SYDNEY WILLIAMS: THE MONTH THAT WAS SEPTEMBER 2017
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Hurricanes in the Caribbean and the U.S., earthquakes in Mexico and forest fires out west dominated the news. The New York Times, in reporting on the devastation and sounding like an Old Testament prophet, noted, people could be excused for believing that an angry God (perhaps Al Gore?) had let loose His wrath for destroying what He had created – God, that is, not Al Gore. Hyperbole sells news, so perhaps the folks at the Times could be excused for trying to make an extra buck out of other people’s misery.
Torrents were not limited to Mexico, the Caribbean and the Texas/Florida coasts. At the United Nations, President Trump gave a Reagan-like speech, as he did in Poland. He praised the work of the UN, and cited the principles on which it was founded: “pillars of peace, sovereignty, security and prosperity.” He spoke of its cooperation: “Strong sovereign nations let diverse countries with different values, different cultures and different dreams not just coexist, but work side by side, on the basis of mutual respect.” He reminded those listening that Americans “have paid the ultimate price to defend our freedom and the freedom of many nations represented in this great hall.” He emphasized he was an American leader, not a world leader.
He warned that if the UN is to be an effective partner reform is necessary to confront those who would dismantle the world we know: “Too often the focus of this organization has not been on results, but on bureaucracy and process. In some cases, states that seek to subvert this institution’s noble ends have hijacked the very systems that are supposed to advance them.” He reminded his audience that “some governments with egregious human rights records sit on the Human Rights Council.”
President Trump called out North Korea for what they are, a country that impoverishes its people and risks catastrophe in the Pacific region. Bully’s intimidate, he asserted, and must be confronted. He did add a sentence, the last part of which became headline news in much of the media: “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” Most press accounts left off the final two sentences of the paragraph: “The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. That’s what the United Nations is all about. That’s what the United Nations is for. Let’s see how they do.” Mr. Trump spoke frankly of the Maduro regime in Venezuela, using two of the best sentences in the speech: “The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented. From the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela, whenever true socialism or communism has been adopted, it has delivered anguish and devastation and failure.”
As do many in politics, Mr. Trump has multiple personalities, like Joanne Woodward as Eve in, “Three Faces of Eve,” or the two faces of Janus. He reminds one of Dr. Doolittle’s Pushmi-Pullyu. We do not know which way he is headed. The weekend after his speech to the UN, he became embroiled in an argument with NFL players, who prefer to kneel rather than stand during the National Anthem. Mr. Trump is right about the disrespect they show, but who cares what those morons do? Don’t we have bigger issues, like economic growth; addressing the inequities embedded in the miss-named Affordable Care Act; fixing Dodd-Frank, which has allowed “too-big-to-fail” banks to proliferate, or doing something about our unsustainable debt? Should not tax reform take priority, or the geopolitical concerns in the Middle East and Southeast Asia? Why take on the NFL? My father warned me: never argue with an idiot, for a passerby would be unable to distinguish between the two. The consequence for Mr. Trump was that a great speech disappeared into a miasma of kneeling, self-righteous, juvenile football players.
Like one of its rockets, North Korea rose in the news. In the first of the month they detonated an Atomic bomb estimated at 50 kilotons, four or five times larger than the one that destroyed Hiroshima. In the middle of the month, they launched a missile that flew to a height of 478 miles and traveled 2,300 miles, over Japan and into the Pacific – far enough to reach the U.S. airbase in Guam. In the last days of the month, a war of words broke out, with Donald Trump referring to Kim Jong-un as “Rocket Man,” and Mr. Kim describing Mr. Trump as a “dotard.” The good news was that the Chinese appear to be increasingly concerned about instability on the Korean Peninsula. They instructed their banks to halt new business with North Korea and to unwind old loans, and ordered closure of North Korean businesses in China. The Chinese, above all else, want stability. They do not want hordes of refugees crossing into their country. If they sense the Peninsula is becoming too volatile, they may force regime change.
Angela Merkel won a fourth term, but this time receiving 33% of the vote (versus 41% four years ago). The surprise winner was the far-right party, the AfD (Alternative for Germany), which picked up 13%, or three times what they received in 2013. Nationalism is alive. In Europe, it is seen in the success of far-left and far-right parties, as a reaction to an over-reaching Brussels. In Catalonia, separatists prepared for a possible referendum on October 1. Iraqi Kurds voted overwhelmingly for independence. In Myanmar, a refugee crisis developed, as thousands of Muslim Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh, fleeing their majority-Buddhist homeland. It is estimated that a million Rohingya live (or lived) in Myanmar, where they have been denied citizenship since 1982. Theresa May, giving a speech in Florence regarding Brexit, went “wobbly.” Two earthquakes hit Mexico, with the second killing hundreds in Mexico City.
The U.S. Senate failed to pass health care reform. Tom Price, Secretary of HHS, resigned for excessive use of private jets. Harvey hit the Texas gulf coast, and then Irma crossed over the Keys and swept up the west coast of Florida. Combined, they left 160 dead and an estimated $300 billion in damages. Among the dead in Florida were eight elderly patients who died of heat exhaustion in a nursing home. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It seems Donald Trump was right when he complained that Trump Tower had been bugged. It turns out that Samantha Power, Mr. Obama’s Ambassador to the UN, “unmasked” hundreds of those on the Trump campaign and transition teams, and Susan Rice, former National Security Advisor and dissembler regarding Benghazi and Bowe Bergdahl, eavesdropped on opponents to the Iran deal. Valerie Plame, who rose to prominence on the mistaken accusation that she had been outed as a CIA agent by the Bush Administration, retweeted a “virulently anti-Semitic article by a well-known bigot,” according to Alan Dershowitz.
President Trump rescinded President Obama’s executive order that created DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the “Dreamers.” The status of those who came as children, and who are now in school, college, the military or in jobs, remains unclear. Mr. Trump wants to have Mr. Obama’s executive order converted into Congress-passed legislation. Senator Bob Menendez’ (D-NJ) trial on corruption charges began and is expected to take two months. Former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was found guilty of sexting a fifteen-year-old girl and sentenced to 21 months in prison. The New York Times described him as “teary and chastened.” Really? In Alabama, Ray Moore beat Senator Luther Strange, to win the Republican nomination for Senate.
The U.S. debt ceiling was extended for three months. The Federal Reserve announced they would begin to unwind their balance sheet, and Stanley Fischer resigned as the Fed’s Vice Chair. In a nine-page outline that disclosed little, Mr. Trump unveiled his tax reform package. The Economist reported that Australia had completed its 104th consecutive quarter of economic growth – a modern record among OECD nations. Rolling Stone is being sold by Jann Wenner, the magazine’s founder and publisher. Toys ‘r Us filed for bankruptcy. Facebook, a company that last year had revenues of $27.6 billion, is facing charges that it accepted $150,000 in ad revenues from Russia. Second quarter GDP was revised up for the second time, to 3.1%. Household net worth in the U.S. rose two percent in the second quarter to a record $96.2 trillion. That sounds like a lot, until one realizes how concentrated it is. Median household net worth is $121,000. Bitcoin prices, which began the year at $968.23, began the month of September at $4,718.70. The price closed Friday at 4,165.51 – the first (I believe) down month this year. Stocks were modestly higher for the month – giving us the longest quarterly win-streak in twenty years. U.S. Treasuries were essentially flat. Gold, which has had a good year, closed the month with a small loss. Market volatility remained low.
At the U.S. Open, an unranked American, Sloane Stephens, defeated her team mate Madison Kemp, in straight sets. Thirty-one-year old Rafael Nadal won in straight sets over South African Kevin Anderson. This was Nadal’s 16th career grand slam and third U.S. Open win. The Cleveland Indians set an American League record with 22 consecutive wins. And Yankee, Aaron Judge set a record, on September 25th, for the most home runs – 50 – for a rookie.
In other news, Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled his vision for a bigger, more powerful EU and said Britain would regret leaving. Of course, embedded in his braggadocio was the reason Britain voted to exit. The conservative mayor of the Belgian city of Mouscron was found in a cemetery with his throat slit. Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and future Queen of England, announced she will be having a third child. Rare, white giraffes were cited in Kenya. The IOC selected Paris to host the 2024 Olympics. After thirteen years of exploring the moons around Saturn, NASA’s spacecraft Cassini, came to a planned end, in a blaze of burning plastic and aluminum, as it plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere. A report from Germany reflected the cultural challenges facing the West: Between 2010 and 2015, 1.4 million more Christians died in Germany than were born. In 2016, 537 Catholic parishes were closed. In contrast, the number of mosques rose from 700 in the 1980s to 2,300 in 2009. Muslims in Europe are younger, more religious and have higher birthrates than average Europeans. Saudi women were granted permission to drive, starting in June, but will still need their husband’s permission to open a bank account.
Transgender Chelsea Manning, former U.S. Army private and convicted felon for illegally releasing State and Defense Department documents, was named a “visiting fellow” at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. The offer was rescinded when his appointment outraged others. However, she was still invited to lecture. Hillary Clinton released her book What Happened? to yawns. Oberlin College, according to its student newspaper, is missing its enrollment target by about eighty students. Was that a testament to rising costs, diminishing returns for graduates, political correctness, or a lack of diversity of thought on college campuses? Mayor Bill de Blasio easily won re-nomination. Eleven-year-old Frank Giaccio wrote to the President, offering his lawn mowing services. Mr. Trump took him up, and Frank mowed the Rose Garden lawn. “A great job!’ Mr. Trump said.
Death took Liliane Bettencourt, the world’s richest woman (heiress to L’Oreal), at age 94. Penny Chenery, owner of Secretariat, died at 95. Jake LaMotta, heavyweight champion from 1949-1951, also died at 95. We lost two writers – J.P. Donleavy, author of Ginger Man, who died at 91 and Lillian Ross, who wrote “Talk of the Town” pieces for The New Yorker, at 99. Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, died at 91. And a good friend from Old Lyme, Ed Wolcott, World War II Army Air Corps pilot and hero, died at age 95.
We move on to October, a month that begins with leafs green and ends with limbs clean.
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