Marooned. . .

(Marooned. . .)

The film Marooned, a 1969 release from Columbia was a bad film but with an A-List cast, like Gregory Peck or Gene Hackman. The basic plot was that a three-man astronaut crew, after some time at a space station, their Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) main engine would not light. Maneuvering thrusters proved in-sufficient to achieve re-entry. The three astronauts were thus "marooned." Like the two astronauts that have been on the International Space Station for the past nine months.


Like Gilligan's Island, where a "three-hour tour" turned into years on a desert island, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, launched back in September for the ISS but technical issues with the Boeing ascent vehicle, mandated that the crew should remain in space, marooning the astronauts. President Trump made the comment that he hoped Williams and Wilmore get along. In any event, a recovery mission is being launched from Kennedy Space Center, from the same Pad that launched the Apollo Moon Missions.  The space refugees should return to terra firma sometime next week.


However, Williams and Wilmore have not been the only ones marooned. In a sense, Senate Democrats are marooned in their own right because they cannot congeal to pass the Budget. Senator Schumer has said he will vote to advance the Legislation. Assuming that all 53 Republicans vote to pass, Schumer brings it to 54, leaving 6 Members to either join the Minority Leader or stand fast and let the government close. Senator Schumer has said that with government offices closed, Trump could effect new reductions independent of Congressional input.


However, the President himself is marooned. As long as Trump is engaging in tariff applications, and the Markets remain volatile, Trump's actions are therefore limited. There is a path forward, the road to a promised land but until that point is reached, things will stay in place. 


Finally, House Republicans need to move forward on the Trump agenda especially in making the 2017 cuts permanent and until they do, they are similarly marooned. If it is a case of organization, with the Budget out of the Chamber, the tax cuts would be the next step. With Trump tariffs having its own effect, tax relief could equalize things.


But, after Williams and Wilmore come back to Earth, Senate Democrats will need to decide how far they can go in funding the government, how far Trump can promote tariffs, and how long could the House stand on not acting on tax cuts. At the moment, everybody is marooned. Rescue, as it is, could prove problematic. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TEQUILA !

(TEQUILA !) Happy Cinco de Mayo or May 5th. One can hope that a lot of you out there are awash in inebriation, seeking to mainline tequila shots or enjoying a nice margarita on the patio. Or, in other words, relax. Take a breath. De-compress. May 5th as it happens is the anniversary of Mexico's victory over French "occupation" of Mexico by Emperor Maximillian, brother to Austrian monarch Maria Theresa in what has been called the Battle of Puebla. The reason France was in Mexico in the first place was that Mexico, after the Mexican-American War and a more civil conflict called the Reform War, had bankrupted Mexico City. Mexican President at the time was Benito Juarez, who repudiated all foreign debt, of which France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were all major holders. A naval expedition was dispatched to Veracruz and France's Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to establish a French "empire" in Mexico. But, on May 5th, 1862, in the aforementioned B...
Read more

Keeping The Faith ?

(Keeping The Faith ?) Happy Memorial Day ! This is the day when the nation pauses and recognizes the contributions of the men and women that strove, and often times perished in the defense of this country. How many campaigns and battles have been seen over the years with Americans in harms way. Theirs was not a pursuit of glory, necessarily but they are remembered as such. As an example, take the Joe Rosenthal photo of the "Iwo Jima Flag-raising," February 23rd, 1945. Most people know what that is and not a few have a copy on their wall. Three of those Marines survived Iwo Jima and went on a bond tour to promote that picture. The U.S. was able to fund the rest of the War off of that drive but the Marines in question did not fare well. Private Ira Hayes, the last casualty of the Volcano Island died of exposure some years later. There was one other Marine, Rene Gagnon, and who was originally believed to be Navy Corpman, John Bradley. Since then, the "place" in the Ros...
Read more

Prime Garbage ?

(Prime Garbage ?) In the movie Down & Out in Beverly Hills , starring Nick Nolte and Richard Dreyfus, Nolte plays a Beverly Hills bum who gets taken in by Dreyfus' family. Things did not quite work out Nolte went back to the street but he wanted to take the family dog, Nolte was rummaging through some trash and telling the dog this was "prime garbage." For his part, the dog changed his mind and went back to the Dreyfus family. During the Trump event at Madison Square Garden, an opening act comedian made some remark disparaging Puerto Rico, calling it a "island of garbage." Naturally the media went to work, saying it could depress the Puerto Rican vote, especially in Pennsylvania. Then, the Island "Senator" came out and endorsed Trump. But it has been President Biden's comment that the only "garbage he sees" are Trump voters. Reminiscent of Secretary Clinton's "basket of deplorables ?" Is the Biden remark that new standa...
Read more