#154 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday September 27)
Good morning!
I drove past Gracie Allen Street, which bisects the Cedars Sinai campus. Gracie was among the most famous entertainers of her time. Part of the famous due with her husband, George Burns. Many of my generation remember George because he lived so long and played God in the movies (Gracie had died earlier). Driving past the street named for Gracie made me think of how fleeting is fame but also how fleeting is time. In the end, even a star as well-known as Gracie eventually becomes irrelevant in the greater scheme of things.
We are a mere blip in the lifetime of our galaxy. Our world has existed for 4.5 billion years and has another 4 billion years ahead before we are consumed by the expansion of the sun. We are here for less than a century (except in rare circumstances). What we do has great import during our time on this earth—how we treat others, how we leave a mark. And it is true that what we do affects those around us and decisions we make can have ramifications for future generations—in ways both good and bad, we each remain, in the end, largely irrelevant. Eventually we will become but a memory to children and grandchildren and, over time, will recede into becoming little more than the subject of genealogical explorations of generations far in the future.
GENERAL MILLEY AND THE CHAIN OF COMMAND
There has been a great deal of commentary on General Milley’s efforts to put the brakes on any potential action by President Trump involving using the military subsequent to the election and before President Biden’s inauguration. There are a number of lessons I have gleaned and conclusions I’ve reached:
The spate of books about Mr. Trump’s final days confirm what many of us suspected. He was imbalanced, obsessed with the election he had just lost, and completely focused on circumventing our democracy to retain office.
More importantly, Mr. Trump was actively pursuing overturning the election through pressure on his advisors, state election officials and others. His sycophantic inner circle was mapping out various ways to circumvent democracy for Trump’s purposes.
Mr. Trump was erratic and could not be depended upon by his most trusted advisors, attending to his own business and not the business of State.
Mr. Milley has been accused of acting outside the chain of command. That’s a pretty significant accusation but it appears true. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not have direct responsibility to intercede between the president and the armed forces.
It also is true that no member of the military is required to follow an unlawful order (in fact, they are required not to follow such an order). Query, whether Mr. Milley’s intercession to ask troops to “slow walk” any order for use of force (particularly nuclear) was a way of staving off an unlawful order prior to its being made. But this poses its own implications. What happens in the future when a military leader not apprised of all the information possessed by the President at the time, interferes with a legitimate Presidential command?
Mr. Milley probably should step down. While he acted in the best interests of the country as he saw them, the consequences of his patriotic act is to make him subject to removal. His continued involvement on the national stage makes it difficult to move past his actions. Sometimes doing the right thing has unfortunate consequences for the actor.
There needs to be a better way to control our nuclear arsenal. We cannot in the future be subject to the whim of a president taking action unilaterally. There need to be findings and there needs to be at least some rational basis for the use of such extreme measures. Congress should undertake consideration of legislation to accomplish this before we are faced with another angry, imbalanced man without regard for our democracy, the rule of law, or the protocols of our government ascends to the office of the presidency.
BURNS AND ALLEN
Because they were so iconic and so emblematic of an era, the “superstars” of their generation of comedy here is Gracie beating George in Gin Rummy:
And here is a selection of best clips of Gracie Allen:
GEORGE AND HILLCREST
George on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. References to hanging with the other greatest comedians at Hillcrest:
Have a great week,
Glenn
From the archives: