CWAA: Can We All Agree – 10/8/16 edition
October 8, 2016
Can we all agree we’re not really that surprised by the latest tape revealing Donald Trump’s attitude toward women?
Can we all agree Mr. Trump’s non-apology, apology will become a classic in future public relations manuals?
Can we all agree Mr. Trump’s comments will easily bury the leaked details of Hillary Clinton’s paid speeches to Wall Street?
Can we all agree, the fact that the speech transcripts were taken from hacked emails, hurts their credibility, but adds to the US contention that Russia is trying to influence the election?
Can we all agree Sunday night’s debate is really Mr. Trump’s last, slim chance to show non-supporters that he has anything approaching a presidential temperament?
Can we all agree the latest revelations might derail Mr. Trump’s already derailed new focus on policy?
Can we all agree there was no shortage of outrageous statements this week even before the latest revelations?
Can we all agree that by the end of the week we didn’t even remember fundraising activities by Mr. Trump’s foundation were closed down by the New York Attorney General?
Can we all agree the makers of the Epipen may think their $465 settlement with Medicare is not a guilty finding, but given their previous actions, most folks know they are guilty of something?
Can we all agree 156,000 new jobs may be tepid growth, but at least it’s still growth?
Can we all agree no one really understands the sudden ‘scary clown’ epidemic but school administratrors all over they country have been forced to assure parents that the situation is under control?
Can we all agree it’s good news to see that the Paris climate accord will take effect, despite what the US Congress thinks about global warming?
Can we all agree it seems Vladimir Putin’s plan to take over Syria while we are occupied with our election seems to be succeeding and the people of Aleppo are paying the price?
Can we all agree it’s hard for the rest of the world to understand how a country can vote against peace, but the Colombian president still deserves the Nobel Peace Prize?
Can we all agree even The NSA seems a little confused about whether they have arrested a spy or just someone who likes to hoard information?
Can we all agree, at this point, no-one even cares what happened at the vice presidential debate earlier this week?
Can we all agree, Yahoo seems to be trying to commit business suicide but agreeing to scan its users’ emails for the government?
Can we all agree, just when you think the President of the Philippines has insulted every world leader, he finds a new way to prove he has no business leading a Democratic country?
Can we all agree we have a few of our own unqualified elected officials?
Can we all agree there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of enthusiasm for Google’s newly announced smart phone?
Can we all agree Fox News’s attempt at humor by stereotyping Asian Americans was disturbing – mainly because no one at the network realized how insulting it was?
and finally, two feel-good stories:
One about a 113 year-old man having his bar mitzvah and another of heart felt appreciation during the most unimaginable tragedy.
Can We All Agree – 11/21/15 edition
November 21, 2015
Can we all agree that an ISIS- Al Qaeda rivalry is not good news for anyone?
Can we all agree that we’re thrilled to know that despite the Paris attacks Boko Haram maintained their first place standing in the terrorist rankings by murdering the most people over the last year?
Can we all agree that the Mali attack shows just how vulnerable the world is to terrorism? As if we didn’t already know.
A Mali hostage is helped to safety. (Star-Tribune photo)
Can we all agree that the GOP has taken scare tactics to new level as they debate restrictions on Syrian immigrants?
Can we all agree that the GOP candidates are even worse?
Can we all agree that Donald Trump has created a whole new category for himself?
Can we all agree that those supporting the effective end to any immigration seem to have forgotten how the Jews were not allowed to emigrate before WWII or how the Japanese were interned illegally in 1942?
Can we all agree that by their reasoning, since several of the Paris terrorists were French or Belgium citizens, we should no longer allow anyone from France or Belgium into the country either?
Can we all agree that there is a bit of inconsistency in claiming to worry about the safety of Americans but refusing to stand up to the NRA and pass meaningful gun legislation?
Can we all agree that the folks in Sandy Hook, CT or Aurora, CO must be thrilled to know they will be safer because no Syrian refugees will be allowed to come to the United States.
Can we all agree that President Obama erred badly by just rejecting the the GOP bill without engaging in any meaningful negotiations to craft a bill he might have been able to support, or ignore?
Can we all agree that the GOP has managed to turn the immigration debate to their advantage?
Can we all agree that when the Paris attacks fade from voters’ memory by Christmas, they will be right back where they started?
Can we all agree that the CIA and FBI and trying to use the same scare tactics to force US companies to alter their encryption policies?
Can we all agree that the campus ‘free speech’ movement has now officially become counter productive as students try to use sit-ins and demonstrations to object to policies they simply do not agree with?
Can we all agree that it is remarkable that for the first time the number of Mexicans leaving the US has surpassed the number trying to get in? Guess we won’t need that wall after all.
Can we all agree that when California lawmakers feel they must visit Hawaii for a conference to study the state’s problems they are just adding to their own poor image?
Can we all agree that, given this week’s news, no-one noticed that we have one less GOP Presidential candidate?
Can we all agree that when the newest Star Wars movie, which has not even been released, has already grossed $50 million in ticket sales, its safe to safe it’s going to be a hit – even if it’s a bad movie.
George Lucas and the poster for the newest Star Wars movie sells $50million in advanced tickets, it just might be a hit?
Can we all agree that we’re starting to tire of all the El Nino stories? In the last month, it’s already rained more in California that it has for the last two years.
Can we all agree that CNN is being a bit self serving in suspending a news anchor for a tweet?
Can we all agree that convicted spy Jonathan Pollard should just be allowed to move to Israel?
Can we all agree that the debate over genetically modified food will heat up again now that the FDA has allowed genetically altered salmon to be sold?
Can we all agree that the Egyptian government seems to be the only body which refuses to admit that a bomb brought down the Russian airliner?
Can we all agree that the least newsworthy story of the week was the news that Charlie Sheen is HIV positive?
Can We All Agree – 11/15/15 edition
November 15, 2015
Can we all agree that maybe the Paris terrorists’ attacks will create a unified world response, rather than an American response? The Russians certainly realize they can be targeted too.
Can we all agree that Hillary certainly did not ‘win’ last night’s Democratic debate, but it may not make any difference?
Candles honor the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks (NYT photo)
Can we all agree that every time we think the GOP Presidential campaign has reached a new low, the candidates take it down another notch?
Can we all agree that Donald Trump’s latest diatribes are really hurting his effort?
Can we all agree that the Koch Brother’s decision not to back any GOP primary candidates speaks volumes about the quality of the candidates?
Can we all agree that political junkies are salivating at the prospect of the first brokered convention since 1976?
Can we all agree that the most recent GOP debate at least contained some substance although the fact checkers were working overtime?
Can we all agree that, while there is room for debate about the cause of the economic calamity left over from the last President Bush, every time Job brings up the topic he just reminds people of the Great Recession Obama has had to fix?
Can we all agree that Marco Rubio is finding out why sitting on the fence can be so painful?
Can we all agree that with the debates we’ve already had, both Democrat and Republican, most voters have enough information to choose a candidate?
Can we all agree that while the opposition has officially won the election in Myanmar, Aung San Suu khi , is sounding a bit like a dictator?
Can we all agree that the Utah judge who first took an infant from a foster home headed by gay parents, he should not be congratulated for correcting his own ill-considered mistake?
Can we all agree that war journalism has entered new phase when it means reports on downed airliners, drone assassinations, and attacks on outdoor cafes?
Can we all agree that it appears California will once again be entering the ranks of states which execute convicted murders?
Can we all agree that it’s good news that smoking in the United States has reached a new low?
Can we all agree that the Rose Bowl Parade will be much different this year now that it has the ‘Ken Burns effect?’
How the Sierra’s should look this year
Can we all agree that football programs all over the country are worried, now that players from the University of Missouri have forced the resignation of the school’s top administrators?
Can we all agree that the Starbucks Christmas cup controversy is beyond absurd?
Can we all agree that the President’s Supreme Court appeal of his immigration orders is a no-lose proposition for him? Either he wins, and immigrants have one more reason to vote for Democrats, or he loses and the public is reminded how the GOP has refused to deal with the issue.
Can we all agree that the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a Texas abortion case sets the stage for Roe v. Wade part II?
Can we all agree that Russian attempts to deny their Olympic athletes were using performance enhancing drugs, as part of a state sponsored program, are falling on deaf ears? Although the Olympic committee has already provided them with a roadmap to avoid disqualification from the 2016 Olympics.
Can we all agree that it’s good news when the California ski season opens early for the first time in years?
Can We All Agree – 11/14/15 edition
November 14, 2015
San Francisco City Hall, lit in the colors of the French flag.
Can we all agree that the carnage in Paris will bring the war on terror to a whole new level?
Somehow it seems obscene to include commentary on last night’s events in Paris with Donald Trump’s latest irrational diatribe, so I will delay my regular column of “Can We All Agree” until tomorrow.
We are all Parisians