The Wednesday Curator – 7/6/2016

July 5, 2016

The Curator has graciously donated most of his space this week to demonstrating the fraudulent essence of Donald Trump. Here goes:

Donald Trump is No Christian. Peter Wehner’s piece in the July 5 New York Times, The Theology of Donald Trump, takes care of the religious issue with knowledge and grace. Mr. Wehner notes the contrast between Mr. Trump’s focus on worldly success and power, and Christian values. The outcome is not pretty for Mr. Trump or those who preach values and follow him. Inauthenticity abounds!

Donald Trump Lives and Dies by the Insult. The Upshot at the New York Times offers The 239 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List, collected by Jasmine Lee and Kevin Quealy. It’s quite a list of humdingers and doozies. Your author only wishes he could better appreciate when being rude and obnoxious became acceptable. Clearly, Mr. Trump does not adhere to “If you don’t have something nice to say, be quiet.” (Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Teddy’s oldest, famously said, “If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.” Alas, is she was alive today—she lived from 1884 until 1980, a life that spanned Presidents Chester Alan Arthur (No. 21) to James Earl Carter (No. 39)—it’s hard to imagine her giving Mr. Trump a moment’s time.)

Donald Trump Abhors Science. Scientific American offers science for regular people. The magazine has been around since 1845, and happens to be the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. So there was reason to read The Science of President Trump, written by Natalie Jacewicz back in March. Ms. Jacewicz looked at five significant issues with direct or indirect connections to science, taking one of Mr. Trump’s positions—on most issues, there have been more than two—and “sizing up the science” by having a real scientist evaluate the position. It’s not a pretty picture!

Donald Trump Does Not Tell the Truth. PolitiFact is a Pulitzer Prize winning website which fact-checks politicians and their claims. Editors and writers from the Tampa Bay Times provide this service. And its conclusion regarding Mr. Trump? It’s here. And here:

Characterization Number Percentage
True 4 (51) 2 (23)
Mostly True 12 (62) 7 (28)
Half True 25 (47) 14 (21)
Mostly False 29 (33) 17 (15)
False 71 (25) 41 (11)
Pants on Fire 34 (3) 19 (1)

 

Wondering what the numbers in (–) are? Hillary Clinton’s scores.

Yes, yes, there’s nothing here about tax returns, race, laziness and disinterest about policy issues, etc. Books could be written about this man who would be king and, in fact, for information about those books—they have been written—read Trump’s Rise Inspires a Rush to Publish (and Exhume) Books About Him by Alexandra Alter for the New York Times.

The Curator’s back, offering At Nix, Vegetables Get a Dash of Sex by Pete Wells for, yes, the New York Times. With that title how could anyone pass up the review? Best sentence? “Not long ago, vegetarian restaurants in the United States were the last place you’d expect to see people who looked as if they couldn’t wait to go home and have non-tantric sex.”

From the Left Coast, Kevin Hsu at kevineats.com reports on Spring here. It’s on my Los Angeles list, and the dish which caught my eye was the Risotto aux Morilles:

DSC08078

In closing Judge Abner Mikva died on the 4th of July. Abner Mikva was a dedicated public servant who served in Congress, on the D.C. Circuit, and as White House Counsel for President Bill Clinton. He also mentored a young state legislator in Chicago, Barack Obama, who said of him and their relationship:

When I was graduating law school, Ab encouraged me to pursue public service. He saw something in me that I didn’t yet see in myself, but I know why he did it — Ab represented the best of public service himself, and he believed in empowering the next generation of young people to shape our country.

It’s hard for the Curator—or his alter ego—to imagine a greater gift than having someone see something in someone they don’t yet see. We are truly twice blessed, for all of Abner Mikva’s many direct contributions, and for his having seen something in a guy with big ears and a funny name, something that guy did not yet see in himself.

(Condolences to the Mikva family. Older daughters Mary and Laurie were ahead of me in college and most casual acquaintances.)

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