Thank you, Jay, for closing on the positive. I was privileged to meet with "Jack" before his historic victory at Baltusrol in 1980. The Nicklaus family arrived in the Springfield area well prior to the competition and blessed our congregation with their participation every Sunday before the tournament. Their grace and patience as "celebrity" visitors brighten memories nearly half a century later.
Great article, especially the information about Trump making 3,700 trades in the market this past quarter. I shared the article with my sister-in-law, who shared it with senator Kane's office (she lives in Virginia). The nice lady on the phone thanked her and said, in effect, "you know, we don't get much calls like this" (said in an approving way). Maybe we all need to get on the phone.
Also, with regard to Crawfurdmuir's comment that Secretary Hegseth is exempt from the Hatch Act, he is not. Only the President and Vice President are exempt. However, there are some exemptions for senior-level officials, of which attending a campaign is one. If Hegseth went to Kentucky on his own or someone else's dime, that would be OK. If he used government funds to attend the campaign event in Kentucky, he was in violation of the Hatch Act. But, alas, we may never know which it was.
“In my experience, people like to snort at norms. But once they have snorted norms out of existence, I think they will miss them.” -- Was not that what the left (with due respect to my left-leaning family & friends) has been doing since the 60s (and before)? And their victory is that the culture has adopted snorting AS the norm! Everyone aspires to/pretends to be/"identifies" as a rebel. But if everyone is a rebel ... See Jonah G's excellent piece Trangression for its Own Sake - https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/gfile/transgression-philosophy-violence-authenticity/ And where has it gotten us? To a state of hyper reactivity on all sides, and little of what can be called progress. But courage to the Middle, maybe slowly growing(?) in reaction to the extremes. Maybe it can regain some purchase. And if not, well, the effort is worth doing. Do your best and let the chips fall.
You ask whether Hegseth’s campaigning in Kentucky for a congressional candidate violates the Hatch Act. It does not.
Cabinet level appointees are exempt from the Hatch Act. See Wikipedia -
“ It [the Hatch Act] provides that persons below the policy-making level in the executive branch of the federal government must not only refrain from political practices that would be illegal for any citizen, but must abstain from ‘any active part’ in political campaigns, using this language to specify those who are exempt:[9]
(i) an employee paid from an appropriation for the Executive Office of the President; or
(ii) an employee appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose position is located within the United States, who determines policies to be pursued by the United States in the nationwide administration of Federal law.”
With respect to your comments on President Trump, Jay, you may have written the perfect description of not only of the corruption endemic in the man, but also of our times. ( Like the golfers, you are known only to me as Jay!)
Donald Trump is unfit to lead such a splendid people, and to be the steward of that idea Rory calls “America”.
Mr. Trump lacks the character, the discipline, and the temperament to be a proper leader.
“In my experience, people like to snort at norms. But once they have snorted norms out of existence, I think they will miss them.”
I often think of how badly construed is our fascination with the great poem by Yeats “The Second Coming”.
To me, the “widening gyre” is that to which you have referred in the comment above; when we normalize all we know to be wrong, and casually dispose of the guardrails that keep us between the lines, we are seldom prepared for what is waiting to step into the void.
Canada’s greatest problems are not homelessness, a failing healthcare system, debts and deficits, concurrent drug abuse and mental illness, affordability, or excessive taxation. They are but the symptoms.
Canada’s greatest enemy is the apathy and unaccountability that allow these symptoms to fester.
Yours is an incredibly important collection of thoughts, as painful as it is to read.
My thought for the week (so far): With the rise of MAGA, would Rush Limbaugh still be using the phrase "low-information voters"? The phrase appied in the 1990s and maybe even more so now.
Forgive me for repetition...but I thoroughly enjoy reading your stuff... Just enough political honesty to absolve us from indifference but not stain us with defeatist complaining. Then you apply some nutrition by bringing in the beautiful, be it a photograph, a compliment or sending us into an opera. Here is another compliment. I have tried to enjoy opera, but have not been able to make it happen. Your review of Kahlo opera made me wish I could see and hear it.
Your responses to Jay’s items are always spot on, Dra. I hated opera for years, until I heard a great recording of “La bohème”. I think the keys might be 1) reading the words as they’re sung, with the English translation right there, so the listener can understand what all the caterwauling is about, 2) repetition so the music can sink in, and 3) listening to a solid recording.
Clear the decks so you can concentrate. Then listen to the below ancient recording of Act I more than one time. I sincerely hope that this great art will give you great joy.
Thank you and I will.... I suspect "clearing the decks" will be especially helpful as my large family has for years kept the deck crowded. Ironically I have some touch points.... early in Ben Heppner's career he attended church with use and we had his family over for dinner.... never knowing much about him. Then we had a stage technie from our small local Christian school get an internship and then full employment with the New York Met...
Dra -- appreciate your comment very much! Side note on opera: I was once a dancer in the NYCO, when it was under the direction of Beverly Sills (yeah, I'm old). I did not care for opera then--it was a job between ballet companies, and didn't seek it out after. But the best of opera - certain arias or choruses - wow! Beautiful, exquistie, powerful. Worth acquiring a taste for the rest maybe. But we don't have to like all of it -- even in some of Jay's reviews he acknowledges when a particular opera is not his taste (even as he gives a fair review). Cheers.
Your list of golfers didn't mention my favorite, Vijay Singh.
'Jonah Goldberg wrote, “The Trump slush fund is a clear-cut impeachable offense.” '
Gah. Any offense is an "impeachable offense," after the fact of Congress's having passed articles of impeachment. If that didn't happen, then, tautologically, the thing was not an "impeachable offense." There is no other criterion for whether Bad Stuff from an elected official is "impeachable."
Thank you, Jay, for closing on the positive. I was privileged to meet with "Jack" before his historic victory at Baltusrol in 1980. The Nicklaus family arrived in the Springfield area well prior to the competition and blessed our congregation with their participation every Sunday before the tournament. Their grace and patience as "celebrity" visitors brighten memories nearly half a century later.
Great article, especially the information about Trump making 3,700 trades in the market this past quarter. I shared the article with my sister-in-law, who shared it with senator Kane's office (she lives in Virginia). The nice lady on the phone thanked her and said, in effect, "you know, we don't get much calls like this" (said in an approving way). Maybe we all need to get on the phone.
Also, with regard to Crawfurdmuir's comment that Secretary Hegseth is exempt from the Hatch Act, he is not. Only the President and Vice President are exempt. However, there are some exemptions for senior-level officials, of which attending a campaign is one. If Hegseth went to Kentucky on his own or someone else's dime, that would be OK. If he used government funds to attend the campaign event in Kentucky, he was in violation of the Hatch Act. But, alas, we may never know which it was.
“In my experience, people like to snort at norms. But once they have snorted norms out of existence, I think they will miss them.” -- Was not that what the left (with due respect to my left-leaning family & friends) has been doing since the 60s (and before)? And their victory is that the culture has adopted snorting AS the norm! Everyone aspires to/pretends to be/"identifies" as a rebel. But if everyone is a rebel ... See Jonah G's excellent piece Trangression for its Own Sake - https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/gfile/transgression-philosophy-violence-authenticity/ And where has it gotten us? To a state of hyper reactivity on all sides, and little of what can be called progress. But courage to the Middle, maybe slowly growing(?) in reaction to the extremes. Maybe it can regain some purchase. And if not, well, the effort is worth doing. Do your best and let the chips fall.
You ask whether Hegseth’s campaigning in Kentucky for a congressional candidate violates the Hatch Act. It does not.
Cabinet level appointees are exempt from the Hatch Act. See Wikipedia -
“ It [the Hatch Act] provides that persons below the policy-making level in the executive branch of the federal government must not only refrain from political practices that would be illegal for any citizen, but must abstain from ‘any active part’ in political campaigns, using this language to specify those who are exempt:[9]
(i) an employee paid from an appropriation for the Executive Office of the President; or
(ii) an employee appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose position is located within the United States, who determines policies to be pursued by the United States in the nationwide administration of Federal law.”
Secretary Hegseth is exempt under heading (ii).
With respect to your comments on President Trump, Jay, you may have written the perfect description of not only of the corruption endemic in the man, but also of our times. ( Like the golfers, you are known only to me as Jay!)
Donald Trump is unfit to lead such a splendid people, and to be the steward of that idea Rory calls “America”.
Mr. Trump lacks the character, the discipline, and the temperament to be a proper leader.
“In my experience, people like to snort at norms. But once they have snorted norms out of existence, I think they will miss them.”
I often think of how badly construed is our fascination with the great poem by Yeats “The Second Coming”.
To me, the “widening gyre” is that to which you have referred in the comment above; when we normalize all we know to be wrong, and casually dispose of the guardrails that keep us between the lines, we are seldom prepared for what is waiting to step into the void.
Canada’s greatest problems are not homelessness, a failing healthcare system, debts and deficits, concurrent drug abuse and mental illness, affordability, or excessive taxation. They are but the symptoms.
Canada’s greatest enemy is the apathy and unaccountability that allow these symptoms to fester.
Yours is an incredibly important collection of thoughts, as painful as it is to read.
My best to you.
Thank you so much.
I see that the opera you reviewed will be available at the theater (Met in HD) on 30May. I will make it a point to see it.
My thought for the week (so far): With the rise of MAGA, would Rush Limbaugh still be using the phrase "low-information voters"? The phrase appied in the 1990s and maybe even more so now.
Good point, TP!
Thanks. Best to the best.
Forgive me for repetition...but I thoroughly enjoy reading your stuff... Just enough political honesty to absolve us from indifference but not stain us with defeatist complaining. Then you apply some nutrition by bringing in the beautiful, be it a photograph, a compliment or sending us into an opera. Here is another compliment. I have tried to enjoy opera, but have not been able to make it happen. Your review of Kahlo opera made me wish I could see and hear it.
Thank you so much.
Your responses to Jay’s items are always spot on, Dra. I hated opera for years, until I heard a great recording of “La bohème”. I think the keys might be 1) reading the words as they’re sung, with the English translation right there, so the listener can understand what all the caterwauling is about, 2) repetition so the music can sink in, and 3) listening to a solid recording.
Clear the decks so you can concentrate. Then listen to the below ancient recording of Act I more than one time. I sincerely hope that this great art will give you great joy.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG9kFR7U463ZEFOgq2uAOcofiIfTt4xSr&si=JVAWWkkkvVguOhIT
Thank you and I will.... I suspect "clearing the decks" will be especially helpful as my large family has for years kept the deck crowded. Ironically I have some touch points.... early in Ben Heppner's career he attended church with use and we had his family over for dinner.... never knowing much about him. Then we had a stage technie from our small local Christian school get an internship and then full employment with the New York Met...
Dra -- appreciate your comment very much! Side note on opera: I was once a dancer in the NYCO, when it was under the direction of Beverly Sills (yeah, I'm old). I did not care for opera then--it was a job between ballet companies, and didn't seek it out after. But the best of opera - certain arias or choruses - wow! Beautiful, exquistie, powerful. Worth acquiring a taste for the rest maybe. But we don't have to like all of it -- even in some of Jay's reviews he acknowledges when a particular opera is not his taste (even as he gives a fair review). Cheers.
Your list of golfers didn't mention my favorite, Vijay Singh.
'Jonah Goldberg wrote, “The Trump slush fund is a clear-cut impeachable offense.” '
Gah. Any offense is an "impeachable offense," after the fact of Congress's having passed articles of impeachment. If that didn't happen, then, tautologically, the thing was not an "impeachable offense." There is no other criterion for whether Bad Stuff from an elected official is "impeachable."