2017 Apr 25^th

President Trump hosted the U.N. ambassadors of the U.N.’s Security Council at a White House Lunch. Many on the right consider the U.N. useless and insist that it has accomplished nothing. These detractors do not mention UNESCO and it is possible that they don’t know it exists; the same is true of UNICEF. There is not space here to present evidence for the worthwhile activities of these groups, nor would it do any good, so I won’t try.

The Security Council ambassadors gathering at the White House would seem to an aberration. President Trump maintained that the U.N. was useless, but that was then, this is now. Perhaps he has taken a page from comments about Michigan’s weather, “If you don’t like it wait a minute and it will change.” Trump is nothing if not erratic.

Our U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was there and many assume that it was her increasing influence with Trump that led to the lunch invitation. Others have remarked about the absence of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but there were no other secretaries of state invited. Tillerson’s absence is hardly surprising. If Trump was willing to do this kind of schmoozing with selected Democrats his life would be much improved. I don’t believe there is a chance of that.

 Here is an interesting factoid to chew on: A consistent advertiser on Fox News, one I have seen advertise nowhere else, is a company eager to have its targets invest their IRA, or their retirement funds, in silver and gold coins. The pitch is that this is a consistent store of value not subject to the wild swings of the stock market. The pusher finishes by asking, “If you can’t hold it in your hand do you really own it.” This is followed by a smiling gentleman putting a handful of gold coins in his wall safe. I mention this because it coincides with a two-paragraph note in the morning paper about a couple who returned from Sunday church to find their safe burgled of 50,000 dollars in cash and jewelry. (There are funds traded on the exchange that hold nothing but silver and gold bullion. If this couple had put their money in this fund they would still have their money.)

I find it curious that gold and silver coins are marketed so enthusiastically to Fox viewers. Could it be that these folks are seen as a tad paranoid, expecting the collapse of the monetary system and looking for something better to do with their assets than bury them in a coffee can in the back yard.

Onward and upward; we turn to the British betting parlors for the odds that Trump will fail to finish his first term. Ladbrokes now has that at 50/50 and dropping. Not long ago a dollar bet would have won you three dollars if you bet on impeachment or resignation and you were right. So many people wanted to bet against him finishing that the odds are now just 50/50.

Of course his supporters point out the odds were against him winning the election in the first place.