"Not Ending Well" and A Criminal on the Loose

 

ALL'S NOT WELL WHEN THINGS DON'T END WELL

Richardson

I posted the following on Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letters from Americans” daily newsletter (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/), the morning after the October 7 Harris-Pence debate.   Yes, I paid the fee to be able to post there and to read the postings of others on the site.  It gives one the feeling of not being alone in fighting evil in government.

“Right now, between Barr's henchmen and the Senate's likely approval of Justice-to-be Barrrett, it looks as if this is not going to end well. The only alternative solution might be a recognition by the Republicans that the only way they can forestall the admission of Puerto Rico and D.C. as States and a larger Supreme Court (a question Harris ducked), putting them in the doghouse for years to come, would be to agree to hold off filling the vacant Court seat until after the new President and Senate are sworn in. Hope such a deal is in the works"

The next place to go with this line of thought is what I mean by “it looks as if this is not going to end well.”  I have no crystal ball but I have an idea as to some of the factors which will be involved in that sad ending, and which seem to be coming together in sort of a perfect storm involving (1) the processes through which we choose our leaders, included the Electoral College, (2) domestic violence/terrorism and (3) a breakdown of law and order. 

What happens in determining the results of the forthcoming election is just a manifestation of the problem. The capstone of this is the Federal government’s failure to stop the spread of Covid19 here as other civilized nations throughout the world have managed to do.  This highlights our nation’s confusion between a government serving the people and a socialist state. They are not the same. Government is ignorant of what its role should be. 

Our (1) continuing inability to resolve racial issues, (2) the gross misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, allowing terrorists to be armed, (3) the politicization of the courts and agencies such as the Department of Justice and (4) a breakdown in the distribution of the nation’s wealth are other factors which, conceivably, can lead to some sort of social revolution, which whether coming from the right or from the left in this country, will elicit a violent reaction from the other side. That is what “not ending well” can mean.  And it isn't pretty.

 

A CRIMINAL ON THE LOOSE 

Militants in Michigan Capital in April

The FBI has arrested a group of right-wing militants who had planned to kidnap the Governor of Michigan.  Why have they not arrested the person who instigated their illegal act by urging his followers whom he knew included armed private militia to “Liberate Michigan”?  (Mafia “dons” never ordered specific “whackings” but their “captains” knew what they wanted done from other things that they had said.  This way, the “Godfather” remained uninvolved, safe in his olive oil importing business, and underlings were left to take the blame.)  If you or I advocated a “putsch” to violently overthrow a State government on television before millions, and some took that to be a mission I wanted carried out, conspired to do it, but were caught, I would be arrested too.  Donald Trump should be arrested with the rest of these conspirators.  Abetting terrorism makes one a terrorist. 

Otherwise we have a criminal on the loose.

(Only "Barr" keeps him from being behind "Bars.")

Despite all that I have posted, I do wish the President and his wife a speedy and full recovery.  Nevertheless, his actions did invite his being infected with Covid19... and spreading it to others.   We reap the harvest of the crops we plant.  Check with Amy Barrett.  I think that's somewhere in the Bible.  You can start looking by Clicking right here.  Any Evangelicals who happen to see this, take  notice.

JL

Grrrrr

Biden's Speech at Gettysburg and a New Short Story

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Joe Biden's Remarks at Gettysburg

Reproduced from Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s daily posting, “Letter from Americans,” here are her remarks about Joe Biden’s speech yesterday, Oct. 6, in Gettysburg, Pa.

“Today in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a town hallowed by history, Biden gave a blockbuster speech calling for the nation to put aside division and come together. He talked about race: “Think about what it takes for a Black person to love America. That is a deep love for this country that for far too long we have never fully recognized.” He talked about disparities of wealth: “Working people and their kids deserve an opportunity.”

And he talked about Lincoln, and how, at Gettysburg, he called for Americans to dedicate themselves to a “new birth of freedom” so that the men who had died for that cause “shall not have died in vain.”

“Today we are engaged once again in a battle for the soul of the nation,” Biden said. “After all that America has accomplished, after all the years we have stood as a beacon of light to the world, it cannot be that here and now, in 2020, we will allow government of the people, by the people, and for the people to perish from this earth.

“You and I are part of a great covenant, a common story of divisions overcome and of hope renewed," he said. "If we do our part, if we stand together, if we keep faith with the past and with each other, then the divisions of our time can give way to the dreams of a brighter, better, future.”

                                                                *   *   *   *

 A Bus Tour of Washington in the Year 2120

And on the “lighter side,” here’s a glimpse a century into the future in an exclusive short story you will see nowhere else.  You will note it assumes the President’s full recovery from his bout with his nemesis, the Covid19 virus, often benignly referred to by him as a “hoax.”

Ladeez and Gentlemen, welcome to the All-Around-Washington bus tour of the nation’s capital.  On your right, across from Lafayette Park, you can see the tall black obelisk rising on the site of the original White House.  It was put there some years ago by the ACLU, an organization dedicated to civil liberties and constitutional rights.  After the tour, try to visit it and read the inscriptions on it, one of which reads “Never Again.”  A lot of what I am about to tell you is included in a pamphlet available at the obelisk.

For those of you who are visitors to the  United States and may be unfamiliar with its history, the original White House was occupied for four years during the last century, from 2017 to 2020, by the nation’s 45^th president, a man named Donald Trump.  As proven in court cases after his defeat in 2020 and ultimate exile to a small village outside of Moscow, it was found that the degree of corruption, thievery, dishonesty, immorality and evil which permeated his administration had made the White House undesirable as a residence or office facility after his stay there.  Consequently, it was abandoned.  The Washington Zoo had even declined to take it over when it was offered to them to serve as a facility in which to store animal waste, even after they had been assured that all traces of the last century’s Trump Virus epidemic had been disinfected and removed.   Engineering studies, backed up by leading clergy of all faiths, concluded that all of this, along with the acrid stench of wickedness which surrounded the structure, which actually could be smelled if one got close to the place, made it permanently uninhabitable and not fit for future use of any kind.  After several decades of standing unoccupied and unused, the original White House was razed back in 2055.  Not too many people know that several of the demolition workers died from poisonous fumes still remaining decades later from the days of the Trump contamination of the structure.  You won’t find that in the history books.

As we proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue, you will see the new White House, an exact duplicate of the original one, which was built on the site of the old Washington Post Office, which Donald Trump had turned into a hotel which bore his name to house those bearing him gifts and rent overpriced rooms from him.  When that structure was finally razed, much documentation of Trump’s evil was found buried below it, including at least 2,000 non-disclosure agreements which he had forced many of those in and out of his administration to sign.

A foreign gentleman sitting on the bus just asked me what political party this Trump fellow belonged to. Well, he claimed to be a Republican, but once defeated in 2020, even that party claimed he never really was one of them.  That wasn’t enough, however, to save the Republican party which since Trump’s presidency has barely survived, the highest ranking official they have been able to elect, right now, being a city councilman in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  

Now as we approach the Ginsberg Supreme Court Building, be sure to notice the  .  .  .

JL

"Woke" Paintings ... and No Comment about the President.

Covid19 and "45"

Until we really know what the deal is with the President's Covid19 infection, the best thing we can do is monitor the situation on all of the news channels (from left to right, MSNBC, CNN, PBS, FOX and OAN ... the last being a relatively new extreme right wing TV news service, trying its best to outfox Fox).  I wish him the best, health-wise, but really do not know what is going on.  

JL

Socially Conscious Art

I attended school from kindergarten until graduation from high school with my friend,  Howard Silver.  Both of us are retired and now living in Palm Beach County.  Howard, after a career in dentistry, took up painting and has won several awards with his work.

Presently, aware of the social crisis facing our nation, he has done a series of paintings (he now works out of his garage) on that theme.  The style is a distinct departure from his earlier work, but has real meaning in 2020.  I recognize the roots of his awareness as being nourished in our social studies classes at Weequahic High School in the late 1940's.  Four examples of his latest paintings follow, as well as one of his earlier post-retirement paintings. 

  

And here is an example of his somewhat different earlier work from 2016.

JL

Rationing Sympathy

I do not have a great amount of sympathy for all of those in the Administration who have tested positively for the Covid19 virus.   Certainly, I wish them all a speedy recovery and a cessation of whatever symptoms they may be having.  But please, these folks should recognize that being infected is the result of their own actions and that of those with whom they choose to associate. 

Most infected individuals, counted as “cases,” may never show symptoms, and of those who do have symptoms, most will ultimately recover but a small number will not.  Increasing knowledge by our medical profession has lessened the number who will die from Covid19 infections, and work continues on a vaccine, but certainly, the Covid19 pandemic is not, as some have called it, a “hoax.” 

In my posting on this blog on September 24, in the piece about “playing the hand we’ve been dealt,” I concluded by saying “always expect the unexpected to happen.” Well, it has happened and there is a lesson to be learned.  It is a simple one. Here it is:

1.    Masks prevent your spreading the Covid19 virus to others if you happen to be infected, whether you know it or not, even without symptoms, and to a lesser extent prevent the droplets which carry the virus from others from reaching your nose and mouth.  Wear masks when you are out of your home, among people and in crowds, restaurants (even just to pick up orders), stores, at work, at entertainment venues and at doctors’ offices.  Even with masks, physical distancing of at least six feet from others should be maintained outside of your home, and at home as well when others than members of your household visit your home.

 

2.    Wash your hands at every opportunity, particularly when you return home from elsewhere, and try to keep them away from your face.  The mask covers your nose and mouth but not the rest of you where droplets might be deposited.

3. Consult a physician if you experience any suspicious flu-like symptoms.  As for preventing the spread of Covid19, look to the advice of physicians and not of politicians. No matter what they say, economic recovery is secondary to preventing the spread of this virus.  It will be up to the next Administration to find ways to relieve economic problems, but stopping Covid19 must come first.   

4.   

The President at Tuesday Night's Debate

As for the politicians who may have misinformed or misled you, please VOTE to get them out of office.  Their presence there has cost lives.

 

JL

Reaction to Presidential Debate, the "Other" News and a MLK Quote

The Debate

The afternoon of the Presidential Debate, I sent an email bulletin to one of the several Email mailing lists I maintain which concluded with the following, “And if you are one of those who has not yet made up their mind, listen carefully as to how the candidates enumerate the problems our nation faces and their ideas as to how to realistically address them.  Pay no attention to emotional appeals.  Act on facts.”  I had thought they would be exposed to something close to a normal “debate.”  How naively optimistic I was.

Trump Scowling Between Lies

I had never expected the debate to deteriorate into the brawl it turned out to be because of the boorishness of the person who carries, and daily disgraces, the title of President of the United States.  Totally incompetent in his role as President, Trump proved to be equally incompetent in addressing his opponent (and the millions of viewers), a quite different matter than his speaking before one of his gullible and ignorant mobs of supporters.  More and more he resembles cult leader Jim Jones who led hundreds to their deaths by poisoned Kool-Aid forty years ago, only this time the death will involve the Republican Party.

Ignoring (and sometimes insulting) the moderator and the rules both Parties had agreed to, Trump interrupted whenever he chose to, insulted his opponent and his family, and lied his way through the ninety-minute ordeal.  I think Biden would be justified in dropping out of future debates with a man who is no more than a schoolyard bully or thug at best.

Putting that aside, it is clear that Trump has given up on winning the election, both from a popular and electoral college standpoint.  His performance was not intended to win or change anyone’s votes. In fact, I suspect polls will show it cost him votes.  All he was interested in doing was solidifying his base, a considerable 40% of the electorate.  Even in losing, that number is something with which to be reckoned.  But more about that later.

Clearly, Trump’s aim is to challenge the results of an election he cannot win as fraudulent and litigate them up to the Supreme Court.  That is why he is frantically attempting to get his nominee, or another nominee if she fails to win Senate approval, on the Court giving him a majority, able to overthrow the election results.  That’s the only way he can stay in the White House.

To do this, he needs a majority vote in the Senate.  There just may be enough integrity left in that body, particularly after seeing what they saw and heard in the debate, to keep defeating his nominees until he gives up and accepts the election results. He might acquiesce to such a deal if it kept him from prosecution once he is out of office.  But don’t count on that happening.    It might just be wishful thinking on my part.

Last week’s New Yorker magazine (9-28 issue) included a lengthy article by lawyer Jeffrey Toobin which was subtitled “How Trump’s forces could challenge the election results and turn the country into a battleground.”  Toward the end of the article, Toobin wrote that “It’s unsurprising that, when the Transition Integrity Project, a group of a hundred bipartisan experts, ran a series of simulations, they concluded that ‘the potential for violent conflict is high, particularly since Trump encourages his supporters to take up arms.’ ”  He also wrote, after discussing Trump’s sympathy for anti-Black Lives Matter counter-protesters, that “anything short of a landslide for either Biden or Trump could lead to chaos.”  This will not end well.

 

The Other News

In response to someone posting on Heather Cox Richardson’s daily “Letter from an American,” raising the question of how the continuing West coast wildfires have dropped out of the spotlight, I added the following comment:

“Good point, about the wildfires. I wonder, if the news were not dominated by the election, the Supreme Court, Covid19 and the President's financial picture, what would be the front page stories.

You know, they haven't gone away: the "war' between Russia and Ukraine, ISIS, the Taliban and Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian impass, nuclear weapons in North Korea and eventually in Iran, rising dictatorships in Europe, the Khashoggi murder, unsolved problems caused by poverty the world over, deterioration of public school education in the U.S. and changes becoming necessary due to climate change. Oh, and there's more, which don't make page one because space is needed to report that a Trump aide cracked up. And speaking of "page one," we can't ignore the continuing decline of newspaper and other print media as disseminators of news and opinion. That's a problem that doesn't get enough attention either.”

Words to Reflect Upon 

Mary Sanchez, in a recent Kansas City Star column, quoted Martin Luther King as follows”

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change.  Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.  Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”

King spoke these words just a few months before his assassination 51 years ago.  They are just as pertinent today.

JL

Hey, I'm still lurking around!

A "Pretty Lady," a Couple of Letters and Words from Eric

 

Eric Says ...

Florida’s 29 electoral votes may be the difference between victory and defeat in November.   Eric Trump, the President’s son, recently reassured voters that his father would concede if he were “blown out of the water” in the election.  I don't know if his dad agrees with him.  But Democrats should recognize that and make it happen, considerably reducing the likelihood of litigation by the Trumpublicans.

Lady in a Mask

Avoiding Cofid19

The full painting
by Botticelli

In the most recent posting, I included a brief item regarding a pandemic involving the spread of a new virus, the “Monumental Ignorance” which pervades our society.  Let me comment further on that ignorance.

Accompanying the piece was a picture of a young woman with flowing hair wearing a face mask.  Whomever made this used Sandro Botticelli’s famous painting, “The Birth of Venus” as the source of the woman’s face.  (Some refer to this painting as “Venus on the Half Shell.)  The fact that one of most famous faces ever painted, rivaling that of the Mona Lisa, was used to point up the need to wear masks was totally missed by whomever posted the picture on Google, where I found it, well illustrates this ignorance.  The label on the Google image simply was “Pretty lady with a mask.”  I am certain they never had heard of Botticelli and if they had, they probably thought it to be a designer label or a perfume.  Monumental ignorance! Somehow, this bothers me.

Two Letters  The Palm Beach Post published my letter which appeared on this blog’s September 22 posting.  Here it is again:

“A recent letter writer (Mon. Sept. 21) urged that Senators Rubio and Scott stand up for millions of Florida children and support the House-approved Heroes Act.  In saying that “anyone with two eyes can see that to reopen safely, schools need resources right now,” the writer missed the fact that most Republican Senators, our two included, tightly close their eyes on entering the Senate Chamber, by order of their leader, Mitch McConnell.  It’s a wonder they don’t trip over the furniture there.”

And speaking of letters to the Post, here is one published today which says it all:

“Democrats should stop trying to play by rules that don’t exist.  We need to take the White House, Senate and House.  Make Washington D.C. a state.  Make Puerto Rico a state and add a couple of justices.  Time to get real and make real change.  Enough being ruled by the minority!  Republicans received far less votes overall than Democrats.  The president lost the popular vote.  Time for the   majority to take back the control of our government.”

I applaud the writer!  I agree with this letter and hope it brings out Democratic voters, although an overwhelmingly clear-cut victory for them might make that nuclear option (two more States and more Justices on the Supreme Court) not yet immediately necessary.  Eventually, yes, but not immediately. Those issue might confuse an already confusing galaxy of 2020 issues.

JL

Criticizing Democracy, The Hand We've Been Dealt, Another Pandemic? Patriotic Songs

Criticizing Democracy

I want to make a distinction regarding how ‘Democracy’ is subject to criticism. 

Donald J. Trump was elected to the presidency in 2016 in an entirely legal manner, following the rules laid out in the Constitution.  That the crucial electoral college votes which gave him the victory came from states with many gullible and ignorant voters doesn’t matter.  That is an educational problem, not a political one.  In 2016, Trump won ‘fair and square,’ or pretty close to that standard, even though he may have had ‘a little help from his friends.’  (In the early days of the Republic, the French and the British tried to be ‘helpful’ to candidates they favored in our elections.) Some may not like it but that’s the way democracy works.  It is up to us to fix it, rather than dwelling on it as evidence that ‘democracy is dead,’ as strong as that evidence may be.  It’s a taut tightrope to walk, but we must try to walk across it.

Opponents of democracy in other countries, non-democratic ones, feel an autocratic, if not a dictatorial, government is a better solution.  They take pleasure in criticizing the failures of our ‘democracy’ as evidence of this.  While they are happy with the autocratic tendencies of the president our ‘democracy’ elected in 2016, they take his election despite a majority of Americans opposing him and his programs, as evidence that ‘democracy is dead’ here.  How else could that have happened.  What the people got wasn't quite what they thought they had voted for.

We should distinguish our thoughts concerning the demise of democracy in the United States between (1) those endeavoring to fix, or resuscitate, it and (2) those following the idea that its flaws, as shown by Trump’s election, and possible re-election, prove it to be an inherently failed system of government.  That latter idea is what the Russians would like Americans to believe and are spending big bucks to promulgate through social media, playing both sides of the street, sowing dissent wherever the field seems fertile.

As I said, it’s a taut tightrope we walk. 

 JL

The Hand We've Been Dealt

But getting back to where we are today, just a few short weeks before we elect a president, a full House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate, let’s look at what’s on the table.

As I see it, the only way Trump can be kept out of office for four more years would be for an enormous repudiation of him and all he stands for to take place in the election.  Ideally, it would be very helpful if Biden won the popular and the electoral vote on Election Day, even before those states which will accept mailed in ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within a stipulated (varying by State) number of days after Election Day are tabulated.  That would give him a strong argument for claiming victory.  (There are fifteen such States plus D.C. but all but three are either solidly Republican or Democratic to the extent where mailed in votes received after Election Day are unlikely to change anything.  They might, however, make a difference in Texas, North Carolina and Virginia.)

 

If such a Biden victory (or one dependent on the delayed tabulation in one of those three States) occurs, the Republicans will contest the election results with litigation, ultimately before a politicized Supreme Court and/or the turning over of the electoral college to State Legislatures after a specified deadline passes.  By then, Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Ginsberg on the Supreme Court will have been approved by the spineless Senate, and Trump will be declared the winner. 

 

Remember that whomever is ultimately chosen to be president, or even the continuance of Trump in office without a resolution of the election results, millions of those who disagree will be out there demonstrating in Washington and  throughout the nation, and I don’t think it will be entirely non-violent, on either side. At this moment, it doesn’t appear that this will end well.

That’s the hand we’ve been dealt.  Now play it … and always expect the unexpected to happen.

 

 

 

Another Pandemic

The other day, someone asked me about how the Covid19 pandemic would end.  I replied that eventually, its spread would be stopped by our finally and seriously following the rules (social distancing, masks, handwashing, avoiding crowded venues and crowds, etc.).  And then, I added, we will have to deal with the other pandemic threatening our country.  “What disease is that?” I was asked.  I smiled and responded, “Monumental ignorance, my friend, monumental ignorance.  Were it not for that, Covid19 would be history by now.”

  

 

Patriotic Songs 

Think of all the patriotic songs you know so well.  “My country, t’is of thee,” “Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light,” “Glory, glory, halleyulah,” “You’re a grand old flag,” and finally, these less frequently sung verses from "America the Beautiful."

“Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet whose stern impassioned stress, a thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law! …

“Oh beautiful for patriots’ dreams that see beyond the years, thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea! 

                                                    *   *   *

And this man doesn't understand any of these words and wants to destroy them!

JL

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Mmmm, smack, chomp, mmmm, yum ...