I'm So Glad 2017 Is Coming To An End

As I write this there are seven hours left in the year 2017. This year can't end soon enough.

On a global scale, we have a fool for a President and a critical mass of people who are willing to follow him without question. Those who have reservations about Mr. Trump seem all too willing to look the other way when get their 30 pieces of silver be it a tax cut or a judicial appointment. On the other hand, many of those who oppose President Trump thumb their noses at his supporters instead of trying to change their minds. It is a crowd which equates speech with violence and is so narrowly focused on identity politics that it cannot see the big picture.

Of course, at the end of every year the world is full of war, poverty and terrorism resulting in anger, misery and sadness. So what makes 2017 different from any other year?

In years past, I have been able to deal with the world's shortcomings because I had a place in it. As 2017 comes to an end, I don't know my place in the world. Despite the impending Trump Administration, 2017 began well for me. I was published in National Review Online for the first time and would write six articles in all. Although I didn't care if I never got paid to write an article again when I left The American Spectator in August 2016 I would be lying if I said this didn't give me a certain amount of satisfaction. Then there was my paralegal career. I had begun that career in September 2016 as a federal contractor with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. I discussed that career with the Director of the Paralegal Studies Program at Boston University back in April.

But then while I was visiting my Dad in New York City, I got word that I had lost my job. Honestly, I thought I was going to be promoted. Nearly six months has passed. This is the first time I've written about this ordeal. I have refrained from doing so because my troubles seemed trivial compared to those who lost their homes during Hurricanes Harvey, Irma & Jose and those who lost their lives while attending a church in Texas, attending a concert in Las Vegas or getting shot by the police opening the front door in Wichita, Kansas. I have life and have a roof over my head.

Nevertheless, things have been quite stressful. After nearly half a year, I have applied for more than 325 jobs and have had more than 20 job interviews (excluding meetings with legal recruiters) and have nothing to show for it. My age is beginning to show to employers. This state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely. Something will have to give in early 2018.

This setback has not been entirely negative though. I went from 185 pounds to 158 pounds on what I call the stress and swim diet. I've been able to swim 100 laps a week at my local pool while eating far more sensibly. Lots of veggies and whole grains, less added sugars, a little fish, very little poultry and no beef. Despite what prospective employers might think, I am in much better shape at 45 than I was at 35 and am better condition to deal with what is in front of me. For once, I won't have to resolve to lose weight in the New Year. I can be content to resolve to continue what I am doing.

For me the New Year doesn't truly begin until I've spent the day watching Marx Brothers movies. So on January 1st, my roommate Christopher Kain and I will head to the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge to begin the year with a laugh. Perhaps it will do me a world of good on January 2nd when I have my first job interview of the year. Hopefully it will be the one which removes me from my current litany. If it does then perhaps it will beginning of good things to come for me in 2018. In which case, I hope such good fortune can be shared. Happy New Year.

Trump: I Have Absolute Right To Do What I Want To Do With The Justice Department

In an interview with The New York Times, President Trump was asked if he planned to reopen the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation. His response began with this statement:

What I’ve done is, I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department.

Now there is no question that Trump, or whoever sits in the Oval Office, has broad powers where it concerns DOJ or any other government department. He has the authority to hire and fire as he sees fit and can set policy direction and priority. 

But President Trump does not have the "absolute right" to direct the DOJ to open a civil or criminal investigation into someone because they criticize him or because he lost an argument with Melania. 

The fact that Trump believes he possess this "absolute right" is very dangerous and will be even more dangerous if Congress or the Courts do not see fit to check his power. Certainly the courts have clipped Trump's wings where it concerns the Muslim travel ban so there is hope should he see fit to put his "absolute right" into practice. Of course, the problem here is that Congress and the Supreme Court view their relationship with Trump as a rubber stamp. This will only encourage and reinforce his demagoguery and his delusions. 

The Wichita Police Must Be Held To Account For The Death of Andrew Finch

This makes me sick to my stomach. 

A man from Los Angeles in an online gaming dispute calls police in Wichita, Kansas and says there is a hostage situation. But the man in L.A. gives the wrong address. When the man answers the door he is shot dead by the SWAT team. Andrew Finch was 28 years old. 

According to Troy Livingston, the Deputy Chief of the Wichita Police Department, "Due to the actions of a prankster we have an innocent victim."

No, we have an innocent victim because of the actions of one of your police officers.

Don't get me wrong. I have no sympathy for Tyler Barriss who made the hoax call and his since been arrested for his involvement in the incident. I am also well aware that when the police receive such a call that they must take it seriously. But this outcome is entirely the responsibility of the Wichita Police. When Livingston makes such a statement he is telling us the if the SWAT team comes to your home you can expect to die. In which case, none of us are safe. The police are supposed to uphold the law and prevent the loss of life. The Wichita Police did neither in this case. 

The officer responsible has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. It wouldn't surprise if this officer isn't charged with Finch's death. If he is then I would expect him to be acquitted much like the officer in Arizona who was acquitted earlier this month for the 2016 shooting death of Daniel Shaver outside of his hotel room. Police had received a call from other hotel guests who alleged they saw a shadow of a gun in Shaver's room. As it turned out, Shaver was a bug exterminator and was showing a couple of his friends the pellet gun he used on the job. And for this he is dead.

In all likelihood, the best the Finch family can hope is to file a lawsuit against the city and obtain a seven figure settlement. Even if his family is provided for they cannot bring him back to life. Unless states see fit to change their laws with respect to the use of deadly force by law enforcement then the police effectively have a licence to kill in this country.

The police cannot protect and serve if the people believe they need protection from them. I have a bad feeling there will be a lot more Daniel Shavers and Andrew Finches before anyone steps up and does the right thing.

Will The Iran Protests Lead To a Persian Spring?

In the space of 24 hours, protests in Iran have escalated from anger about government price hikes on food to protests against the government itself. Protesters have called for the ouster of President Rouhani and the Islamic Republic itself.

This represents the largest protests in Iran since June 2009 following an "election" which saw then "re-election" of then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before security forces brutally took them down. At the time, President Obama said America mustn't be seen as "meddling" in support of the protesters. By contrast, President Trump has tweeted in support of the protesters:

Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests

This is definitely the most sensible thing he has ever tweeted.

I suspect Trump's support will embolden the protesters. In which case, we could have a Persian Spring on our hands. The question is how long will the regime wait before it sees fit to crush the protests. Should they violently quash the protest then what will Trump's move be in response? Will he cancel the Iran nuclear deal? Will he contemplate a military invasion? Or will there be a covert effort to support indigenous forces to overthrow the regime? Or will supporters of the Iran nuclear deal like Mattis and Tillerson convince Trump to do an about face and abandon the protesters?

I have a feeling this could become the biggest story in the world in 2018.

Are The Rockies Better Off With Wade Davis Than Greg Holland As Their Closer?

I find it fascinating that Wade Davis has essentially replaced Greg Holland as the closer for the Colorado Rockies after Davis signed a three year, $52 million contract with the Denver based team. The deal makes Davis the highest paid closer in MLB history.

Of course what is so fascinating about this development is because Davis and Holland were two-thirds of one of the best bullpen triumvirates in MLB history with the Kansas City Royals. Without Davis, Holland and Kelvin Herrera, the Royals would not have won back to back AL pennants in 2014 and 2015 and the 2015 World Series which was the team's first championship in 30 years. If the Royals led the game after six innings in those two seasons they were going to win the game 99% of the time with Herrera pitching the seventh, Davis pitching the eighth and Holland closing the game in the ninth.

Now it must be remembered that Holland tore his UCL late in the 2015 season requiring Tommy John surgery which meant Davis became the closer that post-season and into 2016. The Royals subsequently released Holland, but then would also trade Davis in the last off-season to the Chicago Cubs in a deal which brought outfielder Jorge Soler to Kansas City. Meanwhile, Holland signed a one year deal with the Rockies.

Both Davis and Holland had great seasons in 2017 and helped their clubs get to the post-season. Davis appeared in 59 games and over 58.2 innings pitched he struck out 79 batters while walking 28 earning 32 saves. Holland appeared in 61 games and over 57.1 innings pitched he struck out 70 batters while walking 26 earning 41 saves which tied him for the NL lead with Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers. I'm sure no one was surprised at Davis' performance in 2017, but few could have expected such a big rebound for Holland. To boot, Holland was part of a Rockies team which made the post-season for the first time since 2009.

It's true that Davis had a better won loss record and ERA than Holland (4-2 2.30 vs. 3-6 3.61). But let's keep in mind that Holland had to pitch much of his games at Coors Field. I suspect that Davis' ERA will elevate as he moves west.

Holland had a player option for 2018 which would have saw him make $15 million, but he elected to become a free agent. As it stands now, Davis will earn $17.3 million a year over the life of his contract. I'm not sure why the Rockies were't prepared to offer Holland the sort of  money they offered Davis. Both men are 32 and, in fact, Holland is younger by a couple of months. The only reason I can think of is that they fear a second Tommy John for Holland. But I think all pitchers are a pitch away from tearing their UCL.

So are the Rockies better off with Davis than Holland as their closer? This, in part, will depend on where Holland ends up signing. As of this moment, the two most likely destinations are with the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals. To me, the Cardinals are the more logical destination. After all, the Nats already have an embarrassment of riches in this area with Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle as their bullpen triumvirate. If Mike Rizzo isn't satisfied with this then I don't see how adding Holland to mix will help matters. I think Holland would be a very nice fit at Busch Stadium.

Could you imagine a 2018 NLCS between the Rockies and Cardinals with Davis and Holland as those team's respective closers? I certainly could.

Remembering My Twitter Exchange With Rose Marie

I was saddened to learn of the passing of singer and actress Rose Marie at the age of 94.

Just over a year ago, Rose Marie and I crossed paths on Twitter. In December 2016, CBS rebroadcast two colorized episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show. I noted that Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner and Mary Tyler Moore were still with us. Needless to say, I omitted Rose Marie and I was reminded of this fact by none other than Rose Marie herself.

So when CBS rebroadcast another two DVD episodes last week I made sure to tell people that Rose Marie was still with us.

With 2017 coming to a close both Mary Tyler Moore and Rose Marie have left for heavenly pastures. We can only hope Dick Van Dyke and Carl Reiner don't join them anytime soon.

Rose Marie found a way to thrive in vaudeville, on record, on radio, on television and on Twitter and made all of those mediums better. R.I.P.

Guatemala, Honduras & Panama Plan to Move Their Embassies to Jerusalem But There's a Catch

I am no more excited by the announcements from the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and Panama declaring their intention to move their embassies to Jerusalem than I was when President Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The reason for my lack of enthusiasm is that their plans are contingent on the United States moving its embassy from Tel Aviv first. Trump can declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel all he wants, but as long as he continues to extend the six month presidential waiver as he has already done twice then the American embassy isn't going anywhere with his successor free to also to extend the presidential waiver and possibly reverse course on Jerusalem altogether. It will render Trump's declaration meaningless and, by extension, render meaningless the declarations put forward by Guatemala, Honduras and Panama or any other nation state.

I wish supporters of President Trump would read the fine print when it comes to such things.