I CAN’T WAIT FOR AUTONOMOUS CARS

Driving around Portland recently, I’ve decided that a world of autonomous cars would be terrific. I am so sick and tired of rude, crazy, lousy drivers making life dangerous for everyone else. Like the other day, when some driver didn’t like the fact that I was driving 25 mph in a 25 mph zone on a busy commercial street, and had to zoom around me, then around a bus, then around another car; and all to wait at the next stop light with me. This happens every day, and it’s getting worse.

Imagine a world with only autonomous, or self-driving cars. These vehickles would always follow the rules of the road - always. They would never exceed the speed limit. They would always stop for pedestrians wanting to cross the street at an intersection  (the law in Oregon), or that the reason another car is stopped is because there is something to stop about. They would not race yellow lights, make rolling stops through stop signs, tailgate other cars. 

Yes, I know some of you are thinking “oh yeah, what about all the accidents because there won’t be a driver?” Sorry to burst your bubble, but sure, there will be some accidents, but absolutely not nearly as many as there are now with cars being driven by rude, rushed, distracted and, frankly, dangerous driving systems - humans! 

Life will slow down a bit for everyone. You won’t be able to be in a hurry; you will get there as traffic and the rules of the road allow. Maybe we’ll all mellow out a bit. Maybe there will be no more road rage.

And we won’t need personal automobiles anymore; why would we? Today’s Uber and Lyft will be tomorrow’s fleets of autonomous cars for hire, or some similar scenario. “But won’t that cost more?” you ask. Well, what is the true cost of owning an automobile, including maintenance, fuel, insurance, parking? How does that compare with paying a fee for using a fleet of autonomous cars that are always driving around waiting to be hailed?  And if we all don’t have one or more cars, that means very few parking lots and structures, no cars parked along every street, much less noise and pollution. And if every autonomous vehicle is electric, think about the lessened impact on the atmosphere, public health, and the tremendous reduction in the need for petroleum. 

Sounds too good to be feasible, right? Sounds like a world controlled by robot masters. What about all the lost jobs associated with the automobile? Pooh - think big. Use your imagination. Unshackle your mind from the petroleum economy invented by a handful of major industries and be futuristic. This isn’t science fiction any longer, it is a looming reality. 

And I can’t wait! 

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DONALD TRUMP'S BULLY PULPIT

It might be that Donald Trump once read or heard about President Teddy Roosevelt and his bully pulpit. And it might be that Donald J. Trump decided thet he wanted to be a big man like Teddy Roosevelt and have a bully pulpit. 

And so it came to pass that Donald J. Trump grew up, at least physically, and became very wealthy, and well-known, and bankrupt a few times, and a womanizer, and a husband a few times, and had a few kids. And then one day, just like Teddy Roosevelt, Donald J. Trump became President of the United States of America. And he finally had his bully pulpit!

There was only one problem with this turn of events. For all those years that he dreamed of having a bully pulpit, Donald J. Trump misunderstood what it was. And so to practice for adulthood, young Donald became a bully. As he grew older, he perfected the art of bullying, especially, it seems, with women. 

As a candidate for President, Donald J. Trump practised the art of bullying. He called the other opponents names that he made up, mostly mean names. He bullied reporters. He bullied minorities and people from countries like Mexico. He bullied people with physical disabilities, and people who tried to heckle him, and anyone who did anything he didn’t like. 

When he became President, Donald J. Trump applied all the years he praticed bullying to being President. He used his bully pulpit for everything a president has to do. He bullied people in the government, like the CIA and the FBI. He bullied people in his own Cabinet, like Rex Tillerson and Jeffrey Sessions. He bullied some people by firing them. He bullied everyone he didn’t like by tweeting about them. He continued bullying Hillary Clinton even after he won the election - more than a year later! 

And Donald J. Trump applied his bully pulpit to governing. His foreign policy, for example, uses the bully pulpit. He bullied Kim Jong-un of North Korea, calling him names and mocking his nuclear button that is smaller than Donald’s nuclear button. He bullied Kim by threatening to destroy North Korea. And then Donald J. Trump gloated and preened when Kim Jong-un appeared to back down and agreed to meet with Donald J. Trump. 

Then Donald J. Trump bullied the country of Iran. He huffed and puffed about the “worst deal ever...ever!” negotiated by President Obama’s administration limiting Iran’s nuclear weapon development. And he called the Iranians names, and told the allies of America that they were wrong and stupid, and only he could fix this horrible, horrible bad deal. And then he unilaterally pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal, like a kid grabbing all the marbles so nobody can continue the game. 

Donald J. Trump, his head swelling with a bully’s pride, then decided to bully the country of China. He bullied them by calling them names and then imposing tariffs on products coming from China. He was so confident in his bullying abilities that he assumed that China would continue to support his bullying of North Korea, even as he bullied China. 

And then Donald J. Trump bullied the Palestinian people, and every country with an embassy or consulate in Israel, and all people who work for Middle East peace, by declaring, again unilaterally, that he would move the American embassy to the city of Jerusalem. And his partner in bullying, Bibi Netanyahu, crowed and huffed and puffed with glee alongside Donald J. Trump. And once again the bullies claimed victory while the bullied looked on in anger and amazement. 

And Donald J. Trump, the consumate bully, also whines and sheds crocodile tears about how he is being bullied by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He cries out “witch hunt” and “no collusion” to let people know how he is being bullied by that Justice Department bully. He lets us know that he can out-bully that bully whenever he wants by firing him, but he is too nice to do that! 

And so it is that Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, governs with a bully pulpit. He is the Bully in Chief. Every decision and choice and action he takes is that of a bully. He is the BOTUS. 

Too bad Donald J. Trump didn’t actually do his homework about President Theodore Roosevelt. If he had, he would have understood what a bully pulpit is. President Roosevelt used the bully pulpit “to challenge and triumph over abusive monopolies, political bosses, and corrupting money brokers.” President Roosevelt certainly would have used his bully pulpit to bully Donald J, Trump and his corrupt cronies!

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TRUMP, ISRAEL, GAZA: BLAME ALL AROUND

May 14 was the opening ceremony for the new, temporary United States embassy in Jerusalem, and also a violent day of demonstrations, deaths and injuries on the Gaza side of the Israel-Gaza border. 

As an American, I am insulted, ashamed, embarrassed and angered by the opportunism of the administration of Donald J. Trump. As a Jew, I am insulted, angry and once again not supportive of the opportunistic actions of the Benjamin Netanyahu government of Israel. And as a human being, I am angered by the callous opportunism of Hamas, and greatly saddened by the deaths and injuries of Gazans. 

The Trump move of the American embassy to Jerusalem was not part of a comprehensive foreign policy plan; it is evident that the Trumpsters have no such plan. The embassy move was both a ploy by Trump to please elements of his evangelical Christian base, who, as one attendee said, have "prayed for 20 years" for this action, as well as an attempt to burnish his own reputation in his own eyes. The move was also a strong boost for Netanyahu from his best new friend, Donald Trump. (Have they created a new monster named Netrumpyahoo?) 

As always, the politics and situations in the Middle East, and in this case, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, are complex and demand an objective view to be understood. Peace between Israelis and Palestinians remains elusive, and the conflict has long been a political football kicked around by all sides. What was evident May 14 was the raw opportunism from the three major players: the United States, Israel, and Hamas.

The way the embassy opening was staged is an insult and an outrage. The religious leader  (Robert Jeffress) invited to give the opening prayer at the dedication of the American Embassy in Jerusalem is an evangelical Christian who once said that Judaism, along with Mormonism, Islam and Hinduism, is one of the religions "that lead people to an eternity of separation from God in Hell."  Jeffress is one of Trump's spiritual advisers, and was referred to as a "religious bigot" in a tweet by Mitt Romney yesterday. 

The Trump administration also had John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel, deliver a benediction at the ceremony. Hagee is another religious extremist who has stated that Hitler was part of a "divine plan from God" to return the Jews to the Land of Israel, and has also argued that Jews are to blame for their own persecution over the centuries because they have not converted to Christianity. 

The fact that Trump invited these bigots to spew their brand of Christianity at an embassy opening - whatever happened to the separation of church and state - is bad enough; the fact that Netanyahu had no problem with known anti-Semites speaking is even more insulting and egregious. But this is how Netrumpyahoo rolls! 

Netanyahu gave a victory speech. Sure, it makes sense for embassies of other nations to be in the same city as the government institutions of the host country; however, Jerusalem is not a normal situation, under international law. No other country (except Italy) has its embassy or consulate in Jerusalem; they are all in Tel Aviv and surrounding locations. Trump's action was designed to support and polish the tarnished reputation and standing of Netanyahu, as well his own. The embassy move is not part of a larger policy or plan, and it is at its core a very cynical action. In announcing the move, Trump made no mention of the Palestinian Authority, and the fact that their goal is that Jerusalem will be their capitol. The Trump action simply erased any hopes in the minds of Palestinians that the United States can be trusted, and can be counted as a partner at the table for future peace negotiations. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Netanyahu represents the Israeli factions that consider all of the West Bank (and probably, eventually Gaza) as part of the real Israel (Judea and Sumaria), and have no intention giving any of it to Palestinians as a Palestinian state. This is why the Netanyahu government continues to build and expand Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories. This is why Trump moving the U. S. embassy to Jerusalem, a contested city, is a great victory. 

And then there is Hamas. What presumably started as a non-violent series of demonstrations by people in Gaza to highlight their losses of family land and homes, following the war between Arabs and Jews when Israel was declared a nation 70 years ago, was taken over by Hamas for violent purposes. Hamas officials have stated that a majority of the Gazans killed by Israeli troops were Hamas members. The story that is emerging is that Hamas fighters were trying to hide within the large crowd of demonstrators, hoping that, if and when the demonstrators were able to penetrate the border fence, these armed fighters could rush in and try to kill or capture Israelis. 

Hamas urged the crowds to rush the border fence, knowing full well that many would be injured or killed. The dead would then be hailed as martyrs and heroes. Hamas is a terrorist organization. It has plunged the people of Gaza into a condition of poverty, joblessness, poor education and health care, and severely restricted travel, in a territory with usually sealed borders. I don't think the Israeli blockade came first; it is clear that the constant drumbeat of terrorism on the part of Hamas provoked the closed border and restricted imports into the Gaza strip. 

Palestine/Israel is a complicated place and an extremely complex set of political realities. No involved party is totally right; no involved party is totally wrong - they all share blame for the current situation. It is easy to criticize Israel every time it defends itself or its borders, and some criticisms are justified. But to simply lay the blame for the constant string of violence on one player, Israel, is to be a lazy thinker and knee-jerk reactor. 

The Trump move of the American embassy to Jerusalem did not cause the Gaza demonstrations, but it did contribute. The cynicism and opportunism rampant in the Trump, Netanyahu and Hamas administrations has created a higher level of distrust, anger, and violence, as well as pushing the prospect of a peaceful settlement between neighbors much less likely. 

A pox on all of their houses! 

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WHO ARE THE REAL SUPERHEROES?

This morning I walked over to the Bagdad Theater and watched the new Marvel Avengers movie. I also had a yummy pizza and a pint of beer, kolsch, to be exact. There has probably not been a movie with as many superheroes as this latest Avengers, which brought together characters from all the different Marvel movie story lines. Wow, what a ride! 

But a simple fact kept nagging at me: this is not reality, it is fake. I could not help thinking, throughout this action-packed movie, who the real superheroes are. 

Last night we saw a movie about a real superhero - Ruth Bader Ginsburg! The movie, Notorious RBG, is a low-budget documentary about a physically diminutive, soft-spoken woman with the mind and fortitude that outshines any Avenger. And interestingly, the film about a Supreme Court Justice is in the top 10 on the box office charts. Perhaps the popularity of Justice Ginsburg says something about the mood of Americans; we need real superheroes at a time when our country and many others in the world are under assault by narrow-minded, greedy, power-seeking and murderous villains - in our own governments. 

Put Notorious RBG on your list of films to see. It will make you feel good to know that a real superhero, one who actually wears a costume - black robe with lace or often-interesting collar - has our backs, and refuses to give up the fight for truth, honesty, justice and the rule of law. 

Look, up on the bench, it's a small Jewish woman, it's a black-robed goddess, it's....it's....NOTORIOUS RBG!!

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TRUMP'S TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE NEW IRAN DEAL

President Donald Trump has demonstrated, once again, that keeping a promise to his base is more important than keeping the world safe. By pulling the United States out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, Trump has plunged the world into a more unsafe condition than it already was. Below, in my opinion, are some major problems with Trump's action:

• the United States violated the terms of the agreement, not Iran;
• the United States acted against the input and desires of its closest allies who also signed the agreement;
• the United States demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to live up to an agreement (an especially important point in regard to the upcoming talks with North Korea);
• the United States has, once again, demonstrated that it is no longer the leading power in the world, but instead a nativist, self-serving nation;
• the United States has handed Iran an opportunity to start developing nuclear weapons again;
• the United States has elevated, once again, the use of military intervention against Iran;
• the United States has put Israel in even greater danger than it is already in regarding Iran;
• numerous companies, including some in the United States, will need to end their business with and in Iran;
• this action possibly makes Iran even more dangerous than before.

The JCPOA was not a perfect deal; a fact acknowledged by all of the nations that signed it. It does not address the Iranian development of ballistic missiles, it does not limit Iran's militaristic moves for hegemony in the Middle East (think Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), and it does not address Iran's sponsorship of global terrorism. What the JCPOA did was to put the Iranian nuclear weapon program on hold for a decade or more, thereby eliminating the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran on Israel or other nations.

Trump promised his base, during his campaign and as president, that he would get the United States out of the "terrible, horrible, stupid, terrible, worst deal ever, ever, ever" (some of us doubt he has read the JCPOA). His idea of pulling out of the JCPOA was not, however, supported by some of his major advisors, including then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson or Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. They argued that it would be a very bad move to pull out of the deal, and that a better course of action would be to negotiate with our European allies and the Chinese and Russians (all signatories to the JCPOA) to push Iran into further negotiations to address the important issues left out of the deal.

But Trump did not like the advice from members of his Cabinet. He fired Tillerson; Mattis is still hanging on. He also replaced career diplomats in the State Department who were the leads on policy for Iraq and Iran and put in a political appointee and Trump loyalist, Andrew Peek, to be in charge of these areas of State Department responsibility. Peek is a hawk, and agrees with Trump's decision on the JCPOA. Peek has no prior diplomatic experience, and is not an expert on Iran or Iraq. Trump also brought in John Bolton, an ultra-hawk, as National Security Advisor. With these men, and others of their ilk onboard, Trump has the pseudo-expert cover he needs for his actions.

How this all turns out is anyone's guess. Trump will impose new, tough sanctions on Iran, so what will happen in regard to European companies that continue to do business in Iran? Will the other signatories to the JCPOA continue to support the deal, and try to isolate and work around the United States? Will the Iranians give in under withering new sanctions, and suddenly play nice? Perhaps Iran will restart its nuclear enrichment program, under the excuse that the United States violated the JCPOA and, therefore, it is no longer a valid agreement. There are many possible scenarios that could unfold, and I think the bad ones outnumber the good ones.

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STORMY: TOO MANY WEATHER REPORTS

Stormy Daniels, Stormy Daniels, Stormy Daniels....I truly don't get it. Why are the news media so focused on Stormy Daniels? Seriously, a porn movie star had consensual sex with a rich playboy and a few years later accepted a payoff ($130,000) to not talk about it because he was running for president of the United States. Yes, it is oh so tawdry and oh so naughty and oh so laughable; but is this really the worst thing Donald J. Trump has done or is doing? The answer is - no.

Will this bring Donald Trump to his knees? Not likely.

The Daniel's (or Clifford, her real name) lawsuit is against Trump's lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen, and claims that the non-disclosure agreement she signed was invalid because Donald Trump had not signed it. The reason for the suit, I assume, is so that Stormy can freely talk about her alleged affair with Donald Trump, and certainly profit handsomely from it. She has recently filed another law suit against Trump for defamation of character, based on one or more of his tweets about her. There is some speculation that the payoff to Stormy might be a violation of campaign finance law; however, this sounds like a bit of a stretch.

And so we see Stormy and/or her lawyer in the news, on the TV, in the comedy news shows and etc. every day. Stormy Daniels, pornography star and producer - now often called "adult film star" - has become normalized. She has become very famous, and will certainly reap huge gobs of money from this moment of fame. Will her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, bring down the POTUS? I would be surprised.

This whole Stormy Daniels story is, in my humble opinion, no more than an erotic side show that distracts us from the real news. There are so many more important things to think about and spend media time on than the alleged fornication and other likely sex acts engaged in by two people, no matter who they are. The negative effects of the Trump administration on the United States and the world are serious, and we all need to pay attention. Shame on the news media for this undue focus on this tawdry story. It gets them eyeballs, but not much else.

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