LIBERAL VS. CONSERVATIVE BRAINS

Back in 1917, I wrote an article "Democratic Economic Initiatives And The Trump Base" exploring how the Democrats could win back the disaffected Republican workers voting for Republicans.*  "In this article, I've tried to think of ways that the Democratic Party might lure back the white male worker.  After considerable thought, I conclude there probably isn't a way."

Later in the article, I write: But along came a candidate for President who talked in their terms.  Send illegal Hispanics back to Mexico, build a wall, outlaw Muslim immigration to the U.S., and "keep THEM under control."  The "Them" is, of course, women, minorities, and Gays.  They thought Trump would lead them "out of the wilderness" in a reform of the Republican Party, but they were conned.  I've heard from some of Trump's base say that the wall is the big thing (even over better pay), so it is the emotional things they love.

In 2018, an article in Current Biology by Kanai et al. has appeared showing that liberals and conservatives brains may be hard-wired by different sizes of parts of the brain.**
In a large sample of young adults, we related self-reported political attitudes to gray matter volume using structural MRI. We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala. These results were replicated in an independent sample of additional participants. Our findings extend previous observations that political attitudes reflect differences in self-regulatory conflict monitoring [4] and recognition of emotional faces [5] by showing that such attitudes are reflected in human brain structure. 

A current book by Hetherington and Weiler (2018)  called "Prius Or Pickup" analyzes four pairs of qualities we would like in our children.
Voting is not driven by a rational cost/benefit analysis of the issues, and a decision about where one’s self-interests and beliefs best align with a party or a candidate. Rather, we vote on the basis of our worldviews.***
Note the similarity in my conclusion (Trump's base love the emotion over higher pay) and the statement in this book that voting is not driven by rational cost/benefit analysis.

* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/07/democratic-economic-initiatives.html
** https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3092984/
https://www.quora.com/If-the-prefrontal-Cortex-is-responsible-for-logic-and-reasoning-is-there-a-difference-in-its-size-for-liberals-vs-conservatives?__pmsg__=+aFBBdUduOFNtdjl5N1YzUnMxZnc6YS5hcHAudmlldy5wbXNnLlN1Y2Nlc3M6W1siRGVjbGluZWQgcmVxdWVzdC4iXSwge31d
*** https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=112427639902898514#editor/target=post;postID=1198143733255208589;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=5;src=link

MANAFORT

I don't know what is going on.  First, there is this Judge T. S. Ellis who was hostile to the prosecution from the beginning. I was surprised but probably shouldn't have been when he gave Manafort a "soft-ball" sentence of quilty (47 mo.) when it was recommended to be 19-24 yrs.  He said that Manafort lived an otherwise exemplary life though he was facing sentencing in another trial about a week later.  In hindsight, I wonder why he didn't give Manafort a sentence of time served?  Maybe there is something in the law or politics that prevented him from doing this.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the second trial could give Manafort a verdict of up to 10 yrs.  She really lit into Manafort saying, essentially, what a terrible person he was.  So I figured "Here we go - the max.", but she settled on another "softball sentence" of 43 mo. two years which would be concurrent with the first trial.

In addition, Manafort does get credit for time served (9 mo.).

Suppose you could have an opulent life for 10 yrs in your prime but then had to go to jail for maybe 6 yrs in your old age.  Would it be worth it?   I dunno, maybe.

There is the side issue of Manafort's lawyer claiming that two trials concluded there was No Collusion when Judge Jackson said collusion was not an issue in the trial.  The lawyer's lies have been referred to the bar.

The thought occurs to me that, the way things are going, we should not expect too much from Special Investigator Mueller.  Like judge Ellis (appointed by Pres. Reagan), the highly regarded Mueller is another Republican. though Jackson was appointed by Pres Obama.

RICHEST ZIP CODES

What are the richest Zip Codes in America?   Bloomberg* says:

1. Fisher Island, FL
2. Atherton, CA
3. Palo Alto, CA (Silicon Valley)
4. Palm Beach, FL
5. Zip Code 10007 NY (Tribeca Neighborhood)

The reference has some discussion of Fisher Island, but I will leave you to read it.  Amaze your friends at parties.

* https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/05/bloomberg-analysis-this-is-americas-richest-zip-code.html

BUYING POLITICIAN'S VOTES

Buying the votes of politicians, or at least trying to, is a time-honored tradition in America.   Yes, Jews make donations to politicians in favor of Israel.  But, so what?  We were in at the birth of Israel as a country and are committed to its success, period.

Unions make donations to the Democratic Party trying to keep them pro-labor.  Lockheed, among many companies, has lobbyists.  Furthermore, companies spread government contracts as widely as possible over congressional districts to get as many politicians as possible to continue funding them.

I donate to the Democratic Party with the hopes that they will continue to promote the welfare of the disadvantaged, such as women, minorities, gays and, yes, laborers.  And we have seen a lot of progress along nearly all of these fronts since WW-II but admittedly with a long way to go.  Perhaps the least progress has been made for laborers who have largely been convinced to "disarm" and abandon their unions.

All this is not to say that there is a lot of antisemitism in this country with much of it barely below the surface.

I went to a college preparatory high school in St. Paul Minnesota and there was a lot of Jewish students there.  I was impressed with the ability of Jewish families to motivate their children.  Because of the history of Jews, they tend to be sympathetic to other oppressed people (I've seen the figure as high as 80%).

While all or nearly all, American Jews support the Israel State, they are not blind to some of the shortcomings of Israel where 57% of American Jews disapprove of President Trump's approach to Israel.  According to Steven R,. Weisman:
This division reflects disagreements over West Bank settlements, Iran and other political issues. But Israel’s departure from its secular origins — including its recent downgrading of non-Jewish citizens’ status** and the stranglehold of the Orthodox rabbinate over civil laws and women’s rights — has also rankled many American Jews.*

* https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opinion/american-jews-israel-liberals.html
** https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arabic.html?module=inline

PARALLELS BETWEEN AMERICAN AND ISRAEL HISTORIES

I have noticed that there are some eerie parallels between the histories of America and Israel.  Perhaps this is just human nature.

America recognized the Balfour Declaration (1917) that favored the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine.  In late 1947, the UN declared resolution 181 to establish both a Jewish and Arab state in Palestine.*  David Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, and American President Harry Truman recognized the state on the same day.  Thus the United
States is committed to this new state.  As a parallel, I believe that Great Britain was committed to the colonization of America in 1607.**

The British history is complicated and I recommend you read the Wikipedia article on the subject.  Suffice it to say that the United States was founded on September 3, 1783.**  In the early days of colonization, there appeared to be harmony between the British immigrants and the Indians.  The development of America was ragged with the conflict between the new Americans and American indigenous Indians living in the Southeast, almost from the beginning.  In parallel, the conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine was escalating before the foundation of Israel.  Prior to WW-II, however, Arabs and Jews lived in seeming harmony.

In early American history, the Indians were considered inferior people and were not treated well.  Though President Andrew Jackson (who fought the Indians in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814) is revered today (for example the Democrats have a Jefferson-Jackson Day), the president moved the Indians forcibly to reservations in the west informally called The Trail Of Tears and formally with the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

The Jews did not forcibly remove Arabs from the country of Israel.  Today's population of Israel is about 21% Arab, mostly Muslims, who can be citizens of Israel and there usually is at least 1 Arab in the Israel parliament or Knesset.  The sticking points are the Gaza Strip and the West Bank where Muslims predominate.

Israel used to occupy the Gaza Strip but evacuated it in 2005.  The hostilities between the Arabs in the Gaza Strip and Israel have been and remain extreme with Arabs in Gaza firing rockets and other implements against the Jews and Israel naturally responding.  Israel has a blockade with the Gaza Strip trying to prevent imports of armaments.

I have written about the West Bank before ("West Bank Fiasco," 2016***) and I do not want to repeat the piece here.  The Israelis have established settlements in the West Bank raising hostilities between the local Arabs and Jews.  As an example of the hostilities in the West Bank, there is a four-lane highway running north and south in the West Bank that is really two, two-lane highways as there is a high wall down the median strip with Arabs traveling on one side and Israelis on the other.

If Israel has the West Bank, the U.S. has had a conflict with Mexico, for example, the Spanish-American War. and the U.S. annexed a part of Mexico.

I feel Israel has effectively annexed the West Bank, mainly as a buffer for defensive purposes, because, in one place, Isreal is only about 10 mi. wide.  But I feel they cannot formally annex the West Bank (as they have with East Jerusalem****) because then Arabs would constitute around 40% of the Israel population making Israel less of a Jewish state and incorporating the hostilities of the Arabs.  Annexation is not unusual in a countries development. For example, America annexed the Indian Territories.

As we have seen, annexations are hard to keep.  Yugoslavia broke up after their dictator died.  Czechoslovakia broke into two again. Etc.  History is replete with countries breaking up.

In conclusion, I would say that the history of Israel parallels in many regards to America's mixed evolution.  Currently, hostilities between Arabs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank run high, and I doubt that even an uneasy peace can be established for a long time.  By a long time, I mean much more than a hundred years.  In the U.S., the Civil War is still current among many Southerners 150 yrs after the War.  But the U.S. is committed to Israel and has been from the beginning.

As has been expressed by others, it should be possible to criticize the actions of the Israel government without being considered antisemitic.

* https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/creation-israel
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_colonization_of_the_Americas
*** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/12/west-bank-fiasco.html
**** Arabs in East Jerusalem at the time of the census were offered citizenship, but only around 5% have taken it.  Noncitizens, however, can vote in local elections.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES, PICKS

Recently I commented on the geriatric ages of many Presidential candidates.*  I also gave my favorite three candidates to run for President in 2020.  My geriatric candidate has decided not to run (Michael Bloomberg).

As a result, I will fill the number two spot with my geriatric candidate John (The Huick) Hickenlooper (67) former mayor of Denver and two-term governor of Colorado (b February 7, 1952), a mere child compared to Bloomberg.  While he lacks name recognition, that is not unusual for Democratic candidates.  Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama all lacked name recognition and all ran successfully for president.

The Hick says we don't need Medicare for all because 150 million people are already insured at work.  It is the other 180 million we need to work on.  He desperately is trying not to type himself as a  Capitalist or Socialist as Morning Joe has tried to do.

I do not see Capitalism and Socialism as opposites.  There is plenty of private industry in the  Socialistic Scandinavian countries for example.  I've been to some of these countries, and I don't notice any difference from the U.S. when I am there.  There is lots of Socialism in the U.S. such as Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid.  In many cases, there are things that the government does not own but we subsidize them so it is as if the government owns them.  The more important thing is regulation rather than government ownership.  But all this deserves discussion elsewhere.

Thus my current picks are (1) Beto O'Rourke, (2) John Hickenlooper, and (3) Amy (True Grit) Klobuchar.  I reserve the right to change my opinion and am tempted by Cory Booker.

You, of course, have the right to choose whoever you wish.

http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2019/02/presidential-candidates-ages.html

REPUBLICANS IMITATING MICHAEL COHEN

I am not a fan of Michael Cohen at all.  I think he has been a terrible fellow. But I must say in doing their best imitations of Micael Cohen, Republican Representatives are making me sympathetic to the guy.  I didn't know that was possible.

I must say that Jim Jordan (Il) tried his best imitation of Michael Jordan.  I  have tried over the last few years to find some redeeming character in Jim Jordan, but I just can't find it.  Not content of just attacking Mr. Cohen, Jordan opened attacking (and lying about) the Chairman of the Committee.  Jordan also couldn't resist attacking the FBI (one of his favorite whipping boys) and the Russia Investigation although the hearing was not about either of these.  As they say, from there things went downhill.

Jim Jordan's imitation of Cohen got so good that at, one time, Cohen turned the tables and became the "interrogator" telling Rep. Jordan that he should be ashamed of himself.
“Mr. Jordan, that’s not what I said, and you know that’s not what I said,” Cohen shot back. “I said I pled guilty and I take responsibility for my actions.” As Jordan tried to talk over him, Cohen seemed to snap. “Shame on you, Mr. Jordan. That is not what I said. Shame on you.” 
(For a full account of this interchange, see the reference.*)  As Elijah Cummings said he is a friend of Mark Meadows, I bow to his superior knowledge that Meadows has some redeeming graces.

I think the greatest response by Cohen to the interrogation involved Mark (Send Obama back to Kenya) Meadows who claimed that President Trump couldn't be a racist because a Black woman who worked for Trump (and was behind Meadows as a prop) said she wouldn't work for a racist.
Specifically, Meadows presented Lynne Patton, a former party planner for the Trump Organization and current Housing and Urban Development official. “You made some very demeaning comments about the president that Ms. Patton doesn’t agree with,” Meadows told Cohen. “She says, as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way she would work for an individual who was racist. How do you reconcile the two of those?**

To which Cohn replied:
“As neither should I, as the son of a Holocaust survivor,” Cohen replied, suggesting that human beings in a capitalist society often agree to work for people whose views they find abhorrent. Cohen then advised Meadows to ask how many African-Americans currently work at the Trump Organization.**

“The answer is zero,” Cohen said.**

This illustrates the mesmerizing ability of Donald Trump.

A side note here is that it came out that at one time Cohen was $5 million in arrears on taxes.  Cohen said he repaid this, but my gosh, $5 million?  He and Manafort threw money around like it was a Monopoly game.

I did not listen to much of the hearing, but I found one Cohen imitator that was unbelievable.  In fact, he sounded incredibly stupid.  He kept asking about why the boxes that had been returned to Mr. Cohen by the FBI hadn't been turned over to the FBI?  It was exceedingly embarrassing.  Why is this guy in Congress?  Perhaps he was drunk. (Rachel Meadows was kinder to Rep. Higgins than I and said he was so caught up in playing "gotcha" that he didn't hear Cohen's response.)
“Earlier you said, ‘I spent last week looking through boxes to find documents’ that would support your accusations. Where are those boxes, good sir? Where are those boxes? Are they in your garage?”

— Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.)***

Higgins, a former police officer, pressed Cohen in two separate exchanges about the boxes of documents that Cohen said he used to prepare his explosive testimony.***

Cohen said they were in storage.***

“And are these not boxes that should have been turned over to investigative authorities during the many criminal investigations you’ve been subject to?” Higgins continued.***

Cohen said, “Sir, these are the boxes that were returned to me post the raid.”***


I gave up and went back to listening to music.  So far as I know, Rep Higgins (La.) is still asking the question.

I did hear Cohen's concluding statement in which he warned Republicans that they were following the same path as he did in having blind loyalty to Donald Trump.

Of course, the best imitation of Michael Cohen was by Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fl) who was not on the committee but threatened Mr. Cohen beforehand.  The Florida Bar is said to be looking into the situation.  Is disbarment possible?****

A long time ago I had a job in which I attended a lot of hearings and will say that closed hearings are much better than open hearings as the politicians pay more attention to the job at hand rather than pontificating.  I will also say that Senators are vastly superior to Representatives intellectually.  An old experienced hand told me it was due to Representatives always trying to get money for campaigns and have no time to get "up to speed." This is true of both parties.

* https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/shame-on-you-michael-cohen-rips-republicans-trying-to-discredit-him
** http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/mark-meadows-lynne-patton-michael-cohen-testimony-hearing-trump-is-racist-black-people.html
*** https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/28/fact-checking-michael-cohen-hearing/?utm_term=.1ed6fe13be18
**** https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/27/rep-matt-gaetz-under-investigation-after-michael-cohen-threat/3002635002/