January 4, 2021

Despite Senator Susan Collins’ observation, the President did not learn a lesson from his Ukrainian impeachment disgrace. In a shocking recording of a phone call that shocked no one, Trump tried to shake down Georgia’s Secretary of State to help him “find” the votes to help him win the state. “Stop the Steal” became “Start the Find.” He even threatened the Secretary by implying that his actions could be considered criminal, this coming from the chief law enforcement officer of the United States. By the way, we are talking about the state of Georgia, not the country.

The tell was that none of Trump’s lawyers on the call were willing to make the same fraudulent claims that Trump was making. They were smartly just asking for more data and more transparency. Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, was seeking an atmosphere of cooperation and compromise as he waited outside in the getaway car. An AP fact check of Trump’s claims shows that they were all bogus. I am sure sometime today Trump will say it was a perfect phone call. In fact, it was a perfect phone call…perfectly corrupt.

January 3, 2020

My head is ready to explode. Trump has spent the last four or more years complaining about the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections being rigged. He has spent countless hours tweeting about his baseless claims, and logged in many hours on Fox News, Limbaugh, Breitbart et. al. ranting and reinforcing his fake narrative. Millions of ill-informed Americans believe his misinformation campaign. The reason my head is ready to explode is that now 12 Republican Senators are ready and willing to cynically support these claims by saying that they are simply reflecting the will of their constituents. What goes around.

What truly concerns me is that while these sophomoric antics are being perpetrated in Washington, our focus is being diverted. China continues to make inroads around the world. While Trump eagerly killed the Trans Pacific Partnership and railed against the China Flu, China has made enormous economic gains. It has forged a trade pact with 14 other Asian nations, pledged to join other countries in reducing carbon emissions to fight global warming, and reached an investment agreement with the European Union. The rest of the world has learned that it can no longer totally count on the U.S. as a reliable ally. China is less of a military threat than an economic one.

Hopefully, history will remember the names of the 12 Senators and treat them accordingly, because, what goes around, comes around.

January 2, 2020

Donald Trump and his followers have decided to make a mockery of the election and democracy. As someone once said, “It’s a free country.” Therefore, there is nothing stopping me from making a mockery of Trump even though he is doing a pretty good job of it himself.

The world is dying to know why Donald Trump left Mar-a-Lago prematurely, causing him to miss his $1,000 a plate New Year’s Eve party as well as several opportunities to cheat at golf. Conspiracy theorists believe it is because he hated Melania’s redecorating so much that he couldn’t bear to spend another night not being able to take a crap on a golden toilet. He actually ordered all of her work to be ripped out. I wish I could feel one ounce of sympathy for her.

One school of thought is that he couldn’t face his followers and future neighbors, knowing he had been crushed at the polls. Word had it that the cancellations were pouring in once people realized they did not have to risk their lives at an unmakes ball in order to kowtow to a loser.

Trump’s Palm Beach neighbors may have sent him packing as they get ready to enforce the 21 day limit on stays at Mar-a-Lago. He is a persona non grata at his own club, in Palm Beach, and in most places like New York City and the rest of the western world. He probably had to helicopter out of there before they ripped out his helicopter pad.

I think the reality is that he had to get back to Washington in order to start packing.

January 1, 2021

Judy Foreman, in her book Exercise is Medicine, states that “The first, and most obvious link between exercise and inflammation is that exercise helps prevent obesity.” In other words, exercise helps to prevent obesity, obesity can exacerbate inflammation, and higher levels of inflammation increase one’s susceptibility to diseases like COVID. Per the CDC, other obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that obesity has been a culprit in the number of deaths attributable to the coronavirus. It is considered as a comorbidity. Over two-thirds of Americans are considered either overweight or obese, and the rates are higher for non-white groups. Projections show that the rate is only going up for all age groups.

The federal government just issued dietary guidelines without mentioning the deleterious effects that sugar and alcohol consumption may have on health and obesity. It is not a conspiracy theory to think that the Trump administration had something to do with it. Once again, it is on the wrong side of science, and doing nothing to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. Fortunately, the American people took the first steps in starting a weight loss program by shedding 100 pounds in the White House.

Happy New Year!

December 30, 2020

Open carrying of firearms is legal in Texas as it is in many states. However, Texas is giving a new meaning to open carry as it sets records for coronavirus infections. It is apparently legal to openly carry and transmit the coronavirus in Texas, and, ironically, it has deadlier consequences. Texas is the poster child for COVID denial, and Texas is the poster child for its mean-spirited lack of adequate healthcare for all its citizens. It is not alone.

Operation Warp Speed has turned into Operation Warped Speed as we come to learn that the federal government has misled us on the rollout of the vaccine. It promised 10,000,000 vaccinations by the end of December, and we are only up to 2,000,000. Trump blames the states as he is making America great for golf again. In the real world, people get fired for this kind of performance. We still have a long way to go. In the meantime, Texans will have to concern themselves about carrying coffins more than carrying weapons.

December 28, 2020

Personal Responsibility

I am being told by leading Republicans that I have to respect the fact that over 70,000,000 Americans voted for Donald Trump, and a great many of them sincerely believe that the election was stolen. For some reason, it is up to me to understand where these people are coming from. These people are not to be respected and understood. You might as well ask me to try and understand why people believe that martians exist and the moon landing was a hoax. Why is it up to me to try and understand why these people feel this way? Crazy is crazy. I really don’t care that they have been lied to by Donald Trump and have been deceived by right wing media. At some point, you have to take personal responsibility for what and by whom you allow yourself to be influenced. When you say that there is no way President-elect Biden received 80,000,000 votes, you are being dishonest. Be honest and say that you believe that anyone who voted for Biden is illegitimate. Take personal responsibility for your willful ignorance.

December 26, 2020

Donald Trump has linked up with the Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to establish a new, catch and release program. The way it works is that the FBI catches murderers, the Justice Department convicts them, the Federal Bureau of Prisons incarcerates them, and then Donald Trump releases them. The program is sponsored by Cabela’s, Orvis, and Bass Pro Shops. It’s called pardon power, and it is virtually absolute, but, pardon me.

Pardon me for questioning a Presidential power enshrined in the Constitution. And spare me the “what about” Marc Rich. Rich didn’t kill anybody, and neither did the Clintons for that matter. Rich was a Democratic donor, which stinks, but he didn’t murder innocent children. I am sure we are not done with outrageous pardons. My prediction is Ghislaine Maxwell gets a pardon, and Jeffrey Epstein gets one post mortem. If it’s okay to kill children, it’s obviously okay to molest them. If you are offended, pardon me.