100 Days

Depending on your point of view today marks either 100 days Donald Trump has been president or 1361 days before Donald Trump's term ends. Trump himself started his celebration of the former by delivering a speech Friday to annual convention of the National Rifle Association in Atlanta.

The sitting President of the United States trotted out a few of his golden oldies including the racist nickname "Pocahontas" he's dubbed on Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. He chest thumped his intent to build a border wall with Mexico while leaving out details on when he'll start or how it will be funded. And, of course, he declared the eight year "assault" on the Second Amendment over. All of it played well to the scared white people in attendance but the no gunsense crowd isn't exactly one that would notice a lack of sensitivity or logic. The arguments of their own organization are fundamentally devoid of both. To anyone else, the speech should be seen as uncouth, unpresidential, and a strong reminder we deserve better.

Trumps list of accomplishments in his first 100 days on the job are few. He's signed, but arguably not read, 29 executive orders. The highlights of those weaken a number of climate and environmental initiatives and include his two attempts at Muslim travel bans. The administration has not led any new legislation to passage, and notably failed at turning Trumpcare version 1.0 into law.  Even his touted wall is not under construction and Republicans in the House and Senate passed a temporary funding bill on Friday that included zero dollars for Trump's border debacle.

Listening to Trump bloviate in front of the NRA is reminiscent of watching Norma Desmond relieve her glory days in Sunset Boulevard. Ensconced in the friendly confines of a room filled with one issue ideologues that adore him, Trump fed his narcissistic hunger without the inconvenience of a real world that doesn't universally embrace him. He was in his element, could be himself, and lived up to the lack of expectation we hold him to when it comes to competence and decency.

In contrast, earlier in the day, Trump admitted during an interview with Reuters, "This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier."

President Trump's revelation about the work involved in being the nation's chief executive is one of several reversals of position from that of candidate Trump he's demonstrated during the first 100 days. "Nobody knew healthcare was so difficult", "NATO is no longer obsolete", and "They (China) are not currency manipulators" are all in opposition of Trump campaign rhetoric. The good news is that Trump appears to be learning on the job and evolving some of his flat out wrong assumptions. The bad news is Trump is at such a preparedness deficit what he's learning is remedial in level.

Tax reform seems to be the issue the administration is leading off with for the next 100 days. Earlier in the week Trump released a one page summary of his plan to reform the tax code. A single page. The current Federal Tax Code is 74,604 pages long and team Trump delivered a one page report outlining how to fix it. A first year CPA at Deloitte could deliver a broader treatment on tax reform.  One page seems about Trump's attention span and it's near certain he will be surprised when the oversimplified measure he'd previously believed to be a solution to complex problem fails.

Let's hope the country doesn't fail with it. Just 1361 more days to go.

A Letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Congratulations Jeff, you ended the month of March as the second richest man on the planet. That's quite an accomplishment, as is getting there in a way many thought could not be done. You turned what started as an online bookseller into a retail giant that has changed the way many Americans shop.

Amazon has sure changed the way I shop. Yes, I'm a Prime member. I watch Prime video, I enjoy the two day shipping and I only get slightly miffed when I look up some random item, like a spatula, and spend the next five weeks looking at spatula adds in my Facebook feed. That actually brings me to my point, Jeff, Amazon ads are exactly what I want to talk with you about. No, not the ads that show up on Facebook, I get that's the price of admission. It's the ads that show up elsewhere, on Breitbart for example, the alt-right website and purveyor of hate propaganda that we need to talk about.

First off, I understand, it's complicated. Amazon doesn't place ads directly on Breitbart. The ads show up as the result of big third party buys that leverage high tech and analytics to provide wide brand exposure. However, that doesn't excuse Amazon, or you, from taking a stand with your media partners to block Amazon branded ads from appearing on a site next to a headline reading, "Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy" or any of these other equally offensive gems. If Alexa can figure out someone just asked her to send an electric razor to Rockford, Illinois in two days, you clearly have the talent to figure out how to selectively promote Amazon without supporting hate on sites like Breitbart.

Hundreds of your own employees are making the same ask but you're not taking action, why? People calling Amazon customer service asking you to stop are being hung up on, why? Jeff, we deserve better. We supported you, we supported Amazon. We think Blue Origin is cool and The Washington Post legendary and yet you're not hearing us. Why? Please don't let it be all about the money. You recently passed Warren Buffett on the list of world's richest people. Mr. Buffett is working hard to give his fortune away for the common good. Are you really the guy that has to amass more for himself in a relentless attempt to win? That's a Trump move and I can't believe it your true motivation. If it were, you might pass Buffett but you will never equal him.

You've no doubt heard of the #GrabYourWallet campaign encouraging people to avoid Trump branded products. Now, I don't particularly care if Ivanka sells some ugly shoes or if some people are dumb enough to buy subpar Trump branded merchandise. And clearly, no one should eat anything from the Mar-a-Lago kitchen after its most recent health code inspection.  I do care about fighting hate and intolerance and, against those, the idea to vote with one's wallet has been used recently in some very meaningful ways. The North Carolina legislature, for example, was pressured to redo its discriminatory bathroom bill in the face continued economic sanction by corporations and individuals sensitive to intolerance. Sleeping Giants have also successfully lobbied advertisers away from Breitbart and the O'Reilly Factor via social media.

Jeff, Amazon is missing from that list of corporations that have taken a stand against intolerance and hate. Yes, I know Amazon isn't alone in supporting sites like Breitbart with ad revenue but by virtue of who you are, and what Amazon is, the influence both can have on change is profound. Yes, I'm singling you out which you might argue is unfair. However, scrutiny comes with the territory of your great success.

Some things matter, Jeff. Fighting hate is one of them. I don't want Alexa to stop buying me stuff on Amazon nor do I want to quit watching Mozart in the Jungle but you're not leaving me much choice. Making the decision to leave Amazon may or may not make a difference to you or alter Amazon's ad spend any time soon. Looking at social media, I'm not the only one considering the decision so there's some comfort in that. There is also comfort in knowing I'll be able to look in the mirror without seeing someone who is party to racism, misogyny, and hate for the sake of two day delivery or to save a buck. What do want to see?

This Week's Top 7

I took a vacation this past week and managed to stay largely away from the news out of Washington. Seems I missed quite a week. Coming back and ingesting the super-sized servings of stupidity and hypocrisy delivered in a mere seven days by President Donald Trump and the GOP is difficult to keep down. When it comes day by day it's more like building a tolerance to arsenic, swallowing small doses and hoping not to die. Here's my top 7 list of the stupidity and hypocrisy for the 7 days I missed:

1) GOP Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell enacted a rules change he was adamantly against in 2013 in order to end a Democratic filibuster over Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch.  Then minority leader McConnell said, "Breaking the rules to change the rules is un-American. I just hope the majority leader thinks about his legacy, the future of his party, and, most importantly, the future of our country before he acts." McConnell today is clearly not bothered by those objections and went forward with the change. In doing so he assured the SCOTUS nominee he personally stole from President Obama cleared the Senate demonstrating that two wrongs make a Justice.

2) President Trump felt it necessary to defend Fox News host Bill O'Reily who recently settled lawsuits with five women that claimed he sexual harassed them. Trump, per usual, presented no evidence on his claim that he believed Billo did nothing wrong and managed to do so a week into the month Trump himself proclaimed as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

3) Republican Senator John McCain made it clear how he felt about endorsing McConnell's proposed change to Senate rules by saying, "Idiot, whoever says that is a stupid idiot." The maverick from Arizona promptly voted in favor of the rules change when the vote was called further clarifying the thought process of the man that believed Sarah Palin could be President.

4) President Trump "evolved" his position over military intervention in the middle east after the Assad regime in Syria used chemical weapons against its own people. Trump was willing to rain down $90 million worth of Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian airfield after lamenting the fate of children who died in the chemical weapons attack. That same $90 million used for refugee aid would go a long way in helping Syrian children get out from under the Assad regime were it not for Trump's stead fast refusal to allow immigrants into the U.S. from a list of predominantly Muslim countries including Syria. The evolution of Trump's position on intervention also has the ironic twist that many in the President's party don't believe in evolution in the first place.

5) The Department of Education has agreed to pay the U.S. Marshall Service approximately $1 million a  month to provide a protection detail for Secretary Betsy DeVos.  No other current Cabinet member has such an arrangement and this one comes at a time when President Trump has proposed slashing the DoE budget by more than 13 percent. The Marshall service declined comment on what, if any, threat was pending against DeVos citing the need for operational security.  It seems the biggest threat is to the nation's school children who in addition to having an unqualified education secretary are also being shorted $52 million each year of her tenure.

6) Devin Nunes temporaily stepped aside from chairing the House Intelligence Committee after a series of missteps in connection to the Trump claim President Obama wiretapped his campaign. Nunes first said he had no evidence to support the claim. He apparently was then summoned to the White House by inside staffers to view evidence to support the claim. He then briefed Trump on the evidence of which the President presumably was already aware given it was supplied to Nunes by Trump's own staff. While Nunes redundantly briefed Trump, he failed to brief the rest of his committee which is actually charged with intelligence oversight. In a second intelligence oversight of his own, Nunes manage to go on television to say he now believes Trump was inadvertently surveilled by the NSA while monitoring conversations with Russian officials - the same Russian officials with which Trump claims his staff had no inappropriate contact.

7) Statements Vice-President Mike Pence made as far back as 2002 resurfaced again bringing to light the Veep won't dine alone with a woman not his wife among other behaviors designed to "build a zone around your marriage." It's not clear whether Pence believes all women are sexual vixens poised to seduce him or if he lacks the self control to act appropriately in any given situation with a female similar to both his boss and Bill O'Reily. Either way, he's unfit to be President if he can't be in a room alone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel without a chaperone.

I can only imagine what next week will bring.

Visionary or Fool

This past week, President Donald Trump signed an order to begin the rollback of climate initiatives designed to curb global warming. It's possible that in reality he signed the death warrant for the planet.  It's also possible he merely created a beachfront opportunity for residents living on land three feet higher than today's Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. What he didn't do is revive the coal industry.

Trump suckered desparate voters in depressed mining states during the campaign by pledging to revive the dying industry through relaxing environmental regulation and climate initiatives curbing carbon dioxide emissions. This order does little to revive the industry but it does give Trump a chance to pay lip service to a pledge he cannot fulfill.

Despite the smiles at the White House at the signing, the fact remains no one is bullish on coal. Just as the automobile replaced the horse, natural gas is the fossil fuel replacement for coal. The economics are simple, it takes less than half the workers to operate a natual gas power plant than a coal fired one. Natural gas is as plentiful as any non-renwable resource, burns cleaner, and requires less overall infrastructure.  Do the math. The energy industry did. DTE CEO Gerry Anderson recently reiterrated the same when talking about retiring his company's coal plants in favor of new natural gas generating stations.

The motivation behind Trump's order is not clear. He's out of sync with industry and he's out of sync with science. That leaves him either visionary or fool. Today, there is no tangible vision.

Trump invited miner representatives to the White House for a photo op at the signing. It's hard not to feel sorry for them as Trump lies to their faces. More difficult is knowing what they apparently don't, their jobs have gone the way of blacksmiths.