I know Josiah (“Jed”) Bartlet is a fictional character, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea to use him as a role model, as an ideal version of what we could have. I am a Bartlet Democrat (not to be confused with anybody who idolizes the real Josiah Bartlett, with three t’s in his last name — a member of the New Hampshire delegation to the Congressional Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence). In the same way that kids use superheros as role models, I think it’s healthy to imagine what Barlet would do under real-life situations. Of course, this isn’t always possible and the situations we (or a president) encounter will be vastly different from those Bartlet would have faced. And, of course, this is all up for interpretation because nobody (except maybe the writers of the show) would know for sure what Bartlet would do. But there are some scenarios that are easier to imagine than others. His reaction to President Trump’s tweets fall into that category. Let’s play.
Month: February 2019
Build the wall…I still just don’t care
It’s clear to anybody who knows me, or who reads anything I write, that I don’t like President Trump. I don’t like the person I see him as, I don’t like things he’s done, I don’t like his style, I don’t like his approach to issues, and I disagree with his worldview. Even more than that, I am saddened by how many people like him not in spite of these things, but because of them. All that said, I dislike the fight over the wall even more, and I simply can’t find myself getting riled up over it. I’m not a politician, and my interests are different from many politicians (who have jobs to do), but in many ways, as I wrote earlier, I think the democrats should have given him the wall earlier, reopened the government sooner, and let him run on that being his crown achievement. He wants the fight, and his supporters seem to like him more when he’s fighting. So don’t give him the fight. All that said, I think the current outcome might be a little more interesting to watch…
Dueling Perspectives: thoughts on Russia, Trump, and Climate Change
I got a new car a few months ago and it came with a subscription to Sirius XM. I had never had it before, except in a rental, and never appreciated it. Now I have it, and it’s fueling my news addiction. That only matters because it’s directly responsible for me writing something this morning, for the first time this month. A former Congresswoman, a republican, was on CNN. I was listening in the car, and didn’t recognize her voice, nor was I listening when they introduced her and told us who she was. Without the chyron below, showing her name, the piece ended and I was left not knowing who she was. She was asked about the difficulty being a republican in Congress in the time of Trump. She spoke, more frankly than most republicans do these days, about the clear evidence that there was bad behavior by the Trump campaign. She said something like, “honestly, we have to be concerned about the people surrounding the President who were involved with the Russians.” But, in the end, she drew the line and differentiated between what the President (then candidate) knew and did. It’s a funny line to draw, and leaves me with some competing narratives: dueling perspectives…which in my head quickly pivoted to Climate Change. Follow me for the ride.
Continue reading “Dueling Perspectives: thoughts on Russia, Trump, and Climate Change”
Hitting Bregma 