Believe it or not: We’re only five months into the presidential term of Donald Trump. That means we have 43 months to go. Frankly, I don’t know if any of us have the stamina to make it. I’m beginning to wonder if I do. Today’s saga of the soap opera “As The Donald Turns” brought the Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions III in to testify about his role in the many sundry developments of the Trump administration and the Russian issue. Several things were immediately clear; namely, that they had developed a tactic of defense. First, open with an emphatic declaration of something — in this case, the statement that the charge that he colluded with the Russians was a “detestable lie,” thereby giving the headline writers their headline for the day (not that I’m aware that anyone had said he colluded with the Russians). He then was pretty clear that, no matter what they asked him, he would not say anything about what the president said to him, which is either loyalty to his boss and the Office of the President or stonewalling, depending which senator you ask. In any event, whatever happens in the hearing, Sessions has to pray that Trump doesn’t tweet about it. It’s got to be living hell to work for a guy who is totally unpredictable and the safest path is to say nothing, but that is very difficult to do when there are four or five investigations going on simultaneously. I believe he’s going to start losing people quickly and find it even more difficult to recruit experienced, capable people to replace them. Trump is becoming politically toxic and it’s tough to run an administration when people feel that being with you is a dangerous career move. That personnel problem and his base is the thing to watch. If he starts losing support in his base, the other Republicans are going to back away and look to just protect themselves — to hell with party loyalty. So far the base is holding, but just barely.
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There is a growing housing problem in California, particularly along the coast. Recently, I heard the president of the California Association of Realtors speak at a local Malibu Realtors meeting, and the bottom line is that currently about 40 percent of Millennials have moved back with their parents. Just remember, every time you protest some new apartment construction or complain about traffic on PCH, you’re condemning some family to having to live with their adult children for a few more years, which I can assure you is not good for a senior citizen’s mental health. It hits home, and I mean right here in Malibu. It’s impossible to find an apartment here for less then $3,000 per month, and that’s for the most basic kinds of shelter. Everyone who works here has to pretty much drive in from somewhere, which clogs the roads and does little for the environment. There is also an exit of Millennials leaving the state for cheaper venues and one of the principal reasons is housing costs. For many of them, our inflated real estate market means they are not going to be able afford a home for a long time, if ever. But it also has all sorts of other societal implications. For one thing, they marry later and have children later. My son lives in Sacramento and it’s very unusual to see a young couple marrying in their 20s anymore, which means that the children all come along when they’re in their 30s or early 40s. When Karen and I got married I was 27 and some of her friends worried that it was a mistake because I was so old and already set in my ways. Karen, on the other hand, was 21 and the last in her group to get married. I practically saved her from spinsterhood. Society is changing and there is a lot to do. I’m shocked by the cost of daycare even with both parents working, but typically there is no inexpensive public alternative. The cost of higher education has skyrocketed. Karen and I were able to work our way through college, law school and Karen’s masters degree in occupational therapy. UCLA Law School was essentially free, and today it’s $46,000 per year. How does a smart kid with no family money navigate that problem? I think it’s time in this state for serious discussion about affordable housing, enormous education debt and the young being forced by economics out of California. I appreciate that we are a very environmental state with a very environmental population, but there is a very high price being paid by a lot of people for that environmentalism and it’s time to talk about it seriously, both on a state level and also locally, if we care about the future for our children and grandchildren.