WHAT A WEEK
In the world, the nation’s capital, and good old Santa Monica. Again.
Oy, I would exclaim, if I were Jack Neworth, but as he, you and I all know, I’m not.
So instead I will profer Gosh, Golly, Heavens and Oh My, in honor of our pink slipped White House Communications (snicker, snicker) Director, The Mooch, a character you couldn’t dream up (except in the Trump White House Reality TV Show, where absolutely anything is possible).
I must confess that in my life I have once or twice used the f-word -- except for my two years in the US Army, when I always used it. I quickly learned that you simply couldn’t communicate unless you injected it every other word. Literally. I’m not f-ing kidding. But now many professed potty mouths, even sailors, I’ve heard, death row mother murderers, Hells Angels and state assembly members, were so appalled at the volcano of extraordinarily crude language The Mooch spewed in his phone call to New Yorker magazine’s Ryan Lizza, that many have vowed to clean up their linguistic acts. Do it for the Boy Scouts.
Though they dishonored themselves this week with their cheers, jeers and chants to the extremely un-Scouts-manlike speech, 35 minutes of bullying, swearing, boasting, name-calling, x-rated insinuations and thanks to all those Scouts (12-18) for voting for
him, from never-a-scout, c’mon-can-you-imagine-me-in-a sleeping-bag Donald Trump. Outraged reaction was immediate and overwhelming but it took three days for the boys’ organization to decide to denounce it. Do you think Boy Scouts president Randall Stephenson’s other job as CEO of AT&T, currently facing a Justice Department antitrust review over their attempted $85B takeover of Time Warner, could have anything to do with it? Hm?
THERE ARE SO MANY MESSES
Most people miss all the other stuff. Like the announcement April 24 from four-star Gen. John Nicholson, US commander in Afghanistan, that there were indications the Russians are supplying arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan, and this week video surfaced confirming those suspicions.
So, dig it: Vlad the Impaler -- I mean Vlad Putin, a KGB-trained cold-blooded killer intent on leading his nation back to superpower status by any means necessary, also has exhibited a penchant for revenge and a twisted sense of humor. When the Russians were fighting in Afghanistan throughout the ‘80s, the US gave arms and other support to their enemy, the mujahideen (who soon became Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda). We armed a local religious fanatic group to fight the Russians. Now the Russians seem to be arming the local religious fanatic group the Taliban, to fight us. Payback’s a bitch.
“I think he respects me. I think it would be great to get along with him,” said The Donald. But Putin knows a pushover when he sees one, and he is pushing, provocatively, in the Middle East, taking advantage of a leadership vacuum in Washington. Arming our enemy. US soldiers will be killed by those arms. You okay with that, Trump voters? It’s the little things, sometimes below your radar, that can get ya.
ONE LAST THING
Before we forget who he was, a moment of silence for Tony Ten-Days, the surreal mini-me, Anthony “The Mooch” (he told us to call him that -- you know The Donald loved it) Scaramucci. Now and forever more, whenever I hear the campy Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” his smirking visage will certainly pop into my mind:
“I see a little silhouetto of a man Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very fright'ning...”
Oh, and don’t forget, kids, one last foreign policy note. We found out this week North Korean missiles can now reach LA. Sleep well. Your President is protecting you.
This is why some of us continue to point out the danger and wonder why sane minds in Washington, if there are any, haven’t started impeachment proceedings. How long will you wait? How much do you need? The Republicans were going to impeach Bill Clinton over a blow job! No, LYING about it. Can we maybe find any lies, any lies at all that DJT has told the American public, that are a lot more pertinent to running the country than about his private sex life? (Though he’s given us way TMI on that subject.) Emoluments clause? Why are we waiting for ironclad evidence of collusion?
I’ll tell you why. Three cowardly letters: GOP. All of them except two brave women, Murkowski and Collins, and John McCain, voted for a “healthcare” program that would kill millions -- when you lose your health coverage, many die -- and not coincidentally transfer nearly a trillion dollars of tax cuts to the wealthy. And let’s not forget Dems like Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono, battling stage four kidney cancer, who flew from the middle of the Pacific to DC to give an impassioned speech for compassion, and vote. It fell on deaf Republican ears. It’s insane, it’s horrific, it’s unthinkable.
HERE IN SANTA MONICA
There’s been so much, but now I’m so depressed I can’t go through it all. It appears the DCP still favors that huge hotel in the middle of our Downtown, instead of a defining open space town square (you know, like almost every other city in the world has). The path is kept open for skyscrapers on Ocean Avenue. “Opportunity site” owners thanked the Council and staff (hell yeah). Build-more “transit zones” are officially anywhere within half a mile radius of a bus stop. Much more housing Downtown is being facilitated (don’t worry about parking requirements, you poor put-upon developers -- no one will own cars anymore), without regard to resources like water, schools, emergency services. Mark my words -- the “outrageous” requirement of 30 percent affordable housing is a Trojan horse. Oh you Negative Nellie -- I suppose you demand clean air and no traffic too? But the launch of the POD (Preserve Our Diversity) plan for keeping longtime, low income residents in their homes shows some promise.
DO NOT MISS OPENING PERFORMER
New Orleans legend Irma Thomas, when you hit the Pier Thursday night. Speaking of which...
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: “Lisa -- do you want to spend the rest of our lives going to Twilight Concerts together?” -- SMDP Publisher Rob Schwenker, making a very public marriage proposal to Lisa before thousands last Thursday, on stage on the Pier. (She said yes.) (Good thing…)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “America is a country ready to be taken... by political leaders ready to restore democracy and trust to the political process.” -- Arianna Huffington.
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 31 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
