george.schnur

The explosion Christmas morning of an explosives filled RV rocked the nation. The perpetrator was without doubt a person with severe mental issues. The ongoing investigation is still trying to identify the motive for this act. Was it a suicide by bomb, an act of terrorism or a combination of both? As more facts keep emerging, the whole matter becomes more disturbing. His girlfriend had contacted authorities in August 2019 that he was assembling bombs in his trailer. Law enforcement responded and various agencies became involved and even included the FBI. But all their efforts never resulted in a thorough search of his property or the RV on it. I fail to understand why the authorities seemed to be unconcerned that the suspect had received an explosive user license in November 2013 and let it lapse in November 2016. Shouldn’t that have been sufficient reason to authorize a search of his property? Or are law enforcement agencies still hampered by disjointed data bases preventing full information on a suspect? I am very glad that there was no loss of life of those living in the neighborhood of the explosion.

Even Republicans are now wondering about the strange behavior of Trump in the waning days of his presidency. Trump called the Covis-19 financial relief package a ‘disgrace’ only to sign it later. He vetoed the defense bill because it would remove the names of Confederate generals from our military bases. The House ended up overriding his veto overwhelmingly. He continuous his tongue lashing of Republicans who dare to suggest that his election fraud claims are false. Even his favorite newspaper the new York Post ran an editorial that it was time for him to shut down that scenario and leave the White House with some dignity. One can say that lately every Trump action turns into a bizarre and embarrassing episode. Trump acts like he has a winning hand in poker but then folds with nothing. That makes him the FISH and not the SHARK. Maybe his whole strategy is simply to gain attention, remain in the spotlight as long as possible and do it through the creation of chaos!

Generally one can assume that in countries with totalitarian regimes any criticism of the government can lead to imprisonment. Most likely that is the case in Russia, China, Belarus, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and North Korea just to name a few. But the facts say that even in the US journalism has become a more dangerous profession in the past years. Maybe calling the press ‘Enemies of the nation’ and mean spirited and nasty attacks by Trump toward reporters who dare to criticize his actions are partially to blame. No question that hey have certainly driven up hostility toward journalists. We have seen about 110 reporters criminally charged and over 300 have been assaulted for reporting on the pandemic or Black Lives Matter protests. When we muzzle reporters and threaten them for doing their jobs, we undermine the concept of freedom of speech. One of the core tenets of a thriving democracy. We can’t permit that to happen!

Some may disagree but I feel that Trump is behaving like an out of control individual because of a bruised ego due to his election loss. Knowing that his days in the White House are numbered, his erratic actions are harming the country. Yesterday he let the bipartisanship economic relief bill expire which would have extended jobless benefits for 12 million Americans. He didn’t participate in the bill negotiations and provided not input at all. But after it passed he suddenly decided that every American should receive $2000. rather than $600. It appears to be solely a grandstanding attention seeking act. His failure to sign the bill embarrassed his onetime GOP political allies. He repeatedly claimed how much the military means to him yet vetoed the defense spending bill which has approval from both parties. Trump does have a lot of time for settling scores and discrediting investigations by pardoning advisers who repeatedly lied to the FBI. Everyone who voted for Trump should now realize that he is the same individual he was 4 years ago. He is a narcissist and selfish and when things don’t go his way, he lashes out and doesn’t care how much damage he inflicts on others. That is why I fear that in his remaining days in office we will see more of what I call his ‘scorched earth exit’. A harsh definition but very appropriate!

On January 6th, 2021 in a joint session of Congress presided over by VP Pence the election results, as submitted by each state, will be read to be accepted. This will be a crossroad moment for Republicans since they can accept the electoral tally or raise objections to them. They all will have to decide whether to support Trump’s claim of voting irregularities or chose the will of the people expressed in the election. It comes down to a very simple loyalty test. Do they believe in democracy or Trump’s version of events. Some Representatives and Senators may show unyielding support for Trump still fearful of his sway over the GOP base and its impact on their future political career. If they raise only verbal objections, VP Pence has the authority to gavel them down and announce that the matter is closed. But even written objections won’t change the eventual outcome that Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States.

There is no doubt that some individuals get caught in the gears of justice and receive penalties which are too severe. A presidential pardon is a way to address them. However, Trump’s recent pardon spree can’t be taken as examples of proper mercy. Trump has pardoned Manafort, Stone, Van der Zwaan and Papadopoulos from his 2016 campaign who all lied to the FBI. Then there is Jared Kushner’s father who committed a number of serious offense, four Blackwater Security Mercenaries who were sentenced for an Iraq massacre and Border agents who shot someone crossing into the US and tried to cover it up. These types of pardons appear to paint a picture of political corruption and not true justice. I really thought Trump has something else in mind when he stated that he would drain the swamp!

As we are approaching Christmas and the end of 2020, I find it difficult to send out my usual holiday message. I remember that when we celebrated the first day of the year 2020 we were optimistic and filled with hope for a prosperous and healthy new year. But then Covid-19 placed large boulders in the path of us to having a normal year. We all had to make adjustments to the way we live our lives and Christmas is no exception to this fact this year. Even though it may dampen our Christmas spirit we can’t permit Corona to extinguish it. Family gatherings may be smaller and in our mobile society some may not even take place but we must maintain the spirit of love and unity for each other. Santa Claus will still come around as he does every year at this time but his bags will filled with vaccine to combat the virus. A tremendous gift to all of us to be immensely appreciated by everyone. This raises my optimism for 2021 that we shall return to our normal lives and again see each other and resume all the activities we missed in 2020.

The trusted and well respected newspaper Kansas City Star printed an editorial by their editor Mike Fannen apologizing for their treatment of the black community over the years. The editor admitted that the newspaper had the power to act and change the prevailing dialogue about blacks but chose to go with the flow and not cause uncomfortable ripples. In stronger words, the Star robbed a community of fellow citizens of their recognition, dignity, opportunity and in many cases justice they deserved. It is deep rooted racism when over decades you disenfranchise, ignore and scorne people for the color of their skin. But it isn’t only the Star that is guilty of that sine there were many newspapers, especially in the southern part of the nation, doing exactly the same thing. Not many have shown the courage of the Star to apologize for their past coverage of blacks!

The Smartmatic Corporation, manufacturer of the Dominion Voting System, issued legal notices to Trump’s personal lawyer Rudi Giuliani and the FOX, Newsmax, OAN and One America News networks for making false and defamatory comments about their system. Hosts of these networks alleged that the election systems were manipulated to throw votes to Biden and that is the reason he won. These unfounded allegations do nothing more then to undermine the confidence in our election process. Facing serious lawsuits about their reckless conduct, FOX is airing segments now representing Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo nd Jeanine Pirro stating that is there is no evidence of election fraud. You can expect that Newsmax, OAN and One AmericaNews will follow suit quickly enough since their financial resources are far less than those of FOX. I wonder how Trump loyalists who watch these networks exclusively will react to those retractions?

It appears that there are dark forces which try to convince Americans not to take the Covid-19 vaccine when it is made available to them. The first group are Trump loyalists who believe that the virus is a hoax and that it is even less dangerous that the normal winter flue. In other words, they have bought in hook line and sinker into the false messaging touted by the administration for a long time. Then there is a second group who are worried about potential adverse side effects the vaccine may pose. Generally this is a valid issue but given that covid is killing people daily, it should not be our priority concern right now. Then there is the third group which buys in to the theory that the vaccine will alter the DNA of those who get vaccinated. There is no DNA material in the vaccine provided by Pfizer and Moderna. The fourth group claims that the vaccine itself will give you the virus. Again this is utter nonsense since the vaccines contain no live or dead covid cells. The fifth group goes as far as to believe that the vaccine contains microchips which will permit the government to track all of our moves. The fact is that such technology isn’t available at all. And then there is Senator Rand Paul who insists that our own immune system is superior to the benefits a vaccine would give us. He is not a Doctor and totally ignores the 95% efficacy rate of the vaccines. All these conspiracy theories tremendously damage the trust Americans have in the vaccines and that is a serious problem to combat the virus effectively. In this difficult time let us trust the Scientists and Doctors who recommend that we get vaccinated!

Republican politicians keep telling us that the nation can only afford a ‘skinny’ financial relief bill. Their argument is that we can’t increase the national deficit. Now these are the same people who don’t give a darn about the deficit when it comes to doling out tax cuts to the rich and companies or when it involves giving lavish and lucrative contracts to firms managing facilities for locked up immigrant children or to hire private security resources. But when it comes to providing some Dollars to families caught in the Covid-19 economic downturn, they become the world’s biggest penny pinchers and immediately raise deficit concerns. That points out the Republican hypocrisy when it comes to spending. Money for the rich is good for the nation but giving some to the poor is bad! That sums up the Republican philosophy very well!

It certainly appears that losing his re-election bid for a second term has resulted in Trump also losing interest in executing his daily responsibilities as President. The nation is facing the most serious cyberattack on our government institutions. These are highly sophisticated technical attacks by an outside nation (most likely Russia) which are narrow in scope but extremely targeted and manually executed. The perpetrators not only gained access to critical US government computers but with it the ability to steal data and possibly even attempt to manage networks. We have no comments from Trump on this bold attack on our national security. He remains silent as Covid-19 ravages us daily. He has also failed to aggressively intervene in the Congress relief negotiations and use the White House bullhorn to press for urgent passage of a bill. For me that lack of presidential involvement at this critical time indicates that Trump has lost interest in being a President in the remaining days of his term. But he still seems to find time to complain about the only thing on his mind, the non existent election fraud!

Yesterday more Americans died of Covid-19 than any other day in our recent history at a time when the public is tired of political gamesmanship, distracted leaders and a nation under cyberattack. We must bring back the national spirit on display after the devastating terrorist attacks on 9/11. We came together against a common foe and national unity was the key ingredient. Given that the virus is still raging and threatening the health of many, causing financial hardships for families and hammering our economy, I feel we must again reach for that post 9/11 spirit of unity. Let us recognize that we are all in the same boat and we must row in unison and have the same destination in mind or else we fail. There is no better time to come together than the Christmas holidays. This year has been tough on everyone so let us link arm to arm and make the promise to make 2021 a better one. That does include getting vaccinations as soon as it is available to you and looking out for each other.

Just in this past week our administration informed us that Russian hackers directed by the Kremlin are believed to be behind breaches of US government computer systems. The Commerce Department seems to be the government agency impacted by this cyber attack. It is obvious that foreign interests and possibly domestic ones will continue their attacks on our democracy for political and ,in some cases, financial gain. These aggressive threats pose a continued danger to our democracy and country. Without doubt the majority of them are politically motivated with the intent of causing severe disruptions to computer and information technology systems. These massive hacks may create widespread fear and distrust in our society. Congress and the incoming administration must continue all efforts to fortify our defenses against cyberterrorism. This will require additional funding and more skilled human resources to win this fight.

I suspect that Trump is behind AG Barr’s sudden resignation. It seems that the loyal slave suddenly wasn’t deemed to be sufficiently loyal to the master anymore. The final break between these two men was caused by Barr’s refusal to join Trump’s alleged voter fraud spin. But Barr went even further by stating clearly that the Justice Department saw no election fraud at all. That must have infuriated Trump to no end that his political ally who all along had been willing to bent norms, rules and laws in defense of him had now dared to oppose him. Who can forget Barr’s dishonorable record of spinning the content of the Mueller investigation to claim that it exonerates the President. Barr personally interfered in the court cases of General Flynn and Roger Stone. All actions which damaged his reputation as an Attorney General supposedly working on behalf of the American people. Barr was a Trump crony and history will remember him as such.

Vaccine scientists were working tirelessly in laboratories around the world to develop a vaccine to fight Covid-19. They succeeded. Now we have several pharmaceutical companies ready to ship vaccine to patients. Pfizer has already delivered the first shipments in England and the US. That means that we now have the ability to aggressively fight the virus and protect the public. Of course, not everyone can receive the vaccine right away but we all will be able to do so in due time. The only obstacle facing us is that all the past rhetoric downplaying the dangers of the virus has taken hold with some people and they see no need for inoculations. Others fear that the vaccine is unsafe or may have adverse side effects. That type of thinking must be set aside for the common good. The scientists have done their jobs in record time and now we must do ours by stepping up and taking that shot in the arm.

Today the Electoral College delegates cast their votes and definitely confirmed that our President-Elect is Joe Biden. The next step is for Congress to meet on January 6th, 2021 and have VP Pence read and count the electoral votes. Any member of the House and Senate could raise objection to the count. If there are objections, the House and Senate will meet separately to discuss them and rule on their viability. The big question now is if Republicans will continue to challenge Biden’s win or will they finally stop their circus act of claiming election fraud? For the good of the nation it is best that there is no additional drama created by the 126 House Representatives who had endorsed the ill conceived Texas challenge to the results in 5 states. These Representatives have already soiled their reputations and to act up again in January is just another futile move which will tarnish them even more. Democracy has won, Trump has lost.

We must all maintain a firm belief that trust in those we know, those around us and our institutions is a requirement for a harmonious existence. When we trust each other, good things are bound to happen. When we don’t have it, it seems good things don’t happen. As children we trust our parents and teachers and know that they wish only the best for us. While in the military there are always comrades that could be counted on in any situation. We all have friends that we can reach out to if anything bothers us. These are all relationships build on trust. Somehow I feel that we don’t trust each other as much as we used to. We have lost sight of the fact that we are at our best when we trust each other. Trust is fundamental to everything we do. If trust is present, no challenge is too great and everything is possible. If trust is absent, we end up blaming each other for not getting things done. I humbly appeal to my fellow Americans to trust again. Trust Health Care professionals that they speak the truth. Trust the scientists and their findings and conclusions. Trust that the Covid-19 vaccine is safe and will help us all. Trust the rule of law. Trust election results. And trust only leaders who tell us the truth. If they do that, we in turn trust them. Such bond forged in difficult times permits us to overcome all of our current challenges.

The Texas Attorney General law suit to throw out election votes was supported by many influential members of the GOP party. There were 18 Attorney Generals from red states and 126 Republican House members who added their signatures to the court filing. Their participation in Trump’s post election litigation campaign is cynical of and destructive to the rule of law. It makes me wonder why political and legal professionals who knew very well that the Supreme Court would not take up this matter decided do so. They obviously can’t claim outright ignorance so what was their motive? Did they feel that they had to demonstrate to their voter base that they were Trump loyalists? Is it their desire that the GOP hold on to power by any means? I do know that the Supreme Court ended up providing the guardrails which stopped the unraveling of our democracy. The Supreme Court Judges believed and acted in accord with the tenets of our Constitution. They did what they swore to uphold. That can’t be said for the House Representatives and Attorney Generals. Their behavior was actually shameful. Their reputations suffered immensely. They will always be remembered by the public but never in a favorable light!

Yesterday weary Americans finally received good news on two serious issues the nation has been battling. The Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to stem the ravages of the virus. Then we had the Supreme Court squash the Texas court challenge to negate millions of votes in battleground states by rejecting it even from being filed. Yes, December 11th, 2020 will be seen in years to come as the day when the country’s democracy was saved from being usurped by a sitting President who lost his re-election bid. And as the day when we decided that effective vaccine was available to protect our population and the process for mass distribution and inoculations would begin. This all means that we see the light at the end of the tunnel but much work remains to be done. The CDC must prioritize which groups of people receive the vaccine first since initial supplies are limited. We must convince those opposed to inoculations to drop their objections and do what is right. Then we must all acknowledge that the unnecessary election fight is over and accept that the next President is Joe Biden.

If Trump plans another shot at the presidency in 2024, he will find out that such comeback effort after a defeat is an exercise in futility. Certainly his planned retirement in Mar-a-Lago is the ideal place if he is serious about another run in four years. It is the perfect place to lavishly entertain those who clamor to be near the former President. Many of the powerful and wealthy who supported him in in 2016 may stay with him and there will be others willing to throw money at his feet. But I have many reasons for believing that Trump won’t be the GOP candidate in the 2024 presidential race. With the passage of time he himself may lose interest in doing so. Trump faces New York state investigations on potentially shady real estate deals and issues of not having paid all due income taxes in that state. Details of Trump’s mountain of personal debt will tarnish his image of the successful business man. Other GOP contenders active in political life will emerge and provide serious challenges. Even support of his cult following may diminish in the absence of White House propaganda briefings. All in all, I don’t see Trump being the GOP candidate in 2024.

In view of Trump’s rally in Alabama is is a brief reminder of his tactics!

There is no doubt that Trump has succeeded in the creation of a personality cult around himself. His followers idealize him and view him to be a heroic figure called upon to save the nation. This is unbelievable public admiration and devotion to a non deserving political figure. Personality cults around political leaders began as early as the 1920’s with the rise of Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany. Their secret was to use mass media, propaganda, big lies, spectacles, demonstrations and rallies to thrust them into the public eye. Mussolini used newsreels, Hitler used radio and both understood the need for direct communication with people to build their cult following. Trump copied that strategy by relying on the Internet, Twitter, conservative radio outlets, conspiracy theorists and FOX news to forge his personality cult. Now that he has lost the presidential election don’t expect him to walk away from the adulation he craves. Expect Trump to continue to hold rallies, participate in endless television interviews and favor his daily tweet storms to keep him in the spotlight!

This week again the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits exceeded the projected number by well over 100000. The unemployment numbers we see week after week are staggering. This morning alone the number is over 850000. Many of our fellow Americans need financial relief and they must have it now. In this hour of economic distress for many, the Senate Republicans aren’t willing to give up company Covid-19 liability protection and they refuse to provide state and local funding. It is shameful that we are being blackmailed by a few when the intent is to help many! Senate Leader Mitch McConnel must do the right thing and give up unnecessary bill provisions and focus on getting actual Dollars into people’s pockets. Covid-19 is already making this Christmas much less than what we are used to. Adding failure to provide financial relief will make it the worst ever for a large number of Americans.

The Republican party used to stand for a smaller federal government and a full belief in states rights. Now that all seems to have changed. The Texas Attorney general Paxton filed a lawsuit against Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania for them to invalidate the votes of thousands of registered voters. Trump filed a motion to join that lawsuit and seventeen other state AG’s are backing the effort as well. Each state sets their own election laws and criteria so with other states trying to interfere it is nothing short of ridiculous. Based on the Supreme Court’s decision not to act on the Pennsylvania Republican lawsuit, the same thing will happen here. They won’t even take this up as a crazy matter. But the real danger of these meritless court challenges is that they fire up the angry base of Trump voters and they are acting more and more radically across the country. My fear is that it all has the potential to lead to violence on the streets. What Trump is doing is to rile up his loyal followers, deny that Biden won the election and pressure state officials to change results. That strategy must fail because Americans see it for what it is, a blatant attempt to invalidate their votes.

Trump’s reckless law suits to overthrow the 2020 election result were dismissed by courts in many states. It seems that election fraud conspiracy theories lacking evidence don’t impress Judges in the US Court System. Sure, they may give Trump loyalists and FOX media a high and headlines but that is about it. Yesterday the Supreme Court rejected a motion raised by Republicans, with Trump’s blessing, that the presidential election result should be blocked. The Trump strategy and wishful hope that the conservative Supreme Court would hand him the election blew up in his face. Remember that Trump had appointed Judges Barrett, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court bench. He must have forgotten that they all swore to uphold the Constitution. Not a single Judge wrote words of dissent or explanation to suggest the case had merit and should be considered. That whole attempt by Trump with his futile legal maneuvering to over throw the election result is a national embarrassment.

The presidential election was five weeks ago and the vast majority of Republican politicians are silent on its outcome. There are 449 elected Republicans in Congress. They got there because the majority of voters cast their ballots for them the same way they did for President-Elect Biden. Unfortunately only 27 of them had to courage to congratulate Biden in private while 2 claim Trump won and 220 are a silent or have lost their voice. That makes me wonder what they are afraid of? They shouldn’t fear Trump’s anger or retribution anymore since a person stamped with the aura of a loser loses power within his party very quickly. This whole scenario reminds me of what happened in our country well over 70 years ago when Republican Senator McCarthy launched his anti-communism campaign. Then too his fellow Republicans didn’t challenge his conspiracy theories even though they all knew it to be most implausible. That time was called the era of McCarthyism just as we are now concluding the era of Trumpism. When elected public officials fear to speak out in support of fair and free election results, we are caught in a serious downward spiral of diminishing basic freedoms.

Our politicians and most Americans like to point out that we are the richest country on earth. That is indeed so. That is why it troubles me so much when I see people lining up for miles to pick up free food at food banks across the nation. No doubt the uncertain economic times during the pandemic have swelled the numbers but we have seen this now play out even before Covid-19 hit us. We must ask ourselves why so many people depend on food donations to feed their families. Is it that over time the majority of jobs being created are at the minimum hourly rate which makes it extremely difficult to provide housing, pay utilities and source food for a family. All of this happening while companies report record earnings and the stock market is at its height. Somewhere there is a disconnect between Main Street and Wall street. I applaud everyone who generously donates funds and products to food banks but that isn’t a long term solution to a problem which appears to be getting worse. Food banks are merely temporary band aid fixes and not sustainable if the hunger situation continuous. As a rich nation we shouldn’t have people standing in line for food. It is up to our government and companies to find solutions to the hunger crisis!

Georgia voters stunned the country when in the presidential election democratic candidate Biden emerged as the winner. On January 5th, 2021 all eyes will be on the Georgia again since they will have their runoff election to select their two Senators. Their incumbents are Senators Perdue and Loeffler who are Republicans and have been avid Trump supporters. However, the President has attacked the Georgia Republican leadership for not having done enough for him in their support of alleged voter fraud. That has caused some friction within the party with those who agree with Trump and those who feel his interference is inappropriate. No one knows how this will impact Republican voter turnout. It can be expected that the Democrats will again have strong voter turnout. A wild card in the election is the fact that both Republican Senators are accused of having used inside information for the benefit on stock trades. The results of the runoff election will determine if the Senate remains in Republican hands and spells the end of Mitch McConnel’s reign as Senate Leader. President-Elect Biden would certainly have an easier time passing major legislation if the Democratic party controlled the Senate. But even if they fail to do so, the departure of Trump may signal that a few Republican Senators will be willing to cooperate in the spirit of partisanship to provide critical aid to the American people.

Obviously the President isn’t interested or concerned about taking action on an out-of-control pandemic. But VP Pence is missing in action as the Head of the WH Coronavirus Task Force as well. That isn’t acceptable when the Center of Disease Control is warning us that the most difficult time in our nation’s public health crisis are ahead of us. Gone are the days when the Vice President participated in virus news briefings and attempted to highlight the administration’s stellar response to it. Now Pence has disappeared from the stage or one could say that he is hiding in the shadows. Fortunately the only light t the end of the tunnel is that the incoming Biden administration is willing to take aggressive steps to control Covid-19. We, the public, must do whatever they ask us to do. Only in a united and committed way on the part of all of us can the virus be defeated. We must emerge victorious!

many had hoped that Trump would stop talking gibberish but no, he can’t. In his 46 minute speech he again focused on alleged election fraud. In the style of a true dictator he appears to prefer destroying our democracy rather than stepping aside according the the wishes of the voters. I ask myself now ‘why would a US President attempt to rip out the heart of our democracy but yet proclaim himself a patriot?’. My belief is that he can’t be a true patriot is he doesn’t believe in our country and our democracy. It just confirms that he is a narcissist who only believes in himself. Trump went so far as to call it his most important speech but, at least to me, it seemed more a document to his self destruction. Do ask yourself: ‘if his claims had any merit, why would the most powerful man in the world unable to secure a safe election?’.

The power of the Internet has brought mass media and social platforms into our homes. We are bombarded continuously by far left and far right factions with ambiguous word play by Conspiracy Theorists and Idealists. They provide us daily with a bowl of alphabet soup with ingredients like ‘face coverings are useless’, ‘defund the Police’, ‘the election was stolen’ and ‘cancel all student debt’. But few of us take the time to think about these attention getting catch phrases. Maybe we should not fall into believing these mish mash of messages too quickly. Extreme positions are always just that ‘EXTREME’. Let us look deeper into facts and the reality surrounding us. The vast majority of medical professionals clearly stated ‘wearing face coverings reduces the spread of Covid-19’, citizens aren’t for ‘defunding the Police but would like to see police practice reforms’, even Trump ally AG Barr stated ‘the results of presidential election are correct’ and all those who paid off and are paying their student debts aren’t comfortable with ‘cancel all student debt’. The majority of the public forges true reality and extreme groups just try to confuse us. Don’t fall for their objective!

The political scenario post January 20th, 2020 is the Democrats controlling the White House and House of Representatives while the Republicans hold the majority in the Senate. History has shown that important legislation generally fails to pass under divided governments. The minority party, in this case the Republicans, have the choice to become obstructionists and force gridlock or turn to bipartisanship and compromise on important issues. One such issue is the crying need for a stimulus package for Americans in financial distress. There is no time to waste since many citizens continue to face unemployment and rent and mortgage payments. Unfortunately the Senate leadership up to now has only been willing to entertain a skinny relief bill. That must change since the required aid requires not skinny but substantial support of individuals and small businesses. The public will render judgment on which party going forward is their best representative in getting things done and vote accordingly in the 2022 elections. It would be wise for both parties to keep that in mind as they map out their political landscape for the next two years!

Yesterday’s interview of Trump on the FOX network will go down as a bizarre event. Listening to the President speak about the past election convinced me that Trump has locked himself into a delusional world of his own making. If he continues to make more of such appearances, I feel that even some who voted for him will determine that they are an embarrassment. Trump has recently distanced himself from his personal lawyer Sidney Powell when she and Giuliani appeared in front of cameras with over the top conspiracy theories in regards to the election. Now he has copied the behavior he found distasteful. My belief is that Trump can’t accept that former President Obama won the presidency twice while he failed in his second run. We re in a severe national health crisis and instead of providing leadership on it in his remaining time in office, Trump has nothing better to do than show grief over his election loss!

The incoming administration will face many serious health and economic challenges when it assumes office on January 20th, 2020. We have Covid-19 uncontrolled in most states, bulging unemployment numbers, lack of a stimulus relief deal, diminishing food bank supplies and declining industries. These conditions heighten prospects of permanent job losses, reveal the inadequacy and deficiencies of remote learning and point to potential job re-training requirements for the work force. The country faced similar prospects in 1932 and only bold and unified action reversed the downward spiral then as it must do now. However, no single party can do it alone and both parties must make a commitment to the American people to work hand in hand to deliver meaningful and workable solutions. The greater good of the nation should always supersede party interests. We are at a point where the outgoing President seems to have lost interest in the daily affairs of state while the President-Elect can plan for future action but that is all. In any case, every citizen must demand from their Senators and Representatives that it is high time to end tribalism and work in unison on behalf of all Americans.

Every President has exercised his power to pardon citizens. Sometimes a choice or two are viewed by the public to be unjust almost bordering a disgrace. Trump began his pardoning Blitz with clemency for the Thanksgiving turkey and then General Flynn who who lied to the FBI. I expect that Trump is feverishly working on his list of individuals to pardon next. That may indeed be a very long list. My intuition tells me that many individuals from his 2016 presidential campaign who are serving time will be pardoned. They may include Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos and Rudi Giuliani. as potential candidates. Possibly add to the list Allen Weisselberg his Trump Organization Chief Financial Office, Jared Kushner’s father and possibly a number of corrupt government officials. Trump may even attempt to stretch the envelope and pardon himself to avoid federal prosecution on tax fraud which is being investigated by the IRS. It will be interesting to see what will happen in the next 54 days!

I feel that the fresh air of change and confidence is sweeping through the hallways of the National Security headquarters. Gone are the two political hacks who were in charge the last four years. They viewed their responsibility to be solely to purge the agency of Trump’s perceived enemies and to release classified information which played into the President’s conspiracy theories. The new incoming Director of National Security is Avril Haines who has previously served as the CIA’s Deputy Director. I am convinced that under her leadership we will once again have national security principles which will permit us to effectively respond to external and internal threats facing our country.

Now that Trump has tongue in cheek given up on his attempted illegal seizure of the presidential election, let us all hope that no future President comes along who is also willing to act in total disregard of applicable laws and the national interest when it comes to accepting an election result. Now is the time for every state to take a close look at their election certification process and clarify that no bureaucrats are empowered to overturn the will of the people. Furthermore, the General Services Administration should update the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to be very specific on how and when the go ahead for the President-Elect is given to initiate the transition process. Such clarifications would strongly strengthen our unwavering belief in our democracy but also be an unshakeable reaffirmation in American values.

Right now we see the Republican party slowly split into two halves. On one side we have the Trump faction supported by his chief enablers like Senators Cruz, Rubio and Cotton and support from the right wing media. These Republicans closed their eyes to the frivolous litigation to overthrow presidential election results. Their silence makes them complicit in Trump’s intimidation of state election officials. These Senators are all potential 2024 presidential contenders and for them to disavow reality and democracy is shameful. The other half is comprised of rational Republicans who share the fundamental belief in democracy and the rule of law. These Republican like Senators Romney, Collins and Murkowski quickly accepted the election results making Biden the President-Elect. Many staunch Republican conservative politicians in the Senate and House decided that the tenets of our democracy must be upheld. They are to be applauded!

In the past four years Trump has managed to foster and create a disinformation system based on a constant stream of lies and his ability to spread ugly conspiracy theories. Who can forget memorable lies like ‘Covid-19 is a Democratic hoax’ or ‘I won the 2020 election’? Trump is being supported in his disinformation campaign by social media platforms, some so called news channels and countless websites. They amplify and quickly spread all of his falsehoods. The only meaningful response to what surrounds us is to have real news outlets return to to fact based journalism. After all, isn’t the role of journalism to appeal to reason while providing moral clarity along with truthful content? Good journalism must always be pro-truth, pro-voting, anti-racist and, above all, pro-democracy. That is what I call fact and reality based journalism. If we don’t return to it now, our democracy will lose much of what it needs to function properly.

I understand that Trump loyalists are fueled by anger and self-pity because Trump, to whom they have sworn their allegiance, has lost the election. But now they must face the reality that ‘a lack of votes and not a theft of votes’ defeated Trump. That recognition of the loss must also be accepted by the GOP leadership. In the past 18 days they have indulged Trump’s narcissism and abetted his claim that the election was stolen from him. That has encouraged Trump to be more reckless and lawless in his actions which are posing a serious threat to our democratic institution. Where are all the Republicans on the Hill who swore to uphold the Constitution when faced with a President more and more detached from reality? Instead of stepping up for the cause of our national interest they are playing the game of ‘head in the sand’. The current situation demands a response from Trump’s own party. They must do what Republicans did to Nixon when it came time for him to leave the White House. Majority Leader McConnel and others must see Trump at the White House and tell him in no uncertain terms that his presidency is over. They must pull the plug on his desperate effort to hold on to power. If we permit a losing party not to accept defeat, the whole concept of an electoral democracy has collapsed.

Since the presidential election result showed that Biden had won it, Trump and his Republican enablers have tried every trick they could come up with to cast doubt on the undeniable result. There was the pitch that every legitimate vote should be counted Well, they were. Then there were all the court actions claiming voting irregularities. Well, they have been tossed out by Judges for lack of evidence. Trump asked for a manual recount of votes in Georgia. Well, that was completed and Georgia certified that Biden won. Now we have reached a new low in challenging our sacred right for free and fair elections. Trump has reached out to Michigan and Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers with an urgent plea for them to send a slate of electors to the Electoral College who will back Trump and not follow the will of the people in those states. These attacks aim at the core principles of our democracy. They must be strongly reputed by every citizen or our democracy will never be the same.

I am offering my unsolicited guidance to Trump with regard to his election loss. Don’t get upset, mad and angry because you lost the presidential election. Don’t try to get even by making it difficult for President-elect Biden to set up his administration and provide leadership on containing Covid-19. Try to do better than you are doing now since sulking isn’t a cure for anything. Rise above your self pity of having lost the election. Do what us citizens expect you to do and make an honest concession speech. For you to hold a grudge about losing is a waste of time and energy. True strengh

is to be an adult and walk away from defeat with your head held high. You lost by almost 6 million votes and 306 in the electoral college that all signals that it is time for you to leave!

A Trump loyalist and partisan appointee Emily Murphy, Administrator of the General Services Administration, has created an unnecessary and needless political controversy by not issuing the Ascertainment Letter for the orderly transition of power to take place. She is responsible for the transition mess we are in. Ms. Murphy in her 2017 Senate confirmation hearing stated: ‘Her goal is to make the federal government more efficient, effective and responsive to the American people!’. Rather than taking her position seriously and executing her responsibilities to affirm the projected result of the election to the winner President-elect Biden, she appears to be acting on the direct order from Trump to delay the transition. Her delay is adversely impacting the Biden team to set up their administration. They don’t receive to transition funds, have no access to officials, agencies, equipment and office space. This is all happening against the backdrop of Trump showing his disinterest in managing Covid-19 which is now the largest threat to the national interest!

The President has fired many officials who dared to oppose any of his views. Last night he fired Chris Krebs, senior Department of Homeland Security official, for contradicting Trump’s baseless accusation of widespread voter irregularities and fraud. This action is the most grievous of all of his firings since it undermines the election process of our democracy. Trump’s motivation appears to be an effort to explain his election loss to his loyal base of followers. At the same time, Trump’s chief enabler Senator Graham contacted election officials in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia to question mail-in voting procedures. That too was an attempt to muddy the waters just as were all the court challenges which are being tossed out by Judges. I see a Commander in Chief who is not willing to give up the spotlight on the national stage and has no will power to exit it graciously. The time has come for Trump and his followers to face the truth that trying to sabotage election results is impossible with all the checks and balances now part of the voting process in every state!

Once upon a time there was a kingdom ruled by King Donald the Golfer. His subjects often referred to him as the ‘Big Liar’. The King came up with the brilliant idea to summon the best knights in the kingdom and form a support group for himself called the Knights of the Round table. They were to be chosen for no specific administrative knowledge and skill but only for their total loyalty to the King. After a long search knights Pompeo, Cruz, Rubio, Graham, McConnel, Meadows, Jordan, Ganz and Nunez were brought the the King’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida to be sworn in as charter members of the round table. They were told that their responsibility was to ignore misconduct at any level, display willful ignorance toward facts, always rationalize unethical behavior by the administration, buy in to various conspiracy theories, when necessary protect the King by lying, work at concealing wrongdoing and definitely undermine object reality. This assembly of knights has been so successful in fulfilling their assigned duties the King never fired any of them!

The 2020 presidential election had 151million votes cast in total for the two candidates. A record number with Biden receiving 5.5 million more than Trump. The US Census Bureau lists the population at 328 million. Their break down by group is 60.1% are White, 18.5 are Hispanic, 13.4% are Black, 5.9% are Asian and 2.1% are Native American. Early exit poll analysis indicates that Trump was favored by 60% of White voters, 35% of Hispanic voters, 13% of Black voters, 37% of Asian voters and that Native Americans went mostly for Biden. For the sake of simplicity I will round up numbers and not confuse matters with votes going to independent candidates. Thus the pool of white voters is 91 million with Trump winning 55 million and Biden claiming 36 million. That left 60 million votes to be divided by the remaining groups. Given that Trump’s component of the popular vote stands at 73 million, he received only 18 million of the 60 million and Biden took home the lion’s share of 42 million. That confirms the voting totals of Trump getting roughly 73 million and Biden over 78 million. All of this does leave us with the question on why Trump is so popular with white voters and not so much with others? Certainly white voters aren’t all racists but we do know that White Supremacists are and they are some of Trump’s most loyal followers. It seems that both parties face the challenge on how to increase their share of votes in their under represented areas. Only time will tell which party will be more successful!

I expected a large increase in voter participation in the presidential election. Much of that was due to both parties driving up voter turnout for their candidate. Democrats had an increase of almost 12 million and Republicans of 9 million votes. I wasn’t surprised by the Democrats success but I was at the ballot gain on part of Republicans. That lets me to conclude that Trumpism is still a powerful force in spite of the Cocid-19 outbreak and Trump’s outrageous behavior at times. So what is Trumpism? This is as I see it. During the 2016 campaign Trump was able to transform his celebrity status into political capital. He was rich, viewed to be tough and promised to drain the Washington swamp of the entrenched power elite. Trump also raised fears about unchecked immigration, trade policies and rejected social progressivism. That message attracted people who felt that their wants and needs weren’t addressed. Over time that core group of followers was joined by those wishing to dismantle big government, conspiracy minded, focused on economic nationalism, white nationalists and far right conservatives. So Trumpism isn’t an ideology but merely a collection of loose ideas which gives different people with various agendas a platform. Added to that is the fact that Trump followers are not defined by policy but by a dislike of Democrats and the media. All of that means to me that Trumpism has evolved in a cult of personality. The Leader speaks, the followers follow and the message he delivers is to be believed, no matter what! I do wonder what will happen to Trumpism once the Leader leaves the stage in January. Will Pence, Graham or Cruz try to gain control of the movement!

Even though White House Press Secretary had forecast that a million Trump supporters would be at that march, the US Park Service estimated attendance to be slightly over 11000. The marchers were the same crowd normally attending Trump rallies. They were a mix of Trump loyalists, white nationalists, conspiracy theorists and far right activists. They kept chanting that the election was stolen from Trump. That is a very dubious claim giving the clear state results for Biden. Unfortunately there were some counter protesters and scuffles broke out which required Police action to restore calm. The Republican Governors of Utah and North Dakota had implemented stricter Covid restrictions in view of spikes of new infections in their states in the past week. However, that didn’t keep marchers from ignoring the wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing. Thus raising the potential of this event becoming a super spreader of the virus in the near future.

By his own admission Trump confirmed that the IRS is conducting an audit of his tax returns going back many years. The New York Times published that Trump for many years paid no federal taxes and when he did it was a measly sum of $750. per year. Any cheating on your tax return is a federal crime. If Trump is indeed guilty of such offense, he will have to suffer the consequences after leaving office on January 20th, 2021. The only way he could be spared such result would be via presidential pardon. I seriously doubt that President-elect Biden would take such step. That leaves the option of Trump granting himself a pardon before leaving office. This would be unusual action since he it has never been done in our history. Or he could follow Nixon’s example and resign, then Pence becomes President and he grants Trump a pardon. Such actions would certainly raise the question: “What is the President trying to hide?’. However, Trump also faces many possible criminal charges in the State of New York which would run their course even in the event of a pardon. In New York he may be charged with or convicted of crimes dealing with providing false information in many of his business dealings. Trump may even face law suits from banks which haven’t been able to go after him as a sitting President. The long arm of the law will be after Trump leaving him less than a peaceful retirement!

The 2016 presidential election was won by Trump in a political upset. Virtually all pollsters had predicted a Hillary Clinton win. As President-elect and as President, Trump liked to boast about how his electoral college total of 306 votes represented a landslide win. He never mentioned that he lost the popular vote by 2.9 million. Now let us fast forward the the 2020 election result which shows Biden winning by 306 electoral college votes and that according to Trump is indeed a landslide win. But Biden also won the popular vote by 5.4 million so that can be called a landslide win as well. All the President’s denials and silly court actions won’t change that result. Trump will leave office on January 20th, 2021. There is one thing about the character of both men worth mentioning. When Trump wins his boasting and bragging knows no end but when he loses he can’t accept defeat in a gracious manner. On the other side is Biden thanked the American people for their confidence in him and showed humility in winning. We should also remember that Hillary conceded the election within a day and former President Obama congratulated Trump on his win. Biden’s double landslide wins leave no doubt that the people voted for a change from what they have seen in the past four years!

It is irresponsible for an outgoing administration to to become so paralyzed that the business of state isn’t being conducted. The Covid-19 Task Force met twice recently but failed to provide an update to the public as the fury of the virus has hit the whole nation with its second wave. Many citizens are struggling financially but there are no discussions between WH staff and Congress on providing an economic relief package to those severely impacted. The various branches of the administration have been told not to cooperate with the President-elect’s transition team members. However the administration has found time to fire and force resignations of staff in the Pentagon, Department of Defense and Homeland Security. There is no doubt that these ill conceived actions are destabilizing morale in these critical departments. Executive personnel changes in these departments during the peaceful transition of power pose a security risk to the nation. Trump’s court challenges in regards to the election further undermine the nation’s stability at this vulnerable time. This is not the time to lose focus on all that has to be done!

Joe Biden has won the 2020 presidential election decisively, fair and square and there is no doubt about it. He leads the popular vote by well over 5 million and is on pace to reach 306 electoral college votes. All the frivolous Trump court challenges will not overturn that reality. However, what is now very noticeable is that Republicans in the past four years have developed the habit of ignoring misconduct, incessant lying and bullying by the leader of their party. Now in this post election transition period Senators, Representatives, Secretary of State Pompeo and AG Barr are willing to be complicit in Trump’s authoritarian behavior of challenging the will of the people. They seem to agree and thereby validate Trump’s falsehoods about potential rampant voter fraud although none appears to exist. This denial to accept the election result is endangering the traditional transfer of responsibilities from the outgoing administration to the incoming one. This lack of White House participation is appalling. Trump is even withholding from President-elect Biden intelligence briefing information. That is a risk to national security and should be challenged by GOP politicians. But here again, their fear of enraging Trump outweighs their concern for country. Now that is a very dark and sad commentary on Republican’s professed love of country!

The presidential election has shown that our nation is in a crisis and the existing division is an illness which must be addressed as much as Covid-19. In the past we have always set aside our differences after the winner was declared. We didn’t claim and election was stolen or suggested civil disobedience. Now we must leave behind collective selfishness and self-centeredness and embrace and reach out to each others. We must never fear those who think differently from us. I often think of Nelson Mandela who could love and forgive the people who hated and jailed him after apartheid died. In our case it is up to President-elect Biden to begin the healing process for our nation. Even his biggest critics admit that he is decent man and good to the core. Biden will reach out with humility to Trump supporters since they are our fellow citizens, relatives and neighbors. He needs to convince over 70 million people who didn’t vote for him that for the sake of the country we must address the real danger to all of us and that is Covid-19. The road to unity is a rough one and healing a broken nation is even harder but a President can’t do it alone, he can set the right tone, but then it is up to all of us to get it done. Yes, we can be one nation under God!

Trump’s refusal to accept the election outcome and the people’s decision to make Biden the President Elect is driven by his ego. He finds it incomprehensible that he lost in states he won in 2016. Over the weekend his main allies who never criticized him like McConnel, Graham, Cruz and Barr pretended that Trump still had a path to victory with Biden having won 279 electoral college votes. In addition, Biden was leading in the red states of Arizona and Georgia. Yesterday AG Barr gave federal prosecutors authority to pursue allegations of vote tabulation irregularities. A decision immediately drawing internal and external criticism that it fuels unfounded claims of election fraud. Summed up, Trump’s behavior is childish, classless, pathetic and inflammatory. Americans deserve better from this President as he departs his office. His actions are a real danger to the security of the nation. The White House refuses to cooperate and is rebuffing Biden transition teams from starting their work. That process includes important Senate confirmations of key Biden appointees. It also blocks access to federal funds specifically set aside and dedicated to the peaceful transition process. What Trump and his allies are doing is a gross undermining of the election result.

The majority of the GOP party now are not interested in party philosophies or platform points. All their attention is focused on one person and he is Trump. Anything he tells them is to be believed and not questioned. That premise holds true even under Trump’s avalanche of lies and conspiracy rants. Thus it can be stated that Trumpism is a personality cult. Now we have seen strange movements in the Republican party before. There was the McCarthy RED fear movement, the George Wallace racist movement, the Perot anti Republican establishment movement and the Tea party movement. They all faded when they lacked a high profile leader or one who lost clout. With Trump’s loss in this election the same will happen to Trumpism but it won’t be immediate. Much depends on Trump himself and the political role he wishes to play in the future. We have seen since early 2016 that millions of people were unified by the ideas of Trump. His hard line anti immigration stance, his break with traditional foreign policies and his pitch that religion was under attack in the US found willing followers. Even now we see his loyal followers demonstrating in places like Atlanta and Philadelphia echoing his complaint that the election was stolen from him. Many conservative social media platforms are sending out the same false message. That means to me that Trumpism will be around for a while especially if Trump remains active as a critic of the Biden administration. However, I doubt it since once his loss is confirmed his ego will be so bruised that he will withdraw from politics all together.

Yesterday Senator Graham gave full support to Trump to use all possible legal maneuvers to seek resolution to a contested election. The President himself goes as far as to say, without proof, that the election was stolen from him. Now we all know that Trump is not a modern version of ‘Honest Abe!’. Obviously Trump is a in state of denial about his loss. But I wondered why his chief enabler still sees the need to be totally on his side. But then it came to me. It is already about the presidential election in 2024. Graham knows that he must get the fanatical Trump base to his side. Even though a former president’s sway over his party wanes over time, Trump will maintain substantial influence over his voter base. Graham will need their support to win the GOP nomination and possibly the next election. It is a very shrewd power play to be the first to reach out to take over the Trump cult. Thus Graham beats other potential rivals like Nikki Haley and some Senators to the punch!

Based on Trump’s behavior when faced with a downturn in fortune, I feel I can make a guess to his current state of mind. In the past he walked away from divorces, bankruptcies, failed casinos and his unsuccessful airline always blaming that he was the victim of an unfair system rigged against him. Early in his presidential campaign he stressed the possibility of election fraud and when returns showed him losing he doubled down on that assertion with offering any proof. Once Biden became the President-Elect, Trump kept declaring that the election is far from over and he will challenge it in the courts and win. Of course, Trump is aware of spontaneous outbreaks of joy in US cities over Biden’s victory and that world leader are congratulating the President-Elect as well. Trump may choose to defy all previous traditions and never admit defeat, offer a gracious concession speech or attend Biden’s Inauguration Day. I see that strictly as the act of a narcissist with not interest in healing the division in the country but living in a world of his own creation!

As the election results are being posted today it makes it clear that presidential candidate Biden will be our next President based on electoral college votes and by winning the popular vote by millions. Such a President can truly claim that he has the mandate of the people as their elected representative to lead them. Of course, we expect that he will lead the nation in a way to meet the needs of every citizen no matter of their background. We are a diverse country by race, religion and ethnicity but in a democracy we are all equal. In the past four years we have grown to be divided and that is an indisputable fact. There are many reasons for that development which I won’t address since we need to look forward and not back. There are too many important issues requiring speedy actions. There is the critical Covid-19 relief package which has to pass to help millions still suffering economic woes due to it. There is the national health crisis itself and how to best get on top of it. I believe that those should be priorities and not discussions about the voting process. Let us not forget that employees at polling stations were Republicans and Democrats performing a civil service for us. Questioning their honesty and dedication is just wrong!

Under Trump RED states have systematically made it more difficult to vote by reducing drop off boxes and closing polling stations. The Democrats countered that strategy with a bold move and that was to encourage their prospective voters to request mail in ballots and stressed for those voting in person to cast their votes as soon as pre-election day voting was available to them. Their voters did that in droves and that is the real explanation that early results ended up favoring Republicans. In some states mail in vote processing can’t even begin until all polling stations close on election day. All of that explains the surge in ballots now shifting in Biden’s direction. Trump and his campaign team totally misjudged the value of mail in and early voting. That is why they are so surprised that their election win fortunes began slipping away the last two days. All of this has nothing to do with voter fraud but only with Democrats making a correct call on the power of mail in voting volume. Democratic mail in voting volume exceeded that of Republicans by a hefty margin.

Admired Presidents always had the trust of the American people. That trust is earned by being decent, honest and working hard to improve the lives of every citizen. Trump managed to win one election yet had close to three million less votes and this time he appears to be losing and his popular vote gap is even larger. That means that he really never had a clear cut mandate from the majority of the people. Trump’s constant repetition of obvious lies, propagating crazy conspiracy theories, ignoring the threat of the virus and lazy work attitude did nothing to gain him trust while in office. Soon he will be able to golf as much as he wants since he has shown consistently that he prefers to be out on the links rather than working in the White House!

Now that Joe Biden has gone over the magic number of 270 electoral college votes, Trump can offer the nation a passionate concession speech or take his alleged grievances to various courts? My guess is that he will attempt to go the court route since his rhetoric has made that clear for some time. I doubt that the legalize spaghetti his lawyers will draft in their motions will persuade any Judge to overthrow the election. But the crucial question is what will happen to the GOP once Trump leaves the White House. Generally an incumbent President losing an election doesn’t remain the leader of the party and new faces emerge to grab that role. I can see Senator Graham and Nikki Haley having presidential aspirations for 2024. No doubt many hard core loyalists of the President will stick with him for a while but that too will decrease with time. Most likely the GOP will still be against immigration and for tax cuts for the rich but I hope that it may slowly drift away from far right extremist groups. The party must recognize that the nation’s unity must be restored for the sake and well being of every citizen.

For Trump to declare shorty after polls closed in all states that all ballot counting should stop is not only ridiculous but a danger to our democracy. When he made that statement there were still millions of votes waiting to be counted. I really don’t see how he thought that an early claim of victory would go unchallenged. It seems that his clear intent was to subvert the election and thus undermine the democratic process of free and fair elections in this country. Trump then maintained a steady drum beat of messaging which was meant to destroy public confidence in the election itself. The culmination of his effort was the press conference he gave last evening which, by most accounts, was the most dishonest speech of his presidency. His performance was a total melt down of someone who knows that victory is slipping away from him. We know that he has repeatedly attacked democratic institutions but never as blatantly as in the past three days. It all strikes me as actions of a two bit wanna be dictator. The voters of our country will and must be heard in elections since that is the bed rock of a functioning democracy. GOP leaders must condemn Trump’s irrational behavior.

The cornerstone of any true democracy is its promise of free and fair elections. Simply put it means that all citizens with the right to vote have the opportunity to cast their ballots with the assurance that they all will be counted. Today’s election result will be a clear and definite voice of the people and determine who the Captain of the Ship of State will be. That decision on part of the electorate will set the ship’s ultimate destination. Those of us who feel that the past four years were a wonderful cruise are probably not willing to change captains. But there are many on the Ship of State who feel that the Captain failed to avoid troubled waters and some sailing destinations were not great choices. Of course, a change in Captains will most likely result in course adjustments just as a new broom tends to sweep better! Many passengers have already purchased tickets for the next cruise and many are standing in line to do so today. We should all permit that ticket line to be orderly with every person being able to buy a ticket when they get to the counter. Isn’t that the American way to be fair and respect everyone even if they disagree with you?

In recent days the Trump campaign has turned up the volume in airing grievances, to alleged voter fraud, to suggestions of civil disobedience if the result isn’t what they expect. In the meantime the Biden campaign has stood for greater voter participation, civil restraint and willingness to listen to the voice of the people. Trump’s style has resulted in truck caravans blocking roads , bridges and highways while all along intimidating Biden supporters. In contrast, Biden’s style is one which reminds all Americans on who we are. We love our democracy and like to see it function as it is meant to be. No interfering with your opponent’s campaign, no attempt to drag up dirt where non exists and be willing to accept the outcome of the election. The Trump cult is stretching our democracy to its limit but their efforts will not succeed. The voting public sees through all the Trump smoke and mirror nonsense which they hope will confuse us. Don’t permit that to happen!

The past summer has seen unrest and protests but as we close in on election day, tensions and acrimony are increasing and it makes me fear what tomorrow and the day after may bring. In the past four years Trump has done little speak out against his overzealous supporters who become increasingly more determined in their support of him. This is now clearly seen with their voter intimidation efforts during the uncertainty of the election process in which Trump has not committed to a peaceful transition of power. Internet chat rooms are buzzing with threats of civil disobedience if Trump loses the election. Law enforcement authorities are worried about Extreme White Supremacists using social media platforms to incite acts of violence. While this administration has been in power we have seen the development of a culture of escalation. All of this has created a climate of fear among the public as many are still heading to cast their ballots. That is a situation which shouldn’t exist in our democracy. There are events which shake and rattle our democracy at times but we citizens must never permit for it to be broken!!!

As it appears to dawn on part of die hard Trump supporters that their hero may very well lose his re-election bid next Tuesday, some are resorting to extreme measures of voter intimidation. Yesterday a Trump Train of 100 pickup trucks adorned with Trump stickers and US flags interfered with a Biden campaign bus in Texas. The bus was forced to slow down, almost run off the road and passengers had to call the police. The bus was then escorted to its destination. Trump’s response to the incident was a tweet ‘I LOVE TEXAS!’. About 200 people marching peacefully in North Carolina on a voter participation drive were pepper sprayed by Police trying to shut down the rally. Most likely they were Trump followers. A PA postal worker was charged with delaying and destroying bags of mail since he was caught dumping them. He appears to be a member of Trump’s favorite conspiracy generating group QAnon. Then we have Trump loyalists demonstrating in front of AG Barr’s house with the message that he hasn’t done enough on Trump’s behalf in his election campaign. Who has ever seen members of a party acting this way in previous elections? That craziness surfaced only since Trump became President!

Trump has told many lies about the coronavirus in the past six months. I thought he had hit absolute bottom when he called Dr. Fauci and all scientists idiots. But no, yesterday in Waterford, MI at his campaign rally he accused Doctors of profiteering from Covis-19 deaths. That is an incredible statement to make as virus infections surge in most states and the daily deaths counts are increasing. To malign our Doctors in such way is not only incomprehensible but is an insult to them who have labored tirelessly to comfort and safe lives. We as a nation would have had more than 230000 dead if it weren’t for their dedication to their profession and their patients. For Trump to say: ‘I’m sorry but everyone dies of Covid.’ is proof that the President has lost touch with reality. We are only three days away from election day and Trump lashing out in such outrageous way just illustrates that he realizes that he is losing. He believes that his only card to play is to appeal to his loyal followers with idiotic statement in hope they believe him and will rush to vote next Tuesday. My opinion is that a call to wear masks would have been a much better play but that opportunity has vanished!

One of Trump’s favorite FOX announcers told his viewers a fairy tale much better than any the Brother Grimm ever had in their children books. So this announcer was given highly explosive evidence on Biden which would immediately swing the election in Trump’s favor but rather than releasing it on air he decides to mail it somewhere. Then on the air claims that the package disappeared or was outright stolen. Now that is indeed malarkey of the highest caliber. If you were in possession of such important information which would severely damage Biden’s reputation, why send it anywhere? Bring it out, let the public hear it, permit the public to take a position on it!. But that wasn’t done which lets me to believe that it was merely a FOX HOAX sine they they feel that their viewing audience will believe anything their announcers utter on the air. I feel that it is unfortunate that you can mislead some of the public but I am glad that it will never work for the majority of the public!

In the 2016 presidential campaign Trump reached many with his messaging of fighting against illegal immigration, leveling fairness in trade deals and bringing back outsourced manufacturing jobs to the US. However, in the 2020 campaign he has no vision for the future unless it is ‘vote for me and the next four years will be wonderful’. What I see at his campaign rallies is a President occupied in airing a stream of grievances. He asks AG Barr to launch investigations against his perceived enemies. He complaints that most women are against him. He doesn’t comprehend that the majority of the public isn’t happy with his coronavirus response. He sees good reporters only in conservative media who agree with him. He rails against scientists as being disasters and idiots. Trump’s current state of mind brings a unique seriousness to the November election. Do we elect someone in a spiral of self pity or someone who wishes to unite and heal a fractured nation. To me the answer is as clear as daylight. Biden it must be for the greater good of the country!

The majority of Americans are indeed suffering a severe case of Trump fatigue. The cause of it can be traced to Trump downplaying the virus, calling respected scientists disasters and idiots, fighting the release of his tax returns, winking at White Supremacists that he is in their corner, encouraging GOP voter suppression, questioning the outcome of the next election, claiming substantial voter fraud exists, falling in LOVE with dictators, ignoring climate change, being impeached and having been surrounded by many who have been indicted for crimes. Yes, that all has resulted in us being tired of you. Hopefully after November 3rd we can catch up on sleep we have been missing worrying what crazy stunt you would pull next!

Many senior GOP officials are concerned about Trump’s campaign messaging and wish he would change it. The issue is that he can’t change his ways. Trump still lives he is in the political climate of 2016. He believes that he has to continue to come across as a strong man and not show weakness of any kind on any issue. Therefore he will never admit authorship to a weak coronavirus response or that some things could have been done better. Then there is his oft repeated pitch that the economy is roaring back. Given high unemployment numbers and high bankruptcies of small enterprises that obviously isn’t true. Trump’s attacks on Biden are misfiring because they are mostly fueled by right wing extremists and the majority of Americans don’t support them. But at the heart of the matter is that Trump, as the incumbent, has to defend his record and the key to that would have been a great virus response. However, with 219000 dead to date that is a difficult thing to do.

Every election is important but the upcoming one may really tell us what kind of country we are. To some degree we are at the same point we were in the sixties. There were marches for black equality under the law but we also had right wing extremists. We had the Birch Society, the Minutemen and the White Citizens Council. Fast forward to now and we have them under various different names. It is the communication power and far reach of the Internet which has given them a platform to spread their views. Trump’s election win in 2016 can be seen as a result of that movement since they are an important and reliable part of his political base. True Republican Conservatives see them as an irrational and unstable group filled with a strong dislike for what they believe are liberal ideas. Trump’s campaign again relies heavily on their vote and he carefully avoids criticizing them too harshly. Biden meanwhile is stressing that we are a country with normal aspirations and desires. In November we must make a crucial decision which will have far reaching consequences. We, the voters, have to show that we may not be a perfect country but at least a sane one!

Many people in the US need financial relief due to side affects of the coronavirus. There are elevated unemployment levels and an epidemic of small business closures. The only way to stop these hardships is to pass a relief stimulus package quickly. The Senate Leader is bringing up a relief bill for vote in the Senate next week. By many it is viewed to be inadequate to improve prevailing conditions. The White House seems to think so as well since Trump has given his lead negotiator Mnuchin authority to negotiate with Speaker Pelosi directly thus by passing the Senate. They held there first re-start session yesterday for an hour. No break through was yet reached. They must continue to negotiate in good faith and come to an agreement soon. The well being of many is at stake who re at the end of their financial rope. Heck with partisanship now, just get it done!

The President realized that polls show that the majority of female voters indicate a preference for his opponent Biden. In his campaign rallies he is now begging women for vote for him and questions why they show him no love. But at the same time he attacks Gov. Whitmer and the female interviewer of his town hall and already the female reporter in the next presidential debate. That is delusional thinking by a man who placed himself into a bubble of self deception. He forgets that the women of today are not housewives as those in the fifties and sixties and old style messaging of those days isn’t effective anymore. His attempts to scare them by claiming that democrats will overflow suburbia with public housing and thus bring in Somalis and other minorities is wrong. Trump knows his potential election win is on shaky grounds and he resorts again to fear mongering as in 2016. Then his target were Mexicans and immigrants he portrayed as drug dealers and rapists. Now he aims at people living in public housing. The tactic is the same, instill fear in white voters!

I have a feeling that a ‘deja vu’ situation exists right now in our upcoming election. It is the feeling that the present situation is a repeat of the past. By that I mean that black voter suppression is taking place again. In the post reconstruction period after the Civil War blacks were kept from voting mostly through violence and force. That led to beatings and even lynching’s of black men who attempted to exercise their voting rights. Today the same thing is being done with a more refined tactics. GOP controlled election boards aggressively limit polling places in predominantly black neighborhoods. They are willy nilly changing the terms of requirements for voter registrations. Some have curtailed early voting times. Even Trump has called on his a extreme supporters to become ‘monitors’ at polling stations. Let’s face it, the purpose is solely to intimidate voters and reduce voter turn out. It seems that modern voter suppression has become an art form. Is this being done because black voters tend to support democratic candidates? We must show the world that we have learned from the past and vote in such large numbers that these techniques will fail!

Trump’s personal lawyer Giuliani has been in the Ukraine many times in his search to locate dirt on the Biden family. The Intelligence Services had warned Trump that in his effort Giuliani was interacting with individuals tied to Putin’s intelligence apparatus. But the President ignored these warnings. Is it because he had at one time stated that he would appreciate help from Russia and China in his re-election campaign? Is that the October surprise that Trump had hoped to spring on the public of some false narrative about candidate Biden? The New York Times, the Washington Post and a Seattle paper all have come out within the last 24 hours that the Russian contact story is collaborated by multiple sources and intercepted communications. The real question which should be answered is why Trump repeatedly ignores information brought to him by our multiple intelligence services about Russia. It does seem that it is a blind spot for him and we muster all wonder why!

In the past week two GOP Senators went on record to criticizing Trump in no uncertain terms. Sen. Romney accused Trump of causing a vile and hate filled morass. Sen. Sasse of Nebraska in a telephone town hall call to constituents was much more detailed. The Washington Examiner, a pro GOP publication, obtained an audio of that call. He accused Trump of flirting with White Supremacists and kissing dictator’s butts. But it didn’t end here. He went on to say that behind closed doors Trump makes fun of Evangelicals and treats women like a drunken sailor. His final complaint was that Trump’s family sees his presidency as a major business opportunity to line their pockets. It seems to me that both Senators have seen enough and feel they must speak out. If they see this behavior, other Senators see it as well. What is keeping them from being honest with the American people?

Trump’s re-election woes aren’t just coronavirus related but his repeated habit of having to lie about almost everything has caught up with him. He is now in the same position ‘as the boy who cried wolf too many times’. The public has heard him him deny facts over and over that they longer believe much of what he states. Once you lose public trust it a rough road to regain it. That time isn’t available between now and November 3rd. Even now Trump claims that the virus is over. It isn’t. The economy is rebounding strongly. Again close to 900000 people filed unemployment claims. Democrats want to shut down churches. Have you seen that happening anywhere? The coronavirus snuck up on us. The intelligence community warned him about the virus danger early on. Biden will destroy protection of pre-existing conditions. Heck, the Democrats created it. The President has total authority to open states in a pandemic. Then why does he feel he couldn’t recommend the wearing of masks in the country!

Voters are already streaming to polling places to cast their ballots in person or dropping them off at drop-off boxes. These early days have already shown that some states have real issues in giving every voter the opportunity to vote. In Georgie voters waited as long as 10 hours to vote because of extremely long lines. In Virginia on the last day of voter registration the computer system crashed. In Texas the limit of one drop-off box per county results in huge voter inconvenience. The huge voter turn out was expected and shouldn’t be a surprise to election board officials. They could have done a better job being preparing for it but not all is lost. There is still time to open additional polling sites, deploy more drop-off boxes and simplify voter accessibility. If those responsible for overseeing that a fair election takes place don’t take such actions, you must wonder if they are indirectly supporting voter suppression! But I have a message for them: ‘ Democracy as we know it in the US can’t be suppressed!’.

Trump returned to the campaign trail with his Covid-19 misinformation machine intact and in top gear. The attendees were true to form and rejected the wearing of masks and social distancing advice offered by health professionals. Yet the same people have no problem wearing masks when they shop at Home Depot, Lowes or grocery stores but at Trump rallies they prefer to be in a world of blissful ignorance. At the rally itself Trump mocked the wearing of masks and kept up his lies that the coronavirus is defeated. What I find truly amazing is that Trump can tell his audience lie after lie and they go on believing it time after time! Their refusal to acknowledge reality must mean that they have created an alternate universe for themselves. Virus infections are seriously spiking again and the virus continues to claim victims every day. To ignore these facts is doing a huge disservice to your fellow citizens. It is difficult for them to be safe if many totally disregard their own safety!

Trump has kept GOP politicians in line through intimidation and threats that he will turn his conservative populist base and Evangelicals against them. And we have to admit that Trump has been successful in that effort since they stuck with him through impeachment proceedings, veiled racial nonsense and claiming mail-in voter fraud. But now that the Trump campaign is seeing low polling numbers for their candidate, some of these politicians are concerned that their hugging of the President might no longer be a winning strategy in highly contested races. Independent and cross over voters have gotten tired of Trump and his daily reality TV performances. In order to have winning chances, these GOP politicians are now willing to distance themselves from Trump. For may this will be action taken too late!

Trump’s fear of ballots being placed in drop-off boxes has now infected GOP operatives in California. They have been placing fake drop-off boxes near churches and sites of GOP candidates. This is a blatant attempt of ballot harvesting for the sole purpose of making them disappear. They were caught because they couldn’t keep their actions secret and bragged about their dirty deeds on social media. The operation of unofficial ballot drop-off boxes is not only misleading but a violation of California law. This is another examples of GOP officials impeding the ability of voters to a fair election. It comes at the heels of Texas limiting drop-off boxes to one in counties perceived to have high concentrations of democratic voters. Initiating court actions in various states to remove or modify existing mail-in voting procedures. All that sounds like the GOP is so afraid of losing the presidential and Senate elections in November that it is willing to resort to activities unheard of it previous elections. Draining the swamp has become ‘We are the swamp’ as the election approaches.

As coronavorus infections are spiking in 28 states it makes sense, once and for all, to stop spinning and downplaying the risks for the virus. It is real and surrounds us all. No one is immune to it as the President found out. Many people don’t wear masks simply because the leaders of the administration ignore doing so. They go even further by stating that wearing masks is a political statement rather than an effective infection control measure. The renowned and esteemed New England Journal of Medicine boldly stated in an editorial that the administration’s handling of this pandemic was inadequate and bordered gross incompetence. Their never ending attacks on scientists who were truthful but disagreed with White House messaging has eroded public confidence to a degree that the public no longer knows who and what to believe. That is a disturbing development since it impedes our ability to fight the virus in a unified and coordinated manner! In order to fight to win the war against the virus let us focus on facts about it and collectively bring it to its knees.

Senior FBI and Homeland Security personnel warned us that domestic terrorism is a real danger to our democracy. Some people elected not to believe it but the arrest of a plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan (a Democrat) and the overthrow of government functions should teach them otherwise. If the 13 men arrested were Muslims, Latinos, Immigrants or Blacks there would be severe outrage by the administration. However, these are all white men who are against the government, paying of taxes, anti immigration, anti black but are die hard Trump supporters. Does that explain that neither AG Barr or Trump have not echoed the message that such groups are a serious danger to us? Acts of lawlessness and disorder must be condemned at all times. The intelligence community estimates that there are roughly 300 groups like the Proud Boys, Boogaloo and Michigan Wolverines in the country. Are they reacting to comments like ‘stand down, stand by’, ‘liberate Michigan’ or ‘they are fine fellows’ made by the President? I hope not!

I always favor real on stage debates but feel that a virtual one may be fine right now unless the WH releases a timeline on when Trump last tested negative. His health is a concern to voters and his personal Physician has managed to bring about a lot of confusion on it but little clarity. Since when does a Doctor conclude an examination because the patient answered that he feels fine? The treatment of the President is based on a medical cocktail of drugs with unknown side effects for a patient infected with the coronavirus. That not only warrants caution but a quarantine for two weeks may be the best thing to do. This is not the time for anyone to be reckless when the virus is spiking in many states. A neutral approach would be to have a panel of Doctors render judgment of the health of Trump but I don’t think he would go for that! If the debate date can’t be met, I am fine with the candidates deciding on how to fill that time thus freed up!

A ventriloquist is a person speaking or uttering sounds as if they come from somewhere else. Here on the debate stage we saw a slight change on part of the performer for VP Pence sounded like his comments were directly those of Trump. Matter of fact, Pence tried to be a mini Trump. He Interrupted Senator Harris frequently, spoke well passed his allotted time and only focused on White House talking points of which many were outright lies. It must be noted that both candidates dodged answering some questions directly but the most important question was if Trump would leave the WH in an orderly way if he lost the election. Pence refused to respond to it. Vice presidential debated don’t change the dynamics of campaigns and I don’t see this one having done so. I do believe that Senator Harris had a better debate performance than VP Pence. He looked tired and since he repeated only stock WH answers to questions, the public learned very little above what they knew already!

The Supreme court was established on March 4, 1790 per provisions of the Constitution and had six Judges. At that time there were thirteen States in the Union and the US population was about four million. There were 26 Senators and sixty-seven House representative. The size of the court was expanded in 1860 to nine Judges by statue. Given that we have added Senators as additional States were formed and House Representatives increased as the population grew, there is absolutely no reason not to consider an expansion of the Supreme Court. Congress has the power to do so and there is a process which can be followed. So I see no reason for the Republicans to vehemently oppose such plan if ever suggested. The diversity of the US has and will continue to change dramatically and it may be a time to consider such move!

The relationship between the environment, society and economy is really a dynamic interaction between the planet, the people who inhabit it and the economy which they have created. The wellbeing of each of these components is critical to all of us. Our planet’s environment can be viewed as a service provider which enables human society to exist. A prospering society in turn creates a vibrant economy. But for all of that to function in harmony and order, society depends on a political climate that enables people to support their families and communities. People must earn enough money to obtain shelter, food and be able to purchase miscellaneous goods and services. For the public to do that it must be cared for in terms of safe guarding their health. In case of a pandemic out break it must be contained at all costs and by all available means. If that isn’t done, surely economic hardship will follow for many!

The two most significant social initiatives dear to Americans are Social Security and Medicare. Liberals created Social Security to reduce economic hardships of the elderly by lifting them out of poverty. Liberals created Medicare to ensure that the elderly facing huge medical bills due to health issues wouldn’t be thrown back into poverty. This November record numbers of women and African-Americans will exercise their right to cast ballots in the election. Liberals marched tirelessly to get them that priviledge. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. But all along Conservatives focus on tax cuts which benefit the country’s rich extensively and offer the average American very little. This is all worth remembering!

Yesterday’s premature departure from Walter Reed Hospital downplays the seriousness of Trump’s medical condition. We all could see that when he reached the top of the steps at the White House that his breathing was far from normal. But taking off his mask when the entered the WH was irresponsible for him to do as a carrier of the coronavirus. Especially in view of the fact that our seat of government has many infected staff members already. That quick dash back to the WH appears to be nothing more than a showman’s attempt to boost his political prospects. It will be fine for some but appalling to others! Trump hasn’t beaten the virus yet and his personal Physician acknowledges that much. The President does know how quickly it can strike and lead to pulmonary symptoms. He even admitted that he understands it better after being infected and treated. So his statement that we shouldn’t fear the virus is a cruel joke on the public. It sounds like he hasn’t learned anything yet!

Trump’s Doctors listed Dexamethasone in addition to Remdesivir and Regencron as one of the three drugs given to him. Dexamethasone is a steroid prescribed to patients who have arthritis and inflammation issues and those suffering cancer related fatigue. Recently it has also been given to those who have been infected by Covid-19 and require supplemental oxygen. So what the Doctors have shared until now seems to contradict that the President is experiencing only mild to moderate virus symptoms. A steroid used to combat fatigue may explain Trump’s ability to show better than expected energy levels for short times. All in all, the public is still much in the dark about Trump’s true medical condition!

Now that Trump is going through his battle with the coronavirus and is being treated with experimental medications, he missed sending the most appropriate message to the public in his brief video clips. The President should have gone on record that the virus is serious, still being spread and to follow scientific advice being given by professionals. Instead we see the White House personnel not using masks, no contact tracing of those who were exposed an the Rose Garden bash and maintaining a cavalier attitude about the whole thing. This is all happening while we see widening ripples of virus infections among WH personnel and allies of the president. That does make me question who between the two presidential candidates is the adult in the room. Given that Biden has adhered to suggested virus protocols, I must assume he is the one!

The Physicians surrounding Trump are treating him with aggressive medications against the ravages of the coronavirus. They were probably not too pleased when the President decided out of boredom, frustration and anger that it was time to take a drive around Walter Reed Hospital. Not a wise move for a contagious person infected by a virus. The explanation that he wanted to thank his dedicated followers for being at the medical facility lacks credibility. There were some but it was limited to a few hundred at best. The real reason is that Trump felt that he needed a photo op boost to show the public that he was fine. The public’s concern about his health severity is real, especially with the mixed messaging provided by his Doctors. He did have two episodes of of low blood oxygen levels requiring supplemental oxygen. That indicated that his breathing was in distress two times requiring intervention. The problem appears that Trump still can’t embrace the idea that the virus is deadly since he could easily infect the two Security Persons in his limo since it is hermitically sealed from the outside!

The most tireless worker to remind us constantly about the seriousness and danger of the coronavirus was Dr. Fauci. In doing so he was harassed by right wing media, conservative pundits and pushed to the curb by Trump. The Doctor and members of his family even received death threats for his advice to all of us to wear mask, practice social distancing and avoiding closely packed crowds. Dr. Fauci is a leading scientist admired throughout the world for his knowledge and expertise in understanding viruses. The outbreak of infections in the White House is an indication that refusal of following these simple preventive steps can result in severe health deterioration. The good Doctor deserves our admiration and respect for remaking a steadfast public servant in the face of heavy criticism!

After the White House admission that Trump has been infected by Covid-19, they shared that he had mild symptoms like fever, fatigue, cough and shortness of breath. The plan was that he was going to remain in the WH nd receive the appropriate treatment. However, yesterday he was moved to Walter Reed Hospital. We all know that the President of the country is entitled to the best available medical care and he will receive that for sure. One of his Doctor’s shared that Trump is being treated with Remdesivir and Regeneron. Generally Remdesivir is given to covid patients in Intensive Care Units and has shown that it provides some benefit. It has received emergency approval to be used as a treatment. Regeneron is an experimental drug in the antibody category currently being tested on 300 patients. At this time there is a lacks evidence that it is effective. It does show promise that it may create a powerful immune response to fight off covid symptoms. The President received an antibody cocktail containing that drug yesterday. We all do wish him a full recovery.

American woke up this morning facing the grim reality that the coronavirus doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, Democrat or Republican, an average citizen or the President of the United States. The virus and how the administration dealt with it over the past few months will be a heavy discussion point for the voting public. It will be difficult for even the most loyal of Trump followers to ignore the virus outbreak in the White House. If the virus infects people being tested daily and surrounded by the best available medical care, it is time to take it extremely serious? Maybe we should stop bashing scientists and Doctors and follow their recommendations and guidelines. Maybe we should stop trying to control the messaging of the CDC and permit them to be honest with us.

I wish everyone infected by the coronvirus a speedy and full recovery and that includes all members of the WH staff. The fact that Trump and his spouse are infected drives home the point that the dangers of the virus are real and in order to stay safe precautionary measures must be taken at all times. Medical professionals have stressed from day one that the wearing of masks, social distancing and avoidance of large crowds are effective in combating the disease. Unfortunately the administration had not followed this advice as well as they should have. Now that it has struck the country’s leadership circle, the White House may change their messaging to the public.

Three GOP Senators felt obliged to come to Trump’s defense on the comments he made in reference to White Nationalists in Tuesday’s Presidential debate. About 74 million Americans watched the debate live and many more have seen it since. Everyone heard what the President said. But Senators Rounds, Cramer and Scott strongly suggested that Trump had misspoken. Now that argument makes no sense since even Press Secretary McEnany when asked if the President had misspoken, her answer was a clear ‘NO’. At his Wednesday rally in Minnesota Trump was back with racist comments aimed at Somali refugees who had come from Africa and settled in that state. I am sure that I am not the only one confused by all of this mixed messaging!

There is no doubt that right wing extremists are huge Trump supporters. They share with Trump the belief of elaborate conspiracy theories such as the Deep State is trying to undermine the President’s administration. The constant drum beat of Trump questioning the legitimacy of the upcoming election on the grounds of mail-in voting fraud is possibly lighting a match to a volatile political situation. Trump’s has already requested that members of right wing groups monitor polling stations in November which translates to voter intimidation. In a sense he is also encouraging civil unrest if he loses. No President should engage in such dangerous talk five weeks before an election. The voters deserve to cast their ballots in a fair manner and thus they will choose who the next President will be!

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee had filed a lawsuit challenging Montana’s mail-in election system. Yesterday a Federal Judge outright rejected the request to block mail-in voting. The Judge stated that there is no evidence that Trump’s allegations of wide spread voter fraud have merit. He said that those claims are fiction. Instead the high lighted that there is substantial evidence by election officials that the use of mail-in ballots presents no significant risk of fraud. Montana voted for Trump in 2016 and is a RED state!

The off the rail debate performance by Trump was filled with anger, fury, chaos and self absorption. You can say it was undisciplined, unhinged and sad to watch. If the President had hoped to broaden his core base, he failed miserably. What is also disturbing is that Trump can never refrain from spouting falsities or not answering uncomfortable questions. He didn’t create 700000 manufacturing jobs during his presidency. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act does take away health coverage for 20 million Americans. He refused to condemn White Supremacists but asked for the Proud Boys to ‘stand back’ and ‘stand by’. He didn’t respond to the question if he paid only $750 in federal taxes in the years 2017 and 2018. He repeated his Intel Chiefs release of classified but unverified Russian disinformation about Clinton. Now Americans must ask themselves if that behavior is what they wish to see in their President in the coming four years!

This presidential debate is the worst ever since Trump was on steroids while Biden tried to stay calm but lost his cool at times and Wallace failed to keep debaters in line. But maybe he did as well as he could given that Trump is too undisciplined to ever adhere to protocol. The whole debate was a degradation of our political process. Most of the blame falls on the person holding the highest office in the US. Biden won the debate but the USA lost. The whole world is now wondering who we are and how we got to such low point. The debate is a pathetic picture of what politics in the US is right now. As far as substance goes, what I remember most is when Biden spoke about his son’s military service in referencing Trump disparaging those who gave their lives for us and Trump cut in to attack his other son. The other is when Trump refused to condemn White Supremacists and suggested the Proud Boys should stand by. Overall I see Trump’s behavior in this debate not being presidential and only that of a street wise bully.

Many voted for Trump in 2016 believing his self promotion of being a businessman extraordinaire. The same people ignored that he had failed with six casinos and other enterprises like an airline, a University, a Vodka brand and Trump Tower in Tampa. Trump has promised to release his tax record but once elected has fought tooth and nail against their release. But now the New York Times has this information and what is being released shows a negative picture of the self professed Business Genius. Trump regained his financial footing with the reality TV show ‘The Apprentice’. The show became a household name and over time made him almost 427 million coupled with major branding licensing deals. But during many of those years Trump paid no taxes claiming huge losses for his golf resorts and Washington hotel. Even the Trump Tower has a 100 million mortgage due in 2022. Since all of his properties appear to lose money year after year, one can question his business ability or are there overstated losses in his tax records. The public is entitled to know if their President was honest in his tax preparations!

Now we all know why Trump never released his tax returns and why he fought so hard to suppress the information in them. But the New York Times article has given us a trove of data all painting a picture of an inept businessman wo is bleeding financially. The information that Trump paid only $750 in US taxes in 20016 and 2017 is far less than the average American had paid. The fact that he paid no taxes at all in 10 of 15 years of IRS tax filings may have serious consequences in the IRS audits being conducted. Trump himself immediately went to his standard alibi quote that it is ‘totally fake news’. A lawyer for the Trump Organization could only state that some appears to be inaccurate but didn’t claim it to be all false! Trump has a debt load approaching 400 million. US banks were not extending him credit for a while, so who does he own money to? Which governments may be involved? How about money from Russian Oligarchs? The NYT has already gone on record to say that there will be follow ups to yesterday’s bombshell article.

Members of the Proud Boys group view themselves as ultra patriots protecting the USA against domestic terrorism. Yesterday they gathered in Portland some armed with baseball bats, wearing military style body armor, carrying Trump signs and had speakers outlining their agenda. The rally was expected to be attended by 10000 people but only a few hundred showed up. The leader of the group states that they are western chauvinists but in reality they are viewed to be an alt-right and white supremacist organization. They are a political bloc endorsed by the President who counts on their election votes. Without doubt their philosophy is to empower racism, intolerance and hate. The FBI has warned that racially motivated violent extremism from white nationalists is as great a threat as foreign terror groups.

Recent polling numbers have created some despair in the Trump presidential campaign. They see that their opponent Biden is gaining strength in red and is leading in most swing states. That was confirmed in a FOX news poll which caused the President to lash out against the network. Data is beginning to show that Trump is losing elderly white voters and has made in inroads in courting black voters. So being the salesman that he is, he has come up with a dubious plan to influence voters by offering incentives. Trump wants to send 33 million retired folk $200 checks and unveiled his ‘Platinum Plan’ for Black Americans. It would make Juneteenth a federal holiday and outlaw the Klu Klux Klan. These are not mere measures to influence voters but actions to buy their votes. Americans have never sold their votes and I don’t expect them to do so in November. They can see right through this obvious con game!

Anyone disagreeing with White House messaging on virtually anything can expect to be attacked. We have seen it many times and it keeps repeating itself. The latest person to suffer that treatment is FBI Director Wray. His sin is that he dared to give testimony to Congress that Russia is again tempering with our election and that there is no coordinated or wide spread voter election fraud. So WH Chief of Staff Meadows was given the assignment to bash the FBI Director in the news media. Meadows rolled out the standard Trump talking points that election fraud is real and prevalent. He insinuated that Wray doesn’t know what he is talking about. He might as well have gone a step further and stated that anything the loyal and honest men and women in the FBI discover in their investigations is a HOAX! After ll, that is a popular line with the President.

Trump’s comment non committal to a peaceful transition if the loses the election in November wasn’t just idle talk. Yesterday he doubled down on his stated stance. No President has ever implied or said that the bedrock of our democracy should be challenged. Republicans who should speak out in a unified and forceful way are the GOP Senators. But we find them scrambling for answers and none of them has rebuked Trump in a serous manner. Instead we get platitudes like the President says crazy stuff, Trump was misunderstood and he will do the right thing. Even Senate majority Leader McConnel’s comment that the winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th doesn’t criticize Trump. The President of the United States doesn’t set the election rules and doesn’t get to chose which ones he likes. Every vote must be counted no matter how it is cast and that alone decides the election winner!

Even if it is true as alleged that the Police had a proper search warrant, announced themselves, legally broke down the door and the male fired a shot, I am still confused about the following: 1. Why is it that that the male suspect wasn’t the fatality? 2. Why is it that a female in a bed ended up dead? 3. How could shots fired by a police officer hit another apartment? 4. Why did one officer fire 16 times and the other 6 time after breaking down the door? 5. Why was the female hit by 8 bullets in bed? It does appear that three experienced officers entered the apartment with guns blazing in every direction and missed the person who allegedly represented the real danger to them. I find this all be to very puzzling!

The most important aspect of a true democracy is the peaceful transition of power when there is a change in leadership driven by election results. recently Trump has spoken a lot about unproven election fraud and even accused Democrats of plotting to steal the election from him. Many took it to merely be boisterous talk by Trump. But based on his Wednesday comments we must now face the reality that Trump is serious about not relinquishing power if Biden wins the election. Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power and went so far as to declare that there is no need for ballots since that will keep him in charge. He is also throwing out the idea that the Supreme Court will have to rule on the election result. Trump may even be sending a sinister message to his followers to hit the streets in massive civil disobedience if he loses the election. Summarizing everything Trump has has said it is cleat that he has become the single greatest threat to our democracy!

Just as a leopard can’t change his spots, Trump isn’t able to change his behavior. We saw in 2016 that Trump is a street style debater and there are no rules for him. He will try to control the stage and be disruptive when Biden speaks. In other words, Trump will be Trump. He will try to bully, insult and be rude to his opponent. In his answers he will be dishonest and even lie about his perceived successes. When it comes to Biden he must be aggressive and put Trump on the defensive as early on as he can. He must show that he has qualities missing in Trump’s personality like kindness and empathy. When interrupted by Trump he should maintain a sense of humor and have some comeback lines in mind. But above all, he must use Trump’s own words and those of his former White House cabinet members at every opportunity. Trump will have no message discipline but Biden has to stay on his. A single debate doesn’t win an election but it can do much to sway independents in your direction!

There is a stark difference between the reality of the health dangers of the virus and public statements being made by Trump. Yesterday he claimed that the virus ‘affects virtually nobody’ and that his response saved millions of lives. Both are ridiculous statements and show his indifference to the continued virus outbreak. Every day more states are reporting higher cases of infections and the daily death total remains high. In a briefing on April 1, Trump and his officials projected death totals between 100000 to 240000 but stated that his administration was doing so well that it will be below 100000. In the past days he gave himself an A+ for his virus response. The truth is that the virus causes death in all age groups. Many who are very healthy without an medical preconditions. Health professionals still recommend masks and social distancing are the best ways to fight it. Trump blatantly ignores this advice in his political rallies. Trump’s focus on the election means that he isn’t interested in leading the fight against the virus!

We now have lost 200000 Americans to the coronavirus. A grim and sad milestone for a country with great medical infrastructure, scientists, health care workers and Doctors. The undeniable fact is that it is a national tragedy. How did it come to this? To me the virus is a soccer ball in a game between two teams which are kicking it back and force without either team scoring. One team is the White House while the other is the Medical Community. The best example of this is the constant change in CDC information and guidelines because it doesn’t fit WH messaging. The CDC once was the Gold Standard in understanding and responding to viruses. Its Director Dr. Redfield has been rebuked by Trump on several occasions and each time he caved in and changed his previous tune. Now the American public mistrusts anything the CDC will say going forward. Meanwhile the President seems to ignore the virus since his administration has no coordinated plan how to deal with it as people continue to die. Trump at his rally yesterday bragged that the US has done a better job than Europe. But that is not correct. There is no mask wearing or social distancing requirement as his followers gather to cheer him on. Trump is happy to listen to conservative pundits while ignoring sound advice from health experts.

The vacancy on the Supreme Court should be filled by a qualified female Judge. In order to honor the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg she too must be an unrelenting fighter for women’s rights. But a major issue right now is if this vacancy should be filled so close to election time. The last time a Supreme Court vacancy was filled in such circumstance was in 1864. Trump and his side kick McConnel are determined to nominate a SCOTUS candidate quickly and hope for a rapid confirmation. That is hypocrisy given that the GOP blocked Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court with over 200 some days before the election. The voting public is already expressing their choice for the next President since mail in voting has begun in some states. That hasty partisan move may be a win in the short term but can potentially restructure the makeup of the Supreme Court and even eliminate the Electoral College if Democrats sweep the elections in November. Sometimes it is best to pass on what you wish for!

When Trump spoke at his Minnesota political rally in front of an almost all white crowd, his rant went so far as to compliment his followers on their superior gene pool. He even suggested that it can be compared to a better set of genes by a winning race horse. There is no evidence to support white supremacy but it has been an unfortunate, enduring and powerful narrative for many. The suspicion of other races being inferior to the Caucasian race is a deeply held belief by many white people. Was Trump’s compliment of them being in a great gene pool an attempt to influence their actions and attitudes? In other words, was the President openly encouraging White Nationalist to continue their bashing of other races? After all, White Nationalists firmly believe that they are chosen to defend white people and have the right to dominate non-whites. There is no way that we can accept Trump speaking that way as being NORMAL!

It is well known that Trump has a special relationship with the FOX network. They virtually praise everything he does and says. On rare occasions when Trump makes some obviously outrageous remarks, the network will offer some subdued criticism. But Trump is also supported by other conservative personalities on radio. His relationship with FOX is unique since he watches their coverage religiously for information and ideas. If Hannity or Carlson say something he likes, Trump will tweet about it or mention it an informal or formal television appearance. Lately much of the conservative media attention is warning their base of the dangers of a Biden election win. They accuse Democrats of following a CIA play book a launch a coup against the elected government. Glenn Beck goes as far as to say that there is a plan to overthrow Trump involving Democrats, Hollywood, economists and the Marxist Deep State. Lou Dobbs claims that leftist postal worker will impact mail in ballots. The pervasiveness of that type of rhetoric is to convince Republicans that the election is in danger of being stolen from them. Indirectly it is a call to arms if Trump is defeated. Since when is it the American way to contest a democratic election result by force?

Most presidential elections are close and frequently won by the smallest of margins in a few states. Female voters will again cast their ballots in larger numbers than men. They place a greater emphasis on character, ethics and morals of candidates. The Republican party has seen eroding support from female voters mainly because they are fatigued of presidential bullying tactics and wild speculations about the coronavirus and potential unrest in the country. The unfortunate passing of revered Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may mobilize many if Trump nominates a replacement who has no record of fighting for women rights and equality. Republican women are more likely to cross over and vote for a Democrat than Republican males. I am sure that women are prioritizing their political interests and issues like sexual harassment and separating children from families of illegal immigrants may weigh heavily on their minds. Welcome to some crazy times until election day!

After many years of fighting cancer with her known tenacity and determination, yesterday evening Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg succumbed to it. She was a legal scholar with impeccable credentials admired by all in the legal profession. Her dedication to civil liberties is unmatched by any other Judge on the Supreme Court. Judge Ginsburg always fought for the things she believed in but in such way that other would join her. She was a fierce fighter in the Court Room for gender equality, marriage equality, rights of people with disabilities and rights of immigrants. She always attempted to move us in the direction of achieving true justice for all. Friends of her remember her kindness, grace and calm even under the most difficult conditions. The country will miss having her in the Supreme Court!

In April the Postal Services in conjunction with the Coronavirus Task Force planned to send out face masks to citizens in areas experiencing high Covid-19 infection rates. That plan was scuttled by the White House Domestic Policy Council and The Office of the Vice President for fears it may spark panic in the land. So their opinion was that a panic is a greater concern than the effects of the virus which was and continues to kill Americans every day! I find that motive lacking credibility. I see Trump’s fingerprints on that decision since we know that he feared bad news would impact his election campaign! To him winning an election appears to be more important than saving lives!

Americans are patriotic with an admirable devotion and vigorous support for our country. History has proven that to be the case many times. Whenever the country was in a crisis they always responded and Democrats, Republicans and Independents all worked together to face the challenge. However, Trump seems to have drifted away from the traditional definition of patriotisms. His suggestion that a Biden win in the upcoming election will mean the end of the US as we know it implies that Democrats aren’t patriots but enemies. It seems that his vision of patriotisms has nothing to do with love of country and everything to do about him. He apparently sees a true patriot only in people wearing MAGA caps, draping themselves in the flag and carrying assault weapons. These followers of his in turn interpret patriotism as unwavering support for their strongman. They are willing to stand by him right or wrong. A very dangerous development. We must never forget that patriotism also means to stamp out injustice and to seek the promise of liberty and justice for every citizen!

Many former Trump administration officials have recently criticized his response to the coronavirus. We know from his own words that he was downplaying it. Now we can add Olivia Troye, lead staff member of the WH Coronavirus Task Force, to that list. She left the WH in July and has decided to break her silence. She states that task force members knew that infections would increase and lead to more deaths. Trump didn’t want to hear it since such dire projections would have an adverse impact on his re-election prospects. The only thing the WH released about her story is to cast her as someone who should have spoken out on what she allegedly witnessed. The spokesperson continued: ‘The President wouldn’t say such a thing’. But let us remember that at the current count 26 women have accused him of misconduct and he tries to frame them all as liars. We know that the President says many things and many things he says aren’t true!

We are one people in one nation made up of fifty states. Trump attempting to defend his coronavirus response decided that we are not united but are made up of Red and Blue states. He went on a tirade that there have been tremendously high death rates in states with democratic leaderships. That if those deaths were not counted in the totals, the virus response was fine. No, it wasn’t. That still leaves the US with the second highest death totals in the world. It is disgusting that Trump doesn’t view himself to be the President of all states but only of Red ones while Blue ones don’t matter. The problem is that you can’t slice and dice our nation into two groups since it is dividing the country. Trump forgets that three of the six states with high death totals are RED. Five of the ten states with high fatalities voted for him in 2016. Since mid July most people dying are in Red states. Since Trump still opposes mask wearing and social distancing, unfortunately more people will die and it doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or Republican!

The CDC Director briefed Congress to day on the coronavirus. He was sworn in before giving his testimony. Dr. Redford clearly stated that wearing face masks at this time is the best protection against the virus we have. He urged all Americans to do so and felt that it would definitely save lives. He also addressed the potential vaccine availability and sees a timeline of late this year or early next year. Both of his messages seem to go counter to what Trump is telling the public. So it wasn’t surprising when Trump in his press conference contradicted Dr. Redford on both counts and accused him of being confused or not having understood the questions accurately. Now it seems that someone giving testimony under oath would be extremely careful in their choice of words and there is little doubt that he meant what he said. However, the President is not under such restraint when he speaks and given his history of providing us much misinformation, who shall we believe? For the CDC Director and Trump to be so far out of step on virus messaging confirms that we are now in an era of irrationality and irresponsibility.

Yesterday Trump discovered that a town hall meeting is different from one of his rally’s. There he isn’t surrounded by adoring followers who will cheer at anything he utters even if it is lie after lie. In a town hall meeting concerned citizens aren’t there to heap praise on the candidate but seek serious answers to their serious questions. They did ask serious questions but were merely given stock answers we all heard before. Trump didn’t downplay the risks of the virus but claims he ‘up-played it’ even when we have his own voice on a tape recording saying the opposite. He sees no racial inequality but only a few bad apples in police forces. His healthcare program pushed for almost four years will be shared with us soon. Trump wasn’t ambushed in the town hall as FOX was spinning it after his poor performance. Virtually all the questions were predictable given the issues we all face right now. If Trump hoped to sway independent voters to his tent, my opinion is that he failed miserably in that attempt!

Even for a President who wishes to win at any cost, his retweet of a right wing distributed attack tweet against former Vice President Biden is utterly disgusting and has no place in a political campaign. The image falsely accuses Joe Biden to being a pedophile. To use a still shot from a video showing Biden comforting Stephanie Carter, wife of a former Secretary of State, for such ridiculous claim is not only tasteless but another indication that Trump is morally corrupt. The timing of this retweet is also interesting since only a week ago Trump was accused of questionable behavior toward the teenage daughter of his former personal lawyer. Several women have alleged that Trump made unwanted advances toward them. Not one woman has come forward to make such allegations against Biden. Even Jared Kushner, Trump’s son in law, had a hard time defending this ugly tweet on national television. I do hope that independent voters will notice and not stand for or agree with such gutter tactics by Trump’s presidential campaign!