A/K/A Three Weeks in the White House
Well, we are three weeks or so into the new administration and it seems as if we can measure the chaos or dysfunction in seven day increments. The first two weeks of February were particularly “busy” for the White House, the Press Secretary, the news reporters, the political analysts and let’s not forget the Facebook posters and the bloggers (lol).
The highlight or rather the LOW point of this first half of the month was probably Mitch McConnell’s authoritative, paternalistic, demeaning dictum citing Rule 19! “SHE WAS WARNED, SHE WAS GIVEN AN EXPLANATION. NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED”. OMG! The very nerve of her! Well those words will live on in infamy for quite a while. When spoken, they have a great cadence. You will be hearing this mantra from feminists, you will see it emblazoned on tee shirts and baseball caps. The very MINUTE I heard it, I wanted to design a tee shirt for Cafe Press and make a million dollars.
But that was only one incident in a cacophony of chaos and crisis; Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch uneasy with Trump’s Tweet calling Judge James Robert a “so-called judge” was quoted saying that the comments were “disheartening” and “demoralizing”.
Then there was the TOTALLY UNFOUNDED and UNTRUE remarks by Mr. Trump that the media (newspapers and news reporters) do not report terrorist attacks to the public. Mr. Trump knows better because he is all about ratings and he knows that disruption and disaster are always bigly news and bring bigly ratings. So why in the world would ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC overlook and omit such a news opportunity?
In an interview with Bill O’Reilly, Trump again defended Vladimir Putin; O’Reilly said, “He’s a killer though. Putin’s a killer”. To which Donald Trump replied, “There are a lot of killers,” Trump replied. “We’ve got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country’s so innocent?”…. After O’Reilly said he did not “know of any government leaders that are killers”, Trump turned to the Iraq war, seeming to equate George W. Bush with Putin, though he did not name the former president.
Who knows what and when? Yesterday in the late afternoon, Kellyanne Conway appeared on MSNBC and when questioned about Mike Flynn’s position as National Security Advisor, her response was, “Yes, Gen. Flynn does enjoy the full confidence of the president,”. Within the next hour or so, Sean Spicer, Press Secretary informed the news media that the president was “evaluating the situation”. And late last evening Mr. Flynn tendered his resignation to the president. Yet today we have heard that Mike Flynn offered his resignation because he knew he was a lightening rod and then we heard from Sean Spicer that the president asked for and accepted the Flynn letter of resignation! So I repeat who knows what and when?
Dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Japan’s Prime Minister turned into yet another bit of drama à la Donald. Smack dab in the middle of the resort’s public dining room, not only did Mr. Trump take a call on his cell phone, it has also been reported that papers were passed and discussed in plain view of the dining room’s guests as well as waiters and the piano player. Oh dear, short memory all around! Remember it was a waiter who brought Mitt Romney down with recording of his (Romney) offhand remarks about the infamous 40%. And let’s not forget how horrified every Republican was with the carelessness of Hillary Clinton and her private server. Note the word private with server and public with the dining room. National security where art thou?
Time for one more faux pas which is my own rather mild term for Kellyanne Conway’s gross error (and in some minds law-breaking ) remark urging the public to “Go buy Ivanka’s clothes”. And how did Kellyanne get herself into this position? Her boss tweeted,
My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!10:51 AM – 8 Feb 2017 A father defending his daughter is certainly admirable and okay BUT Mr. Trump should NOT have used the White House Twitter account! Yes he did in addition to a personal tweet.
Stay tuned….
I mean, honestly …
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
Pbenjay's Blog 
The Russians Are Here!
February 13, 2017 by pbenjay
Well they’re not really here, in fact they were Ukrainians. Yesterday afternoon, we went to The Lehman Arts Center and watched the most amazing performance of Russian classical music expertly performed by The National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine.
The land of the Czars and Tzars has given us some of the greatest composers in the 19th and 20th Centuries. To name a few and some of their more well known concertos and symphonies: Pyotr Iliyich Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, 1812 Overture. Igor Stravinsky – Rite of Spring, The Firebird, Petrushka. Dmitri Shostokovich – Suite on Finnish Themes, Sergei Rachmaninoff -Rhapsody on a Theme of Pagagnini, Monna Vanna, Piano Concerto I and II, Sergei Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, The Love of Three Oranges, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsokov-Capriccio Espagnol, and my favorite Scherherazade. So much talent!
The first piece was Rachmoninoff’s Symphony No.3 and it was an elaborate production with full orchestra and three movements. From where we were seated, I had a full-on view of the whole orchestra. Besides the usual violins, violas, cellos, oboes, French horns, clarinets and bass fiddle, Rachmoninoff included a harp, a triangle, symbals, a tambourine, and percussion. Most of Sergei Rachmoninoff’s work is complex, especially his piano concertos, and in this Symphony it was quite evident.
Dima Tkachenko – Violin Virtuouso
The real highlight of the concert was Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with soloist Dima Tkachenko. He was a child prodigy playing the piano and the violin before he was six!! He has won numerous competitions and was awarded the Guildhall School Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix). I was overwhelmed and swept away by his mastery of his instrument. Like most virtuosos, in his hands the violin becomes an extension of himself. Pure genius. Under his expert manipulation, the violin sang, I mean really sang. In his intensity, he broke at least 8 strings on the bow. The violin is a wondrous instrument capable of producing an unbelievable number of sounds and notes in rapid succession. The standing ovation lasted long enough to convince Dima to give us an encore. And OMG, he played for at least another 10 minutes. I don’t know what he was performing but it seemed to incorporate every nuance of sound and technique known to man and violin.
The Firebird Suite is one of Stravinsky’s better known compositions. I have heard it many times however, the technical proficiency and emotional commitment of this orchestra is quite extraordinary.
Lastly, we were treated to a brief and informative talk by the conductor, Theodore Kuchar, who gave us some history of the conflicts his country has undergone for 100 years. He explained that pure Ukranian music existed outside of better known Russian composers and proceeded to introduce a famous Ukranian piece. We also were treated to a beautiful excerpt from a movie soundtrack created by Ukranian born Myroslav Skoryk.
All in all, I can’t think of a better way to have spent this gray, rainy and chilly Sunday afternoon. It was a peaceful and joyful break from the daily stress of the political shenanigans going on.
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Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Uncategorized | Tagged Dima Tkachenko, Firebird Suite, Lehman Arts Center, Myroslav Skoryk, Rachmoninoff, Russian composers, Tchaikovsky, Ukraine, violin virtuouso | 2 Comments »