HOYT PURVIS: Outrage and rants in outrageous times

Rage and outrage seem to come easily and often in these outrageous times.

Although there are numerous examples of the outrageous in our politics, by no means are they limited to the political realm. However, politics impinges on or interferes with many aspects of our lives, as does financial influence. Take the obviously outrageous case of the college admissions scandal, a particularly seamy and scurrilous chapter in recent history,

Close to home, there is the issue of the giant "hog farm" -- the concentrated animal feeding operation located not far from the Buffalo River, the first national river and a treasure for Arkansas and the nation. Regulators and other officials have not provided the appropriate protection and oversight, a truly outrageous failure. And we also have the Bella Vista "stump dump" fire, a serious health hazard that will likely cost millions to eradicate once the process begins. There will be plenty of lawsuits, too.

In these days of basketball's March Madness, we see the outrageous in big-time sports. Among the more notable cases we have the explosive rant by Tom Izzo, the Michigan State coach who unmercifully berated one of his players in the televised NCAA Tournament. Izzo had his defenders and many of us who have participated in team sports have experienced some harsh harangues, but as Associated Press journalist Paul Newberry wrote, when Izzo was pressed on the issue, "he essentially blamed the media for making such a big deal about a little harmless public shaming." Anti-media rants are, of course, rather commonplace these days.

Speaking of basketball coaches, when watching the tournament, I would swear I saw Bruce Pearl coaching the Auburn team, which has had a successful season. Is that the same Bruce Pearl followed by scandal through much of his career? The same Pearl who spent three seasons out of the game after scandal in his previous job, fired by Tennessee after he lied to the NCAA during an investigation of his program? Only days before the tournament, Chuck Person, who was an assistant to Pearl, pleaded guilty to charges he accepted bribes to steer Auburn players to certain agents and advisers. Along with Pearl, successful coaches whose teams made it to the tourney included Kentucky's John Calipari. who had Final Four appearances vacated at two schools he previously coached, and Houston's Kelvin Sampson, who left two programs on probation before taking the Houston job.

But we must move on to politics, which provides us with an all-too lengthy catalog of the outrageous. A starting point would be the steady stream of rants by Trump focused on the late John McCain, repeatedly disparaging him and his distinguished record of service to the nation. As Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said, referring to Trump's seeming obsessive grudge against McCain, "I don't understand. I don't get it."

One of the more notable Trump pronouncements of late was this: "I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump -- I have the tough people, but they don't play it tough until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad." He added, "But the left plays it cuter and tougher." What's that somewhat sinister and threatening statement all about?

There's no doubt that unrealistic promises and exaggerated claims abound. Consider the matter of the federal budget deficit, a subject I've frequently addressed.

Remember in recent election cycles when we had lots of congressional candidates promising a balanced budget. More recently, Trump has said the budget can be balanced "at the right time." However, we are in the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. The overall deficit for the first five months of the budget year is up 39 percent over the same period last year. Unrealistic promises are evident in the dispute about the closure of a GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, with Trump in a verbal battle with union officials.Trump had repeatedly promised that the jobs that have left Ohio, a key state in national politics, "are all coming back."

Finally, and most prominently, we have the summary report from special counsel Robert Mueller -- with perspectives on it viewed through the lens of individual and collective politics and setting up a new round of outrageous claims and charges. Seen largely as a victory for the president, certainly in his eyes, now there is the debate about exoneration or non-exoneration. The report says Trump is exonerated on the issue of Russian "collusion." And Trump insists that it is "a complete and total exoneration." Yet, the summary report states that it "does not exonerate" the president on the issue of obstructing justice. And Democrats want more information from the investigation. Members of the all-Republican Arkansas congressional delegation were reportedly pleased with the report but have also supported making the full report available to the public, or at least all except what might be legally prohibited.

It leaves many unanswered questions for ongoing outrage.

Commentary on 03/27/2019

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