Blog Posts

Don't get cocky

6/24/2020

No one should take his/her eyes off the ball of defeating Donald Trump.

Yes, he’s sinking in the polls. Yes, he’s desperately increasing his racist activities. Yes, he continues his base-pleasing rhetoric. He’s ignoring commenting publicly on the pandemic, unless it’s to say it’s “dying out” even as numerous states are peaking again. And, yes, his Bill Barr-led Justice Department is ignoring all boundaries that protect the rule of law.

He’s doing all those things and more which can lead Trump opponents to think he’s getting desperate and even he think his reelection odds are decreasing.

But that is all true only if you’re among the many who never understood the Trump appeal in the first place.

There is still a not-so-Silent Minority of the country who would rather eat razor blades than vote against him. Trump is saying out loud the things they are thinking. They like that.

This morning’s New York Times reports on its latest poll which shows Joe Biden increasing his national lead to 14 percentage points. That is among, as the Times reports, “the most dismal showings of Mr. Trump’s presidency, and a sign that he is the clear underdog right now…”

Key words in that description are “right now.” Polls are only good for the days they are taken, if that.

That poll comes before what will surely come to be known as the dirtiest campaign in American history. Trump’s full-throated attacks on Biden are at best a whisper so far. And Biden, a self-admitted gaffe machine, has barely stepped out of his home basement to campaign.

If it turns out to be a Biden landslide, great. But if we ever take our eyes off the goal, who knows?

Take, for example, Tom Diamond, 31, a Republican in Fort Worth, Texas, who the Times reports said he plans to vote for Trump but with misgivings. He called the President a “poor leader.” He points to Biden as a “guy you can trust.” But Trump’s views politically are closer to his own on key issues.

“Part of you feels just icky voting for him (Trump),” Diamond said, “but definitely from a policy perspective that’s where my vote’s going to go.”

That’s part of Trump's appeal. Trump, whose policy views over the last 30 years have shifted from left to right, literally, will say anything to get Mr. Diamond’s vote. That’s what we’re up against. Everyone in this country cares about what types of Supreme Court justices are nominated, whichever side you’re on – and that is the sole issue they will vote on.

Trump lately has been tweeting numerous incidents of black men violently attacking white people and he’s accusing, again but now more often, former President Obama of “treason” for allegedly tapping Trump’s campaign phones four years ago. With no proof. But, he does have an attorney general who is obviously in perfect tune with Trump’s desires. So expect something to come out on that at some point – true or not true.

He’s repeatedly calling the deadly coronavirus the “Kung Flu,” a clear racist label. (Yes, I know the media often has called it the Wujan Flu, but that’s the city where it apparently began. Kung Flu is a clear slap at Asian Americans.)

He tweeted a manipulated version of that adorable video we all saw of a white and a black toddler running toward each other for a close hug. The manipulated version showed one toddler chasing the other as if in a racist attack. (As if toddlers know what a racist attack is.)

And that comes at a time when white Americans are saying, with honest emotion, that the problem with racism is more widespread and ingrained in our society than even aware whites understood.

Trump, who started his first presidential campaign as an effort to reignite his brand and finished it with a four-year rental in the White House, first ran to win a primary, which means he needed a plurality of votes. He accomplished that. And then went up against probably the only Democratic candidate he could beat – Hillary Clinton, who was disliked even by many who supported her.

Terry Sullivan, a Republican strategist, told the Times that Trump is “the Rod Stewart of politicians – he may keep coming up with new material but deep down he knows his fans just want to hear ‘Wake Up Maggie,’ so he keeps playing the same tune because he can’t stand the thought of them not loving his performance.”

Or, in this context, "Wake up, people, I think I got something to say to you."

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John Bolton's timing

6/18/2020

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This isn’t a perfect world.

If it was, John Bolton would have testified to the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate would have voted to find the President guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.

But, all together now, this is not a perfect world.

Even if Bolton had testified, the enablers in the U.S. Senate were not about to convict the President earlier this year. It was pre-coronavirus and, thus, pre-the economy collapsing. And before Black Lives Matter became a serious cry from a diverse cross-section of Americans calling for justice and an end to racism.

And if you think Bolton’s testimony would have convinced the Republican senators that Trump was guilty of putting himself ahead of his country, I have a bridge over troubled waters to sell you.

People can, and are, criticizing Bolton for supposedly putting the millions he was paid for his book ahead of his duty as a citizen and testifying. There probably is some truth in that.

Many Trump supporters are simply saying Bolton is lying. Maybe. But while he clearly was not happy serving Trump (in two different jobs) he definitely lost any satisfaction in his job when he saw Trump wouldn’t do things his way (which may have been the right way, who knows?). And when he saw Trump doing corrupt things like trying to get the Chinese to help him win re-election.

When you read that section of Bolton's book it does begin to explain why, when the virus was growing in this country, Trump was saying such positive things about Chinese President Shi.

And, Bolton may be a truth teller. Many non-Trump supporters have read the stories about Bolton’s book and asked, “what’s new?” What’s new is that a former senior advisor to the President is putting his name to the allegations. That’s a major thing.

When he said he’d respond to a subpoena, Bolton was either putting sales of his book ahead of the country’s interests or honestly wanted to wait for a court decision on a colleague questioning if he had to answer a subpoena on the topic. One could make a case he had an obligation to do that to see what the courts decided.

Bottom line – it doesn’t matter. And Bolton may have fallen into the perfect timing for the claims in his book to be accepted by some voters. The book comes after former Defense Secretary retired Gen. James Mattis made public his belief that Trump is not worthy of the office. And it comes after former Chief of Staff and retired Gen. John Kelly backed up Mattis comments. Earlier in his presidency many voters apparently discounted former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling Trump a “moron.” Bolton’s book seems to back up that claim.

The book comes while the coronavirus is still a significant threat even if Trump and his minions are saying it’s been defeated. It comes while the economy is still making up its mind what to do. It comes while many of us are still afraid to go to a restaurant or into retail stores.

In other words, in my mind, it comes at the perfect time to possibly finally undo the Trump presidency and lead to his losing the election in November.

Now, there is plenty of time before November for all kinds of things that could and will happen between now and then.

For example:

The coronavirus cases in the country could spike again.
The economy could stay in horrible shape.
Trump’s re-election numbers could continue to be shaky though the election.

Or,

There might actually be a legitimate vaccine to battle the virus
And, there might actually be a proven treatment to cure people with the virus
The economy may show sufficient signs that it is recovering
The millions of people thrown out of work could be rehired
And Trump will put his opposition research (the truth and the contrived) to use against Joe Biden.

No one knows what the future holds in this regard.

It may be that Bolton fell into the perfect time to tell his truths about what he witnessed while national security advisor. It doesn’t take a lot of voters to switch from their 2016 position of backing Trump and their 2020 view that he is not up to the job and Joe Biden is a nice guy.

Whichever way you fall on that question will determine if this turns out to be a perfect world.

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Today in history

6/8/2020

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On this date in history:

One hundred and 70 years ago today, President Zachary Taylor died after just 16 months in office.
86 years ago, Donald Duck made his theatrical debut with Wise Little Hen.
Seventy-five years ago today, 1.5 million people in Los Angeles watched a victory parade for George S. Paton and James Doolittle.
Seventy years ago today, B. Jay Cooper was born in Waterbury, Conn.
Fifty years ago today ...

Wait, what? Seventy years ago who was born?

Yes, today, June 9, is my 70th birthday. Birthdays with 0’s were never huge for me. If I turned one of the zeroes – 20, 30, 40, etc. – didn’t bother me much. For me it was the “5” years. Twenty-five seemed like you were accepting the label “adult” which separated you from the social activity of going to bars with your friends, or playing pool in the pool halls.

Was the same for 35, 45, different milestones but milestones just the same. Forty? No biggie. Sixty, again, no biggie.

But 70! Damn. As a former newspaper reporter, I’ve been a reader and was a writer of obits which are important to the family and not as easy to research and write as one might think. I also, of course, wanted to trace passing of folks who were friends, celebrities. At 70 you start noticing a lot of people are passing of natural causes who are younger than you. That’s unsettling.

It’s like each of the next years is not to be taken for granted any more than any of the preceding years, I guess. But then again now...now I'm 70!!

You also look back and see what trails you’ve left behind. I had an unexpected career. Always wanted to be a newspaper guy. That's all I wanted to be. Achieved that. thanks to my college's system of cooperative education, at 19 and for the next 12 or so years that’s what I did. Happy as a clam. Saw things I wouldn’t have seen without being a reporter and met people I never would have met.

Then came an opportunity to test the political waters as a staff guy on a campaign for governor of Connecticut. We lost, but it gave me a taste of another kind of challenge.

Long story short, it shortly started me into a career of politics as a staff guy for the next 15 or so years. Then, I did what all ex-political types do: I became a dreaded Washington consultant. That’s the bulk of my career in about five sentences.

More important, of course, was the personal side. A marriage that gave me three beautiful daughters who became beautiful mothers which made me … a grandfather! Times six.

Which brings me to a couple of weeks ago. My oldest grandson called to let us know that his longtime girlfriend is pregnant. I rolled into congratulating him and her, which led me to realize my oldest daughter was about to be a grandmother -- at the ripe young age of 45 (ironically, the same age I first became a grandparent). Lord, I’m going to be the father of a grandmother, I thought. Getting old.

Then my wife (who I’d met in college, didn’t see for 30 years which led to dating and marriage) looks at me and says, “You’re going to be a great-grandfather!” Feeling older.

In 1969 I won a lottery, the only one I’ve ever won. It was the lottery for the draft. Few in my generation wanted to fight in Vietnam, a controversial war. I, like most of my generation, lost friends not only who were killed but who came home damaged physically and emotionally. I pulled number 335 in the draft. Yes, I still remember the number. Maybe not all that old.

The recent protests in the United States brought back memories of protests of my younger days. I was at a protest at Yale University in 1969 during the New Haven trial of Black Panther Bobby Seale who was alleged to have killed Wayne Kimbro, a New Haven Panther. The National Guard was called in to deal with the protestors and moved us from one Yale courtyard to the next, using tear gas to push us along. Just as the authorities did at the White House the other day.

Another was the first Earth Day demonstration in Washington, D.C., in 1970. I was in college in Boston and borrowed a college floor mate’s bedroll so I could sleep on the DC mall. A group of us drove to D.C., we rolled out our bedrolls on the Mall and went to look around the thousands of protestors. Came back and someone stole my floor mate’s bedroll. Peace, love and they stole my bedroll.

And, now, transition from those 1970 demonstrations to my 70th birthday as we witness the many protests over the murder of George Floyd, which seems to be pointing to a change coming in civil rights and policing. I may be older but some things never change. Maybe this time.

Of course, we need to remember that I’ve already lived 70 years and really today notes the beginning my 71st. Not sure that makes it better or worse.

So what does one do on one’s 70th birthday in the middle of a pandemic? I was going to have a little party with what’s left of the extended family. But, the pandemic interfered and I hope to do that in the not too distant future.

I’ll probably begin my day by reading the obits like every day, check to see if my name’s listed (sick joke, I know, but also cheap).

It will be a day like any other. A little golf in the morning, hoping the golf gods look down on me and grant me a fabulous round. Uh, I’ll let you know but based on how I’ve been playing, I think the gods will skip to someone who has demonstrated a bit more talent than I for the stupidest game ever invented, and also the game that always draws you back.

The rest of the day I’ll likely sit in the den, think about being 70 and ask myself, “How did THAT happen?”

Probably Trump's fault.

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Reality

6/6/2020

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All the country’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.

The White House is the set for Donald Trump’s regular productions. Calling him the “reality show” president is wrong. He is the producer of a daily show that has nothing to do with reality. He is a child of television and how he appears on it matters more to him than most anything.

There are hundreds of examples but let’s stick to this week.

Yesterday, he held what the White House called a “press conference” but what actually was a roughly half hour platform for him to claim credit for a surprisingly good jobs number that he had nothing to do with. Jobs weren’t created, they returned after businesses closed because of the pandemic. And governors, some prematurely, began to reopen their states.

Earlier in the week Trump staged a show so he could claim to be “your law and order president.” Outside the White House he lined up National Guard and representatives from pretty much every federal agency that has something to do with law enforcement.

Then, whether under the President’s orders or not, they charged peaceful protestors to either “extend the perimeter” of protection around the White House, as the Attorney General claims, or to clear the way for the President to march across the street for a very odd photo opp in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Pick which version you like.

Since that day, the federal government has been further strengthening a wall around the White House, and Mexico isn’t paying for this one either.

If in Trump's mind his being escorted to the presidential bunker under the White House demonstrated weakness, what does building a black wall around the people’s house demonstrate?

Trump has invited the G-7 (plus Russia and a couple of other non-members) to attend a meeting at the White House. Within the wall? This is the way we show the world that we are the land of the free and home of the brave? By showing off a huge wall around the White House?

Also at Friday’s “press conference” touting the jobs number the President put words in the mouth of George Floyd, the man who was murdered on camera by police and that has sparked days of protests around the country and the world.. Trump said:

"Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that's happening for our country. It's a great day for him. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality.”

It also was the day after a memorial service for Floyd.

I can’t even.

As to the President’s claims that the country’s economy has returned to a level of “strength.” I call bull. It was a one-day number and even if it is a sign of returning to a strong economy, he did nothing to earn it.

Lastly, I do think we are at the brink of a new approach when it comes to race in this country. Floyd’s murder has hit almost everyone for the tragedy it is. The protesters that we’ve seen are a very diverse lot – blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos – the full smorgasbord that is America.

It just feels different than those hopeful times we’ve all experienced in the past when it seemed real change was coming but did not. This time, I think real change is coming.

One political sign is that Trump’s former chief of staff and his former defense secretary, men he proudly announced were “his” generals and touted as great men, publicly gave their honest views of this President who they say divides not unites the country. Trump now says they were bums. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she is struggling whether or not to vote for Trump. He immediately said he would back anyone in the party against her. Most other Republicans senators held firm lavishing praise on the president, which is the only support he really likes.

There are more reasons.

One is that our country has become even more diverse. “Minorities” are growing in America. Inter-racial marriage and the resulting multi-racial offspring are growing. This is partly how attitudes change.

No one condones the looting that happened early in the protests. But a couple of days later the real protestors were stopping looters from looting in many cities. Cops joined in kneeling with the protestors. They know those in uniform who killed Floyd are a minority of cops in the nation, and they want people to know that. And, there were more examples of police brutality including pushing down a 75-year-old white protestor in Buffalo, N.Y., who lay there as blood poured from his ear.

That’s not a reality show, that’s reality.

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The President of Law and Order?

6/1/2020

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I couldn’t believe my eyes as the President of the United States ordered in the National Guard as props on to the White House grounds, to be deployed across the street to stare down hundreds of peaceful protestors.

He said he’d speak at 6:15 p.m. which was another ploy because he hadn’t yet given the order for the troops to move on the protestors with flash bangs, tear gas, rubber bullets and threats of violence to clear out Lafayette Park.

He also was hoping, I’m sure, his statement would be carried live on the network news shows. Because that’s really all he cares about. Looking strong on television.

But he hadn’t dispersed the protesters so the military police charged forward once, twice and pushed the protesters out of Lafayette Park and down the street. It all was to clear the way for him to pronounce himself the President of Law and Order. The flash bangs and all went on as the President, lacking only a white uniform with gold braids, marched to the Rose Garden podium to deliver a statement as the sounds of tear gas and flash bangs were going off across the street and peaceful protestors, citizens of the free United States of America, were gassed and pushed blocks away.

Then the President marched across the street, through where the protesters had been, because of course couldn't mix with those people, to stand in front of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, not to meet with the pastor after his church was set on fire over the weekend, but to stand with his loyal staff so he could hold up a Bible. Donald J. Trump, multiple divorcee, alleged (pretty good allegations in fact) sexual harasser and possible abuser, could stand in front of the church and hold up a Bible for a photo opp. When was the last time he had a Bible in his hands?

I wanted to cry that this buffoon, this charlatan, this man who fancies himself a TV producer put on a show. He put on a show as thousands of Americans were protesting the killing of yet another black man by the police.

He set it up with his phone call with governors earlier in the day when he said they were fools for not acting with more force against protesters angry over the murder of another black man on the street, in front of cameras. He'd show the governors! Boy would he!!

Oh he made an obligatory mention of George Floyd, killed by police in broad daylight with malice, so that he could claim he was on the side of the angels. But just a brief mention to try to show he actually cared about that black man in Minnesota. Using him, too, as another prop for his show.

On his walk back to the White House his son-in-law, a typical Richie Rich white kid of privilege who is a failure at business as was his father-in-law, could be seen with a broad smile on his face as he talked to Trump. A smile. What do you think that smile was about? I thought he was likely saying, “Good job, Dad. We pulled it off.” A broad smile after they pushed the little people who actually thought they truly had to the right to protest, to push them out of the master's way.

That, my friends, is the President of the United States. We now rely, again, on the governors to protect us from the President of the United States. To keep the troops out of their states. The President has no authority to send the military into states. Indeed, that was among the reasons our Constitution was written the way it was – so that no King could dictate to the people what he wants.

That’s the thing Donald J. Trump has never and will never understand – he works for us. We don’t bow to him.

This clown, who also has great powers which should scare the hell out of us, leveraged this tragedy of another black man killed by police for his own benefit. He used trained guardsmen as a prop to clear a path for his triumphant walk to…what…an empty church? For what, to hold up a Bible that he borrowed from someone who actually had read it.

When I lived in Washington and walked to work, I walked past St. John's and through Lafayette Park. I took that route to marvel at the White House, often wondering what I was doing in such a majestic city that served as the base for so many historic figures, where I had worked in the White House for two presidents. And now I was walking to my consulting job. I took that route because I could walk past the White House, a building I have great respect for. Not to pine for the old days, but to admire what it stands for.

When I saw how Trump and his minions sullied that walk for a photo opp, gassed citizens he was elected to protect to clear the way for him. I realized, again, how far down this man has taken our country.

He stood in front of the church holding that Bible up proudly, surrounded by white men and one white woman as his loyalists. Lifting that Bible in the air as if he had respect for it. To stand alongside the memory of George Floyd? No, to try to save his election.

We know he respects nothing. He wants to divert us from the horrible job he’s done with the pandemic, the embarrassing job he has done for us in the world, as he fails to try to get re-elected.

We cannot allow that to happen. We just can’t.

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Racism plus alleged murder/election tampering

5/27/2020

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A bunch of stories caught my (and I’m sure your) eye over the last few days. They were:

President Trump’s latest complaint with social media as Twitter labelled a tweet or two of his with its new “fact check” click-though to learn the truth about allegations he’s made. It did not, though, label or remove his tweets furthering a baseless conspiracy theory about a congressional staffer’s 2001 death.
The white woman in New York’s Central Park who called police claiming a black man was threatening her, when all he did was ask her to leash her dog, as the law required in the area they were in.
The senseless killing of a black man thought to be passing counterfeit money whose capture resulted in a white policeman putting his knee on the man’s neck to hold him down. An action that resulted in the man’s death.
Trump’s mocking of his likely election opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, for wearing a face mask in public as if it is a sign of weakness.
The President’s continuing effort to sabotage the November election if he should lose claiming, falsely, that mail-in ballots are rich with tampering.

Where to begin?

Okay, Trump. Here is a man whose election was aided considerably by his using Twitter as his primary communication method. This morning he Tweeted that social media is silencing conservatives and threatening “we will strongly regulate or close them down before we can ever allow this to happen.”

Trump’s ability to use Twitter the last few years to voice whatever grievance, complaint or fake conspiracy theory he chooses has been a huge boon to his bypassing the media to talk directly to voters (really, though, his base). Among his biggest whoppers of his career are his numerous tweets suggesting that former Congressman and now TV host Joe Scarborough murdered a congressional staffer in 2001. A theory that has been debunked by -- oh my what do you call those things? -- oh, yes, facts.

Also, while he appeared regularly on Scarborough’s MSNBC program during the 2016 campaign (saving him millions in advertising dollars and greatly boosting his candidacy) now he bites the hand that fed him because the host has been critical of Trump. He will stand for no criticism.

The coroner ruled it an accidental death and Scarborough was 900 miles away from the area the day it occurred. Trump’s mouthpiece, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, backed up Trump’s theory form the White House podium yesterday. When asked why Trump keeps tweeting about this and what he is after to resolve the issue, McEnany diverted and pointed the finger at Scarborough for an interview he did with Don Imus in 2003, part of which included Imus raising this issue and Scarborough chuckling and trying to move off the topic.

This is important not only because the President of the United States (who has falsely called himself the country's chief law enforcement officer) is accusing Scarborough of murder. The woman’s widower sent a letter to the Twitter CEO asking him to take down the inaccurate tweets because of the pain it causes her family and himself. This man was so affected by his wife’s death that his weight ballooned to 400 pounds (he since has trimmed down). He has never remarried and lives in the same house he shared with his wife.

In short, there is a human tragedy going on here that Trump and his brazenly lying press secretary are ignoring for what they apparently see as a political benefit. You tell me what that benefit is. I only see revenge by Trump on Scarborough.

The woman in Central Park was with her dog in an area frequented by birdwatchers. One birdwatcher, an African American man, asked her to leash her dog, as the law requires in that area. She not only refused but called the police, while being videoed by the man, claiming she was being attacked by a black man.

The result of this episode? She lost her dog and her job. Not equal to the pain she inflicted on the man by claiming an attack which has been taken for what it is – an action fueled by racism. She later apologized.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, police took into custody a black man thought to be passing counterfeit money in a store. Most of this episode was also caught on video and went viral. The video shows the man not resisting arrest yet one white cop held him on the ground by placing his knee on the man’s neck/windpipe. The man complained he couldn’t breathe. Onlookers begged the cop to take his knee off the man’s neck, but he didn’t. The man died. The cop and three of his colleagues, who did nothing to stop the cop at the scene, have been fired.

This is another in a long series of similar well-publicized incidents around the country, that we know about.

Trump is making fun of Biden because Biden, as Trump’s government has advised Americans to do, wore a face mask in public to protect folks around him in case he has the coronavirus. Trump has made this a manhood checkpoint. He refuses to wear a mask in public in fear, apparently, of how he’d look to the media and the public.

Then there is Trump's claim that mail-in balloting, being allowed in many states because of the coronavirus, is rampant with forgeries. History, though, shows that isn't true but Trump is laying markers for election complaints if he loses in November.

In a TV story over the weekend about people heading to the beaches after being cooped up in quarantine, a young man was not wearing a mask and told an inquiring reporter if the President refuses to wear one, so does he. Did someone say role model?

What connects all these stories? A diminution of us as a society and a democracy. That isn’t all Trump’s fault. He is supposed to be a role model. I can’t imagine there are people who would hold him out as such. But, there are. He is supposed to be the leader of the country, all of it not just his perceived base.

Has Trump ordered cops to kill black people? No. He says, however, there are “good” people on both sides when he talks about a couple of clearly racial incidents during his presidency – thus protecting his “creds” among racists and also trying to placate others who despise the practices.

Again, Trump isn’t the cause of our society and system of government slowly changing dramatically, but his presidency has overseen a further deterioration. Why? I don’t know – the evidence suggests he wants to be a dictator in this country. Supporters of his can say that’s ridiculous but many of us can make a good case for it.

The sad thing is that if he loves this country and its values as much as he says, he would do things to lift it up, not tear it down. He could change the societal trajectory if he wants to.

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News at warp speed

5/20/2020

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The news continues to move along at warp speed and the President named the leadership of his Operation Warp Speed, aimed at getting a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible, maybe as early as the end of this year in his telling.

Let’s start there:

Operation Warp Speed. Trump named the operation’s leadership including its leader, Monsef Slaovi, a former executive at GlaxoSmithKline. During the announcement Slaovi teased the crowd with news that he has seen good early reports on a vaccine, not mentioning which one. The next day we learned that vaccine was, surprise, being developed by his old company, in which he still holds millions of dollars of stock. Not surprisingly, after the company announced its progress on a vaccine, the stock market rose. Now, I hope the news about the vaccine is true, believe me, but how the sequence of events played out is curious, no?

Trump abruptly leaves press conference. Trump held a press conference in the Rose Garden which, not surprisingly, turned testy. At one point, Weijia Jiang, an Asian American reporter for CBS, asked why Trump constantly touts the statistic that the U.S. has given more coronavirus tests than any other country as if it’s the most important thing. Trump quickly became testy and said, “Why don’t you ask China that question?” Jiang asked why he chose to ask her that question. Some took his reaction as racist. He also pulled a similar move a few years ago when April Ryan, an African American reporter, asked a question about the Congressional Black Caucus and Trump responded, do you know them? You want to set up the meeting?

“Obamagate.” Trump has accused his predecessor, Barrack Obama, of crimes he says are among the worst in American history. When pressed to name what the crime was, Trump chose to attack the reporter, The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker, saying “you know what it is!” No one knows what it is except an attempt to raise false criminal issues against Obama as he did against Hillary Clinton four years ago, which led to chants during his rallies of “lock her up!” and cemented the bonds among his base. Trump even has tried to get his Senate BFF Lindsay Graham to call Obama and Joe Biden as witnesses in an inquiry into the Russian collusion investigation. Even Graham, who has been a caddy (metaphorically) carrying Trump’s clubs, refused. The Obamagate allegation isn’t getting much traction other among his base but it’s not for lack of trying. It also raises a question as to whether this is smart politics for Trump. Obama is the most popular figure in the Democratic Party right now. Well, maybe just behind his wife, Michelle. And Trump is going to need to again attract swing voters to win reelection.

Trump takes drug. Okay, the drug he is supposedly taking is hydroxychlorine, which is a well-known help to malaria sufferers and Lupus patients. Some say it also can be effective against the coronavirus though the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning against that use because there is not sufficient data. Trump now claims he’s been taking it for a couple of weeks after discussions with his White House physician. That physician issued a statement saying he’d discussed the matter with Trump many times and concluded there were more upsides than downsides in taking it. But, he never said he prescribed it for Trump. Trump also has said in recent days he may stop taking it soon but he wanted to see for himself if it worked and there were no bad side effects. Personally, I don’t think he’s really taking it. I think he sees it as another issue he can leverage with his base – how I don’t really understand. He also has been saying he may come off it soon. Why? If he’s really using it as protection against getting the virus and he feels it’s working, why come off it?

Partisan politics or? If you’re paying attention you notice that Trump not only makes everything about himself but he sees anyone who agrees with him as pro-Trump and anyone against him anti-Trump. Of course he’s transactional so that could reverse tomorrow with someone. Utah Senator Mitt Romney is one of the latest examples. Romney, a Republican never known as a risk taker, lately is the strongest voice in the Senate questioning some of Trump’s actions. Romney most recently has criticized Trump for firing several Inspectors General (IG) whose job it is to root out fraud, waste and abuse in the government. Those IGs recently either issued reports criticizing Trump or have indicated they are investigating Trump Administration actions (again, that’s their job). Romney now apparently is dead to Trump. Trump again sees everything not so much through a “Republican vs Democrat” lens but through a “Trump vs anti-Trump” lens. It indeed is all about him. That’s a difficult way to run a country, or a business. Then again, Trump’s business acumen as has been broadly reported was not hugely successful. If anyone thinks Trump is about the Republican Party or its (dead?) goals and values, she is dead wrong. It’s all about Trump.

Partisan politics or? Part 2. Trump operatives are seeking out “extremely pro-Trump” doctors to go on television to promote reviving the economy now without meeting the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). I don’t recall doctors ever being recruited for such a blatant political reason before. And, with government doctors and doctors in major medical facilities and schools laying out the case for taking this pandemic seriously, if this Trump consortium of doctors is recruited and used, the American public will get even more mixed messages on how they should conduct themselves during this “plague,” as Trump refers to it. This will be one more test of: is Trump looking out for the health of the country’s citizens or the health of his reelection campaign? Plus it seems hypocritical to use doctors for this reason when Trump isn’t looking to government doctors to advise him on economics.

Sociopath. Apropos of nothing, the seven symptoms of a sociopath's personality are: Glibness and superficial charm; manipulative and cunning; grandiose sense of self; pathological lying; lack of shame, guilt or remorse; shallow emotions; incapacity for love; need for stimulation.

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While you can't pay attention ...

5/11/2020

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If you don’t think that Donald Trump and his Administration threaten our country’s basic values, traditions and laws, then you haven’t been paying attention. Of course it's hard to keep up with the news and provide for your family's needs during a pandemic.

What is happening is not normal and a second term only would free him from whatever bonds may bind him right now.

News runs by our eyes so quickly that we don’t take the time to see the different stories and how they look taken together.

Among the news items you may have missed just last week, the White House pulled back its document laying out for states and businesses what a safe return to business as usual would require. Among the prerequisites on the list prepared by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was that the location go 14 days without an increase in Covid19 cases. That’s out the window now along with many other sensible health requirements.

The White House just tossed those last week with the White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying that the head of the CDC, Dr. Robert Redfield, had not signed off on them. That was a lie. Redfield did sign off on the list based on internal emails obtained by the Associated Press. The order to shelve the guidance, according to the AP, came from the “highest levels of the White House.”

Also last week, Attorney General William Barr announced his department is dropping its case against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn claiming, basically, that procedure wasn’t properly followed. In effect he’s saying that the investigation should not have been started, and thus Flynn was interviewed about an investigation that shouldn’t be happening so his lies don’t count. Remember, Flynn twice admitted to prosecutors and the court that he lied during the investigation. In pleading guilty in court Flynn said, “I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and through my faith in God, I am working to set things right.”

So far, no one can find a precedent for Barr’s action. President Trump was likely to pardon Flynn but Barr’s action removes that from Trump’s to-do list, thus protecting the president from issuing Flynn a pardon which definitely would have been a big campaign issue this year.

Waiting in the wings is Roger Stone, a very close ally of Trump’s for decades. Stone has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after being convicted in November of, among other crimes, lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Barr’s Justice Department charged and prosecuted Stone. And Barr had agreed with the prosecution. Now Barr is looking into whether Stone’s sentence was over the top. The betting is Barr finds that it was too harsh especially after Trump said after the announcement of the Flynn charge withdrawal that there was “more to come” in what he claims was a “hoax” investigation into Russia ties to his 2016 campaign. By the way, after Barr announced his intent to have Flynn’s charge withdrawn, the White House announced Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed the development. Why he did that is unclear but minds may wonder about it. Staff said other issues were discussed also.

In Flynn’s case, the judge needs to rule on whether the charges can be dropped. The judge is Emmet G. Sullivan. Precedent from the Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia District leaves Sullivan little room to do anything but grant the government’s motion to drop the charges. (While I believe judges are not influenced by political issues or parties, Sullivan last two appointments came from Republican presidents.)

These two developments trump (pun not intended) another activity that occurred that is begging for investigation.

Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and a senior White House advisor, has been behind Project Airbridge, which the Administration has touted as part of a historic mobilization “moving heaven and earth” to find and deliver medical supplies from other countries to U.S. hotspots. In exchange for taxpayer-funded flights (which have cost nearly $1 million per trip), the agreement states that the companies will deliver half of the cargo to administration-identified hot spots. The companies decide where they can sell the other half for profit, with the transportation fully funded by taxpayer dollars. Little reporting is available to determine where the equipment was delivered, neither the public half nor the private half.

Kushner is the family wunderkind who has been assigned to bring peace to the Middle East, reform the criminal justice system, build the border wall, be the primary White House liaison with his father-in-law’s campaign and more. He also established a rogue White House task force made up of his government allies, private sector business people and investor types which shadows the White House Task Force on the coronavirus led by the Vice President. Kushner’s task force makes requests around the government that cause confusion during a pandemic of who’s in charge and which requests get filled first, the Vice President-led task force, or the President’s son-in-law’s.

A side point to Project Airbridge: when the states begged for the federal government to lead the process for purchasing necessary medical supplies to short circuit states bidding against each other, Trump famously told the governors that the federal government is not a “shipping clerk” and would not do that. Apparently the President was wrong because now the Administration (over) hypes its shipping program as a huge success.

I say over hypes because many claim that the supplies delivered under this program have not been as many as the Administration claims, there are no public records of where they went and who requested them. Kushner has also forwarded equipment requests from Trump loyalists, including a couple of Fox news talking heads.

Another news story last week was speculation that Trump wants to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray. Trump apparently feels Wray is “disloyal.” Why? Wray was interviewed in 2019 by ABC News. In that interview Wray was asked about the FBI being part of a “deep state.” Wray said he thought that label is a “disservice to the men and women who work at the FBI.” Trump has referred to the FBI as part of the deep state which he believes is out to remove him from office.

Wray also said he did not feel the Trump campaign was unfairly targeted by the FBI investigation into ties with Russia. And he denied the debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential elections, as Trump still maintains.

On top of all that, Trump also has fired a bunch of Inspectors General who exist to protect the public against waste, fraud and abuse by government agencies. A few had criticized Trump actions. They are gone. Trump is within his rights to fire those people but no President has gone unscathed by an Inspector General at one time or another. Firing them would have been considered retribution and I don’t recall any similar situations in the past. In Trump’s case, it clearly is retribution and continues his efforts to put loyalists into positions so he is not challenged, questioned nor is the public need served well.

Most of the above all happened in one week. It’s hard to keep track. It can be understood and forgiven if most citizens can’t keep it all straight, especially in the middle of a pandemic where everyone worries about their loved ones and themselves, and where unemployment stands at nearly 15 percent and will rise and men and women who a few weeks ago shopped in grocery stores are now waiting in long lines to obtain donated foods.

You may loathe or love Donald Trump. But you have to pay attention to what he’s doing that will cause nearly unrepairable harm to this country and all it has stood for.

Thanks to many of Trump’s policies and behavior, we have given up our status as The Leader of the world and other countries are moving in to try to provide that leadership. Also, many enemies are taking advantage of our backpedaling and positioning themselves favorably with countries that had been our allies.

And, Trump – intentionally or simply for self-preservation reasons – is ripping apart institutions that have held our republic together for centuries and which other were trying countries try to replicate.

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All the news doesn't fit

4/30/2020

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So many important and interesting news stories lately but all are outweighed by developments in the coronavirus. The news flies past us each day. Let’s take a breath and review some.

Biden sexual harassment allegations. This is a story that in the minds of Trump supporters never caught fire. Still The New York Times and The Washington Post have both done deep dives on it. The former VP though has not commented on it. His campaign has denied the allegations. Pressure though is building for Biden to personally comment. Fair is fair and the former vice president needs to respond, himself, to these allegations. Trump had to four years ago (well, he lied but he responded). A quick summary: a woman who worked for Biden many years ago claims he put his hands where they don’t belong and were not wanted. She has a couple of verifying friends, who didn’t witness the incident but say she told them about it at the time. In any such incident it’s hard to prove either side right. Still, the #metoo movement has taught politicians and many of the rest of us that we need to listen sincerely to any woman’s story in this area. Many of us don’t believe he would do what the woman alleges but we all have witnessed his proclivity for invading another’s space by rubbing women’s shoulders and necks. Bottom line, Biden needs to address the allegations, personally. As a supporter of women’s rights he needs to and as a political decision he needs to. Hypocrisy is among the worst sins a politician can commit.

Vice President Pence unmasked. The Veep visited the Mayo Clinic this week and despite a clinic policy that every patient and visitor must wear a face mask on the premises, Pence chose not to. Why we don’t really know. He said it’s because he is tested all the time for the coronavirus and all test have been negative, but as we all know that test is good for the minute it’s given. Not the next minute. He also said he wanted to look front-line health workers in the eyes as he thanked them for their brave work. It’s too easy to say that he wasn’t asked to wear a blindfold, just a mask to cover his nose and mouth so I won’t say that (oops). It was odd enough that President Trump said wearing a mask wouldn’t be appropriate for him because he, too, is regularly tested and it wouldn’t be appropriate as he greets heads of state “and dictators” in the Oval Office. Role models though are important and with Trump choosing not to wear one and Pence chair of the White House Task Force on the virus, choosing not too something seems wrong. They both not only are role models they both are supposed to be key knights in the battle against the virus and thus are exposing others to their not likely but possible infection.

A potential third-party presidential candidate emerged when Cong. Justin Amash of Michigan said he’ll seek the Libertarian Party nomination. Amash, you’ll recall, was a Tea Party Republican until he left the party over issues with Trump not long ago. While Amash contends he can win the November election analysts are arguing over whether he’ll be a spoiler in the election and, if he is, for whom. My guess is he won’t have much effect because voters, on both sides, are hell bent on electing their candidate like in no other election. And, for those who oppose Trump and/but didn’t vote for him or Hillary Clinton four years ago, my guess is they learned their lesson that a vote not for the Democrat was a vote for Trump. They won’t make the same mistake twice. Still the state of Michigan went for Trump by just over 10,000 votes in 2016 and the third-party candidate got more than 100,000 votes there. Even if he runs a bad campaign, Amash could amass enough votes in his home state to spoil the election, the way Biden folks look at it anyway.

Coronavirus death count. There is a lot of debate over what comparison to use to highlight the virus’ unfortunate death count. Many reporters are comparing it to the loss of men and women in the Vietnam War, my guess because that is the primary low-light it hit this week – that the virus passed the deaths in that war. Seems an odd comparison since the threats are entirely different – for one thing we chose to go one and not the other. To me, saying that we crossed the horrible number of 60,000 deaths in just two months due to the virus is a terrible enough thing without comparing it to other terrible things that aren’t comparable.

Jared Kushner, who is Trump’s go-to son-in-law and senior advisor for everything from criminal justice reform to his reelection campaign to his failed attempts at Middle East Peace, this week began creating a new “narrative” for Trump when he said the Administration has done "brilliant" work containing the virus, the country is on the downward slope of cases and the economic rebound should be in bloom in August. This in spite of the fact that the President denied the virus was a threat until long after it was a threat. Kushner is wrong on all three counts but it won’t matter because he’ll just move on to a new “narrative” when this one goes down the tubes because it just doesn’t match the facts.

And if you don’t believe that, I have a Middle East peace plan to sell you.

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I'm no rhetorical expert but...

4/7/2020

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President Trump often uses what I call “cover your ass” rhetoric when he states what he views as a fact but leaves himself an out if he's proven wrong. For example, “I’m no doctor...but...it may work, it may not.” He says this in connection with a laboratory-untested drug that some (including Trump) think could be a “game changer” in the coronavirus pandemic.

What a great rhetorical gimmick! Thought I’d give it a go.

I’m no judge) but...I think what’s going on in Wisconsin is a farce. The (Republican-appointed majority) U.S. Supreme Court last night ruled, on a “party line” vote, that the Wisconsin primary should go on today, with voters coming to the polls to vote. The (Democratic) governor had ordered that with the pandemic, the voting by mail deadline should be extended so people didn’t have to gather at the polls. Clearly it is more likely that going to a poll would expose you to the virus and would violate the physical distancing guidance and the even more implicit counsel from Dr. Tony Fauchi and Dr. Deborah Brix that you shouldn’t leave your home even for groceries for the next two weeks.

So, a Wisconsin voter is left with the choice: Do I stay home and protect myself and others from a potential exposure to the virus or do I exercise my right to vote the only way the courts will allow? I know which way I’d decide. Now the Democratic presidential primary ballot is less important to me (no matter who wins, former Vice President Joe Biden is all but assured the nomination) but there also is a vote for the Wisconsin Supreme Court with a conservative judge versus a more progressive candidate. President Trump this morning re-upped his endorsement of the (Republican) candidate for the court.

I’m no President but if I were in his chair, I would have tweeted instead that the court was endangering the lives of thousands of Wisconsin voters especially since Wisconsin could be a deciding state in the November elections. With deaths mounting daily from the virus, I'd be on the side of protecting citizens from the virus than making a political move.

I’ve never been in the Navy but...I think the Acting Navy Secretary relieving the captain of the U.S. Teddy Roosevelt for demanding the sailors on his ship be protected from the coronavirus; which had broken out among the men and women, is a bad decision.

Now, I know Navy veterans will argue that the captain was wrong in going around the command structure and that relieving him of duty doesn’t affect his pay, pension, rank or other things but seems to me there were other ways to work this out without him being fired which allowed him to walk the plank (figuratively) and be enthusiastically cheered by his crew as he left his command. The Acting Navy Secretary later talked to the Roosevelt crew saying the captain was out of line for his actions and was either "stupid or naive." The Acting Secretary told the Washington Post that he “fired” the captain before Trump ordered him fired (that wasn’t threatened but the Acting Secretary presumed that would be the case). He later apologized saying he didn't think the captain was stupid or naive.

I’m no Acting Navy Secretary but seems to me the captain was carrying out one of his primary duties – protecting his sailors – and didn’t deserve the public embarrassment and there must have been a more judicious way to make his point.

I’m not the President but...firing the Inspector General who passed to Congress the whistleblower’s letter claiming Trump strong-armed the Ukranian president for help in Trump’s reelection, was wrong. Yes, it is in within the President’s rights to fire the guy. But Trump said he fired him because he “lost confidence” in him. Trump didn’t like and never liked the IG passing along the letter, which he was bound by law to do. That’s the loss in confidence – the IG didn’t protect the President and bury the letter. The IG, Michael Atkinson, Trump complained, also never came to talk to the President before he sent the letter to the Congress.

I’m not the President, but seems to me Atkinson did exactly his job. And it isn’t required (nor ethically wise, in my view) for the IG to go to the accused to talk to see if he agrees with the whistleblower. As required, the IG deemed the letter had sufficient foundation for it to be passed to Congress, under the law.

I’m not the President but seems me the IG did his job. He didn’t assess the President guilty or not guilty. He assessed the letter as having sufficient foundation to fall under the law and send it to Congress for review and possible action. The letter, of course, led to Trump being impeached not that that had anything to do with Trump’s “loss of confidence.”

I’m (still) not the President but... I’m guessing the Department of Health and Human Service IG did not act for political purposes when she corroborated projections from governors about dramatic shortages of medical supplies in the coronavirus pandemic. Apparently because Trump took the report to be a criticism of him, he called “politics.” The author of the report was appointed by President Clinton. This belittles a very important government position, again, in inspectors general who are the public’s protection against government misconduct. One more institution Trump has torn down to build himself up. I'd also be watching out for further action by the President. Just sayin'.

I’m (still) not the President and he has the right to say what he wants but to claim politics in this situation is ridiculous. Facts are facts.

There is a common theme in most of these items. When I served in the government as a political appointee I, and my colleagues, knew we served “at the pleasure” of the President and could be removed anytime basically for any reason.

This President doesn’t look at his appointees serving “at the pleasure” of the President but “for the pleasure” of the President.

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