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jgthirlwell · 4 years

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2019 year in review

This year I also invited some friends and colleagues to reflect on 2019

JG Thirlwell

Composer Foetus Xordox Manorexia Steroid Maximus Venture Bros Archer

www.foetus.org

30 Albums of 2019 (although not all of them came out in 2019) Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble Where Future Unfolds (International Anthem) Le Grand Sbam Vaisseau Monde (Dur et Doux Caravaggio Caravaggio 2 & Turn Up (La Buissonne) Swans Leaving Meaning (Young God Records) 13 Million Year Old Ghost (Chaykin) Ben Frost Dark Cycles 1 & 2 (Invada) Sote Parallel Persia / Sacred Horror In Design (Diagonal) 33EMYBW Arthropods (SVBKVLT) Anna Meredith Fibs (Moshi Moshi) Kelly Moran Ultraviolet (Warp) Thom Yorke Anima (XL) Hildur Guðnadóttir Joker Soundtrack (Water Tower Music) Lingua Ignota Caligula (Profound Lore) Igorr Savage Synusoid (Metal Blade) Oli XL Rogue intruder Soul Enhancer (Blo-onm) Red Fang Murder The Mountains (Relapse) Michael Kiwanuka Kiwanuka (Polydor) Richard Dawson 2020 (Weird World) Idiot Flesh Fancy / The Nothing Show / Tales Of Instant Knowledge and Sure Death (YouTube) Ikarus Echo / Mosaiasmic (Ronin Rhythm Records) Poil Sus / Mula Poil (Dur et Doux) Orange Goblin A Eulogy For The Damned (Candlelight) Nivhek After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house (Yellow Electric) Ni Pantophobie (Due et Doux) Andrew WK You’re Not Alone (Sony) Rustin Man Drift Code (Domino) Kishi Bashi Omoiyari (Joful Noise) Liturgy HAQQ (YLYLCYN) Croatian Amor Isa (Posh Isolation) Schnellertollermeier Rights / X / Zorn einen ehmer üttert stem!! (Cuneiform) Scandinavian Star Solas (Posh Isolation) Synth Sisters Euphoria (EM records) JPEGMAFIA Veteran + All My Heroes Are Cornballs (EQT)

Notable Concerts I went to dozens of concerts and events in 2019. Here are some of the most notable. All in NYC except where noted.

Jan 8 Matt Marks Tribute at Protoype Festival. Roulette Jan 19 Lemon Twigs MHOW Jan 26 Julia Wolfe / NY Philharmonic Fire In My Mouth Lincoln Center Feb 16 Lucretia Dalt Issue Project Room Feb 23 Willliam Basinski Ambient Church Mar 13 Lou Reed Drones St John The Divine Mar 18 This Heat LPR + July 31 at Elsewhere Mar 20 Oran Ambarchi Fridman Gallery Mar 28 Fire! at Zurcher April 11 Aphex Twin Avant Gardner May 4 Zombi El Cortez May 11 Lawrence English Knockdown Center May 13 The Who + Orchestra Madison Square Garedn May 15 Alva Noto Metropolitan Museum June 11 Andrew Cyrille Marathon Roulette June 13 Christeene / Nastie Band Brooklyn Bazaar June 26 Simon Hanes National Sawdust July 27 Nick Zinner 41 Strings Rockefeller Center July 30 Flaming Lips / Lennon Claypool Delirium Capitol Theater Portchester Aug 2-4 Bang On A Can LOUD Festival Mass MOCA Notth Adams Aug 27 Pharmakon St Vitus Sep 5 JD Emmanuel Issue / First Unitarian Church Sep 18 Lingua Ignota St Vitus Set 21 King Crimson Radio City Oct 10 Melvins Warsaw Oct 19 Helm Cafe Oto Nov 1 Marc Almond Brooklyn Bazaar Nov 6 JPEGMAFIA Bowery Ballroom Nov 23 Caterina Barbieri Unsound Fest, Knockdown Center Nov 30 Knower Bowery Ballroom

Film & TV These films were flawed but resonated with me.

Chernobyl Ozark Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Joker Midsommar The Irishman Uncut Gems

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Matt Johnson

The The https://www.thethe.com/

Looking back on 2019 I decided to list a handful of political / alternative news websites rather than films, albums or books. In the UK the corporate media stooped to shocking new lows during our recent General Election campaign. Such dirty tactics are to be expected of conglomerates owned by the likes of Rupert Murdoch and his fellow right wing billionaires but this time around, previously ‘liberal’ outlets such as the BBC and Guardian also fully participated in the outrageous lies, smears and character assassination against the leader of the opposition Labour Party. The British population were now being forced fed the Establishment’s propaganda du jour from every possible direction. Personally I try to gather my information from as many alternative outlets as possible to contrast with the 24 hour corporate brainwashing we’re subjected to these days. I’ve listed just five sites from the dozens I regularly visit and although I certainly don’t agree with everything expressed on these sites I do feel that it essential that in supposed free and democratic societies we are at least exposed to a variety of viewpoints and opinions - rather than being trapped inside social media echo chambers in an Internet that is increasingly controlled and censored by sophisticated algorithms and where politically correct digital lynch mobs accuse anyone with an opinion that contradicts the official narrative of being a Russian agent! Anyway, a Happy New Year to you all and here’s hoping 2020 sets the new decade off in roaring style!

https://www.medialens.org/

https://www.truthdig.com/author/chris_hedges/

https://www.corbettreport.com/

https://thesaker.is/

https://thoughtmaybe.com/about/

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Tristan Perich

Composer www.tristanperich.com

Here is a rather random selection of 10 of my favorite tracks of 2019, mostly courtesy Spotify recommendations over the year...

Full playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6OUSFLqLsAwhRQRF44yxWN?si=r33XRUuGR_iIOZHg4thuyA

Lechuga Zafiro: Para Abajo feat Matmos & Seba TC https://open.spotify.com/track/2xMnSTIBNZ8AT6w6TdZyU9

Kelpe: A Year and a Day https://open.spotify.com/track/4ANoLzEjtGOBl5qCvEiLov

Shida Shahabi: All In Circles https://open.spotify.com/track/5qMnq88JPMJQ81x5szpN3t

The Vernon Spring: Strength of a Young Man https://open.spotify.com/track/0zQUqR1UcXoPRSrTt0WuPs

Dessert: Thunderbird https://open.spotify.com/track/5rAguSvXxyo5zBq9a5RQWd

Yves V w/ Icona Pop: We Got That Cool (Robert Falcon & Jordan Jay Remix) https://open.spotify.com/track/1lEtudJvZNiibWzXc5m4mh

Selena Gomez: Look At Her Now https://open.spotify.com/track/4yI3HpbSFSgFZtJP2kDe5m

Masahiro Sugaya: Umi No Sunatsubu https://open.spotify.com/track/43egCanD1UNNvoCo2K4veC

Konradsen: Baby Hallelujah https://open.spotify.com/track/6TBnYhxTzSiiVmMBjpZ3gH

Slow Magic: Girls (DJ Clap Remix) https://open.spotify.com/track/31Sdj7aF1h4emCJtkxdy1A

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James Ilgenfritz

Composer https://infrequentseams.com/

James Ilgenfritz's favorite witnessed events, by month:

Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future (January, Guggenheim) Anaïs Maviel: who is this ritual for and from? (February, Roulette) Roscoe MItchell, SPACE, Wavefield Ensemble (March, Park Avenue Armory) Blank Forms: Nadah El Shazly (April, Brooklyn Music School) Barre Phillips Solo (May, Zurcher Gallery) Heiner Goebbels: Everything That Happened And Would Happen (June, Park Avenue Armory) Zodiac Saxophone Quartet: Charles Waters, Ras Moshe Burnett, Claire Daly, Lee Odom (July, Scholes St) Tie: Judith Berkson: Partial Memories & Juho Laitinen: Robert Ashley's The Wolfman (August, Ostrava Days, Czech Republic) Zeena Parkins / William Winant / Ikue Mori (September, The Stone) Vinnie Golia / Bobby Bradford Quartet (October, Edgefest in Ann Arbor) LA Philharmonic: Wubbels, Macklay, Sabat, Smith, Perich (Los Angeles, November) Art Ensemble Of Chicago (December, Washington, DC)

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Carl Michael Von Hausswolff

Artist / Composer

https://cmvonhausswolff.net/

10 special artists of 2019 in no specific order: • Hildur Guðnadóttir - her film music • sunn o))) - their Life Metal and Pyroclasts albums • Ilpo Väisänen - his concert in Stockholm • Cindy van Acker - her choreographic work • Jónsi & Alex - their old Riceboy Sleeps album and 2019 tour • Swans - their leaving meaning album • Flowers Must Die - their Där Blommor Dör album • Bigert & Bergström - their climate awareness art • Vanessa Sinclair & Carl Abrahamsson - all their work during 2019 • Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Tim Story - their Lunz 3 album

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Ryan Martin

Label Boss, Dais Records

www.daisrecords.com

Richard Youngs & Raül Refree "All Hands Around the Monument" Sarah Davachi "Pale Bloom" James Hoff "HOBO UFO (v. Chernobyl)" Wojciech Rusin ‎"The Funnel" Caterina Barbieri "Ecstatic Computation" Solange "When I Get Home" Kali Malone "The Sacrificial Code" Deathprod "Occulting Disk" Vatican Shadow "Kuwaiti Airforce" Ben Vida "Reducing The Tempo To Zero" JPEGMAFIA "All My Heroes Are Cornballs" Dean Hurley "Anthology Resource Vol. II: Philosophy of Beyond" Sean McCann "Puck" Oren Ambarchi "Simian Angel" Tyler, The Creator "IGOR" Helm "Chemical Flowers" JAB "Erg Herbe" Emptyset "Blossoms" E-Saggila "My World, My Way" Jacob Kirkegaard "Black Metal Square" Boy Harsher "Careful"

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Weasel Walter

Composer/performer / label head https://weaselwalter.bandcamp.com/

2019 was far from my favorite year. Regardless, I managed to release not one, but two new double albums by The Flying Luttenbachers (as well as two European tours with the unit) in addition to the usual slew of improvised music gigs and releases, and co-ordinating and producing an archival release of vintage NYC weirdness (Ozone). I also rocked Mexico City with Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, played a ridiculous gig with Encenathrakh, and disbanded Cellular Chaos (for now, at least).

When I become obsessed (or re-obsessed with something), it usually leads to a ton of proselytizing Facebook status posts. Combing my 2019 posts, it seems that my musical obsessions this year weren't very highbrow. Ha ha ha. Yes, I'm super into Xenakis, Cecil Taylor and whatever else, but dumber music can supply great creature comfort, and I guess I needed that in large amounts, so that's what it was. Sometimes badass modernists have to take time out to stay in bed all day and read comics because it's a hard cold world out there.

Weasel Walter top 10 musical obsessions of 2019 1. Kid Creole and the Coconuts (1980-1985 era) 2. Redd Kross 3. The Saints "I'm Stranded" 4. Jane Aire and the Belvederes 5. Miles Davis 1972-1975 6. Khanate "Things Viral 7. Mandy Zone & Ozone "Live at Max's Kansas City 1981" 8. Mayhem "Grand Declaration of War" 9. Comedy Bang Bang Episode #554 w/ Middleditch, Sanz 10. Weezer "Pinkerton"

Weasel Walter worst thing about 2019

1. Windows 10

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C.Spencer Yeh

Composer / Performer https://twitter.com/cspenceryeh?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Ten live music highlights of 2019 - The Brandon Lopez Trio (Lopez/Steve Baczkowski/Gerald Cleaver) at Fridman Gallery, June 18 - DeForrest Brown Jr., Pennies From Heaven series at CONTROL, January 15 - Charmaine Lee, Nothing Changes at Saint Vitus, January 30 - Bloodyminded at Apartment 202, December 14 - Longmont Potion Castle live QnA, Spectacle Theater, March 23 - Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society, Roulette, July 1 - Helm, Elsewhere, September 21 - Korn, Radiohead, Red Light District, October 26 - Mdou Moctar, Max Fish, September 1 - Mayo Thompson plays "Corky's Debt to His Father," Le Poisson Rouge, December 8

Speed round – five various still on the mind at the end of 2019 - Charlotte Moorman / Nam June Paik long sleeve t-shirt, Boot Boyz - Acacia leaf omelet and shrimp in sour curry, Jitlada, Los Angeles - Lynnée Denise, presentation for Omniaudience (Side Two) presented by Triple Canopy/Nikita Gale/Hammer Museum at Coaxial Arts, May 4 - PARASITE (2019) - ANIARA (2018)

Also, Spectacle Theater turns ten in 2020 and you should really come visit us.

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DJ Food

Artist / composer / DJ / curator

www.djfood.org

Music / podcasts: Pye Corner Audio - Hollow Earth LP (Ghost Box) Various - Corroded Circuits EP 12" (Downfall Recordings) Chris Moss Acid - Heavy Machine 12" (Balkan Vinyl) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Fishing For Fishes LP (Flightless) Pictogram - Trace Elements cassette (Miracle Pond) Vanishing Twin - The Age of Immunology LP (Fire Records) Big Mouth podcast (various) (Acast) Beans - Triptych LP (Gamma Proforma) Roisin Murphy - Incapable single (Skint) Ebony Steel Band - Pan Machine LP (Om Swagger) People Like Us - The Mirror LP (Discrepant) Coastal County - Coastal County LP (Lomas) Adam Buxton podcast (various) (Acast) Ghost Funk Orchestra - A Song For Paul LP (Karma Chief) Jon Brooks - Emotional Freedom Techniques LP (Cafe Kaput) King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Organ Farmer (from Infest the Rat's Nest LP) (Flightless) Jane Weaver - Fenella LP (Fire Records) Polypores - Brainflowers cassette (Miracle Pond)

Design / packaging: Pepe Deluxé - The Surrealist Woman lathe cut 7" (Catskills) Various - Science & Technology ERR Rec Library Vol.2 (ERR Records) DJ Pierre presents ACID 88 vol. III LP (Afro Acid) Mark Ayres plays Wendy Carlos - Kubrick 7" (Silva Screen) Tomorrow Syndicate - Citizen Input 10" (Polytechnic Youth) The Utopia Strong - S/T LP (Rocket Recordings) Jarvis - Sunday Service LP (ACE records) Andy Votel - Histoire D'Horreur cassette (Hypocrite?) Sculpture - Projected Music 5" zoetrope picture disc (Psyché Tropes) Lapalux - Amnioverse LP (Brainfeeder) Hieroglyphic Being - Synth Expressionism / Rhythmic Cubism LP (On The Corner Records)

Film / TV: Sculpture - Meeting Our Associates (Plastic Infinite) This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC) Avengers: Endgame (Disney/Marvel) Imaginary Landscapes - Sam Campbell (Vinyl Factory) What We Do In The Shadows (BBC2) The Mandalorian (Disney+)

Books / Comics / Magazines: Beastie Boys Book - Mike Diamond & Adam Horowitz (Spiegel & Grau) Cosmic Comics - A Kevin O'Neill Miscellany (Hibernia Books) Electronic Sound magazine (Pam Com. Ltd) Moebius - 40 Days In The Desert (expanded edition) (Moebius Productions) Rock Graphic Originals - Peter Golding w. Barry Miles (Thames & Hudson) 2000AD / Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) Silver Surfer Black - Donny Cates/Tradd Moore (Marvel) Help - Simon Amstell (Square Peg) The Scarfolk Annual - Richard Littler (William Collins) Wrappers Delight - Jonny Trunk (Fuel)

Gigs / Events: Vanishing Twin @ Prince of Wales Pub, Brighton Stereolab @ Concorde 2, Brighton People's Vote March 23rd March, London Wobbly Sounds book launch @ Spiritland, London Confidence Man @ The Electric, Brixton, London Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul Festival, Moseley, Birmingham Bluedot Festival, Jodrell Bank, Manchester HaHa Sounds Collective play David Axelrod's Earth Rot @ Tate Exchange, London School of Hypnosis play In C @ Cafe Oto, London Palace Electrics, Antenna Studios, London The Delaware Road, New Zealand Farm, Salisbury Breaking Convention closing party, Greenwich, London Jonny Trunk & Martin Green's Hidden Library @ Spiritland, Southbank, London Negativland / People Like Us @ Cafe Oto, London HaHa Sound Collective plays the David Axelrod songbook @ The Church of Sound, London, Sculpture, Janek Schaefer, Mariam Rezaei + the 26 turntable ensemble @ The Old Baths, Hackney, London Vanishing Twin & Jane Weaver's Fenella @ Studio 9294, Hackney Wick, London

Exhibitions: Sister Corita Kent @ House of Illustration, London, Augustinbe Kofie @ Stolen Space, London, Victor Vasarely @ Pompidou Centre, Paris, Mary Quant @ V&A Museum, London, Stanley Kubrick @ The Design Museum, London, Tim Hunkin's Novelty Automation Museum, London, Keith Haring retrospective @Tate, Liverpool, Nam June Paik, Tate Modern, London, Takis @ Tate Modern, London, Shepard Fairy @ Stolen Space, London, Damien Hirst 'Mandalas' at the White Cube, London, Bridget Riley @ The Hayward, London, Museum of Neo-liberalism, Lewisham, London.

#playlist #DJ Food #JG Thirlwell #C.Spencer Yeh #Weasel Walter #Ryan Martin #dais records #Carl Michael Von Hausswolff #James Ilgenfritz #Matt Johnson #The THe #Tristan Perich #2019 year in review

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imagines-so-what-if · 6 years

Text

O is for Opportunity of Parenthood

Headcanons for Sherlock, Mycroft, and Moriarty

The prompt: How are they as parents?

Genre: Fluff / Humor

Rating: K+

SHERLOCK MASTERLIST

Headcanons for Sherlock as a father:

He is p r e p a r e d.

Or at least he thinks he is.

He’s read every book he could get his hands on, watched an assortment of documentaries and youtube videos, and consulted with John no less than thirty times before the baby comes along. He absolutely thinks he is ready to be a dad by the time it happens.

He is not.

Is not prepared at all.

Why are they crying?

Why are they throwing everything?

W h a t is going on??

What do you mean they cry just for attention? You mean he has to hold them how often?!

On the plus side waking up in the middle of the night for a crying baby is not an issue at all. Sherlock already has a wacked up sleep schedule so it’s likely he’ll still be up when the baby starts crying.

He’ll be a little overwhelmed at first, and cite books he’s read over and over. He won’t trust in your instincts right away (but he’ll learn quick when you’re the one who calms the baby down).

He will not do baby talk.

He will not hide his experiments (but he’ll keep the dangerous stuff away for obvious reasons).

He will definitely show the kiddo decapitated nuns when you’re not looking.

He’s not one for censorship. Never will be. He encourages for his children / kiddo to learn everything possible and he won’t hide anything from them.

That being said he’s super wary of other children. What if they call his baby a freak? You’ll have to be there to reassure him that everything will be okay.

(You’ll probably have to reassure him semi-frequently that he’s a good dad, because Sherlock will have his moments of doubts and heaven forbid that child ever says that s/he hates Sherlock because oh that’s gonna hurt).

(Also if someone does bully your baby Sherlock will absolutely seek retribution / justice. Even if it’s another child because that’s his baby).

Sherlock does not handle puberty well at all.

Be prepared for lots of arguments between the two, and dealing with two sulky people in the home.

(But they’ll both love you so much)

First dates / kisses / sex / etc will make Sherlock uncomfortable and he’ll probably scare off the first few attempts with his blunt attitude. He’ll definitely do some background checks, too.

Bi, straight, gay, asexual… none of that matters to him.

School isn’t that important to Sherlock. He won’t be the one to encourage his children to finish school if they have something else they want to do. Sherlock is all for letting them do as they please when it comes to their dreams / jobs / professions. As long as they’re happy.

That being said if it’s dangerous then he’ll get antsy and keep tabs on them.

(Although you know John’s gonna make sure this kiddo knows how to defend him/herself)

He’ll be proud at whatever it is they do, because they’re his kids.

(but if they become a detective like him then he’s a giddy, giddy boy)

He’ll stumble a bit as a father (especially during hormonal times like angsty teens), but he’ll sincerely love ‘em and want their happiness.

He hopes they like him, too.

Headcanons for Mycroft being a father

He’ll have a nanny for the kiddo. With his job being the way it is, he knows it’ll be hard on you to raise a kiddo (mostly) by yourself, so he’ll insist on hiring a nanny to at least help out.

(If you’re adamant about no nannies, he’ll comply, but please be prepared for the fact that Mycroft can only make so much time to spend at home).

He’s borderline over-prepared for the baby. He’s got doubles of everything in case something happens, has memorized every baby book he could find, and already has a list of professional tutors and doctors on standby. His kiddo is going to have everything s/he could ever need/want.

(To be honest he’s a little scared at being a dad because he struggles to simply act normal, and deal with other humans. You’re the exception, not the rule, and he’s worried he’ll estrange his own child. Please comfort and encourage him, because of course this man will be a good father)

Mycroft is a firm believer in a structured environment. That means getting his bundle of joy on a schedule as soon as possible (this is also so that way Mycroft can work his schedule around his child’s schedule so he can spend more time with him/her).

Lots of reading, and no T.V.

He’s a bit awkward with physical affection. He knows how to hold his baby, but he’s terrible at playing with him/her.

This kiddo is going to grow up fast. Lots of education right away and it probably won’t come as a surprise that they end up graduating early due to the environment.

Mycroft will be a very proud dad.

He will absolutely show up to as many meets / plays / games / club / tournaments / whatever they’re into as he can. And if he can’t then he’ll have you record it so he can watch it later and discuss with him/her. He’s all for extracurricular activities and wants to have an active role in his child’s life.

Will not tolerate drug abuse. Any signs of it and they’ll be immediately sent off to a high end rehabilitation program. One of Mycroft’s biggest regrets is not stopping Sherlock before it got out of hand and he will not let that happen to his child.

Mycroft will deal very poorly with teenage rebellion. It’ll put a strain on their relationship, no matter what you do, unfortunately. Mycroft will very likely treat his child like another Sherlock in this case, and be snarky.

He’ll still love ‘em regardless, but he’s done dealing with that kind of stuff and has zero patience left.

He’ll make sure his child can have their dream job, but he’ll be a lot more supportive of financially secure jobs, or more intelligent jobs, than other more unstable things.

(Please don’t be a detective like Uncle Sherlock. Mycroft will lose his mind and very well may strangle his brother)

First dates / kisses / sex / etc will give Mycroft mild anxiety attacks. They better have the most pristine backgrounds and if he suspects for a second his kid is in danger then he’ll send in the calvary.

Sexuality won’t matter in the slightest bit to him.

He may be a bit more controlling than others when it comes to his kid’s life, but he sincerely only wants what’s best for them. Sometimes he’ll have a hard time seeing that maybe his son/daughter knows what’s best for him/herself, and he’ll need your help with that.

Headcanons for Moriarty as a father

One word: Spoiled.

Moriarty is an eccentric parent. He’s the kind of parent that will feed a baby pop rocks to see what would happen.

His children will always get what they want, provided they obey him and aren’t a hassle.

His child will be dubbed as Mini-Me.

He’s got matching outfits. Moriarty will totally wear a dress (and rock it) if he has to in order match outfits with his child.

That baby is his Mini-Me and he LOVES IT.

He will educate his children personally when it comes to music, and he’ll encourage pyromania.

This kiddo is gonna grow up with private tutors, bodyguards, and an assortment of materialistic items.

You’ll have to make sure s/he receives lots of love and discipline so they don’t grow up dissociated, or disillusioned.

Frankly you’ll have to reign Moriarty in at times, too. He can get carried away when it comes to his Mini-Me. His parents were never around, so he wants to make sure his kid is constantly involved in his life. He’ll be quick with the physical affection, and will love Even bringing him/her into the criminal enterprise ASAP. Like when s/he’s ten s/he’s probably already been introduced to mafia bosses.

(He’ll be persuaded out of this if you’re adamant enough, but you’ll have to really dig your shoes in.)

He will l o v e his Mini-Me, though. He wants his kiddo to live a happy and fulfilling life. He doesn’t want them to be bored easily like him, or wake up and discover the world’s nothing but gray. He’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Super protective dad. First dates have an honest chance of getting sniped.

This kid can be whatever s/he wants to be. Moriarty does not give a hoot, so long as they’re happy, healthy, and always call him Best Dad In The World.

All the dad jokes.

A L L the pranks. He lives for pranking his kiddo.

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thisdaynews · 5 years

Text

Did Republicans Lose Orange County for Good?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/did-republicans-lose-orange-county-for-good/

Did Republicans Lose Orange County for Good?

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.—Harley Rouda knows he is a statistical anomaly. All the research says people don’t switch political affiliations, even when they disagree with their party on key issues. It’s one of the inexorable truths of American partisanship.

“Your religious and political identity is given to you at birth, right?” Rouda, 57, told me recently, recounting his upbringing in a conservative, Christian household. “I don’t think anybody holds their hand up and says at 6, 7 or 8 years old, ‘Hey, Mom and Dad, I’m not feeling Christian or Republican. I’m thinking about making a switch.’ And that was true for me as well.”

Story Continued Below

Until one day it wasn’t true any longer.

In 2017, Rouda, a one-time Reagan and Bush voter who had quietly severed his Republican ties to identify as an independent, made the rarest of transformations. He registered as a Democrat with the express purpose of running against a 15-term Republican congressman in Orange County, a place famous as a redoubt of the California GOP. He won by 7 points.

Rouda won because Orange County has changed dramatically, too. What was once an 18-point Republican advantage in voter registration just a decade ago evaporated, permitting the unthinkable to happen in 2016 when Hillary Clinton won the county by nearly 5 points, becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win here since 1936.

And then last year, Rouda and three other Democrats swept the congressional races, eradicating the GOP from the electoral map in a place that Ronald Reagan once described as the place “where good Republicans go to die.” Democrats’ blue wave in 2018 was more like a blue tsunami in this affluent and scenic sanctuary nestled between the urban sprawls of Los Angeles and San Diego.

The mortification of the GOP on its home turf came due to two primary factors: an influx of young and Latino voters who have diluted the power of the white conservatives who long defined the county, anda split inside the Republican party itself, driven by its nominal leader, President Donald Trump. Rouda defeated longtime Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) in no small part because of the incumbent’s close ties to Trump and his longtime support of the Vladimir Putin regime in Russia.

“It’s not that Orange County’s values have changed; it’s that the Republican party’s values have changed. And they’ve completely lost touch with reality and the vast majority of voters,” Rouda told me as he sipped a Starbucks iced latte with soy milk just 15 miles from Richard Nixon’s “Western White House.”

While the demographic trends show no hint of weakening, it’s an open question whether those disaffected Republicans are, like Rouda, permanently done with the GOP—or whether they can be coaxed back in a post-Trump world. There is a fierce battle already underway, from the marble halls of the Capitol to the beaches of southern California, to decide Orange County’s fate—and, in turn, that of the House majority post-2020.

Recently, I spent time in Rouda’s district—which he gleefully touts as the “most beautiful congressional district in the country”—and Orange County’s three other congressional districts. On the day I shadowed Rouda, he was dressed almost as if we were walking in a hallway inside the Capitol—navy blue suit and leather shoes, the lack of necktie the only concession to the balmy weather. More than once during the day, the kind of Orange County voter that Reagan would have recognized—white retirees walking their dogs on the beach—approached Rouda. Some just wanted to shake his hand. Others simply shouted, “I voted for you!”

Politicians in Orange County, like in many American suburbs, are becoming less dependent on these older white voters for their coalition. Orange County, in a very short time, has become younger and less white—and when paired with Trump’s election in 2016, that shift cemented Orange County’s status as ground zero for Republicans’ struggle to attract young voters, moderates and minorities, especially in suburban America.

“Since Donald Trump came into the picture, we have seen this huge uprising,” Ada Briceño, who chairs the Orange County Democratic Party, told me.

But there is another salient truth about that might prove just as consequential in 2020: Voters who left the Republican party in the last cycle didn’t register as Democrats; they overwhelmingly became independents. In short, they were up for grabs in 2018 and they’re still up for grabs a year later.

That’s one of the reasons that despite positioning himself as a fiscally conservative moderate in an increasingly progressive Democratic party, Rouda will face a difficult race in 2020 to keep his job. A recent poll commissioned by a Republican super PAC, for example, shows a neck-and-neck race between Rouda and his presumed GOP opponent. He’s not alone; all four lawmakers who represent parts of Orange County—Rouda, Gil Cisneros, Katie Porter and Mike Levin—are at the top of Republicans’ list of lawmakers they consider most vulnerable as the GOP tries to wrest back control of the House.

As unpopular as Trump is here, Democrats worry they could blow it. As the party’s loudest voices embrace progressive agenda items like Medicare for All and tuition-free college, the four freshman lawmakers who edged out Republican opponents, in part by portraying themselves as moderates who would stand up to their own party when necessary, will have to convince crossover voters that they’ve been true to their word. That tightrope will become even more difficult to walk as the House Democrats, emboldened by the latest allegations involving Ukraine, march toward impeaching the president.

“It wasn’t easy to win this seat,” Levin warned sternly at a recent town hall in the beachside city of Del Mar. “And it won’t be easy to hold this seat.”

***

Rouda’s break-up with the partyhe had grown up in didn’t happen overnight.

The first breach came in the late 1990s. He blamed then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) for ushering in a new era of conservatism that Rouda felt was “not recognizable” to Reagan’s GOP—in particular, its drift away from fiscal responsibility and compassionate immigration policies, and the party’s preoccupation with social issues like same-sex marriage. (Gingrich, no fan of Rouda’s either, has already endorsed Rouda’s opponent, Michelle Steel. Steel was not available for an interview.) At first, he simply described himself as an independent.

“Up until 1997, you had a Republican party that believed in environmental stewardship, believed in the right of everyone to vote, believed in reducing deficits,” Rouda said. “And that’s certainly not the case now. At best, all of those issues are on the backburner if not off the stovetop altogether.”

A frustrated Rouda then threw his hands up.

“I mean, does anybody really think Ronald Reagan could get elected [today]?” he said. “I liked the way he saw the city on the hill and how he talked about everyone in our country having a fair economic opportunity, that immigration is a positive thing.”

Around the same time that he contemplated leaving the GOP altogether, he married Kaira Sturdivant, a liberal Democrat who supported Jimmy Carter. They sparred occasionally over politics, but in the end, Rouda joked: “Apparently she had more influence on me than I had on her.”

He voted for George W. Bush in 2000—but that was the last time he voted for a Republican at the top of the ticket.Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 angered Rouda. “[That] kind of sealed the deal. Like, I’m done with this party,” he said.

Rouda moved to Orange County from Ohio in 2007, managing his real estate law practice from one of the priciest zip codes in all of California. Still, he continued donating to Republican candidates even after leaving the GOP. In 2016, he contributed $1,000 to then-Ohio Governor John Kasich’s presidential campaign, citing his friendship with Kasich and his desire to see Trump defeated in the GOP primary. When Kasich inevitably dropped out, Rouda was faced with a choice between Trump and Clinton. He lamented that the 2016 election “almost came down to who you disliked more.” He chose Clinton and, in 2017, registered as a Democrat for the first time in his life. Shortly thereafter, he announced his candidacy to take on Rohrabacher.

Some progressives took issue with Rouda’s past as a Republican. But they also saw it as a boon—an opportunity to appeal to conservatives disaffected with Trump in a district that Clinton won by nearly 5 points (39,000 votes) in 2016. Rouda’s seven-point victory over Rohrabacher validated their instincts.

Both political parties are trying to figure out whether political shapeshifters like Rouda are outliers—or, if they’re bellwethers for a more dramatic shift to come.

***

The last time Orange County recorded a Democratic voterregistration advantage was Oct. 13, 1978—a brief response to the Watergate scandal, as Republicans dominated for decades before. Mike Levin was born seven days later. It took 41 years for Democrats to re-gain that advantage.

Even before Rouda arrived here, Levin — who represents southern Orange County and parts of San Diego County — could see the trend from his perch atop the Orange County Democratic party, which he ran in 2006 and 2007. At the time, Republicans had an 18-point advantage over Democrats in voter registration.

In the 12 years since he ran the local Democratic party, the demographics in Orange County have undergone sweeping changes. Latino voters make up 21 percent of Orange County’s electorate, up more than a third since 2016 as more have gained American citizenship. Hispanic voter turnout sharply increased, in what was likely a response to Trump’s hardline immigration rhetoric. Clinton’s 2016 victory here shocked Republicans—and just two years later, the county’s GOP lawmakers were wiped out completely.

“The Asian population is growing. The Latino population is growing. And with that demographic change, you also see a change in the way people vote,” said Gil Cisneros, 48, a lifelong resident of Orange County who, like Rouda is also a former Republican.

Cisneros, whose district also includes parts of Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County, voted for Ross Perot in the 1990s and John McCain in 2008 but turned away from the Republican party shortly after that election, when he watched fringe voices push racist conspiracy theories about whether Barack Obama was a Muslim who was born in Kenya.

“A lot of racist tendencies were coming out. And it just wasn’t something that I wanted to be associated with,” Cisneros told me defiantly over coffee in Buena Park. “By 2008, you could really see the tides moving. The direction the Republican party was moving in was not the Republican Party that it was 20 years ago.”

Democrats have also seen gains here among voters ages 18 to 34. In 2002, 42 percent of them were registered Republicans, compared to 29 percent for Democrats. This year, 38 percent of those voters are registered as Democrats, and just 20 percent as Republicans. The share of independent voters also sharply increased during that same time period, from 22 percent to 42 percent.

While the Latino boom in Orange County has helped Democrats, the surge of Asian-Americans has been less conclusive. While Asian-American share of the electorate has ballooned to 16 percent, registration numbers show that 29 percent are Republicans and 30 percent are Democrats. Forty-one percent are registered with neither party.

Today, Orange County has the third-largest Asian-American population in the country, and it’s particularly visible in Irvine, where Katie Porter’s district falls. Asian-American voters tend to be more conservative, but some analysts have pointed to Trump’s immigration rhetoric as the key reason why turnout in favor of Democrats has increased for this key group.

Two of the likely GOP nominees in Orange County’s four congressional districts are Asian-American women. Cisneros will have a rematch in 2020 against his 2018 GOP opponent, Young Kim, a Korean-born businesswoman and former state legislator; Rouda will likely face off against Steel, a county supervisor who was also born in South Korea.

Steel, Rouda’s opponent, is largely aligned with Trump, which the Rouda campaign plans to drill into voters’ minds here. She co-chairs his presidential advisory commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Steel was also the only elected official to greet the president when Air Force One landed at Los Angeles International Airport last March, his first official visit to California.

Kim, too, supports the president’s policies, telling me that Trump deserves credit for the strength of the U.S. economy. She has praised him for slashing federal regulations and signing a sweeping tax-overhaul bill into law—one that many California Republicans actually opposed in part because it capped the state and local tax deduction at $10,000.

“The bottom line is that these economic policies are woefully unpopular, these environmental policies are woefully unpopular, the immigration policies are woefully unpopular,” Levin added. “Hence the president’s approval here is in the 30s.”

“California Republicans are not like Alabama and Mississippi Republicans. They tend to be a little bit more liberal when it comes to social issues,” Cisneros said.

Rouda cited one of the key local Orange County issues — the threat of climate change — as one of the reasons he left the GOP. The Trump administration has rolled back several Obama-era emissions and air-quality standards—part of what Levin said is the president waging a “policy war on the state of California” with its efforts to restrict the state’s more progressive environmental and immigration standards. He believes it’s helping to drive voters here away from the GOP.

“We care about clean air, clean water, clean beaches. Because we live here. Because we see the impact of climate change,” Levin said, pointing to the beach 50 feet behind him as we sat on a picnic table. “Because we understand what it’s like when you don’t have those strict air quality requirements because we grew up here at a time when we had far worse emission standards.”

Randall Avila, the Orange County Republican party’s executive director, agrees with Democrats on one thing: Trump has driven suburban Republicans away. “He’s definitely a two-sided coin,” Avila said. “But his presidency and the passion on one side or another has accelerated that process.”

To reclaim its voter registration advantage, Avila said his organization will focus on Republicans who left the party to become independents. Some Orange County residents who left the GOP actually support the president, Avila said, and only did so in protest of the establishment wing of the party.

But Republicans who jumped ship over their dissatisfaction with Trump pose the biggest challenge for Avila, who said he plans to focus on local economic issues—rather than the beltway-driven Trump controversies that might push Republicans away from the president—in order to win them back.

***

Rouda’s own party has dubbed hima so-called “frontliner,” a list of several lawmakers whom the national party says are the most vulnerable in 2020. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), too, has Rouda near the top of its list, and the GOP still has a seven-point voter registration advantage in Rouda’s district, which includes more conservative pockets like Newport Beach.

The GOP’s argument to Rouda’s constituents is simple: You were swindled. The NRCC has already dinged him for supporting an impeachment inquiry into the president, and they’ve referred to Rouda as a “Socialist Democrat.” Moreover, Republicans say Rouda’s victory in 2018 was a fluke because Rohrabacher, notoriously apologetic for the Putin regime, was an unpopular and flawed incumbent. Translation: A level-headed Republican would fare better.

The “socialist” moniker won’t go away any time soon. Republicans are seeking to tie Democratic lawmakers to members of the so-called progressive “squad” like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). In particular, they’ve seized on Omar’s recent anti-Semitic comments that have sparked intense backlash among members of her own party, including Democratic leaders and frontliners.

“Most voters also know that the ‘squad’ is not the leadership of the Democratic party. That may play well with the Republican base, but they’re not voting for us anyway,” Rouda said. “We got the majority back not by keeping blue seats blue; we got the majority by flipping red seats blue. And the people who did that are moderates—left-leaning moderates.”

But if one of the more progressive presidential candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders or Sen. Elizabeth Warren emerges as the party’s 2020 nominee, it could be more difficult for vulnerable lawmakers like Rouda to distinguish themselves from the party’s left flank. Perhaps even more problematic, Democrats like Rouda will have a tougher time arguing for fiscal responsibility when the top of the Democratic ticket is calling for Medicare for All and tuition-free public colleges.

Both Rouda and Levin made impassioned pleas for fiscal responsibility. Rouda told me that Californians are over-taxed at the local, state and federal level; Levin brought up the national debt unprompted. Indeed, they believe that fiscal conservatism can help them continue to peel away Republicans who are disenchanted with the way Trump has presided over a runaway deficit.

“We’re ballooning our deficit and our debt, which I care very deeply about—not all Democrats do. I do,” he said. “I’m not a proponent of modern monetary theory. I am a proponent of fiscal responsibility and investment, and understanding the difference between an investment and a cost.”

Republicans are particularly keen on portraying Porter—who represents Irvine, Calif., and defeated incumbent GOP Rep. Mimi Walters last year—as a liberal Democrat who ran as a centrist. Porter has become somewhat of a progressive hero for her relentless questioning of witnesses at House Financial Services Committee hearings, including a viral grilling of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over employee compensation. She has leaned heavily into that persona, joking at a recent town hall that Dimon has become her “pen pal.”

Avila, who runs the Orange County GOP, said both his organization as well as the national party apparatus plan to highlight that apparent dissonance, calling Porter a “national sensation” among progressives and citing her appearances on television shows like Bill Maher’s HBO program.

“While she’s attracted a lot of attention through online small donations from Democrats across the country, it’s putting her in a very awkward position here in Orange County with her constituents. She campaigned as a moderate,” Avila said. “And she said she was going to be a moderate voice in Congress, but she’s outing herself and giving us a lot of material to work with to show that she is very much far-left.”

Republicans also see a prime pickup opportunity in Cisneros’ district, which will feature a rematch of his 2018 contest against Kim. She is already seeking to tie Cisneros to Ocasio-Cortez, noting that he is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“He said he would try to be a moderate person, yet he goes on to join the Progressive Caucus, whose agenda and policies are leaning further and further to the left,” Kim said in an interview. “And he votes with the likes of Progressive Caucus members like AOC over 90 percent of the time. So I don’t know what he has accomplished so far. I would like to see it.”

Still, Cisneros plans to highlight the national debt in order to woo Republicans disaffected with Trump.

“This is something that we Democrats need to communicate and that we need to do a better job and let people know that we are the party of fiscal responsibility, we are the party where the economy has thrived under us, and this is the party where workers have also had success and where they thrive,” he said. “We’re the party of the American worker.”

Kim described herself as an “independent voice” and noted that while Republican registration has declined in Orange County, the number of self-described independents has grown. That pool of voters will be critical for all candidates in the county’s four congressional districts in 2020.

While she supports the president, she tipped her hat to the steep decline in GOP registration by acknowledging that Trump’s personal behavior often turns voters off.

“People can say whatever they want to say about our president. I think they are talking about his style of speaking, his rhetoric, his attitude or whatever,” Kim said. “They may not like him as a person, but I hear that they do appreciate the policies that have made our economy really stronger.”

But for the Democrats now commanding the electoral high ground in Orange County, there is a belief that the disintegrating Republican party cannot reform around a single issue like the economy; there are too many other factors working against it, and most of them are exacerbated by the presence of Trump at the top of the ticket.

“I didn’t think Trump would get elected, and I thought he would potentially cause the demise of the Republican Party as we know it,” Rouda added. “I was wrong in one sense—he got elected. But I may still be right in the other sense, that the Republican Party as we know it may not exist after the Trump era.”

Cisneros concurs with his fellow ex-Republican, both of whom will be the Democrats’ anchors here in 2020 as the party defends its majority.

“If the [Republican] party continues to go down that route, I don’t see how it could survive,” Cisneros said of his former political affiliation. “I certainly don’t see how it could survive here in California. It’s going to continue to get smaller and smaller.”

He added, somewhat optimistically: “I always like to think that what happens in California eventually happens throughout the rest of the country.”

#County #Foreign #Orange #Politics

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

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Rarely has Trump faced such an widespread outcry, such an avalanche of condemnations…

AFP / Mandel Ngan With a mounting political crisis within his own Republican Party, US President Donald Trump made an abrupt about-face on migrant family separations

(Jerome CARTILLIER, AFP) Washington – Faced with the disturbing images of migrant children separated from their parents at the US border with Mexico that have shocked America and the world, President Donald Trump did not flinch for a long time.

But finally, with a mounting political crisis within his own Republican Party, Trump made an abrupt about-face.

At a meeting on Wednesday with Republican lawmakers at the White House, he surprised everyone by announcing he would sign an executive order to “keep families together.” Hours later, he put his signature on the page.

Since May, when his administration adopted a “zero-tolerance” border security policy helmed by ultra-conservative Attorney General Jeff Sessions, more than 2,300 children have been separated from their parents.

Recent images of crying and screaming children, trying to cling to their parents, have left many Americans shocked — and asking why such a practice is needed.

** MORE BORDER CHILDREN SEPARATION COVERAGE at Liberty Headlines **

The real estate mogul-turned-president is certainly used to controversy — and in fact seems to fuel it on purpose. And it certainly seems ill-advised to declare another major turning point in his unconventional presidency.

But nevertheless, recent events are certainly a bit different, at the very least. Rarely has Trump faced such an widespread outcry, such an avalanche of condemnations

Day after day, tensions were palpably mounting within the Republican camp.

And while the controversy has certainly emboldened part of Trump’s base, the president also has cut himself off from other core supporters, especially evangelical Christians, who helped him win in 2016 but are since disgruntled.

The Grand Old Party is aware of the chinks in the armor: a few months before crucial November mid-term elections, in which it fears losing control of the House of Representatives, the party is in a high-risk face-off on a deeply emotional issue.

Steve Schmidt, a former advisor to Senator John McCain and a longtime Trump critic, on Wednesday renounced his party membership, disgusted by what he called “internment camps for babies.”

“29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life,” Schmidt tweeted.

“Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump.”

– Trump’s ‘Katrina moment’? –

While the executive order could serve to calm public outrage, the controversy could leave lasting black marks on Trump’s presidency.

For Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of The New York Times who is now a columnist for The Guardian, this could be Trump’s “Katrina moment” — referring to George W Bush’s botched handling of the 2005 hurricane disaster.

The photo of Bush surveying the damage in New Orleans from far above, in Air Force One, remains an indelible symbol of a president who was totally disconnected from the tragic reality on the ground.

AFP/File / JIM WATSON US President George W. Bush looks out the window of Air Force One in 2005 as he flies over hurricane-ravaged New Orleans — one commentator has suggested Trump is having his “Katrina moment”

“Trump is making Bush’s same fatal mistake,” Abramson wrote. “It’s the exact same heartlessness and cluelessness.”

“This is not the America that even staunch conservatives want the world to see,” she added.

Beyond the political arguments, the words used by the leader of the world’s superpower are also stoking the firestorm.

“Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country,” Trump tweeted Tuesday.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, less than a third of Americans (27 percent) approve of the separation of migrant families at the border.

Among Republicans, the number is far higher, with a majority backing the president, but only just — 55 percent.

Trump, whose mantra is “border security” at all costs, is to address supporters at a campaign-style “Make America Great Again” rally Wednesday night in Minnesota.

In that setting, he is most likely to abandon his prepared remarks — and consequently usually offers the most provocative statements.

Original Source -> Trump Flips by Stopping Immigrant Family Separations

via The Conservative Brief

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clusterassets · 6 years

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New world news from Time: ‘We’re Ready, if Our Nation Calls.’ A Top U.S. Navy Commander in the Pacific on China, North Korea and More

Vice Admiral Phillip G. Sawyer has come a long way from his hometown of Phoenix, Ariz., to command America’s largest forward-deployed maritime force, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet based in Japan.

It’s a tough job at a tense time in the Asia Pacific. The Trump administration is zeroing in on strategic competition from what it calls “revisionist powers” China and Russia, while North Korea poses an escalating threat to the U.S. and its regional allies.

Even as demands increased, the Navy faced its own tragedies last year, when two warship collisions resulted in the deaths of 17 sailors and an estimated $500 million in damages. Investigators determined that the accidents involving the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John McCain, both Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, were preventable. Sawyer assumed command after his predecessor was dismissed in the wake of the collisions.

In late January, TIME traveled to the 7th Fleet’s headquarters in Yokosuka, near the outskirts of Tokyo, to speak with Sawyer about the Navy’s combat credibility and the challenges waiting on the Pacific horizon.

What is the immediate challenge you face now that you’ve taken on the job?

Since the 1990s, our number of operational units has gone steadily down while our operational demand signal has increased. So our job at large is to be able to prioritize what we can do based on the supply of people and ships that I have. There is an insatiable demand for the United States military, and in my case the U.S. Navy. People, organizations will always want more than we can provide, that’s just a fact of life.

When we talk about strategic waterways around here, this is what we’ve been doing for decades. I would argue that economic development out here in the Pacific has been largely underwritten by the U.S. Navy. We have been able to provide regional stability and security since the end of World War II, and that security and stability has enabled the countries out here to focus internally on their own economic and populace development. We have many alliances and many partners out here and that’s a good spot to be in.

Read more: President Trump’s New Defense Strategy Is a Return to the Cold War

Are those alliances as strong as they used to be?

I look at this from a purely Naval standpoint. When we talk about alliances, we’re talking about Navy-to-Navy engagement with our allies — South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia. We have a very, very robust working relationship and exercise relationship with those countries. So from my viewpoint as a Naval officer, I think those alliances continue and they get better and better. There’s always gonna be some twists and turns in any relationship. But from my viewpoint I consider them strong allies. It’s where our objectives overlap that strengthen us and allow us to work together.

Can you keep the the South China Sea free and open?

In the foreseeable future I don’t see the sea-lanes closing down. It’s not just about our interests — you’ve got Vietnam, Thailand, all the ASEAN countries, we all have the same stake in this — the amount of merchandise, global trade, commerce that goes through there is huge. So I don’t see anybody trying to close down the South China Sea. Many of our actions there are in furtherance of international norms, standards and laws. That’s why we continue to sail, fly and operate everywhere international law allows. So I don’t even see that as a possibility that the South China Sea would be closed to free trade.

The National Defense Strategy that came out recently talks about China being a strategic competitor. I think it’s important to recognize that the military is just one part of government. You’ve got diplomatic, economic and other aspects of our government that come into play throughout the world. I think those aspects are equally if not more important on a day-to-day basis than the military. I provide space and options for our leadership well before they want to call me in. I recognize there have been territorial issues in the South China Sea that many would argue are not in compliance with international law. That’s a valid description. But I don’t see anyone trying to close down the international waterways as we see them.

Read more: Inside the International Contest Over the Most Important Waterway In the World

How concerned are you about Chinese militarization in the South China Sea?

Well, I think even [Chinese President] Xi Jinping said they were not going to militarize these islands on the South China Sea. He said it on the South Lawn of the White House, if I’m not mistaken.

We do see progress being made, buildings being constructed and other things. They’ve come out and said what they will not do, so at the government level we need to check their homework and make sure they abide by their commitments.

What can you do if they don’t abide by those commitments?

We want to resolve these issues diplomatically. I’d push that to the State Department and see what they could do. From a military standpoint, I’m a hammer if you’ve got a nail. I’m one tool, but there are many that can be used before you want to use the hammer. We’re not even close to a conflict out here, in particular with China. They don’t want to go to war with me, and the United States doesn’t want to go to war with China. That said, my job is to be ready with whatever our government needs.

What are the lessons to be learned from the two tragic collisions last year?

I think it’s important to recognize that the accidents, while they were tragic, were also preventable. We should not forget as we move forward that we lost 17 sailors’ lives, and that’s one of the motivators for getting things right. As a military leader, the treasures we have are the sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, the nieces and nephews of the American populace. There’s a covenant; families provide their treasure to us as a military, and our job is to defend the homeland and to make sure we take care of the people that are entrusted to us. That’s critically important.

We didn’t get here overnight, therefore the important part is accurately identifying causes and the right corrective actions. What I’m doing with my team out here in the very near term on those things that I can uniquely control, is scheduling; making things deliberate and predictable, to make sure we carve out time for maintenance, training and certification.

Specialist 3rd Class Jake Greenberg—U.S. Navy/Getty Images The USS John C. Stennis and USS Ronald Reagan conduct operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations on June 18, 2016.

In the event of war with North Korea, what’s the scale of conflict that you need to be prepared for?

My goal is to be ready for anything from a natural disaster like a typhoon, all the way to the highest end of kinetic warfare that you can envision. That’s what I’m paid for. If I don’t focus on the highest levels of warfare, you’re not getting your money’s worth out of me. By focusing on the highest levels, I can accomplish anything less than that. We’re ready, if our nation calls.

What would be the role of the 7th Fleet in nuclear warfare?

I don’t really have a role in nuclear conflict, which is up to Strategic Command in Nebraska and our leadership back in D.C. I don’t envision a nuclear conflict at any time in the foreseeable future. I just don’t think that’s a plausible scenario.

When the false alarm was sent out in Hawaii, where were you and what went through your mind?

I was actually traveling that day to Hawaii. I found out just after the fact, I certainly understand the angst it caused.

If the alarm were real, what would have happened?

Well, without getting into classified information, there are procedures. Clearly, if the U.S. was attacked, it changes whatever I had planned to do that day.

February 09, 2018 at 06:30AM ClusterAssets Inc., https://ClusterAssets.wordpress.com

#Time #world #news #ClusterAssets #ClusterAsset #Cluster Asset Inc.#ClusterAssets Inc.

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