On April 24th, Donald Trump referred to North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un as “very honorable.” That’s an upgrade for a despot Trump threatened with “fire and fury” and derided as “Little Rocket Man.” There is reason to question Trump’s ability to judge character, as evidenced by his surrounding himself with con men and grifters (Pruitt, Zinke, Cohen, Sater, Kushner, Price, etc.), his history of questionable liaisons (Marla Maples, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, etc.) and choice of mentor (Roy Cohn). The President has clearly demonstrated infatuation with dictators, praising the Filipino maniac Rodrigo Duterte and acting as Vladimir Putin’s Fan Boy in Chief. But Trump is the President and if he believes Kim is an honorable man, then that’s important.
Kim Jong-un is the grandson of the founder of the modern prison-state of North Korea and its reliance on gulag governance. “Kim Il-Sung’s rule was based on ruthless rights abuses,” stated Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch in 2016, “including frequent use of enforced disappearances and deadly prison camps to inflict fear and repress any voices challenging his rule.” “The man is dead,” he added, “but his brainwashing and horrific abuses live on. Kim Jong-Un is following right along in his grandfather’s footsteps.” But Kim Jong-un is an honorable man.
Kim Il-Sung was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Il, who governed in the family’s despotic tradition. After he died in 2011, Human Rights Watch summarized what it referred to as his “legacy of mass atrocity,” noting Kim Jong-Il ruled for 17 years and “was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions, of North Koreans through widespread preventable starvation, horrendous prisons and forced labor camps, and public executions.” Kenneth Roth, the organization’s Executive Director, said “Kim Jong-Il will be remembered as the brutal overseer of massive and systematic oppression that included a willingness to let his people starve.” He called on his son and successor, Kim Jong-un, to “break with the past and put the human rights of North Koreans first, not last.” Kim Jong-un demonstrates no concern for the human rights of his people, who struggle to survive in a land where political prisoners are jailed by the thousands and the masses live within a crumb’s toss of starvation. But Kim Jong-un is an honorable man.
While North Korea is the most opaque nation on earth, a handful of defectors have described what life is like under the corpulent young dictator, Kim Jong-un. One of them, using the pseudonym Hee Yeon Lim, told The Mirror in 2017 she was a member of a privileged family when she defected in 2015. She related being forced to watch a public execution in a stadium, along with her classmates. The victims were eleven musicians accused of making a pornographic video. She said they were lashed to the barrel end of anti-aircraft guns approximately 200 feet from where she stood. “Their bodies were blown to bits,” she said, “totally destroyed, blood and bits flying everywhere.” Some of her classmates were forcibly taken from school to serve as Kim Jong-un’s sex slaves. Another defector, May Joo, told United Press International earlier this year she was raped in prison before she escaped in 2005. She said North Korean women do not realize rape is a crime because North Koreans have no concept of human rights. “It never occurs to them to speak up or seek justice,” she said. A third defector, Joo-Il Kim, told The Express last year that Kim Jong-un is the most dangerous leader in the family dynasty, citing his treatment of family members. He noted that Kim’s father and grandfather ordered the execution of people “for standing against them but they didn’t kill their family or their close cronies.” He added that “Kim Jong-un killed his uncle.” “That is a crime against humanity,” he said. “His madness is beyond explanation.” Kim also killed his own half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, with a chemical attack in Kuala Lumpur. Kim Jong Nam’s son, Kim Han Sol, has gone into hiding because of his outspoken support for democracy, peace, and diplomacy. He knows his life is in danger. But Kim Jong-un is an honorable man.
President Trump just announced that he and Kim will meet on June 12th in Singapore, Malaysia, a meeting that was first proposed by Kim. The announcement coincided with the release of three American citizens who had been detained by North Korean authorities without cause and were, in fact, political hostages. The men returned in the early morning hours and Trump met them personally when they arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, later tweeting video clips of himself greeting the men. He wrapped Kim in his glow, telling the gathering, “We want to thank Kim Jong-un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people.” Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has brought back American prisoners from North Korea, was more realistic, telling Vox the three were held on phony charges “because the North Koreans see them as a potential bargaining chip to trade in for the future.” The release was a cynical move by a despot who regards human life as a disposable commodity, but Trump does not see it that way because Kim Jong-un is an honorable man.
Trump is optimistic about the talks with Kim. The New York Times reported Trump told the media “his proudest achievement will be ‘when we denuclearize that entire peninsula.’” He’s already suggesting he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, telling the media, “Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it.” Of course, he will bring peace to Korea and win the Prize. After all, his negotiating partner is Kim Jong-un, and Kim Jong-un is an honorable man.
© 2018 by Mike Tully
Who’s Got A Secret?
The “He” with “a secret” is Tom Steyer, the progressive billionaire famous for his quixotic Trump impeachment petition, an effort that has landed more than a million signatures. Steyer’s not reclusive. He appears in television and cable ads for his impeachment effort and generously grants interview requests. What’s his “secret?”
The website features a photo apparently showing a man telling a woman something shocking, although it looks like he’s blowing into the ear of an inflatable sex doll. The site claims Steyer doesn’t have one secret, but “A few of them, actually, and he’s keeping these secrets to mislead US and millions of other Arizonans TO MAKE ALL OF US PAY FOR HIS PERSONAL AGENDA BY DOUBLING YOUR UTILITY BILL.” The website never explains Steyer’s “personal agenda,” nor how it will double utility bills. As for the “secrets:”
The first “secret” is that the clean energy initiative “is a proposal by a hedge fund billionaire from California,” referring to Steyer. In reality, the initiative was crafted by Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona, “a coalition of organizations and individuals, including Arizona doctors, nurses, labor unions, and small businesses, who know that this measure will improve public health and create good jobs for Arizona.” Among its endorsers are the Arizona Asthma Coalition, the Arizona Public Health Association, and the Arizona Building and Construction Trade Council. The purpose of the initiative is to require electricity providers “to generate at least 50% of their annual sales of electricity from renewable energy sources.” Steyer plays a role, however. His organization, “NextGen,” has provided virtually all of the organization’s funding.
The second “secret” is that Steyer earned much of his fortune through investments in coal-burning utilities before he divested holdings in them. The website links to a 2014 New York Times profile written when Steyer was first recognized as an environmental activist. “Over the past 15 years,” wrote the Times, “Mr. Steyer’s fund, Farallon Capital Management, has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into companies that operate coal mines and coal-fired power plants from Indonesia to China, records and interviews show.” The Times quoted a troubled Steyer admirer who complained, “you can’t undo what you’ve done in the past.” Who can? Do past mistakes preclude future benevolence? Alfred Nobel was inspired to establish the Nobel Prizes “for the Greatest Benefit to Mankind” after a French reporter, who mistakenly thought he had died, “ran an eviscerating epitaph” in which he referred to Nobel as a “Tradesman of Death.” The late Senator Robert Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan who became a civil rights advocate. Neither could undo what he had done in the past.
The final “secret” is that “Steyer’s plan isn’t working in California,” referring to Senate Bill 350, crafted by Senator Kevin DeLeon. While Steyer consistently supports clean energy legislation, it’s misleading to characterize DeLeon’s bill as Steyer’s work. The “Secret” website adds, “California passed the same mandate just 3 years ago and their retail electric rates are already 47% higher than Arizona’s,” citing the U. S. Energy Information Administration. Is that meaningful? If somebody asked how many cents you pay per kilowatt hour, would you know? Of course not; nobody pays attention to that. However, if they asked what you pay for utilities, you’d know the answer. That’s what we focus on: what we pay, not the rate per kilowatt hour. When you look at what customers in California and Arizona actually pay for energy, the difference is insignificant. The U. S. Energy Information Administration reports California’s annual energy expenditure per capita was $3,126.00, 43rd in the country in 2015. Arizonans paid $189.00 less – the 47th highest. That’s for all energy expenditures. While Californians pay a higher rate for electricity than Arizonans, the opposite is true for natural gas. In February of this year Californians paid the 12th highest rate for natural gas in the country, according to the Administration. Arizonans, ranked 7th, paid 15% more.
Speaking of secrets: who’s behind the “Secret” sign and website? There’s no identifier on the sign, a possible violation of Arizona Revised Statute § 16-925, which requires whoever paid for the sign to include their identity “displayed in a height that is at least four percent of the vertical height of the sign.” The website footer states “Paid for By Reliable Energy Policy.” There is a corporation with that name which submitted Articles of Incorporation on May 1st. Its address is on the 19th floor of a high-rise at 2800 North Central Avenue in Phoenix. The Articles state it was “organized exclusively for educational and social welfare purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(4) of the (Internal Revenue) Code.” Such organizations are the favorite vehicle for “dark money” donors who prefer to remain in the shadows.
The” Secret” website is such an amateurish product that it’s unlikely to impact the petition drive, which has an uphill battle anyway – organizers need to submit nearly a quarter of a million valid signatures by July 5th. But the perpetrators should not be allowed to get away with the audacity of denouncing Steyer for having “secrets” when they won’t even identify themselves. Who’s really keeping secrets here?
© 2018 by Mike Tully
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