Monday, July 17, 2017

Kushner

Kushner. Any fan of the classic sitcom Seinfeld should know how to pronounce the name "Kushner" the same way Jerry used to say, "Hello Newman." The Trump administration's "Golden Boy," has had his luster tarnished in the past few weeks. The Justice Department has declared him a "person of interest" in the probe of the Trump campaign. He failed to note one billion dollars in loans from twenty different creditors on his financial disclosure form. The portion of Kushner's initial security clearance form that requested the names of all foreign contacts was left blank and had to be re-filed three times, ultimately adding the names of one hundred people- yet he still failed to report his foolish secret meeting with Don Jr. and Russian operatives offering campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton. The McClatchy news group reported that the Justice Department is looking into Kushner's campaign digital operation which allegedly helped the Russians target specific voters and helped spread fake news about Clinton. And special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into Kushner's finances and business dealings. I'd venture a guess that Jared Kushner is sorry he left his cush life as a New York real estate mogul for this mess.

I sometimes wonder whether Trump supporters knew they were voting for a thirty-six year old son-in-law of the president, with no governmental experience, to become a shadow Secretary of State, flying around the world screwing up traditional alliances and defending Trump's most grievous offenses. Kushner's official title is senior advisor to the president, but he has been tasked with the most ambitious agenda since the New Deal. Jared's assigned duties include; resolving the conflict in the Middle East, modernizing the workings of government, re-inventing the office of veterans' affairs, solving the opioid crisis, overseeing criminal justice reform, and coming up with an infrastructure plan to repair the country's decaying roads and bridges. He's also the liaison to Mexico and China and showed up unexpectedly in Iraq looking silly in coat, tie, and flak jacket. I never thought I'd see an African-American president in my lifetime, but I was flabbergasted that there would be a Jewish president this soon.

Kushner is the type of Orthodox Jew who is observant until it conflicts with his schedule. Jared and Ivanka are shomer Shabbos, which anyone who saw "The Big Lebowski" knows that means not doing any sort of labor from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The Kushners are said to turn off their cell phones, walk instead of drive, and keep a Kosher kitchen in their home. Jared makes exceptions for governmental business or when the family is off skiing in Aspen, and the Kushners have stated that they have received special permission from an "unnamed" rabbi to travel and ride around to parties in a limousine. As for keeping kosher, it was reported that the couple dined on shrimp scampi while in Rome, a no-no for non-eaters of shellfish. I wonder if he ever joins Pop-Pop for a special luncheon of McDonald's cheeseburgers.

Kushner's diplomatic skills have so far come a cropper. His disastrous trip to the Middle East was complicated by his longstanding relationship with Bibi Netanyahu and his family's millions of dollars in contributions to Israel. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was left infuriated after his meeting with Kushner, saying the American envoy was merely acting as a shill for Netanyahu's hard-line policies. There was speculation among White House insiders that Trump might pull out of any Mid-East peace talks, stalled since April 2014, because he was angry about the Abbas-Kushner rift. Kushner sits right in the middle of the probe of Russian interference during the 2016 election. His failure to report a secret meeting with a Russian governmental attorney, along with the Morgan & Morgan lookalike Donny Jr., and then campaign chairman Paul Manafort, puts Jared in the most serious legal jeopardy since he is the only one with an office in the West Wing who still sits in during security briefings. Thirteen years ago, then-prosecutor Chris Christie sent Charles Kushner, Jared's dad, to prison for sixteen counts of criminal tax evasion, witness tampering, and lying to the Federal Election Commission. Jared Kushner is living proof that the con doesn't fall far from the convict.

10 comments:

  1. "Morgan & Morgan lookalike"...priceless! I have to find things to laugh at in all of today's political mess, 'cause the rest of it is so surreally incomprehensible. I persist in wanting to believe that somewhere inside Washington's Beltway there is an adult(s) in the room who will step up, blow the big whistle, and declare to all, "Enough is enough! This is no way to run a government!" Did the "Silent Majority" really want this?!

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  2. Two thoughts...
    1) Fake news about Hillary couldn't possibly be any worse than the real news about her...including news about her inconceivably immoral husband who has an insatiable thirst for sluts, the younger the better...Jeffrey Epstein knows all about this. However, considering what he has at home, I can't really blame him.
    2) It was average Joe, middle America that elected Trump. Fake news had nothing to do with it. Anybody with any awareness at all knew that a Hillary presidency would be, in effect, 8 more years of Obama-style Marxism and social re-engineering of America. He spoke of this during his campaign as fundamentally transforming America, and he made good on his word. In short, it was Hillary herself who got Trump elected. A more centrist Democrat, with less baggage would probably have won. But, being dimwits, the Democrats felt compelled to have the first woman president, even though their woman of choice was an abomination. The fake news angle has been overplayed. The Dems just don't want to admit their mistake in making Hillary their candidate. Almost any other Democrat would probably have won.

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  3. As to your expressed opinion that there is a Jew in the White House, there could have been a different Jew (in ethnic background only) in the White House instead of the current abominable Flavor of the Day or the Spectre of Clinton. But no. Silly Electoral College, not ready (too fearful) for the true Repeal and Replace that goes far beyond healthcare. I believe a major change is needed in our country, one that will allow all of our citizens to become truly equal, enfranchised members of the First World, and to go forward in social solidarity with the rest of the nations on Earth desiring a better life on this tiny planet. Members of the Electoral College, as well as every single PAC and mega-corporation in existence, know full well that they'll be screwed if an actual revolution of thought and action occurs in this country. We had one Revolution that lasted from 1775 to 1783. It's been a while since then. Almost 250 years later seems like a time to start peeling the onion and examine just how we got to this point. Then, move forward.

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  4. Anonymous July 21: Can you be a bit more explicit in regard to what you are trying to say? Supply some more dots in regard to what you are trying to say, if you don't mind. Your writing is almost poetic...very right-brained. Help us left-brainers out.

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  5. Inside every liberal is a totalitarian screaming to get out and dictate what everyone else should think, say, and do...everyone but themselves, that is. Their sins are no where near as grievous as others are. Some animals are more equal than others...so says Animal Farm, and therein is the fatal flaw of Marxism with its so-called egalitarianism. People just don't think things through.

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  6. I'm still not following that banter, mates. Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the "how's yer father?" Hairy blighter feathered back on his sammy, did a "waspy", flipped over on his Betty Harpers, and caught his can in the Bertie...

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  7. Wow! A right-brained genius. I love it! Sometimes uncommon sense is more interesting (and fun) than common sense. I am a fan of extraneous thinking...I picked that up back in 'the day' while hopping between frequencies. It is an acquired taste, as I am sure you know. It's been a long time since I did acid. Is it still as good as it was in the 60's/70's? I could have played ball with you back then, Squadron Leader. I'll bet that we could get along. I have my zany side, too. And, believe it or not I can't stand politics. It's a game for losers who actually believe in the crap. I just like to spar. Maybe some time I will amaze you guys with some of my liberal thinking. Too much conservatism is as bad as too much liberalism. Like Goldilocks, I like my yin/yang when it is just right (or, left).

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  8. To be a bit more serious, my entire deal revolves around freedom. Back in hippie days, it was ALL about freedom, and I never left that mindset one iota. I stand foursquare against anything which infringes upon freedom. I am totally anti-totalitarian, Marxism, police-state, etc., etc. I am for freedom of speech and expression in whatever form that takes. I am absolutely against mean-spiritedness in whatever form it may take. I am a nature/animal freak and so am against all defiling of the environment and all cruelty in regard to animals, including rodeos, hunting, breeding mills, and even fishing. I don't even like zoos. I kill nothing unnecessarily, including insects, or anything else that God created,..so I am rad in that regard. I do believe that all healthy people should support themselves and not mooch upon those who get up every day to earn some kind of living. But, I also believe in a safety net for those who can't help themselves, and I believe that everyone should have adequate health care. Not to support health care for all is barbaric. I have been deeply affected by Sput's health issues and love to hear about the love that he shares with Melody. In fact, I am an admirer of Sput and feel that he has not gotten his fair share of acclaim for his talents and his genius. Does any of this make me a conservative nut case or anti-Sput? Does anyone here know that being prejudiced is to make up one's mind before they know all of the facts? However, I once was a bit more combative, but like I said before, I like to spar and to stir things up a bit...devil's advocate sort of stuff. I have softened since, and believe it or not, that is largely due to Melody. I stepped out of line once with a thoughtless comment and she shamed me. I made a big change then which was a long time ago. I really feel that I could get along with most folks on this blog if given half a chance. Like Rodney King once said...can't we all just get along? Is tolerance dead? One final thing, I am open to being corrected and to learning new perspectives. Sput has helped me with that. For instance, I was once a big George Bush fan, but Sput helped to open my eyes on that issue. I am now virulently against everything that has to do with any of the Bushes...thanks, Sput. And, thanks to Melody for softening my heart.

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  9. A retrospective:
    I lived in Memphis for a while back in 'the day'. Overton Square and all of midtown for that matter were the cool places to be, so I spent a lot of time there. My first conscious memory of Sput was when he performed one night at a place called Lafayette's, I believe. I am quite old now and forgetful. He shared the stage with a female Brit singer (I believe) whose name I can't remember, but it seems like it may have been someone like Marianne Faithful. Anyway, I was very impressed by his talent and his stage presence. He knew how to command a stage. I believe that I heard him perform more than once...but I can't remember. I moved from Memphis, but still kept in touch with an old friend who lived there. Fast forward...many years later this buddy turned me on to Sput's radio show called Psychedelicatessen. I quickly became a fan and felt that he was the best DJ I had ever heard. Especially for the era of 'hippie' music. In fact, I consider him to be a musicologist. Some time later, my friend said that Sput lost his DJ job because of airing his political views and he turned me on to Sput's blog. In my later years, due to life experience, I had moved a bit to the right of the political spectrum. That is when I assumed a contrarian point of view and began being a pain in the butt for him and some of his fans. I admittedly stepped over the line of acceptability and caused some strife for him and Melody. Melody pierced by conscience a time or two which really grieved me. I am more playful than malevolent, but sometimes I can go too far. In fact, she caused me to take a hard look at myself and the influence I was having. I DO NOT want to cause anyone pain or grief. This is because I saw that she had a heart of gold by some of her comments. That really sent me into a tailspin of guilt, etc. About that time I was beginning to lose interest in the blog. I knew that I was not welcome, so I disappeared for a long time. I recently checked back in out of curiosity, but am going to disappear for good. I really did begin to appreciate and admire Sput. He is an accomplished and creative journalist, and I can't figure out why such a bright, gifted individual has not been discovered on a larger basis. I think that he could be a commentator on a national TV program. I see lesser talents all the time. But, that may be due to Sput's wanting to keep his exposure small. I too value anonymity. Here is my parting thought. Sput and I are quite old and will not be around for that much longer. I want to encourage his many friends to do what is necessary to see that he gets a Beale Street sidewalk plaque. Over his lifetime, he has done more for Memphis music as a performer, DJ, musicologist, and journalist than some who have already been so honored. He deserves that much. God bless both you and Melody, Sput...your old adversary who I hope you will accept as something of a friend now . Adios, Jerry

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    1. Thank you Jerry. That was very touching and I'll be sure that Melody reads it as well. I think pretty much everyone's lost interest in the blog. The Memphis Flyer cut me down to one article per month so I have to save up my outrage. You're right about Lafayette's. I played there both as a soloist and as part of the house band for awhile. I'm trying to think of the woman you could be talking about, but nothing's coming to me. I did, however, once play with Furry.
      Believe me, if I could have found a way to a larger audience for this thing, I don't know what I did wrong. I sent it everywhere until it became futile. But I'll still be posting every month and I hope you don't depart from us. Check in now and then and see what's going on. The good news is I have a new radio show that I just started on the Library Channel and it streams everywhere. It's called "The River City Soul Show," on every Thursday night at 8:00pm Central. You missed tonight's show but you can catch me next week by clicking on this link and pressing "play."
      www.memphislibrary.org/wypl/
      I appreciate your kind words Jerry. Don't be a stranger. Randy

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