Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Many of us who are watching Donald Trump turn this country into his personal playground have grappled with the posit in this blog headline.

There is no magic answer.

Some possibilities:

• Trump practices retaliation, going after those he hates simply because they have opposed him in the past. 

• Trump goes after those he feels have not appropriately honored him. 

• Trump acts before he thinks, which is why he is being called “The TACO President,” which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” an acronym which you could imagine riles Trump.

On this notion – acting before he thinks – Thomas Friedman in the New York Times used that reality to write a new column this week.  It appeared under this headline:  “Trump’s Gilded Gut Instinct.’

Here is how Friedman started his column:

“Wall Street analysts recently began joking that the best way to predict the behavior of Trump — and make money in the process — was by practicing the  ‘TACO trade,’ which stands for ‘Trump Always Chickens Out.’  You can always bet on Trump rolling back a reckless tariff.

“This mocking of Trump’s inconsistency, which drives him nuts — “Don’t ever say what you said,” he told a reporter who asked him about it — not only is accurate but also deserves to be more widely applied.”

As examples of chickening out, Friedman cites:

• One day he is pushing Ukraine away; the next day he is shaking Ukraine down for its minerals; the next day Ukraine is back in the fold.
• One day Vladimir Putin is Trump’s friend; the next day he’s “crazy.”
• One day Canada will be the 51st state; the next day it is the target of tariffs.
• One day he brags that he hires only “the best” people; the next day more than 100 experts at the National Security Council are pushed out just weeks after many were hired.
• One day the president hosts a gala at his Virginia golf club for the biggest buyers of his meme coin, who spent a combined $148 million for the chance to hear him give a talk standing behind the presidential seal.  The next day the White House spokeswoman suggests it’s not corruption because the president was “attending it on his personal time.”

Friedman puts it this way:

“Trump is governing by unchecked gut impulses, with little or no homework or coordination among agencies.  He respects no real lines of authority, has his golfing buddy (Steve Witkoff) act as  Secretary of State and his Secretary of State (Marco Rubio) act as his ambassador to Panama.  He compels anyone who wants to stop him to take him to court, while blurring all lines between his legal duties and personal enrichment.”

What this telling us, Friedman says, is that “we are not being governed anymore by a traditional American administration…we are being governed by the Trump Organization. Inc.

“In Trump II, the president is unchained and running the U.S. government exactly the way he ran his private company:  Out of his hip pocket and with only the markets or the courts able to stop him.” 

I add that markets or courts don’t usually stop Trump.  He just ignores both.

More from Friedman:

“Weeks after taking office, Trump announced a series of global tariffs without any serious consultation with the U.S. auto industry.  Along the way, he discovered that only about one-third of the parts of the popular Ford F-150 are made in America and cannot be replaced anytime soon.  The tariffs have been such a blow to the whole auto industry that Ford, General Motors and Stellantis announced they could not give earning predictions for the rest of 2025, citing tariff uncertainty and possible supply-chain disruptions.

“Then China reacted predictably to Trump’s 145 per cent tariffs on all Chinese exports to America.  Beijing abruptly halted exports of rare-earth magnets that go into U.S.-made cars, drones, robots and missiles.  If Trump doesn’t find a way to strike a deal (“chicken out”) on some of his China tariffs, U.S. car factories may have to cut back production in the coming days and weeks.

“It gets worse.  His ridiculous right-wing woke obsession with destroying the U.S. electric vehicle industry that President Joe Biden was trying to build up undermines U.S. efforts to compete with China in electric batteries.  Batteries are the new oil; they will power the new industrial ecosystem of A.I.-infused self-driving cars, robots, drones and clean tech.”

Then, Friedman goes to a phrase that, to me, explains exactly how Trump acts – “fire, ready, aim.”

It’s a phrase I often used when I was a lobbyist and how I saw how various legislators react to proposals before them.  They criticized a proposal before they had reviewed it.  Fire.  Ready.  Aim.

To conclude, Friedman writes:

“In sum, what you are seeing from this Trump II administration, and its bended-knee Congress, is a dangerous, undisciplined, intellectually inconsistent farce that we will pay dearly for in the future.  Major geo-economic moves are being made by one man who has done no homework, modeling or stress-testing and has fostered little apparent interagency process, with no congressional oversight or apparent reference to history.

“If you think this is not dangerous, just keep in mind that the Trump Organization, Inc. over the years filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for six different businesses.  There was a reason for that:  The operating style and values of its boss.”

So, now I am among those who are losing sleep over Trump, not to mention those minions who help him destroy America by creating his own autocracy.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Another blog about slow play on a golf course.

Yes, this is a hot-button for me.

For this blog headline, I borrowedfrom the Wall Street Journal which ran an excellent story about what one golf course is doing to curb slow play.

Here is the subhead on the Journal’s story:

“Erin Hills had spent years trying to get recreational golfers to speed up their pace of play.  The solution boiled down to a simple question:  How far can you hit a 7-iron?”

Plus, know that Erin Hills is a very reputable course because, for one reason, it hosted the LPGA Open last week.

The Journal’s writer Andrew Beaton put it this way in his story:

“As the head golf pro at Erin Hills, Jim Lombardo has spent years dreaming up new ways to speed up the pace of play at the world-class course.

“His staff even uses GPS devices to monitor the exact location of each group on the course to identify any stragglers who might slow things down.

“But lately, Lombardo and his team have discovered a new way to get a bunch of everyday hackers through 18 holes in a hurry — and it has nothing to do with a fancy piece of technology.  Instead, it boils down to one simple question.

“How far do you hit your 7-iron?” 

So, how does the “7-iron approach” work?

From the Journal:

“On the walls of the starter’s shack and inside the caddie barn there’s a chart on display that advises players which sets of tees to use based on how far they typically hit that one club.  Since Lombardo first put up the chart in 2023, Erin Hills has seen a 26 per cent uptick in people using the shorter, white tees.  And the overall speed of play has picked up.”

Slow play is a scourge of the golf game at all levels.

The PGA Tour has taken steps – some of them halting, in my judgment —  to limit the amount of time top pros spend standing over their golf balls before playing a shot.  But the problem is more acute for regular folks who carve time out of their busy schedules to sneak in a round, only to find the local course is so backed up that they’re waiting at every tee box.

The answer, at Erin Hills and elsewhere is not just to make golfers play faster.  It is to make them play shorter.

“The idea for the 7-iron solution came from a joint paper published in 2020 by the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.  The headline item from the ‘Distance Insights Report’ was that the growing power of pro golfers was threatening to undermine the game. 

“But what caught the attention of the USGA’s director of research, was the less-publicized conclusion that recreational players take too long because they play from tees that are too far away.

Many courses, including Erin Hills, had tried to advise golfers on which tees to play from based on how far they hit their driver, but that didn’t work because many people embellish that statistic. 

The driver is the most exaggerated club in the bag.  Players tell you how long they hit their best drives — not their average drives. 

That’s less true when it comes to a 7-iron.  

Another issue was that old advice recommended the same playing distance regardless of the golf course that was being measured.  In reality, 6,000 yard tees at one course might be nothing like the 6,000 yards somewhere else. 

More from the Journal:

“By contrast, the ‘7-ron solution’ is custom fit for each course.  It looks at every hole from every tee in order to determine the optimal distance for every player, a calculation that’s helped by a survey the USGA conducted of 65,000 golfers to better understand their games. 

“The idea isn’t to make everyone play such short distances that they feel like they’re at a pitch-and-putt.  Rather, it’s to turn a course into a fair challenge that forces players to use a diverse set of clubs without being unnecessarily difficult. 

“Once Lombardo heard about the method, Erin Hills became one of the pilot courses, and it quickly noticed a change in behavior.  In 2022, 24.2 per cent of players teed off from the whites, a shorter set of tees at Erin Hills.  Last year, that was up to 30.6 per cent.

“The upshot:  Fewer golfers had to be chased down for gumming up the course.  It whittles down the number of groups that might be a challenge for pace of play.”

So, my advice on this issue for courses like those I play:  Try the “7-iron solution.”

Or, just expect recreational golfers to follow the advice from none other than all-time great Jack Nicklaus.  “Play it forward.”

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Note the word I chose to include in this blog headline:  “Choose.”

Those of us who play golf choose to do so, no matter how hard the game is and how many mistakes we make along the way.  It is a choice because, just think, – at some point you’ll figure it all out and have a great round!

One of my golfing friends often puts it this way to me as he returns from the range:  “Hey, Dave, guess what?  I found it.”

Yeah, I respond.  But how long will “I found it last.”

Usually, a day or so.

With this mind, I enjoyed reading a story in the New York Times about Max Homa, a pro golfer who appears to have lost his way, though he is still persevering to find it even as he wonders why.

Here is how the Times story started:

“It’s hard,” Homa said, eyes moving, looking nowhere.  “It’s hard just to not want to do this anymore.”

Some background on Homa from the Times:

“We were standing in the breezeway beside Quail Hollow’s clubhouse, a spot Homa knows well.  Six years ago, in May 2019, he stood right here, processing equal levels of disbelief and self-actualization. Then 28, Homa won his first PGA Tour event, legitimizing what had otherwise been a middling career.

“Outside Quail’s clubhouse that day, fellow tour pros stopped one after another to congratulate him.

“A few years later, in 2022, Homa walked through here again, this time as the fist-pumping, ripping-and-tearing action star of the U.S. Presidents Cup team.  After one particularly raucous afternoon that week, he said that, at long last, he finally felt like he belonged among the game’s best.”

But, then this.

“It’s 2025.  Homa is 34.  He is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour.  He has been ranked as high as fifth in the world and played in the Ryder Cup.

“’To be completely honest — I don’t know what I’m getting out of this,’ Homa said Sunday.  ‘But it’s my job.  So, I’ll keep trying and hopefully something great happens.  But yeah, I’m not really sure what’s the point.’”

The Times story continues:

“Then Friday.  Some kind of dreamscape.  Six birdies and a tap-in eagle on the par-4 14th highlighted a 7-under 64, his best score in 70 career major championship rounds.  Homa sat for a 22-minute press conference afterward.  Three shots off the lead, fresh off the round of his life, it was tempting to think his fates might once again be aligning.  The only line missing on the résumé is major champion.  Maybe this was finally it.

“Then came the weekend.

“A round of 76 on Saturday, 12 shots worse than the day prior.  Homa not only imploded but spent the afternoon playing alongside Scottie Scheffler; the world’s best player, the eventual tournament winner, the guy who finished Saturday eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie.

“And Sunday.  Homa pulled into the parking lot a little before 9 a.m., nearly six hours before the leaders’ tee times.  Back to the range.  Back to the course.  A round of 77 — four pars, five birdies, seven bogeys, two double-bogeys.  Homa missed left, he missed long, he missed everywhere.

“Golf, perhaps more than any other sport, has a way of most heavily taxing those who love it.  When Homa tossed that club on Sunday, the mini fit of rage made for a kitschy little video clip of a player reaching a boiling point.  What gets left out in such moments is all that comes before it.  Homa has had a trying year.  There was an equipment change, a switch to a new swing coach and a plummet in the rankings.

Then, this conclusion, with which many of us, not pro golfers, but recreational golfers, could say:

“Perhaps more than any other sport, these are the psychosomatic cycles of golf.  Find something.  Lose it.  Search for it.  Suffer.  Find something.  Success.  Happiness.  Wait, it’s gone.  Why?  What happened?  Oh, no.  Lost again.  Another search.  Torment.  Rinse.  Repeat.”

We’ve all been there and will be there again.  Still, golf beckons.

So, I am going out in a moment to try “to find it” again.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Yesterday I posted excerpts from a column in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof, the writer who has connections in and around Oregon.

He wrote about ways to oppose an autocrat like Donald Trump.

Today, in part two, Kristof adds perspective about how vulnerable Trump is despite his claims always to be the smartest person in the room – or everywhere.

So, here are excerpts from Kristof’s column that appeared under this headline:  Trump Is Immensely Vulnerable.  The column started this way:

“How can Americans best defend their democracy from their president?

“In my last column, I recounted three lessons from other countries where popular movements have made headway challenging authoritarian rulers.  Critics of Trump have frankly been fairly ineffective — witness his election and the way his approval ratings have risen in some polls lately — but Trump does give us a great deal to work with.

“He is immensely vulnerable.

“Drawing upon these lessons from my last column, here are what I see as the most promising lines of attack for his critics:

• Trump is deeply corrupt.  All presidents are accused of shady practices, but Trump is a felon who is using his office to enrich himself as no president has in history.

“The Times reported that more than $2 billion has flowed to Trump companies in just a month, and some of his ventures look alarmingly like opportunities for influence-peddling.  How else do we explain his announcement that the biggest investors in his new cryptocurrency memecoin, $TRUMP, would get dinner with him? “

• Trump is hurting you in the pocketbook.  One reason Trump won the presidency was voter resentment at inflation and economic weakness under Joe Biden.  Now it’s Trump who is badly damaging the economy and hitting voters in the wallet.

“Trump’s tariffs amount to the largest tax increase for Americans since 1993, with one study suggesting that a typical household may pay an extra $1,400 per year.  Trump may already have sent the economy spinning into a recession and plans for huge increases in American debt are pushing interest rates upward — which for many Americans means putting off any hope of buying a home.”

• Trump looks down on you and thinks he can manipulate you.

“Several studies have found that warning teenagers that smoking may kill them is often not effective.  What does work is showing them how tobacco companies are trying to deceive and manipulate them.  That outrages them — and in the same way, MAGA voters may shrug at Trump’s defiance of the courts but be offended by evidence that he thinks they are dummies.”

Moving beyond specifics, Kristof adds that one lesson from other countries is the importance of finding a compelling individual story to make a point.  Democrats too often cite large numbers — the 70 million Americans depend on Medicaid — rather than leaning on storytelling about individual tragedies.

And, in conclusion, he adds:  “However appalling Trump’s own behavior may be, his critics have to show that they can not only mock him — but can also govern.  If we are to hold Trump accountable, we must also hold ourselves accountable.”

Kristof’s points make sense to me, especially the one about storytelling. 

Back when I lobbied in Oregon for more money for Medicaid, which serves the health care needs pof the low-income population, we used stories featuring doctors, nurses, and patients to deliver advocacy.

The point wasn’t big numbers.  It was real stories that could strike a chord with legislators at the Capitol in Oregon.

It worked here back in the day and it a good lesson – inspired by Kristof’s writing – to learn again against Trump.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I have decided to devote my next two blogs to posting excerpts from excellent columns written by Nicholas Kristof for the New York Times.

Remember him?  With Oregon connections, including owning property in Yamhill County, Kristof filed to run for governor on the Democrat side here the last time around.  However, courts ruled that he could not do so because he had not established “residency.”

I wish he would have been allowed to run, given his experience and perspective.

But, Kristof went back to doing what he did so well before and now does again, which is to write columns for the Times.

This time, one of his columns provided insights in how it is possible to oppose an autocrat like Donald Trump.  Excerpts appear below.

In a second column, Kristof wrote about a fact he contends exists – Trump is so corrupt that he is vulnerable.  That will be part two for me.

So, here’s part one, which appeared under this headline:  Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat. Kristof started his column this way:

“The question I get most often is:  What can we do to take our country back?

“So let me try to answer, drawing on lessons from other countries that have faced authoritarian challenges.

“The funny thing is that there’s a playbook for overturning autocrats.  It was written here in America, by a rumpled political scientist I knew named Gene Sharp.  While little known in the United States before his death in 2018, he was celebrated abroad, and his tool kit was used by activists in Eastern Europe, in the Middle East, and across Asia.

“His books, emphasizing non-violent protests that become contagious, have been translated into at least 34 languages.

“’Dictators are never as strong as they tell you they are,’ Sharp once said, ‘and people are never as weak as they think they are.’”

Kristof reports three examples of ways to oppose autocracy.

1. The first is mockery and humor — preferably salacious.

Humor, Kristof writes, puts autocrats in a difficult position.  They look ridiculous if they crack down on jokes but look weak if they ignore them.

• A second approach that has often succeeded is emphasizing not democracy as such but rather highlighting the leaders’ corruption, hypocrisy, and economic mismanagement.

Kristof writes:  “Critics usually have plenty of ammunition when pointing to hypocrisy, for authoritarians tend to preen as moral guardians while the lack of accountability often leads to lapses.  One example:  The police chief in Tehran, who was in charge of enforcing the Islamic dress code for women, was reportedly found naked in a brothel with six equally naked prostitutes.

“Corruption is also usually an easy target, because as autocrats become increasingly powerful, they and their family members often decide to enrich themselves:  Wherever there is authoritarianism, there is corruption.”

Think Trump because one of his main goals is to accumulate personal wealth at the expense of Americans and America.

• The third approach that has often succeeded is focusing on the power of one — an individual tragedy rather than a sea of oppression.  Protesters against apartheid used to employ the slogan, “Free South African political prisoners,” but that never got much traction.  Then they switched to “Free Nelson Mandela,” and we know the rest.

Kristof’s conclusion:  “There’s no simple formula for challenging authoritarianism.  But these approaches have enjoyed a measure of success abroad and may be ones we Americans could learn from.”

So, good words.  And, tomorrow, I’ll post Kristof’s thoughts on Trump’s vulnerability.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The Free Clinic in Salem, Oregon, now about 20 years old, is one of the places these days where my wife and I have decided to devote our charity dollars.

Why?

Well, two reasons.

• First, we are trying to focus on the good work of the Free Clinic and others because that’s better than focusing on the damage Donald Trump and his minions are doing to the country’s safety net.

• Second, the Free Clinic does great work with low-income citizens in our area who, otherwise, may not have access to any health care services.

Consider these statistics from 2024:

• The Clinic hosted 6,559 patients for medical visits, with no obligation to pay anything.

• The Clinic provided 2,310 hours of free counseling services.

• The Clinic provided 588 free dental appointments.

• The Clinic found a way to receive free medications and dispense them to patients.

How did all this occur?

Well, the Clinic has more than 200 volunteers – doctors, nurses, dentists, counselors – to provide these free services.  And many of them know how to access such resources as medications.

This is a piece of good news in Salem, Oregon.  The idea for the Free Clinic started at the church my wife and I have attended for more than 30 years.  But, beyond our church, volunteers now come from many other Salem churches, indicating that churches can put “hands and feet to the Gospel” if they work together.

The issue is not about getting credit.  The issue is doing “good work.”

At a time when charity dollars are trying up from the federal government, organizations like the Free Clinic are even more important.

So, we will continue supporting it as, if nothing else, a worthy endeavor.  But beyond worthiness, the Clinic allows those of who support it to express God’s love for all people – ALL people.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Donald Trump used to say that he could fix anything.

• He could end the war between the Ukraine and Russia.

According to the Washington Post Fact Checker column:  “Over and over during the presidential campaign, Trump pledged to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine — which began when Russia invaded its neighbor. He made it seem easy — ‘within 24 hours’ — and repeated that claim in many campaign rallies.”

The fact:  The war is still going on and Trump has never admitted that he has failed to fulfill his promise to end it.

• He could hold down prices in the United States.

Trump’s pet program – impose tariffs all over the place – only means that prices will rise across-the board. 

The fact:  Of course, he’ll never admit the effect of “his” tariffs.

• He could…well, you get the picture.

As reported by Atlantic Magazine, something has changed in the way Trump and his minions are now justifying their actions.  It boils down to this pat phrase:  “I don’t know.”

Which is a travesty because they should know.

Examples from national media:

• On Capitol Hill, Senator Dick Durbin quizzed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on cuts to research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, reading off a list of terminated employees and grants.  “I do not know about any cuts to ALS research, and I’m happy to —” Kennedy started, though Durbin stopped him and said he ought to know.
• In a Senate hearing on confirmation of former Representative Billy Long to lead the IRS, Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the nominee whether it’s legal for the president to direct the IRS to revoke an organization’s non-profit status.  Yet, even with time to check the statute’s language in front of him, Long deflected:  “I’m not able to answer the question.”
• In Boston, Justice Department lawyers were struggling to answer questions from Federal Judge Brian E. Murphy, who hurriedly convened a hearing after claims by lawyers that the administration put several people, including a Vietnamese man, aboard a plane for deportation to war-ravaged South Sudan, in possible defiance of a judicial order.  “Where is the plane?” Murphy asked, according to The New York Times. 

“I’m told that information is classified, and I am told that the final destination is also classified,” a DOJ lawyer said.  Murphy wanted to know under what authority the government was classifying the flight’s location.  The attorney replied — you guessed it — “I don’t have the answer to that.”

• Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem might have been better off pleading ignorance.  Instead, she confidently and incorrectly told Senator Maggie Hassan that “habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”  Though she thought she knew, she didn’t know anything.

From the New York Times:  “In their unawareness, these officials are taking their lead from the president. Trump once promised, “I alone can fix it,” but now he has a different message:  I have no idea, as illustrated by:

• Is his administration deporting people to Libya?  Trump answers:  “I don’t know.  You’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”
• Why did Trump choose Casey Means to be surgeon general, even though she didn’t finish her medical residency?   Trump said:  “Bobby Kennedy really thought she was great.  I don’t know her.”
• Why did Trump’s Truth Social account post an image of him dressed as the Pope, ahead of the conclave?  “That’s not me that did it.  I have no idea where it came from — maybe it was AI.  But I know nothing about it.”
• Had Trump been briefed on U.S. soldiers missing during an exercise in Lithuania?  He said, “No, I haven’t.”
• Would Trump direct his administration to provide any evidence that the graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was snatched off the street by plainclothes ICE officers, was connected to Hamas?  He said, “I’ll look into it, but I’m not aware of the particular event.”
• Why did Trump sign a proclamation authorizing his administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants?  He said, “I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it.  Other people handled it.” (Trump did, in fact, sign it.)
• Given this pattern, it’s little surprise that when NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Trump, “Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?” he had a less-than-reassuring answer:  “I don’t know.”

So, I guess the point is that Trump is watching from the sidelines and not doing anything.  Or, at least, he doesn’t know what he and his minions are doing.

If they have just a moment, I’ll tell them.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

PEW Research asked the question that I used for this blog headline.  And it raised a long-ago memory for me.

What is news?

There is no pat or magic answer.

When I lived in Washington, D.C. to work for an Oregon congressman, I returned home on a weekend for a job interview at the Oregon Department of Human Resources in Salem, Oregon, which, at that time, included the Division of Corrections.  That title meant the state’s prison and parole system.

The director of that Division, Bob Watson, was part of the interview process and asked me a good question – “what is news.”

For me, it was a reminder back even farther when I worked as a reporter for the Daily Astorian newspaper in Astoria, Oregon.  There, I covered “news.”

When Bob asked me the question, I cannot remember how I answered.

But, today, what I would say is this:  News is what reporters and editors think it is.  Nothing more.

If a news editor for a newspaper or television station thinks something is news, they’ll cover it.  If they don’t, they won’t.

In the New York Times, several reporters told the PEW Research story, which started this way:

“Measuring people’s news habits and attitudes has long been a key part of Pew Research Center’s efforts to understand American society.  Surveys regularly ask Americans how closely they are following the news, where they get their news, and how much they trust the news they see.

“But as people are exposed to more information from more sources than ever before and lines blur between entertainment, commentary, and other types of content, these questions are not as straightforward as they once were.”

The Times story continues:

“Before the rise of digital and social media, researchers had long approached the question of what news is from the journalist perspective.  Ideas of news were often tied to the institution of journalism, and journalists defined news and determined what was newsworthy.

“News considered information produced and packaged within news organizations for a passive audience, with emphasis (particularly in the United States) placed on a particular tone, a set of values, and the idea of journalism playing a civic role in promoting an informed public.”

Now, according to the Times, the PEW analysis focuses on the basis of what an audience sees. Thus, the concept of news is not necessarily tied to professional journalism.  Audiences, rather than journalists, determine what is news.

PEW puts it this way:

“…the power to define news has largely shifted from media gatekeepers to the general public.  And discussions with everyday Americans confirm the idea that its definition varies greatly from person to person, with each bringing their own mindset and approach to navigating a dizzying information environment.

“These perceptions are consequential because news – regardless of what people consider it to be – remains a consistent part of most Americans’ lives today.  About three-quarters of U.S. adults say they follow the news at least some of the time, and 44 per cent say they intentionally seek out news extremely often or often.”

Here is a summary of key findings from PEW

• Defining news has become a personal, and personalized, experience.
• Most people agree that information must be factual, up to date and important to society to be considered news.
• “Hard news” stories about politics and war continue to be what people most clearly think of as news.
• There are also consistent views on what news is not.  (People make clear distinctions between news versus entertainment and news versus opinion.)
• At the same time, views of news as not being “biased” or “opinionated” can conflict with people’s actual behaviors and preferences.
• People don’t always like news, but they say they need it. 
• People’s emotions about news are at times tied to broader feelings of media distrust, or specific events going on at that time – perhaps in combination with individuals’ political identities.

So, for me, the definition of “news” remains a simple one.  It is what reporters and editors – as well as those who write for social media outlets, even ones they create — believe it is. 

And the result is that, unless we happen to have the skill or time to research issues ourselves, the news – call it information – we consume, affects how we look at society, including government.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

This is one of five departments I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.  Because, you see, I report to myself and to no one else.

Which means I’m like Donald Trump.  I only have to answer to myself, no one else.

So, hereby, I open the Department of Bits and Pieces.

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE AND THE NEW POPE:  News broke this week that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance was setting out to establish a relationship with the new Pope, Pope Leo.

If I was the new Pope, I would not schedule Vance for a meeting.  Remember, the last time Vance with a Pope — Pope Francis — the Pope died!

So, I say to Pope Leo, move on with your priority to emphasize the importance of pastoral care, even though Vance would not know the meaning of that term.

CABINET SECRETARY BOTCHES THE DEFINTION OF HABEAS CORPUS:  As reported by national publications Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem mangled a response to a question about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, referring to the constitutional right of due process as a “right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan asked Noem about the constitutional protection after noting that White House adviser Stephen Miller told reporters earlier this month that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, the right to challenge an arrest or imprisonment.

“I want to clarify your position,” Hassan asked. “What is habeas corpus?”

“Well, habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country, and suspend their right to … ,” Noem responded before she was cut off by Hassan.

“That’s incorrect,” the senator said.

“Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the government could simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason,” Hassan said, calling it a “foundational right.”

Well, no surprise here.  On this and most other issues, Noem is like most other appointments by Donald Trump.  She has no idea what she is doing or saying, unless its obedience to Trump – and unless she wants to shoot her dog again as she vowed she could do a few months ago.

A MILITARY PARADE FOR GUESS WHO – TRUMP!  No surprise here – he wants a military parade for himself, which probably illustrates his “I want to be Putin” instinct.

Guess what?  The parade will cost in the range of $45 million.

There are far better uses for this federal money.

Plus, as I read Psalm 33 in the Bible this morning, I came across a verse that applies to Trump and other military-minded leaders in our world: 

“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.”

So, I wish Trump would read the Bible, instead of Mein Kampf.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

As my wife and I walked into our regular 8 a.m. church service last Sunday here in Salem, Oregon, we were thrilled by what we saw.

Up front on the platform stood about 30 refugees who now live here after arriving, often under duress from several foreign locations over the last few years.

The group led in music, singing in a variety of different languages – including a few dialects we had never heard of before.  They did so with enthusiasm and gusto.  And, just so you know, English was included.

For my wife and me, as Christians, what we saw was an expression of what heaven will be like some day – all kinds of people, all kinds of nationalities, all kinds of ages, all kinds of colors…all children of God.

The group up front Sunday is called “Baraka,” a word that means “blessing” in various languages. 

To use a phrase from Baraka’s website:  “It is a ministry of Salem Alliance Church that exists to bless our global neighbors with God’s love through long-term practical, social, and spiritual support.”

But, to me, it is far more than just that sentence.

It is an example of how we can have respect for and love people who are different from us, thus illustrating that God’s love transcends borders and nationalities and every other factor that often separates, not unites.

Baraka programs, which my wife and I support, include English language teaching, immigration legal services help, workforce training, and others.

Consider these statistics:

• More than 1,000 refugees have located in and around Salem in recent years, so this issue is not just one that resides in larger cities – it is in “our neighborhoods.”

• More than 12 languages are spoken by these refugees.

• More than 250 volunteers help to provide needed services.

Doug and Anya Holcomb lead the Baraka program – Doug often leading music as he sings in multiple languages and Anya delivering sermons on the importance of love for all people.  They are both children of missionaries, but were able to learn that they didn’t have to go overseas to serve as missionaries – they do so right here in Salem, Oregon.

On Sunday, Anya used these Bible verses as her text for a message that focused on unity that only God can spur – John 17:20-23:

In these verses, Christ says:  “My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity.  Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

To close, two thoughts from me:

• God loves everyone, as I wrote earlier, a foretaste of what heaven will be like when we get there.
• I wish Donald Trump would have heard what we heard Sunday so he wouldn’t label all immigrants/refugees as criminals.  It might change his priorities, though I doubt it (and, I add, the good news was that politics was not involved Sunday — and it should not have been in our church).