Good morning one and all. I hope your weekend is going well. Reading the Sunday newspaper and a few stories online, I thought I might meander a little on this Sunday, typing in tune with cicadas chirping outside.
A simple concept with a lot of big numbers – Swiss scientists have confirmed that planting one trillion trees would be one of the least expensive ways to take carbon out of the air. They note there are 3.5 million square miles of available land to do so. In the documentary “Ice on Fire,” which I wrote about a few weeks back, planting and maintaining forests was one of several key options that we should do. The scientists note this will only work if we stop putting so much carbon there in the first place.
A British ambassador speaks the truth about the US White House – Per a CNN report as reported by AFP.com, “Britain’s ambassador in the United States has described President Donald Trump and his administration as ‘inept’ and ‘uniquely dysfunctional’, according to leaked diplomatic memos published by the Mail on Sunday. Ambassador Kim Darroch reportedly said Trump’s presidency could ‘crash and burn’ and ‘end in disgrace’, in the cache of secret cables and briefing notes sent back to Britain seen by the newspaper.” This is not news to people who pay attention to the machinations of the White House incumbent. My prediction is this will be called fake news from a loser network by said incumbent.
A day in the life, two more shootings in my city – If we rewrote John Lennon’s portion of the famous song “A Day in the Life.” which blended two separate songs, the other by Paul McCartney, we might have the following: “I read the news today, oh boy, about two more shootings in the city I live. One was shot in an expensive hotel corridor, while the others in a famous fast food chain.” Recognizing I did a poor job matching words with the notes, the sentiment is valid. Maybe, we should just report when no one is shot in the city, as that would be more newsworthy.
False equivalences abound – This is a pet peeve of Bill Maher, with which I agree. When someone commits a series of poor behaviors or says inappropriate things, members of the supporting tribe will parade out a false equivalence that is intended to balance the scales. The past few years, these false equivalences are paraded out to show that the president is not the only politician who lies. While that is true, the president has lapped the field several times with his lies. He lies far more than he does not, he has been recorded with over 10,000 lies as president, and five former associates (not the media, not Democrats) have been quoted, one under the oath, that the president is not very truthful including, but not limited to, his attorney fixer Michael Cohen, his former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his former White Counsel Don McGahn, his former National Economic Advisor Gary Cohn and former attorney Thomas Wells. The latter noted “Donald Trump lies every day even about things of no consequence.”
Why does the last item matter so much? Just read the leaked correspondence of the British ambassador. We are not trustworthy because our president is not trustworthy. And, it is hard to solve problems and build relationships if you cannot tell the truth. The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. Climate change is a problem, but he tells us it is a hoax. Guns are part of our shooting death problems, but he won’t admit they are. He tells the children detention centers are well run. And, so on.
musingsofanoldfart 
Note to Readers: A small news story could cause even more grief for the US president. Financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested this weekend for sex trafficking. He had to do prison time, but only briefly after a plea deal twelve years ago, but questions about ethics surround Trump’s Secretary of Labor who was the prosecutor.
But, there is more. Both Trump and Bill Clinton were frequent guests of Epstein’s lavish parties with young women in attendance. And, it was there that a now grown woman alleged then businessman Trump raped her when she was fourteen. While she had an information sharing court date in December, 2016 that was not dismissed, it should be noted she was viewed as a less than credible witness, which is why the case did not get more airplay. It is also true she had a press conference scheduled just before the election, that suddenly did not occur and the court date went away. A betting person would think Michael Cohen fixed this, too.
My guess is the president wants Mr. Epstein to just go away. As it can only bring up his name in a bad light.