, naming the agency’s general counsel, David J. Apol, as the acting director.

By making the appointment temporary and avoiding Senate confirmation hearings, Mr. Trump is able, at least for now, to avoid an extended public debate before lawmakers about the role of the ethics office during the Trump administration."

No, President Trump, Sessions’s recusal is not ‘very unfair’ to you. This is Ethics 101.; Washington Post, July 20, 2017

Ruth Marcus, Washington Post; No, President Trump, Sessions’s recusal is not ‘very unfair’ to you. This is Ethics 101.

"So Sessions’s situation and the question of whether he could oversee the Russia investigation doesn’t present a close call. As Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee last month, “That regulation states, in effect, that department employees should not participate in investigations of a campaign if they have served as a campaign advisor.” In other words, it’s a no-brainer, at least if you understand basic concepts of conflict of interest. What Trump perceives as betrayal is Ethics 101."