Frankly Scarlett

For a moment there, I thought a breath of fresh air was finally flowing out of Hollywood. Unfortunately, the moment passed.
 
Saturday morning, it was reported that actress Scarlett Johansson was fed up with political correctness in American film making.

"I should be allowed to play any person," she said. "or any tree, or any animal because that is my job and the requirements of my job." She went on to say that, "art should be free of restrictions."

The comments gained power when one considered that Johansson has recently received more than her share of criticism for accepting the role of a transgender man in the yet-to-be created film, "Rub and Tug." She later declined the role after sometimes harsh feedback from the LGBT community.

She had earlier been criticized for her role as a cyber-enhanced woman, in the film "Ghost in the Shell," a role that first appeared in Japanese manga and therefore, in some people's eyes, should have gone to an Asian.

But, at least on Saturday morning, it appeared that Johansson was turning her back on such nonsense when she said she should be able to allowed to play any role she wished. It was, I believed, a perfectly logical statement, because I have news for everyone. When it comes to movies, IT'S ALL MAKE BELIEVE!  Linda Hunt wasn't really a man when she played Billy Kwan in "The Year of Living Dangerously" and Rod Steiger wasn't really an Italian dictator when he starred in "Last Days of Benito Mussolini."

Johansson seemed to be standing proud.

What a difference a day can make. By Sunday, she was apologizing. Speaking through a representative, Johansson was saying that her comments had been "edited for click bait," and "widely taken out of context."

She said, "I personally feel that, in an ideal world, any actor should be able to play anybody and art, in all forms, should be immune to political correctness" So far, so good. But then she went on to offer a mea culpa. "I recognize that in reality, there is widespread discrepancy amongst my industry that favors Caucasian, cis-gendered actors and that not every actor has been given the same opportunities that I have been privileged to."

Is that really how she speaks? I believe I sense the intrusion of handlers and agents.

But, none-the-less, she put her name to the statements, so let them stand on their own.

I still give Johansson partial credit for trying to make a stand against political correctness, that cancer that's eating away at art and freedom of expression. If she had left off the apologizes, I would have given her full credit.

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RETIREMENT I LEARNED FROM MY DOGS (with apologies to Robert Fulghum)

Since retiring, I've had the blessing of being able to spend more time with my three dogs. I have learned a great deal from their company, especially in regards to leisure time. I have learned:

1) Be happy with the basics of life: food, water, a warm place to sleep, a yard to play in, and someone to keep you company.
2) A tennis ball is a lot of fun to play with.
3) Always be ready for something exciting to happen (such as the mailman arriving).
4) Always greet your loved ones when they arrive, even if they just left five minutes ago.
5) Let the world know how you feel. When you're angry, growl. When you're sad, whine. And when you're happy, stand on your hind legs and dance around.
                                                                   and finally:
6) When in doubt, take a nap.

UP AGAINST A WALL

When it comes to the current federal government shutdown, there's definitely enough blame to go around.

Trump wants his border wall and the Democrats in congress ... well, the Democrats just want to make Trump back down. Democrats have voted for border walls in the past, under previous administrations. But now they are determined to make Trump look bad, and in the process they have turned their backs on the Dreamers. These are, of course, the illegal immigrants who were brought to this country while still children, some while still infants. They have grown up in this country; some don't speak Spanish.

The Democrats have, in the past, said they want to help these Dreamers and now would be the perfect opportunity for the Democrats to "walk the walk." Trump apparently is willing to compromise: a six billion dollar wall for permanent residency for the Dreamers. To most logical Americans, that seems to be a fair trade.

But the Democrats have not even put that offer on the table.

And this, I'm afraid, is evidence of the worst problem with most politicians. They are more concerned with making the other side look bad, and with being reelected, than they are with actually accomplishing something.

So, for the foreseeable future, Trump's wall will stay unbuilt, the Dreamers will stay in residency limbo, and the federal government will stay partially closed. It's a sad state of affairs.

A RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING OPPORTUNITY TO HELP VIETNAM VETERANS

The 115th Congress is drawing to a close and with it an opportunity for the Senate to help Vietnam Veterans. The House unanimously pass HR 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, but the Senate has yet to act.

It is my understanding that the head of the Veteran's Affairs Committee, Sen. Johnny Isakson, has been in negotiations with Robert Wilkie, head of the Dept. of Veteran's Affairs. It's time to bring those fruitless negotiations to a close. Wilkie is against the bill and is not likely to be convinced otherwise.

There are, I believe, enough votes to move the bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor. Once there, I believe, there are enough votes to not only pass the bill, but enough to override any potential presidential veto.

It's time for the Senate to act.

THE BLUE WATER NAVY AND AGENT ORANGE

As we celebrate Veteran's Day and the 100th anniversary of World War I's end, we need to pause a moment and remember that justice has yet to be done for one group of U.S. veterans - the men who served in the Tonkin Gulf during the Vietnam War.

H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives in June, but has stalled in the Senate. This sad event is largely the result of the Trump administration. Paul Lawrence, the Veterans Administration undersecretary for benefits testified against the bill at an August 1 Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing. The bill has since been stuck in committee.

H.R. 299 would extend Agent Orange disability benefits and health care to men who served aboard ships off the coast of Vietnam. Such benefits have already been granted to soldiers who served on land during the Vietnam War, but has been denied to those sailors who never touched shore, but who are now suffering from the effects of Agent Orange, a herbicide used during the war to defoliate the jungles and forests in Vietnam.

Although they never came ashore, these sailors were exposed primarily by their drinking water which was drawn and desalinated from the Gulf itself, the same gulf that contained Agent Orange from the Vietnam river system and from wind borne contamination.

I urge all Americans to contact their senators and urge them to move H.R. 299 out of committee and onto the Senate floor and, once there, to approve the bill.

DIVIDED GOVERNMENT. A GOOD THING?

Amidst all the recent bad news and pessimism, there may (and I emphasize the word "may") be a bit of good political news on the horizon. We may be heading toward a divided federal government, where the US president and at least one house of congress are controlled by different political parties.

FiveThirtyEight, a feature on the ABC News website, predicts with a relatively high degree of certainty that after the upcoming November 6 midterm election, Democrats will control the House of Representatives, while Republicans will retain control of the Senate. With Republican President Donald Trump heading the executive branch, this will definitely fulfill the definition of "divided government."

And why is this a good thing?  Two words, "balanced budget." The last time we had a run of balanced budgets was 1998 to 2001, all presented by Democratic President Bill Clinton while under the constitutional restraint of a Republican House and Senate. It seems divided governments are capable of doing what single party governments (where the president and congress are both controlled by one political party) are not.

Of course, it doesn't always work. Democratic President Barack Obama had the Republicans in charge of at least one house of congress for the majority of his presidency, yet he never presented a balanced budget.  However, at least in recent US history, a balanced budget has never been presented and approved by a single party government.

Now, I may be grasping at straws here, but I'm determined to find optimism where I can. Perhaps, with President Trump and a Republican Senate stopping new, expensive programs from starting up, and a Democratic House stopping expensive tax cuts, we can at least move in the correct economic direction: toward a balanced federal budget.

ANOTHER CASUALTY IN THE PC WAR

NBC News host Megyn Kelly appears to be on her way to unemployment and, once again, it's over on-air, politically incorrect comments.

Kelly said that, back when she was a kid, wearing blackface was okay "as long as you were dressing up as a character." She also defended Luann de Lesseps, of the Real Housewives of New York, who may have darkened her skin, and who definitely wore an oversized Afro wig, when she dressed up as Diana Ross.

Those opinions, apparently, were enough to get Kelly fired. She had, in the NBC executives' eyes, committed an unpardonable sin. She had voiced PC heresy.

Kelly apologized, twice. Once by text and once on-air. The latter was in front of a live audience who gave her a standing ovation.

It was not enough for the people in power. What could have been a learning moment became another attempt to squelch debate and silence someone with an unpopular opinion.