Author: mwmiller2@outlook.com

Happy April Fool’s Day!!  The headline, “White House reached out about adding Trump to Mt. Rushmore,” must surely be a joke – right?  Unfortunately, it appears that it is true.  If anyone had any doubts about whether or not Donald J Trump is a first-class megalomaniac (‘a mania for great or grandiose performance’ or ‘a delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur’ – Merriam Webster) this should dispel all doubts.  I’m sure Trump supporters will just brush this off as another of his ‘jokes’ meant to fire up the media.  However, after reading Mary Trump’s and John Bolton’s books, I have no doubt that it is true. 

Don’t forget, one of the charges against the Trump Foundation that was forced to shut down for improperly using charitable funds was that money was spent on a large portrait of Trump.  Perhaps, if Trump is reelected, we can look forward to large portraits of Trump scattered around the country or decorating Times Square kind of like Kim Jong Un scatters his portrait all over North Korea.  This is just another example of how Trump is only concerned with Trump and doesn’t give one hoot about the United States, it’s history, or the constitution.

Speaking of the constitution, Trump signed executive actions over the weekend to theoretically provide some relief to people when Congress failed to reach a deal on the overall relief package.   Once again, this is typical Trump – doing something that will provide a good photo op and good campaign talking points without really solving the underlying problem.

One would think that with the nation in crisis, a man who bills himself as a ‘great negotiator’ and who wrote his infamous book, The Art of the Deal, would feel compelled to sit down at the table and hammer out a deal that would help resolve this mess.  However, again in typical Trump fashion, rather than role up his sleeves and try to solve the problem, he prefers to sit on the sidelines and point fingers and place blame – always at political rivals, never at himself or his minions.

Once you start to peel the onion about his executive actions, it becomes apparent they are likely to have little positive impact on anything and could very well have huge adverse impacts on several things.

The first problem is the whole issue of constitutionality.  The ‘power of the purse’ rests with the House of Representatives – not with the President.  This is certainly not the first time that the President has viewed the Constitution as merely a ‘suggestion’ and one that does not apply to him.  The President and his advisors may very well know that these executive actions are not legal or, at a minimum, will be challenged in court, but that will create yet another campaign talking point that they will use.   I can just hear Trump now, “I tried to solve the problem but the Democrats didn’t want to help the American people, so I did” ‘(I’m your hero’ would be the subtext).  He will fail to mention that the House of Representatives passed a second coronavirus relief bill back in May and Mitch McConnell refused to take it up.

Beyond the whole question of constitutionality, there is the potential adverse impact on Social Security and Medicare benefits with the implementation of the payroll tax cut.  Social Security and Medicare are already on questionable long-term financial footing and this executive order, if implemented, could make the situation worse.  But, then again, slashing benefits is high on the Republican agenda and this certainly is consistent with that philosophy. 

Further, even if this payroll tax cut is implemented, the businesses that withhold those taxes are not likely to immediately give that money to employees.  There is no guarantee that the executive order will withstand any legal challenges and there is no guarantee that Trump will be reelected and in a position to make the cuts permanent as he as said he wants to do, so employers are going to be unwilling to gamble by giving the money to employees when, when all the dust settles, they may still have to give it to the US government.  It is highly unlikely this will do anything to immediately put money into employees’ pockets.  It is just another campaign talking point.

John Bolton made the statement in his book to the effect that he had never seen Trump make any decision that was unrelated to how it would benefit his reelection prospects.  This is a prime example of that.  If anyone thinks differently or if they are relying on the sounds bites and spin provided by the White House and Trump’s minions, they need to really look at the details of these executive actions.  They are not what they seem.  It is just Trump shooting from the hip once again.  It is also another example of how desperate Trump and some of his Republican minions are getting and why the entire electorate needs to be on guard running up to this election.

Even here in little old Montana, the Republicans are pulling out all of the stops.  A judge recently booted the Green Party off of the upcoming ballot when it came to light that the entire effort to gather the signatures required to get them on the ballot was funded by a Republican PAC.  Once that came to light, many people who signed those petitions asked that their names be removed which resulted in there being an insufficient number of signatures.  And why would the Republicans pay to have the Green Party installed on the ballot?  It should be patently obvious.  They wanted to draw votes away from the Democratic candidates to increase the chances the Republican candidates would win.   There are similar Republican actions going on around the country to get Kanye West installed on ballots for the upcoming election in the hope that he will draw black voters away from Biden.

When you look at the recent actions regarding the post office, the ongoing actions by Republicans to make voting more difficult for many, the unconscionable gerrymandering that has occurred, the ongoing effort by Trump to sow distrust in the results of this election and the ongoing and increasing threats of foreign interference, it is a truly scary time.   One can only hope that American democracy survives this assault.

What the hell has happened to this country?  In the United States I grew up in, when there was a global crisis, America was always at the front of the pack leading the charge and viewed as a reliable partner for the rest of the word to lean on.  Today, there is a global pandemic that is wreaking havoc across the globe and where is America?  Rather than leading the effort to try to get our collective arms around this catastrophe, America has retreated.   We are withdrawing from the World Health Organization and we are in no position to provide global leadership because we can’t even get our own act together.

We know what to do so why aren’t we doing it?  Virtually all credible public health officials, epidemiologists, and physicians of all kinds have stated repeatedly that the way to get this virus under control is to do the following:  implement a national testing strategy and greatly increase the number of tests; get people to wear masks and practice social distancing; avoid large gatherings; and wash your hands about a million times a day!  It’s no mystery.  We know what to do so why the hell aren’t we doing it?

It doesn’t take pouring through reams and reams of data to determine that the CDC guidelines work.  Arizona is being cited as a case study.  They started to open things up, cases started to skyrocket, they clamped down again and reimplemented some of the restrictions and cases have started to come down.  This is not difficult. It just boggles my mind that we bill ourselves as ‘the most powerful nation in the world’ and we are struggling with this like some third world country few people could properly place on a map.   Why the hell are we failing so spectacularly as a nation?  I will tell you – Donald J. Trump and his abysmal lack of leadership.

Why the hell can’t we put a national testing strategy in place?  Right now, we have a patch work strategy that is pretty much left up to each state.  Labs are overloaded and test results are sometimes taking a week or more to get analyzed.  Just think about that – a test for an extremely contagious disease and you have to wait a week or more to find out if you test positive or not.  It’s certainly frustrating for you but what about all of the people you’ve come in contact with between when you got tested and when you got the results? 

Or here’s another nightmare scenario – you get tested and a week later you get the results and they are negative.  You celebrate but unbeknownst to you, you contracted the virus between when you got tested and when you got the results.  So now, you’re running around all happy thinking you are virus free when, in fact, you are positive and potentially spreading the disease to those around you.

This patchwork testing strategy that is currently in place is a ridiculous way to fight this battle.  We are currently conducting something like 700,000+ tests a day which is, by itself, an impressive number, but the fact is the health experts say that we need to be testing millions per day to be able to identify and isolate cases quickly.  Since there are no national strategies, a consortium of governors from seven states got together and developed their own coordinated strategy.  Where the hell is the Federal government?  Oh, yeah, the President wants to do less testing so then we’d be reporting fewer cases.  It’s no small wonder he can’t even pronounce ‘Yosemite’!

Imagine that a foreign army were invading this country – do you think there would be a national strategy in place?  I would sure as hell hope so.  It’s hard to imagine a scenario where each state was responsible for developing their own battle plan.  And yet here we are.  The country is under attack and we have this crazy quilt approach to defeating this enemy.  It’s absurd.

The same is true for wearing masks and all of the other CDC guidelines.  Its just another crazy quilt set of policies.  Just this week, the Sturgis motorcycle rally is kicking off in South Dakota and they are expecting attendance of around 250,000 people – no masks required.  And when the rally is over, all of these people will disperse across the country and it is a 100 percent probability that some of them will be COVID positive.  So even if the state you live in, like here in Montana, where masks are mandatory, they will likely see a bump in cases due to Sturgis attendees returning home. 

Some of the latest models are projecting that there will be up to 300,000 deaths in America by the end of the year if nothing changes.  In an interview a couple of days ago when Trump was asked about the number of deaths (currently around 160,000) he responded with, “It is what it is.”  Appalling.

I think I have figured out the problem.  Trump understands that his ticket to reelection depends upon the economy.  And right now, we all know the economy has taken a major hit so Trump’s ticket to the White House is looking a little ‘iffy’ right now.  He understands that if he can show that the economy is rebounding at all, he will take credit for that and it will improve his chances.  That’s why he wants schools re-opened.  It has nothing to do with education, child welfare or anything else – it has to do with making sure parents have somewhere to send their kids so they can go to work.

Everything Trump is doing these days is driven by getting the economy going in the hopes of getting reelected.   If it costs the lives of 300,000 Americans by the end of the year – in his mind, that’s just the cost of doing business.  As has been stated many times before, Trump is very transaction oriented.  He views everything in terms of winners and losers.  In this case, if Trump can get the economy going (or at least convince enough people that the economy is recovering whether true or not) and get reelected then it will simply be a case of “I win, you’re dead”.  And he will simply respond, “It is what it is.”  Tens of thousands of American lives needlessly sacrificed on the altar of Trump’s ego.  This is not the America that I grew up in.

I wrote this last night as the death toll in this country approaches 160,000 and debated whether or not I was going to post it but I decided that the whole purpose of this blog is to write honestly about what I feel – so here it is.

Why you are not welcome in my home.

That’s a pretty harsh statement.  I admit that.  But it’s also a true statement.  I really don’t want any visitors right now.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am not the next Ted Kaczynski (the ‘Unabomber’) nor am I antisocial.  I like people – let me qualify that – I like most people.  I enjoy entertaining and having engaging conversations with all kinds of different people.  So why aren’t you welcome in my house?

I guess the short version is that I simply don’t trust you based upon what I witness on a daily basis.  I really hate to say that but it’s true.   There is after all a pandemic going on (currently approaching 160,000 American fatalities) and the fact is that my life is potentially in your hands.   Some of you say that you are following CDC guidelines and others of you obviously continue to think this is all still a big hoax.  But based upon what I see when driving around and what is posted on social media, I’m not convinced that I am willing to take the risk to put my life in your hands.

I go to Home Depot because I need supplies for all of the remodeling I’m doing around my house.  ( And yes I’m masked and well-armed with hand sanitizer) Although things have improved and most people are wearing masks, there are still the ones who have not figured out that the nasal passages are just as connected to the lungs as the mouth, so wearing a mask solely over your mouth when your nose is exposed is a pointless exercise.  I try to stay away from those people.  They either flunked biology or are obviously not taking this seriously.

I sometimes drive down main street on my way home and see people crowded around the ice cream stores or various other venues and while some may be masked, some are not and there certainly isn’t any social distancing taking place.   I can get my ice cream at the store – thank you very much.

I talked to my daughter a couple of nights who was very frustrated.  She and her mom are back in New York and taking this seriously, but she was frustrated by what she was seeing on social media with some of her friends and family.  They all espouse the use of masks and the need to take this seriously and yet they post pictures of themselves on social media out with their friends, no masks in sight and no social distancing going on.   Jordan is a pre-med student.  She takes this seriously and it frustrates the hell out of her.  I can only encourage her to continue to do the right thing.

It’s almost as if people seem to think that if you’re with your friends or family that it’s an automatic ‘safe zone.’   I’m not sure that the virus really understands that concept.  It’s an interesting mindset.  On a battlefield, the lives of everyone around you depend upon your actions.  I am having a very difficult time understanding why this is any different.

If people were in a firefight and real bullets were flying, I’m sure everyone would take the appropriate precautions – body armor, stay low to the ground, take cover when possible, etc. – but I doubt seriously people would feel safe to just standup and strip off their body armor if they were joined by their buddies on the battlefield.  Oh, ‘we’re friends, so no bullets can get us now’.  Everyone would probably agree that is an absurd concept.  And while the battle we’re in doesn’t involve bullets per se, it does involve microscopic projectiles hell bent on wreaking havoc on anyone they can infect. 

There are some things you can control and some things you can’t.  I know that I can pretty much control who comes into my house and who I associate with and when.   So, for the foreseeable future, I won’t be accepting any company in my house nor will I be doing any socializing elsewhere.  I go to the grocery because I need to eat. I go to Home Depot because I am working on my house. I don’t go to restaurants or anywhere where there are large concentrations of people. Is that unfortunate – yes!  Is it manageable – yes!

I am fortunate in that I am not one of those people who must be around people.  I don’t mind being by myself.  I have lots of books to read, projects to do, miles to log on my bicycle, and thinking about trips I may take when this is all over.   My only daughter is currently in New York and I have no grandkids so I understand that my situation is somewhat unique for someone my age.  That said, this disease is extremely contagious, is totally non-discriminatory, and really doesn’t care if you’re a friend, relative or foe.

I’m sure there are those that think I’m being paranoid but I prefer to think of it as being cautious and prudent.  I also view it as simply trying to do my small part to get this monster under control.  I heard someone once say, “We all have to die sometime, but I am going to do everything in my power to avoid dying by ‘stupid’”. 

The irony is that the more I stay away from everyone else, the safer everyone else is.  If they get the virus, they won’t be getting it from me.  I fully understand that there is still a chance I may get the coronavirus.  Perhaps I lingered too long at Home Depot or the grocery store.  Who knows?  It’s possible.  But I understand math and science and I understand the more I can stack the odds in my favor, the higher the probability that I’ll be around to see Jordan graduate, get married, have kids, etc.  And the more precautions I take, the safer everyone around me is as well.  

So, until this is over or at least contained, you are not welcome in my house nor will I be visiting you.  No hard feelings.  We’ll get together on the other side.  I look forward to being able to once again roll out the welcome mat but, for now, it’s rolled up and tucked away in the garage.  Be safe out there.

I took yesterday off because I wanted to get an early start on getting a new bathroom vanity all plumbed in (I really don’t like plumbing!).  Mission accomplished!  So far, knock on wood, no leaks!  So, now back to what the hell is going on in this country?

For one thing, Cyrus Vance Jr. from the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced that Trump and his companies are being investigated for bank and insurance fraud¹ and not just for the hush money payments for which Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was convicted and sent to prison.   Think about that for a second.   When was the last time a sitting president from either party was under investigation for major financial crimes?  You’re right, I can’t really remember such a case either.  Nixon’s crimes weren’t financial in nature but that’s probably the closest.

Personally, this ‘revelation’ doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me, particularly after reading Mary Trump’s book.  It’s just another piece of a puzzle that is coming together.   Certainly, there are those that will claim this is just a political witch hunt, but let’s look at some history.

In 2019, Trump “paid $2 million to eight charities as part of a settlement in which the president admitted he misused funds raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to promote his presidential bid and pay off business debts, the New York State attorney general said on Tuesday.” ² In addition, the Trump Foundation was forced to liquidate.

In 2018, “ A federal court approved a $25 million settlement on Tuesday with students who said they were duped by Donald Trump and his now-defunct Trump University, which promised to teach them the “secrets of success” in the real estate industry.”³ “Students had alleged that Trump University, which was open from 2005 to 2010, used false advertising and high-pressure sales techniques to lure them to free investor workshops at which they were sold expensive seminars and told they would be mentored by real estate gurus, leading to the loss of thousands of dollars in tuition.”³

And then there are the bankruptcies, “Over the course of 18 years, Trump’s companies went into reorganization six times — five times in New Jersey, where he had his casino holdings, and once in New York:

• Trump Taj Mahal Associates, Atlantic City casino — 1991
• Trump Castle Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City casino — 1992
• Trump Plaza Associates, Atlantic City casino — 1992
• Plaza Operating Partners, Manhattan hotel — 1992
• Trump Casino Holdings, Atlantic City casinos — 2004
• Trump Entertainment Resorts, Atlantic City casinos — 2009⁴

Due to Trump’s string of bankruptcies, many US banks declined to pour more money into Trump ventures (misadventures?) so Trump turned to the international market – Deutsche Bank, based in Germany.  Of course, Deutsche Bank has been under scrutiny for some time.  “Germany’s troubled Deutsche Bank faces fines, legal action and the possible prosecution of “senior management” because of its role in a $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme, a confidential internal report seen by the Guardian says.

The bank admits there is a high risk that regulators in the US and UK will take “significant disciplinary action” against it. Deutsche concedes that the scandal has hurt its “global brand” – and is likely to cause “client attrition”, loss of investor confidence and a decline in its market value.

Deutsche Bank was embroiled in a vast money-laundering operation, dubbed the Global Laundromat. Russian criminals with links to the Kremlin, the old KGB and its main successor, the FSB, used the scheme between 2010 and 2014 to move money into the western financial system. The cash involved could total $80bn, detectives believe.”⁵

And most recently – yesterday – “Deutsche Bank has begun an investigation into the longtime personal banker of Donald Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner for her purchase of a New York condo from a company partly owned by Kushner, according to two news reports.”⁶

President Trump and his family have been pushing the envelope on financial abuse his entire life and, to date, he has been able to get away with things because he did not come under the type of scrutiny that he is now being subjected to.   I am sure that this is at the root of why he is fighting so desperately to keep his finances private.   He knows and members of his family know that once that Pandora’s box is opened, it is highly likely that the extent of the Trump financial crimes will be exposed.

That is yet another reason he is so desperate to stay in office.  He knows that once he is out of office, he will be just plain old American citizen, Donald J Trump, and he and his family will be legally vulnerable.   Many people thought that once Trump ascended to the office of President of the United States that he would change, rise to the occasion and become more ‘presidential.’  That has not happened.  He has not changed at all.  He has a long history of questionable financial dealings – there is no reason to think he has changed in that area either.  I believe that he is extremely fearful of being exposed for the fraud and criminal that he actually is.   That, in and of itself, makes him a very dangerous man going in to this election.

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/nyregion/donald-trump-taxes-cyrus-vance.html
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/nyregion/trump-foundation-lawsuit-attorney-general.html
3. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/federal-court-approves-25-million-trump-university-settlement-n845181
4. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-bankruptcy-math-doesn-t-add-n598376
5. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/17/deutsche-bank-faces-action-over-20bn-russian-money-laundering-scheme
6. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/deutsche-bank-jared-kushner-donald-trump-condo-investigation_n_5f279d15c5b68fbfc884ffed

I have come to the conclusion that whenever Trump starts making a big deal about something and accusing others of doing something, it is more than likely he is directly or indirectly engaged in the same behavior on a more egregious level.  Lately he has been railing against voting by mail and continues to argue that it is a source of great election fraud.   Virtually all election experts dispute that statement and point to the fact that there is very little evidence that voting by mail is subject to large scale fraud.

On the one hand, this is simply part of Trump’s ongoing strategy to discredit the election results in the case that he should lose the election.  As an aside, should he win, I wonder if he will continue to question the legitimacy of the election results?  Hmm! Perhaps he hasn’t thought that far ahead.   Regardless, he continues to rant about the potential fraud associated within mail in voting.

Interestingly, the new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, is an ardent Trump supporter and major campaign donor.  He has no experience, whatsoever, in the postal business.  He has already, since his recent appointment, instituted new policies that appear to be delaying mail delivery and creating a backlog of mail.  Given that mail-in ballots must be delivered according to strict timelines to be counted in an election, that would seem to be a potential problem coming into the 2020 election.

When the potential adverse impacts on these new policies were questioned, a spokesman for the Postmaster was insistent that there is no coordination between the White House and DeJoy, and that the Postmaster operates completely independently from the White House.  We can certainly take comfort in that statement.  Of course, Attorney General William Barr is adamant in his independence from Trump although his actions seriously undermine that argument.  Why should we believe that DeJoy is any different?

When you put this all together, one could draw the conclusion that the biggest adverse impact to this election caused by mail-in voting will not be caused by any foreign entity, but rather by the Trump administration itself.  It is a given that low voter turnout tends to favor Republicans, e.g. Trump and that a larger voter turnout tends to favor the Democrats.  If thousands, or tens of thousand ballots, in key districts were ‘lost’ or ‘delayed’ to such an extent that it affected the election, and challenges were mounted in court, that would probably take months to work through the process.  Think it’s not possible – think again.

The postal system is now under the control of an ardent Trump supporter and has also recently been forced to have closer ties to the Department of the Treasury under Secretary Steve Muchin, also an ardent Trump supporter.  What could go wrong?

As I stated in the beginning, it seems that the more Trump rants against something, the more likely it is he is engaged in the same behavior – only worse.  There is almost zero credible evidence that mail-in voting is subject to wide spread fraud, but there could very well be a huge threat from within this administration.

A Final Word:  There was an article published in Vanity Fair stating that early in the pandemic a team led by the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, developed a national testing plan which was about to be rolled out.  According to the report, the decision was made to not roll out the plan because, at that time, it appeared that the areas most affected by the coronavirus were primarily ‘Blue States’ and it would be politically advantageous to be able to blame the governors of those states.  The reporters and Vanity Fair stand by the veracity of this story and, if true, is unconscionable.  The result of this calculated political decision was the needless deaths of tens of thousands of Americans.  If true, people responsible for this decision should be prosecuted.   What kind of a country have we become where American citizens are sacrificed on the altar of political expediency and the desire to retain power at all costs?  “Make America Great” – what a joke!

Congressman John Lewis, the man known as the ‘conscientious of the Congress’ who had served in the Congress since 1986 and was reelected 16 times, was eulogized by a number of people including three ex-presidents – Bill Clinton, George HW Bush, and Barak Obama.  Notably absent – Donald Trump, the current sitting president.   If there was ever any doubt about the character of President Trump, his absence today should answer that question.

There is the ongoing Trump antics involving his ‘love affair’ with Russia.  There is the dismal performance with respect to the coronavirus ravaging this country.   There is the sending of Federal troops to cities run by Democrats under the umbrella of ‘law and order’ but by some accounts are actually escalating the violence.   Trump is completely tone deaf with respect to the racial tensions in the country and continues to traffic in white supremacist dog whistles.  And probably the biggest dog whistle of all – refusing to pay homage to a civil rights giant like John Lewis.

A man truly worthy of the office of the president would be able to put aside any personal differences and recognize that John Lewis had a tremendous impact on this country.   Such a president would rise to the occasion and be able to pay homage to John Lewis – a tribute that he deserved; one that he earned.  But Trump just cannot rise above himself.  He cannot find the courage to get outside of his little comfort zone and recognize the contributions of anyone other than himself.

I suspect there were also a couple of other reasons.  I’m sure he was aware that Obama would be there and would give a moving eulogy, which he did.  We all know how much Trump detests Obama so I’m sure he didn’t even want to be in the same room.  He certainly would have been uncomfortable when Obama got a standing ovation for his eulogy.  And there is no way that Trump would have been able to give a speech anywhere near as stirring.  Trump is simply not an orator like some others.  But that doesn’t mean he gets a pass to just not show up.  Like I said, Trump just cannot get outside of his comfort zone.

I think the other and perhaps the more problematic reason that Trump didn’t show up was because it wouldn’t have played well to his ‘base.’  Can you imagine how the primarily white Trump base would have reacted to seeing and hearing Donald J Trump paying homage to a civil rights icon like John Lewis.  Not well I suspect.   Like I said earlier, Trump continues to traffic in racial dog whistles and this one was loud and clear.   There is no room in Trump’s world for a civil rights giant like John Lewis. 

It was just another example of why Donald J Trump is unfit to be President of the UNITED States of America.  He is only interested in governing part of the country – his base – and the rest of us can go to hell for all he cares.

Lastly, in one of my past blogs I think I speculated that Trump would try to postpone the election one way or another.  That trial balloon took flight today as Trump tweeted that perhaps postponing the election would be a good thing.  In some ways he is so chaotic but, in some ways, he is so predictable.  In spite of the immediate pushback from both sides of the aisle, I would guess this is not the only time that Trump will raise this possibility.  And he will certainly continue to try to undermine the credibility of the election results.

He does not have the authority to move the election; that authority belongs to Congress.   Everyone keeps saying that he can’t do it.  However, I still think it’s not outside the realm of possibility for Trump to declare a national emergency and then all bets are off.  Even his Attorney General, William Barr, waffled when asked the question about postponing the election.  Rather than just simply stating that the decision is not up to the president, he talked about the legalities and purporting to having the decision play out in the courts.  This is both disgraceful and frightening.

I saw an article in which some member of Congress just dismissed Trump’s statement about postponing the election as ridiculous and that we should all just ignore it.  I, personally, don’t think we should just dismiss it.  In some of my previous posts I pointed out that almost all authoritarian leaders were duly elected.  They didn’t start abusing their authority until AFTER they were in office.   Trump and his enablers are getting desperate.    Trump is trailing badly in the polls.  There are strong challenges against Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham and several other Republican incumbents.   I would put nothing past the Republican party to try to retain power in the White House and the Senate.

It is a 100 percent probability that shortly before the election, at least  three things will happen – the information that Congressman Nunes has secretly received from questionable (associates of Rudy Guiliani) from the Ukraine will be blown up all over the press; the investigation by Congressman Ron Johnson into the Mueller probe will unleash derogatory information about the Mueller probe to discredit it; and the parallel investigation instituted by Attorney General Barr will publish their final report also discrediting the Mueller probe.   And to foot stomp the point about William Barr being in Trump’s pocket, it is Department of Justice policy not to do anything controversial within 60 days of an election but, Barr has already stated that this particular investigation does not fall under that policy and will be released whenever it is available – which you can bet will be within 60 days of the election.

Anyone who thinks that Trump’s statement about postponing the election should just be dismissed as ridiculous, has not been paying attention.  He has already done things that many thought no president could ever do.  And if he is reelected, as I have stated before, the guardrails will really come off and Pandora’s box will be open.

The ‘menu’ of what to write about today is overwhelming – like almost every other day these days.

Pandemic:  There is, of course, the ongoing pandemic that is raging out of control across the country.  Despite the increasing death toll, which has surpassed the total number of people killed in the Civil War, Trump continues to push to reopen the country, especially schools.  The Major League Baseball season got underway and within four days, games had to be cancelled and some teams are seeing significant numbers of players testing positive for coronavirus.  And we are going to open schools safely how?   Oh, that’s right, we’re going to follow the national plan put out there by Betsy Devos, Secretary of Education.  I seem to have lost my copy – has anyone else seen it?

Testimony of Attorney General Barr:  Attorney General Barr testified before Congress today and was combative as expected, and continued the narrative that the Mueller probe was wrongly instituted and conducted.  That in spite the findings of the DOJ Inspector General and the Republican led Senate Intelligence Committee that the Mueller probe was entirely appropriate.  He has appointed his own investigator who will no doubt come to a completely different conclusion that the DOJ inspector general and the Senate Intelligence Committee supporting Barr’s narrative that the ‘Russia gate’ probe was bogus.  This report will no doubt be released shortly prior to the election!  Barr has made it eminently clear, despite his vehement protestations, that he has become Trump’s Attorney General rather than the Attorney General of the United States.  Lobbying to have the charges against Michael Flynn dismissed; weighing in to reduce the sentence of Roger Stone; firing the lead attorney for the Southern District of New York (and lying about it in the process); – he has completely undermined the credibility of the Department of Justice to the point where over 1,000 former DOJ prosecutors have called for his resignation. 

Deployment of Federal Troops to US Cities:  Trump, supported by Bill Barr, continues to deploy Federal troops to US cities, ostensibly for purposes of ‘Law and Order’. (And why is the footage of some of these encounters ending up in Trump campaign ads?)   However, the Federal troops are uninvited by the local authorities and appear to be bent on escalating the violence.   I wonder what kind of reaction Trump would have if a bunch of uninvited ‘guests’ descended upon Mar A Lago!  Sending Federal troops is guaranteed to escalate violence.  Regardless of what is going on, they will always be viewed as an invading force and be treated as such.  This has nothing to do with ‘Law and Order’ but everything to do with politics.  It’s a page right out of the Authoritarian Playbook.  One of the more interesting exchanges in Barr’s testimony before Congress yesterday when he was challenged as to why he didn’t send Federal agents to protect the Michigan State capitol and Michigan’s governor, when a bunch of heavily armed white people were protesting against the governor’s coronavirus containment measures and were threatening to lynch and behead her!!!  Of course, we all know the answer to that – the people in Michigan were white and supported Trump and the BLM protesters are a mixed bag including a lot of people of color and who do not support Trump.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out.

Congressional Gridlock Holds Up Coronavirus Aid:   The $600 unemployment benefit will run out for a lot of people on July 31^st.  Congress has known this for weeks.  The House passed a bill 10 weeks ago.  And what has Mitch McConnell been doing?  He has continued to push through judicial nominees with dispatch.  That seems to be the priority.   The Senate coronavirus relief bill was done without any input from Democrats and is just now hitting the street.   One has to ask, “What the hell is Congress doing?”   Just for the record – these people work for us, theoretically –  and if we were to collectively write a performance appraisal, they would likely be terminated for cause.

Trump complains that no one likes him:  It is very sad that I am even writing this.  Here we are in the midst of the largest health crisis facing this country in a century and the President of the United States is more concerned about the approval ratings that Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx are getting versus his dismal ratings.  It’s appalling that we have a ‘leader’ who acts like a petulant, jealous child.  The explanation is very simple.  Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx are doing their jobs.  They are providing fact-based recommendations based upon science and data.  Trump, is not doing his job and he constantly lies to the American people.   It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out.  But, then again, Trump lives in ‘Trumpland’ and we all know that is a different reality that most of the rest of us live in.

Melania Trump announces Rose Garden makeover:  And, of course, with all of this chaos going on, the White House feels that its appropriate to announce the First Lady has decided to redo the Rose Garden at the White House.  I think that’s just lovely.   It’s just another example of how this White House is absolutely tone deaf with respect to what is really going on in this country.

If Trump loses will he transition power peacefully:  What the hell is going on in this country?  Never in my lifetime was this even a question.  Now I read more and more articles voicing concern that Trump will do everything to contest the election.  He is already sowing seeds of distrust in the electoral process.  The United States of America, once viewed as the beacon of democracy will become the laughing stock of the world if Trump loses and fails to hand power over peacefully and without protest.   The reputation of this country is already damaged around the world and such a scenario will cause irreparable damage.  This is just another example where it is patently obvious to anyone that cares to give it serious thought that Trump doesn’t give a shit about the United States of America – Trump cares about Trump, period!

A couple of days ago I wrote, Bill Evanina, a top US counterintelligence official issued a statement warning that China, Russia and Iran are attempting to interfere with the upcoming 2020 presidential election.  “Specifically, Evanina called out Russia, China and Iran for seeking to interfere in the American democratic process, an effort that includes targeting ‘the private communications of US political campaigns, candidates and other political targets.’”

There should be no surprise from anyone that Russia is included in this list.  They clearly prefer Trump win the election and by all intelligence reports will continue to do what they did in 2016 to ensure that happens.  Putin (and his oligarch friends) have been pretty much left to their own devices during this administration, in spite of Trump’s claims that he has been tougher on Russia than any other president (demonstrably false).  This has been punctuated by the recent reports of Russia paying bounties to Taliban fighters to kill US soldiers and the US response was – zero!  If Trump is reelected, Putin will become even more emboldened.  Why wouldn’t he want Trump in the White House.  (Any bets that after Trump leaves office – whenever that might be – that there will be a ‘Trump Tower’ in Moscow?)

One might wonder why, in spite of the trade war and escalating tensions between the US and China, that China would prefer to have Trump in the White House.  In a word – strategy.  China has a long-term global strategy – the Trump administration has none.  China has witnessed the increasing withdrawal of the US from the world stage and they view that as in their best long-term strategic interests. 

As the US withdraws from the world stage, China is continuing to flex its economic, political and military muscles around the world.  China is well aware that the US has alienated many, if not most, of our allies and that too is in China’s long-term strategic interest.  China knows that if the US were able to build strong, international alliances and collectively confront China, it would be much more difficult to pursue their global ambitions.   With Trump trying to ‘go it alone’ and follow his Make America Great nationalist policy, China knows the US is in a much weaker position.  It’s no small wonder that China would like to see another four years of Trump.

A surprising member of the list is Iran.  The Trump administration has been very vocal in its belligerence towards Iran.  Why would Iran want another four years of Trump.   If you recall, Trump, against the advice of all our allies, pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.   Even though the remaining members of that deal are trying to salvage as much as they can, Iran has pretty much taken the attitude that they will re-institute their program of nuclear enrichment.   Another four years will pretty much give them a green light to continue down this path.  Another example where Trump will accomplish exactly the opposite of what he says he wants. 

The other reason that Iran is not really afraid of Trump – so far, he is all talk and no action.  Sure, he has imposed some economic sanctions, but Iran has lived through these before.  However, in one of my previous blogs, I discussed how Iran has shot down a Global Hawk drone and the US did not retaliate at all.  The military developed a plan and was within two hours of executing that plan when Trump pulled the plug.  Typical Trump – lots of big words, not a lot of concrete action.

So, here we are, less than 100 days away from the election, Trump is trailing badly in the polls, the coronavirus is ravaging the country, the economy is struggling and many, many experts are calling for parts of the country to shut down once again – and we have three international players who are all accused by our own intelligence agencies of trying to interfere with the 2020 election, all likely in favor of Trump.  What could go wrong?

Trump was already impeached over the misguided attempt to have the President of the Ukraine initiate an investigation into his political rival.  And it has similarly been reported that Trump has asked President Xi of China to accelerate buying agriculture products from the US to help boost his reelection chances.  This is a man who has demonstrated that he will accept ‘help’ from wherever to help him get reelected.

And if this picture wasn’t ugly enough, our very own president continues to sow distrust about the legitimacy of our own electoral process and continues to deploy Federal troops against American citizens.  As I have said before, ‘buckle up’ – this is going to be a rocky ride.

The US shut down a Chinese consulate in Houston due to allegations of spying and other misdeeds.  Trump has a phone call with Putin and, according to the read out of the call, the topic of Russia paying Taliban fighters in Afghanistan to kill American soldiers, never came up.  Nor did the topic of ongoing interference in the upcoming presidential election.  Hmm?

Bill Evanina, a top US counterintelligence official issued a statement warning that China, Russia and Iran are attempting to interfere with the upcoming 2020 presidential election.  “Specifically, Evanina called out Russia, China and Iran for seeking to interfere in the American democratic process, an effort that includes targeting ‘the private communications of US political campaigns, candidates and other political targets.’”¹

With respect to Russia, Evanina said, “Russia’s persistent objective is to weaken the United States and diminish our global role. Using a range of efforts, including internet trolls and other proxies, Russia continues to spread disinformation in the United States that is designed to undermine confidence in our democratic process and denigrate what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment’ in America.”

Given that Trump is doing everything in his power to ‘diminish our global role,’ I’d say that particular objective is well on its way to being realized.  Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords; is pulling out of the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic; pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership; pulled out of the Open Skies Treaty; wants to pull a significant number of troops out of Germany; pulled out of Syria; has threatened to pull out of NATO and wants Russia re-admitted to the G7.  It would certainly seem like Trump is the best friend Putin could have.

With respect to the other part Evanina’s statement, “Russia continues to spread disinformation in the United States that is designed to undermine confidence in our democratic process and denigrate what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment’ in America.”  Once again, it would appear that Trump might be, once again, the best agent that Putin has.

Trump has been sowing the seeds for months about how the results of this election will be rigged.  He has stated repeatedly, with absolutely no basis in fact, that mail-in ballots will be a great source of fraudulent voting.  Just think about this – one of Putin’s primary objective is to undermine the confidence in our electoral process.  And we have the President of the United States doing the exact same thing.  This is happening in plain sight!

A ’real’ president, would address this issue head on and reassure the American people that the government is doing everything in its power to ensure the election is free and fair.  He would talk about how that is the bedrock of our democracy.  When have you heard this president say anything even closely resembling that?  Never? 

He continues to downplay the Russian interference in the 2016 election despite overwhelming intelligence to the contrary.   And he continues to sow distrust amongst the American people about the upcoming election.  You can bet that if he loses the election, there will be loud and unending cries about how the election was fraudulent.  This is part of Putin’s playbook. 

Remember how Trump claimed that he would have won the popular vote had it not been for 3 to 5 million fraudulent votes.  He even appointed a commission to look into that. The commission came up with zero and was disbanded.

It is unconscionable that the President of the United States is doing everything in his power to sow the seeds of distrust about the upcoming election.  It’s crap like this that makes one wonder what the hell is going on between Trump and Russia.  There are just too many things that can’t be explained and there are just too many people in Trump’s orbit who have connections to Russia to be a coincidence.  Someday, somehow, it will all come to light.  I don’t think it will be a happy story.

We have had bad presidents before but I’m not sure we have ever had a president who has worked so diligently to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and sow such distrust amongst the American people.   As America continues to cede its leadership position on the world stage and struggle with the increasing divisive amongst our citizens, Vladimir Putin must be a very happy man!

1. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/politics/election-security-russia-china-iran-100-days/index.html

Today I thought I’d take a little different tack.  There is obviously no shortage of news involving Trump and his minions but something happened a couple of days ago that I think is worth talking about.

Two days ago Congressional Representative Ted Yoho (R – FL) accosted fellow Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on the steps of the Capitol.   “ The two exchanged some words this week as they were passing one another on the steps of Capitol Hill. Yoho told AOC that it was “disgusting” for her to suggest that poverty and unemployment was to blame for the rise in crime in New York City during the coronavirus outbreak, and AOC responded by calling him “rude.” Then, as alleged by a reporter from The Hill, Yoho also mumbled that AOC was a, “f***ing b**ch.” ¹

Representative Yoho subsequently offered an apology of sorts by stating that he was sorry for the ‘abrupt manner’ of his conversation with Ocasio-Cortez but would not apologize for his passion.  And, of course, he denied using the words that were attributed to him.  He even cited that he has a wife and daughters and would never use such language.   The reporter said that he clearly heard the Congressman so you can decide to believe him or not.

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez took to the floor of the House or Representatives to call out Congressman Yoho and his unacceptable behavior.  Good for her.  I’m sure there are those that vehemently disagree with some of Ocasio-Cortez’s policies.  That’s fine.  That is what democracy is all about – people having different points of view.  But just because you disagree with someone, does not give you the right to accost them and treat them with disrespect.

Unfortunately, that is the culture that we find ourselves in these days.  The President has a long history of treating women with disrespect.  If you look at his cabinet and the majority of people he surrounds himself with, they are by and large, middle-aged and older white men.   Trump will always attack those that disagree with him but if it happens to be a woman, the attacks become even more virulent.

Even now, Liz Cheney, a conservative Congresswoman from Wyoming, has dared to criticize Trump and Trump and his minions are attacking her.   He harassed and belittled his previous Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristin Nielsen.  He had the Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, fired when she was viewed as an obstacle to his and Rudy Giuliani’s corrupt schemes.   

Given the President’s long history of misogynistic and bullying behavior towards women coupled with the ongoing and increasing polarization in this country, it is no small wonder that the environment on Capitol Hill has degenerated to a place where Congressmen feel like they have a license to verbally abuse duly elected female members of Congress – particularly if they are young.  Do you really think Congressman Yoho would have made a similar assault on Nancy Pelosi?  Not a chance in hell, but yet he felt like he had a license to accost Representative Ocasio-Cortez because she was a young female.  I don’t give a shit if you don’t agree with AOC’s policies.  As the father of a young woman, I find the behavior appalling and inexcusable.   I frankly think the Congressman should be censured by the House to send a very strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated.

I am half-way through a book on the history of the Senate and how it devolved from a truly deliberative body into the partisan gridlock spectacle we have today which is almost totally unable to legislate or accomplish much of anything.   In the past, Americans would see news reports of various legislative bodies from countries around the world where members would get into actual physical confrontations with fists flying – and we laughed.  We are on the verge of descending into that kind of swamp.

I truly believe that the future of this country lies in the courage, strength and vision of the women of this country.   We old white guys have had our chance and we have pretty well fucked it up.  From the decades-old Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to the ‘yellow mom’s’ who are confronting the Federal officers in Portland, it should be clear that the women of this country are the strength that we need to draw upon during these difficult times.

I applaud Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for taking to the floor of the House of Representatives to call out the aberrant and unacceptable behavior of Representative Yoho.  As my daughter finishes college and goes out into the world, I can only hope that this type of behavior will be met with appropriate condemnation as opposed to just being accepted as ‘the norm.’   

1. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2020/07/23/the-feud-between-yoho-and-aoc-rages-on-with-the-congresswomans-latest-remarks-n2572993