Photo, left:  Giotto di Bondone’s painting, Kiss of Judas; Scrovegni Arena Chapel, Padua.  Jesus Betrayed by Judas and Arrested: Stations of the Cross — Second Station.  Judas is portrayed in Giotto’s painting Kiss of Judas as he has often been seen throughout the history of religious  art, with red hair (meant as a mark of the satanic), lacking a halo, wearing a yellow cloak (symbolizing greed, being the color of gold, and cowardice), and though not depicted here, often holding a moneybag. His role in the passion narrative is a conflicted one. What was it that drove this troubled, often demonized, figure of the gospel narrative to betray Jesus—greed, disillusionment with a messianic mission, lack of courage?
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 1, Block A: Liz Peek. Fiscal Times and FoxNews.com, in re:   Donald Trump could become president. What would he really be like?   Donald Trump might well become the 45th president of the United States. How do you feel about that? Exhilarated? Anxious? Proud?
My guess: many of us feel mischievous, like a kid about to say his first four-letter word in public.
Supporting Trump is risky, unorthodox and could lead to completely unpredictable results.
It’s fun, until you remember that we’re talking about electing a president of the United States of America, arguably the most important job in the world.
Trump-ites would argue, how bad can he be? Look at the other clowns who have occupied the Oval Office. They might have better manners, but they sure have made a hash of the job.
Absolutely true. Still, the overwhelming anxiety is that we don’t know much about what kind of president Donald Trump would make. What kind of man is he? A good man? A bad man? A dolt born with a silver spoon in his mouth who got lucky?
For insight, we naturally turn to Rick Reilly, senior writer for Sports Illustrated. In his book "Who’s your Caddy?" subtitled “Looping for the Great, Near Great and Reprobates of Golf,” Reilly recounts carrying The Donald’s bag around the “preposterously wonderful” Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York.
This took place in 2002 or thereabouts, when talk of Trump’s running for president had already surfaced once or twice, and after the Supernova explosion of the developer’s empire. Reilly and Trump are accompanied on their round by the developer’s eight-year-old daughter Tiffany and by then-girlfriend Melania whom Reilly describes as “so damn centerfold beautiful she ought to come with staples.” Score one for Trump – a family man. Sort of.
It is clear from the outset that Trump’s particular brand of braggadocio and hyperbole goes way back; Reilly writes, “Trump is mayor of Superlative City.” Everything is the “biggest”, the “best”, the “most incredible” – just like the wall Donald will build to keep out the Mexicans or the military he promises to build. Only, in 2002 he was describing the cheeseburgers at his golf course, cooked by “the best cheeseburger chef on the entire Eastern Seaboard.” He claims the construction of the course required “the largest earthmoving project in the history of Westchester County.” Score two- consistency.
His fascination with himself goes way back too. Stacked up in his office in Trump Tower are Xeroxed copies of magazine articles about himself and his golf courses. As the reporter notes, “He is not just the CEO, he is the greatest public relations agent in the world.” “He understands the value of free publicity,” notes Reilly. The sort of free publicity that thrust him ahead in the GOP race early on, throwing over all assumptions about the role of money in politics. Jeb Bush spent gazillions and got nowhere; Trump has used his celebrity to get incredible free airtime and winds up in the lead. Score three – outstanding promotional talent. 
On their whirlwind round of 18, which takes only 3 hours 15 minutes thanks to Trump parking his cart wherever he feels like it (it’s his course, after all), Trump harangues and bullies groundskeepers, the general manager, brick layers and sundry others into making the course even more Trumpalicious. As a result, it is immaculate. Some Spanish-speakers from Chile do such a good job he rewards them with $100 dollar bills – just like that. His attention to minutia is startling, as is his golf. Score four – he gets results.
You get the feeling Reilly is surprised by Trump – how likeable he is. He can see why his wives remain friendly. “The man is flamboyant, creative, energetic, unpredictable, fun and nuts.” And, he doesn’t cheat (much) at golf.
On the other hand, Trump lies and exaggerates about everything. About his businesses, about himself, his accomplishments, how much people like him. Also, “everyone over the age of six can see how attention-needy he is, how full of himself…,” how he demands to be the center of attention. He loves to gamble, plays for keeps and takes huge risks, such as trying to take over American football.
As Reilly negotiated the terms of the interview, he had asked for two days. Trump looked him “square in the eye” and said “Believe me, one day of me is enough.” At the end of the round, after the limo has whisked him back to Manhattan, Reilly sums up: “Loved Trump. Loved the lies. Loved the truths…” And concludes, “One day is enough”.
Doesn’t that say it all? Will we elect Trump only to find three months in that we’re tired of the bluster, the threats, and the insults? Or will his talents make him an outstanding president? We still have no idea.   Liz Peek is a writer who contributes frequently to FoxNews.com. She is a financial columnist who also writes for The Fiscal Times. For more visit LizPeek.com. Follow her on Twitter@LizPeek.
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 1, Block B:  Jim McTague, Barron’s, in re:   U.S. Economy Starting 2016 on Solid Footing - Economists React: ‘Less Than Meets the Eye’   -  The U.S. economy looks to be off to a solid start to the year after ending 2015 on a sour note, with consumer spending showing signs of a pickup and the fourth quarter’s initial growth reading looking a bit better than thought.
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 1, Block C:  Lev Golinkin, The Nation and A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, in re: Ukraine, Maidan, Right Sector, and a film, Winter on Fire,  that’s edited out all references to a major factor in Maidan: the  indigenous neo-fascists.  http://www.thenation.com/article/the-heartbreaking-irony-of-winter-on-fire/
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 1, Block D:  Bradley Herring, Mercatus Center, in re:  A new study sponsored by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University offers an important potential explanation for recent health care spending trends. Using a method not previously applied to this question, the author finds that at least 70 per cent of the recent slowdown in health care spending growth – if not all of it – results from predictable, known factors such as income, insurance coverage, and provider market characteristics. The authors then apply these results to project the likely health care spending increases from the ACA expansions of Medicaid.
To read the study and learn more about its authors, Bradley Herring of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Erin Trish of the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy, please see “Explaining the Growth in US Health Care Spending Using State-Level Variation in Income, Insurance, and Provider Market Dynamics.”
 
Hour Two
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 2, Block A:  Michael E Vlahos, Johns Hopkins & Naval War College, in re: The great prophet Mahan, Naval war power: China and US (embracing as two acolytes of Mahan).   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Orange ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_and_Marshall_Islands_campaign [Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy admiral, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the Nineteenth Century."]
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 2, Block B:  Michael E Vlahos, Johns Hopkins & Naval War College, in re: . . .  imagine a war in which, for example, Sydney was gone. Gone.  . . . WWII: Philippines were not the heart of the war – Okinawa, Iwo Jima, others, were.  . . . China will provoke the US into a situation where the US has to do something.   US Virginia-class subs. We’ll drop down to 40-odd submarines in FY ’29, won't get back to 50 subs till ’49 – attack boats, which is all the Chinese are afraid of PA bomber aircraft – really, a long-range bomber – with attack subs will overturn any [serious] Chinese aggression.   You have to be much bigger than any of your competitors – while we’re [backing down].   If we don't [catch up], China will decide we cannot stop it, will decide that the US build-up will take years so China should move now while it can.  China has decided that if it invades Taiwan the US will do nothing.
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 2, Block C:   Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, in re: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/harry-siegel-sandy-hook-gavel-gun-article-1.2538148
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 2, Block D:  Harry Siegel, New York Daily News, in re:  “Big Gun” in Connecticut. Automatic weapons, assault-rifle ban lifted, huge new market, with Congressionally-granted protection. Now no way to find out how they market oceanic volumes of mass-killing machines; Sandy Hook parents suing Remington & Bushmaster, and a retailer, and Adam Lanza’s mother in a wrongful-death suit.  (A shot sends a catastrophic wave through the body; being shot in the arm can kill you.)  “The ultimate military weapon.”  http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/21/did-sid-vicious-blumenthal-commission-rahm-emanuel-hit-pieces-after-state-dept-snub/
 
Hour Three
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 3, Block A: A. O. Scott, Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth (1 of 4)
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 3, Block B:  A. O. Scott, Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth.    Henry James: “An aesthetic headache” in the Louvre.  . . . Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter, architect, writer, and historian, most famous today for his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.   . . . “Giotto di Bondone, known as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence in the late Middle Ages. He’s generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Renaissance.” (2 of 4)
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 3, Block C:  A. O. Scott, Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth       JB prefers not to encounter Kant or Rilke.   (3 of 4)
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 3, Block D:  A. O. Scott, Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth (4 of 4)
 
Hour Four
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 4, Block A:  Patrick Tucker, DefenseOne, in re:  "One Ethicist's Compromise to Stop Killer Robots": Technology Editor Patrick Tucker reports that the United Nations' effort to ban killer robots will fail, but the United States could right now start setting a few rules limiting their development and use. Tucker dives into these proposals, which include an oversight and governance coordinating committee for AI, an executive order from the president proclaiming that lethal autonomous weapons constitute a violation of existing international humanitarian law, and more.   The Third Offset – autonomy-human-robot teaming.  Lethality.  Growing amount of lethality in robotic systems – very highly armed, extremely imperfect systems.  Intell, surveillance, recon.  How to decrease the amt of decision-making we're demanding of our very-stretched intell officers: have a human watch a drone-transmitted image, select a target, but not determine when the missile should be sent.  Need a great deal more AI for analysis  of image data coming in. They get 1,500 hours coming in every day; completely unmanageable.  Russians: “roboticized battlefield.”   Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics. 
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 4, Block B:  Patrick Tucker, DefenseOne, in re:  "One Ethicist's Compromise to Stop Killer Robots": Technology Editor Patrick Tucker reports that the United Nations' effort to ban killer robots will fail, but the United States could right now start setting a few rules limiting their development and use. Tucker dives into these proposals, which include an oversight and governance coordinating committee for AI, an executive order from the president proclaiming that lethal autonomous weapons constitute a violation of existing international humanitarian law, and more. (2 of 2)
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 4, Block C: Sid Perkins, Science magazine, in re:  Huge, long-necked dinosaurs once tromped Scotland ; Dinosaurs evolved much faster than previously thought     http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/you-could-probably-have-outrun-t-rex?utm_campaign=email-news-latest&et_rid=17103528&et_cid=236150 (1 of 2)
Friday  26 February 2016 / Hour 4, Block D:   Sid Perkins, Science magazine, in re:  Huge, long-necked dinosaurs once tromped Scotland ; Dinosaurs evolved much faster than previously thought     http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/you-could-probably-have-outrun-t-rex?utm_campaign=email-news-latest&et_rid=17103528&et_cid=236150 (2 of 2)
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