Bill and Jack

Bill and Jack were talking one day.

Jack said to Bill, "I'm not happy about the fact that you have so much more than me."

Bill responded, "Well, I know, but that's just the way the world works.  People can't all have the same amount of things.  It will never happen.  Be happy with what you have, work hard, and someday you'll have as much as me."

Jack thought about that for a moment, then said, "But, your grandfather stole a million dollars from my grandfather."

Bill responded, "I know, but I never stole anything from your grandfather."

Again, Jack thought about Bill's response.  Then, he said, "Yes, but you never gave any of it back.  And your father never actually stole money from my father, but he kept my father from making half a million dollars by taking business opportunities of which, except for what your father did, my father would have had a chance to take.  Money he would have made if your father hadn't kept him from making it so your father could make that money."

Again, Bill responded, "Yes, but that was my father.  I never took any opportunities away from your father."

Jack, now getting a little upset, said, "Yes, but your grandfather passed that million dollars that he stole from my grandfather down to your father, and your father passed that million, plus the half million that he made which my father could have made, down to you.  So, you've gotten a million and a half dollars which you wouldn't have gotten if your grandfather hadn't stolen from my grandfather and your father hadn't kept my father from taking opportunities which he would have had, but for your father's actions.  That makes you start a million and a half dollars richer than me.  And you've never given any of it back.  Then you have the gall to tell me I should just work hard and someday I'll be as rich as you!"

Bill sighed.  He was getting a little upset himself at Jack's attitude.  "Look, Jack, I never stole anything from you.  I never took any opportunities from you.  I'm not responsible for what my grandfather and my father did to your grandfather and father.  I'm innocent!"

Now Jack was really upset.  "I never said you were culpable for what your grandfather and father did!  But, you've gotten the benefit of what they did!  That makes you responsible!  And you've never offered to share any of those benefits with me - benefits which were stolen from my grandfather and cheated from my father, benefits which I would have had and you now have because of what your grandfather and father did to my grandfather and father!  I want you to give those benefits back to me!  At least some of them!  All you've done is preach to me about how I should work hard!"

Jack took a breath, trying to calm himself, then went on.  "Look, Bill, the fact that you aren't stealing from me and aren't cheating me are passive.  They're good.  I'm glad your family has stopped stealing and cheating.  But, they're passive.  You are passively trying to right a wrong from which you have actively benefited.  I want you to be active in trying to right this wrong.  I don't want passive inaction, I want affirmative action!"

Bill looked at Jack, aghast and a little afraid.  "Affirmative action?  Affirmative action!  That would be wrong!"

Bill Clinton's Marital Cheating

If Donald Trump wants to criticize Hillary Clinton because her husband cheated her, because her husband lied about cheating her, or because Hillary Clinton's marriage survived her husband cheating her, I say, "let him."

Politically Incorrect

Being impolite and being politically incorrect are not the same thing.

Being impolite is just being impolite.

Is Hillary Clinton Dishonest?

Hillary Clinton has the reputation of being dishonest.

I submit that reputation is false.

She is not very "transparent."  She is certainly not as "transparent" as some people would like her to be.

But, there is little or no evidence that she is dishonest.

She has been investigated many, many times.  Whitewater.  Benghazi.  Her e-mail server.  There has never been any evidence that she committed a crime and scant evidence that she was not truthful.

What there has been is lots of smoke, generated mostly by the investigators.  But, they have never been able to find any fire.  Not once.

Hillary Clinton has been the subject of lots of allegations in the past three decades or so.  So many that they have left her with the reputation of being dishonest, even without evidence of that dishonesty.  The old saying that "where there's smoke, there must be fire."  But, there just isn't any more evidence of that than there would be with anyone else who had been accused of being dishonest over and over for a long period of time.

Not transparent?  Sure.  Secretive?  Yes.  Dishonest?  No.

Is Donald Trump Telling the Truth?

There are many things Donald Trump has said in the course of his presidential campaign; indeed, in the course of his life.  Each of those things can and should be examined for truthfulness.  But, one of the most famous things he said was about Mexican immigrants to the United States.  So, I will begin by examining those statements.

In his speech announcing that he would run for president of the United States, he said:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.  They’re not sending you.  They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us.  They’re bringing drugs.  They’re bringing crime.  They’re rapists.  And some, I assume, are good people.

“It’s coming from more than Mexico … .  It’s coming from all over South and Latin America … .”

Is this statement true?  I will examine the truthfulness both of his literal words and of his apparent (and generally accepted) meaning.  The reason it is necessary to examine the truthfulness of what he says and what people think he means is that those are often quite different.  For example, in this announcement speech, he didn’t say that all illegal Mexican immigrants were drug users or dealers, criminals, or rapists.  In fact, he didn’t even say that most of them were drug users or dealers, criminals, or rapists.  But, that’s what most people assumed he meant.  This assumption comes from both the context and the tone of what he said, not from his exact words.

So, I will start by examining the truth of the statement based on the actual words, not the generally assumed meaning.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.”  It is impossible to know if this statement is literally true.  For one thing, there can only be one “best,” so Mr. Trump could not have literally meant that the Mexican government did not send their “best” citizen, since he clearly refers to “best” in the plural.  Second, the only people who Mexico verifiably sends are its diplomats.  There is no evidence, at least none that I have been able to find, that Mexico sends anyone other than its diplomats.  So, literally, the question becomes “Are the Mexican diplomats to the United States among Mexico’s best?”

The most obvious Mexican diplomat is the ambassador from Mexico to the United States.  According to Wikipedia, the current ambassador from Mexico to the United States is Miguel Basáñez-Ebergenyi.  The Mexican government pays him $12,114.43 per month for his services.

Again according to Wikipedia, Dr. Basáñez-Ebergenyi holds a Ph.D. in Political Sociology from the London School of Economics in England.  According to the website wes.org, the enrollment rate in college in Mexico in 2011-12 was 32.8%.  I could not find statistics on the number of Mexicans who hold Ph.D.s or those who hold Ph.D.s from foreign universities, but it is safe to assume it is a lot less than 32.8%.  He is married to Tatiana Beltran, who also holds a Ph.D.

“Prior to his appointment as ambassador, Dr. Basáñez-Ebergenyi was an academic who taught classes at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.”  According to their website, Tufts University was established in 1852 and has three campuses in Massachusetts and one in France.  It has 11,767 students, of which 5,847 are graduate students and 1,246 are international.  It has a faculty of 1,423, giving it a faculty to student ratio of approximately 1 to 8.

“Dr. Basáñez-Ebergenyi's career includes work directing public opinion polls both for private firms and for the Mexican government. He is a former President of the World Association for Public Opinion Research and he has also held several positions in the state and federal government in Mexico.

“Additionally, Dr. Basáñez-Ebergenyi has authored, co-authored, and edited 13 books on values, public opinion, and politics.”

Of course, we cannot tell whether Dr. Basáñez-Ebergenyi is literally Mexico’s “best,” but it would be hard to imagine by what standard he would not be considered one of Mexico’s best.

I was unable to find any statistics or data on the characteristics of the other diplomats Mexico sends to the United States, so I was unable to verify whether they were among Mexico’s “best.”  But, I think it is safe to say that Mexico does not intentionally send its “worst” citizens to staff its embassies and consulates in the United States.

So, it is safe to conclude that Mr. Trump’s statement, “[w]hen Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best … ,” is, at the very least, literally misleading.  It is safe to conclude that when Mexico sends its people, they are sending those who they consider to be among their best.

Of course, I don’t believe that’s what he meant, but that’s what he literally said.  It was not literally true.  I believe he knew at the time he said it that it was not literally true.  If he said it intending that people should believe it, it was a lie.

More later.

How It Begins

Hitler did not begin his political career "suggesting" that Germany kill all its Jews.

He began his political career "suggesting" that Germany deport all its Jews.

A conversation with a Trumpeter

True conversation with a Trumpeter (a Donald Trump supporter):

"So, you support Donald Trump?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he's an outsider."

"But, you know he's lying to you, right?"

"Yeah, but so are all the rest."

"So, you'd rather have an outsider lie to you than an insider?"

"Yes."