‘But What About the Elephants?’

11/17/2017

Lovely Photo by Stephen W. Oachs

(This posting has been revised since the presidential swerve late Friday evening, via Twitter.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/us/politics/trump-elephant-trophy-ban.html?_r=

Ted Turner used to make this impassioned plea for an endangered species -- indeed, for an endangered planet -- during his noble effort, The Goodwill Games in Moscow, 1986.

Remember 1986? Remember Goodwill? Remember Gorbachev? For that matter, remember Ted Turner? I dubbed him a “holy fool” because of his Dostoyevskian zeal.

John Feinstein, covering those games in Moscow, heard Turner’s stump speech so often that he could sense the punch line coming.

“But what about the elephants?” John would squawk.

Those were the good old days, when we produced holy fools, not flat-out fools.

Now Turner's cause is sabotaged daily by Donald Trump, whose only concern is setting up his own spawn and the Mnuchins and Wilburs of the world for more riches.

Trump is all for porous pipelines and spewing coal stacks (and tax revisions) as long as they make somebody richer.

For a moment this week he also tried to set up his own killer sons and their type to get richer from slaughtering “trophy” animals in Zimbabwe and importing their parts.

In mid-week Trump announced his intention to make it legally possible to import -- to display -- to brag about -- these tails and tusks and Lord knows what else, cut from the dead bodies of these most civilized mammals.

The total of worldwide elephants has dropped 30 percent from 2007 to 20014. I read that in the Times. People with the savage name of Trump have contributed to that. Are proud of that. What an ugly family.

For some reason, Trump changed his mind in one of his late-night Twitter eruptions Friday, saying he was delaying any action on the (Obama-era) policy to ban importing elephant "trophies."

The article in Saturday's paper:

_r=www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/us/politics/trump-elephant-trophy-ban.html?_r=

I have felt more personal about elephants since visiting South Africa for the World Cup in 2010. Our guide Witold took four journalists on a day trip out of Johannesburg for the only exposure to nature we would have during a hectic month.

Witold was trying to find lions and other Bold Letter animals during our quickie run into the wild.

He parked on a dirt road and looked around. Then he saw a family of elephants to our left, moving toward us. We were on their crossroad. He backed up 10 feet, and the family of elders and infants walked slowly in front of us, their heads turned to the right to keep an eye on us, as well they might. (“We’re not Trumps!” I could have said, “We’re not that sort!”)

Their right eyes were patient and wise as they walked with dignity. I fell in love with elephants at that moment, the kind of easy emotion for a day-tripper on a day off from football. I wish I had taken photos, but I was mesmerized.

That was my lifetime African experience. Big deal. But it stayed with me, to the point that I feel familial rage toward a plunderer who enables murderers from his own sordid brood. Have a tusk, Donald. Have a tail, Eric. Go shoot something, brave guys.

“But what about the elephants?”

Where is Ted Turner when we really need him?

A Trump with Knife and Elephant Tail

Jim Trupin

11/17/2017 04:39:54 pm

In re the lifting of the endangered species import prohibition by the FM on behalf of his idiot spawn, phone and/or write your congressperson and ask him or her to introduce a bill prohibiting said importation. Then let's see who co-sponsors or supports and who opposes the bill and/or who tries to quash it in committee. We Americans sure do love animals more than our fellow man so let's get to the "Which Side Are You On?" segment of the debate asap!

Joshua Rubin

11/17/2017 04:51:18 pm

"We Americans sure do love animals more than our fellow man"

We'll see what causes the greater outcry, open season on elephants or taking health care away from 13 million so the Trump children can keep their inheritance tax free.

Everything this president says and does seems to originate in a toxic and twisted soul (I may be too generous with that last word). Sorry if my comment is a little more caustic than usual.

George Vecsey

11/18/2017 09:01:52 am

To Jim Trupin and Joshua Rubin: I appreciate your point but i don't think it's "either/or" for animals and humans. I do think we have a responsibility to care for, to protect, "animals" in a world we dominate. But I also feel that it is a human responsibility to take care of our own, in the broadest sense. Make your own judgment about what I see as a rapacious bunch. Thanks, GV

Brian Savin

11/17/2017 08:44:17 pm

Oh sweet Jesus, George. Stay the execution and pay attention please, Let's see what happens. Im curious, too.
Best
Brian

Trump Tweet:
"Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!
9,166 replies 5,441 retweets 22,949 likes"

George Vecsey

11/18/2017 09:04:12 am

Brian, thanks for alerting me about Trump's mood swing. You'll notice that I updated it. I'd love to know why he changed his whim. I value your comments and knowledge. George

Diane Tuman

11/18/2017 09:39:31 pm

Let's face it: Don the Con is a repulsive human being. Nothing he does surprises me anymore. But, just like OJ, the karma gods will catch up to him and his cast of characters. It should be a good show.

bruce

11/19/2017 09:55:10 pm

george,

i've seen the pic of don jr with the elephant tail.

it's grotesque and, quite literally, makes my skin crawl.

brings home again why we cheer for the bull.....

i guess the family upbringing plus the culture of the gun in the usa makes a perfect storm with the trump boys.

you picking the argos or stampeders in the grey cup for the world championship (since 1909) next weekend?

and laval or western for the vanier cup?

and what about the kid from arizona playing for the leafs and lighting up the nhl.....

bruce

Alan Rubin

11/20/2017 02:24:25 pm

Alan Rubinlink( airubin13@gmail.com )11/20/2017 10:48:47 am
Sandi and I spent two weeks in the bush in the spring of 2008, one of the countries being Zimbabwe. It was an interesting time as Zimbabwe was six weeks away from a presidential election and everyone we spoke with was excited at the prospect of replacing Magabe. It was obviously when it took so long for the results to be announced that the fix was in.

The were also excited about Obama running for president and the 2010 World Cup coming to South Africa.

It was initially very exciting to see wild animals up close, particularly the elephants. After a few days were concerned that it would be boring to do the same thing every day. However, every day brought new wonders. The elephants were most amazing.

Although they were very large, they moved almost without sound and made a very small path in the ground. However, it was their intelligence was was so amazing.

There was one in the distance that kept knocking down trees. We did not believe our guide when he said that the elephant was showing off and would stop if we looked away. That was exactly what happened.

We were also told that the elephants near the boundaries of the bush were more dangerous because of the danger of humans such as hunters. Park rangers in Xambia were instructed to shoot any unorthoized person with a rifle, no questions asked.

I would to see the results of an IQ test between Trump and an elephant.

Bruce

11/20/2017 02:26:02 pm

Alan: you had me til the last line.

Alan Rubin link

11/20/2017 02:03:44 pm

Bruce. I also missed that the elephants may be upset about being the symbol of the Republican Party. Although there are many responsible members in congress, there is a herd mentality

George Vecsey

11/20/2017 02:30:14 pm

There are many examples of elephants demonstrating compassion, mourning their dead. A recent video from India showed villagers setting fire to a baby elephant and the mother trying to stomp out the blaze, only to injure herself. Compare this to the sociopath who got elected last November. GV

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140221-elephants-poaching-empathy-grief-extinction-science/

bruce

11/20/2017 02:41:24 pm

alan,

I was solely thinking of the elephants being insulted and thought you might've heard from their legal reps by now.

did not think of the dem/repub symbols.

bruce

Brian Savin

11/20/2017 07:28:02 pm

I think this thread has taken a major turn for the worst at this point and everyone who thinks they're comments are smart should just leave them there. Life is too short and there is too much to still learn. Let's pursue it.
Best
Brian Savin

Gene Palumbo

11/22/2017 03:07:51 am

Bruce: What a great sentence: "I was solely thinking of the elephants being insulted and thought you might've heard from their legal reps by now." I loved it. Surely you'll be recognized for it at the blog's end-of-year awards ceremony.

bruce

11/22/2017 08:39:52 am

gene,

thanks.

i'm still waiting to hear.....

bruce

Comments are closed.

QUOTES

Measuring Covid Deaths, by David Leonhardt. July 17, 2023. NYT online.
The United States has reached a milestone in the long struggle against Covid: The total number of Americans dying each day — from any cause — is no longer historically abnormal….

After three horrific years, in which Covid has killed more than one million Americans and transformed parts of daily life, the virus has turned into an ordinary illness.

The progress stems mostly from three factors:
First, about three-quarters of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine shot.
Second, more than three-quarters of Americans have been infected with Covid, providing natural immunity from future symptoms. (About 97 percent of adults fall into at least one of those first two categories.)
Third, post-infection treatments like Paxlovid, which can reduce the severity of symptoms, became widely available last year.
“Nearly every death is preventable,” Dr. Ashish Jha, who was until recently President Biden’s top Covid adviser, told me. “We are at a point where almost everybody who’s up to date on their vaccines and gets treated if they have Covid, they rarely end up in the hospital, they almost never die.”

That is also true for most high-risk people, Jha pointed out, including older adults — like his parents, who are in their 80s — and people whose immune systems are compromised. “Even for most — not all but most —immuno-compromised people, vaccines are actually still quite effective at preventing against serious illness,” he said. “There has been a lot of bad information out there that somehow if you’re immuno-compromised that vaccines don’t work.”

That excess deaths have fallen close to zero helps make this point: If Covid were still a dire threat to large numbers of people, that would show up in the data.

One point of confusion, I think, has been the way that many Americans — including we in the media — have talked about the immuno-compromised. They are a more diverse group than casual discussion often imagines.

Most immuno-compromised people are at little additional risk from Covid — even people with serious conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or a history of many cancers. A much smaller group, such as people who have received kidney transplants or are undergoing active chemotherapy, face higher risks.

Covid’s toll, to be clear, has not fallen to zero. The C.D.C.’s main Covid webpage estimates that about 80 people per day have been dying from the virus in recent weeks, which is equal to about 1 percent of overall daily deaths.

The official number is probably an exaggeration because it includes some people who had virus when they died even though it was not the underlying cause of death. Other C.D.C. data suggests that almost one-third of official recent Covid deaths have fallen into this category. A study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases came to similar conclusions.

Dr. Shira Doron, the chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts, told me that “age is clearly the most substantial risk factor.” Covid’s victims are both older and disproportionately unvaccinated. Given the politics of vaccination, the recent victims are also disproportionately
Republican and white.

Each of these deaths is a tragedy. The deaths that were preventable — because somebody had not received available vaccines and treatments — seem particularly tragic. (Here’s a Times guide to help you think about when to get your next booster shot.)
***

From the great Maureen Dowd:

As I write this, I’m in a deserted newsroom in The Times’s D.C. office. After working at home for two years during Covid, I was elated to get back, so I could wander around and pick up the latest scoop.
But in the last year, there has been only a smattering of people whenever I’m here, with row upon row of empty desks. Sometimes a larger group gets lured in for a meeting with a platter of bagels."

--- Dowd writes about the lost world of journalists clustered in newsrooms at all hours, smoking, drinking, gossipping, making phone calls, typing, editing.
***
"Putting out the paper," we called it.
Much more than nostalgia.
---https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/29/opinion/journalism-newsroom.html

‘But What About the Elephants?’

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