December 1, 2020

Everyone knows that there is no voter fraud. The courts and state officials have said so. The only fraud is Donald Trump, who claimed the el Timon was rigged before it even took place. The biggest tell is how much time he has apparently spent thinking about how to game the system. At first, he was focused on mail-in ballots, saying that they were ripe for ballot harvesting. The only evidence of ballot harvesting was by Republicans in North Carolina. He had people standing watch at drop boxes assuming they could find them. Drop boxes were as rare as hen’s teeth in Texas. He claimed ballots were being sent out intentionally to dead people. He encouraged his people to go to the polls and stand guard as the ballots were being counted, and then claimed they were being prevented from doing so. He told people to vote twice in some states just to make sure. He claimed that ballots marked for him were being thrown away. He claimed that algorithms were being manipulated even though he probably has no idea what an algorithm is. Giuliani said votes were being counted in Germany and France. Nein and non. Republican officials were accused of being corrupt while Trump was actively trying to corrupt officials in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Trump should go to work for CISA. I hear there is an opening.

November 30, 2020

At this point, it is no longer necessary to catalog Donald Trump’s epic failures in managing the coronavirus crisis. We are well on our way to 300,000 and more deaths. Trump will be leaving, and it will be up to President-elect Biden’s team to manage the pandemic. What upsets me more than Trump’s ineptitude, which was obvious to anyone who cared to pay attention, is the massive selfishness and knowing gullibility of the American people. Past generations have come together to fight wars, depressions, and send people to the moon. This generation couldn’t even stay home, or wear a mask. Millions of people are traveling over the holidays. What could go wrong there?

We have all read and seen stories of biker rallies, super spreader political events, large weddings, frat parties, and so on. Bars and restaurants are crowded. What is wrong with us? One Governor was threatened with kidnapping and execution, citizens are wielding AK-47’s outside of city halls, politicians talk about herd immunity, and the Supreme Court says the government cannot regulate religious gatherings for the good of the public health. People are concerned that their individual liberties are being abridged. Really? Trump is to blame for much of the misinformation, but, as citizens, we have to take some individual responsibility. Until then, we are not the greatest generation.

November 24, 2020

“The rest of the night is mostly a blur to me now. I remember John McCain’s phone call, which was as gracious as his concession speech. He emphasized how proud America should be of the history that had been made and pledged to help me succeed. There were congratulatory calls from President Bush and several foreign leaders, and a conversation with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, both of whose caucuses had had very good nights. I remember meeting Joe Biden’s ninety-one-year-old mother, who took pleasure in telling me how she’d scolded Joe for even considering not being on the ticket.” “My first visit to the Oval took place just days after the election, when, following a long tradition, the Bushes invited Michelle and me for a tour of our soon-to-be home.”

Excerpt From

A Promised Land

Barack Obama

November 23, 2020

“Stop golfing and concede.” This was a Tweet from the Republican Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan. Once again, golf takes it on the chin. Many people say that golf isn’t a sport. They say that it is an activity for privileged, white people. Worse yet, they say that golf is boring. Now they are saying that golf is preventing the orderly transfer of power in the world’s largest democracy.

As a golfer, I can personally attest to the fact that golf can be corrosive and debilitating. It can become an addiction, consuming all of your time and money. When a tee time presents itself, everything else gets canceled. Dentist appointments, haircuts, paying bills etc. get deferred. Your workout schedule gets upended. “When in doubt, go out” as someone once said. However, even with the passion that many people like me bring to the game of golf, there is still plenty of time to do the right thing and concede. You could actually Tweet your concession while you drive your golf cart from one green to the next tee box. While golfing, you could get out your iPhone, say “Hey Siri,” and send Joe Biden a pithy concession text. You could have the pro shop relay a message to the Biden camp. What a true golfer would do is invite your opponent for a round of golf, and concede like a man. Maybe you could offer a match for the Presidency.

November 22, 2020 (Where were you in 1963?)

Donald Trump is holding the White House and all of its occupants hostage. We are in Day 19 with no end in sight. His ransom demand is very straight forward…four more years or I blow the place up. From the FBI website, here are the five steps to get Donald Trump out of the White House.

1. Active Listening: Listen to his side and make him aware you’re listening. Say something like “So what I hear you saying is that you believe that nobody likes you and everyone is out to get you. The “deep state” never gave you a chance, and you deserve four more years because they robbed you of your first four.”

2. Empathy: You get an understanding of where he is coming from and how they feel. Say “How could someone in your position not be paranoid? Everyone says that the election was rigged and a fraud.”

3. Rapport: Empathy is what you feel. Rapport is when he feels it back. He starts to trust you. Say “My only concern is that you get what you deserve.”

4. Influence: Now that he trusts you, you’ve earned the right to work on problem solving with him and recommend a course of action. Say “What can I do to help you overturn the election, but, before we can do anything, you have to let the White House employees go?”

5. Behavioral Change: He acts. (And maybe he comes out with their hands up.)

November 19, 2020

In 2016, Donald Trump said if you vote for me, you will get tired of winning. He was a winner, and everyone else, including the troops as it turned out, were losers. However, the Biggest Loser is a cry baby, and I for one am tired of all the whining. As Biden said, this is an embarrassment. The international community is having a field day at our expense, calling our election a shit show. The only thing the Republicans can come up with as a response is “what about Hillary?”

So, what about Hillary? She conceded like every other Presidential candidate in history. She did not wait for certification. Obama did not delay the transition process. The only person obsessed with her defeat was Donald Trump, who still wanted to lock her up in 2020. Hillary moved on. Donald did not. Democrats did not contest the results of the election. There were no law suits filed, and there were no attempts to overturn the election. The only person claiming the election was rigged was Donald Trump. Democrats, along with every intelligence agency, were interested, however, in investigating Russian interference in the election, and any involvement of the Trump campaign. Thus, the Mueller Commission came into being at the behest of a Republican Assistant Attorney General.

I have heard commentary about how Democrats reacted in 2000. There was probably carping on both sides in a very contentious recount in Florida, but I don’t remember Gore or President Clinton accusing the Republicans of fraud and stealing ballots. He let the process play out. President Trump needs to stop the whining. The rest of us are going to enjoy winning again.

November 17, 2020

Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or otherwise sensed. This is a fundamental concept studied in the field of developmental psychology that addresses the development of young children’s social and mental capacities. A lack of object permanence explains how many Republicans view of the world, and how they respond. In 2013, Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), once a staunch opponent of gay marriage, said that he now supported same-sex nuptials after his son told him he was gay.

“I’m announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples’ opportunity to marry,” Portman said. In other words, Portman could not empathize with the needs of the gay community until it was in front of his face.

Republicans approach the pandemic and the climate crisis in the same way. Apparently, the pandemic is not a real thing to many Trump supporters, who call it a hoax and any attempts to control it as an infringement on their liberties. These people attend unprotected gatherings, flouting the warnings of healthcare professionals. It is not until they get it when they have a come to Jesus moment like Chris Christie. If you can’t see it and you don’t know anyone who has died from it, it doesn’t exist. News reports about 250,000 deaths and millions of infections have no impact. Out of sight, out of mind.

The climate crisis is approached in much the same fashion. Unless you have been bludgeoned by a hurricane of historic proportions or happen to live in the path of a raging inferno, the climate crisis is easy to ignore. I am guessing Republicans and Democrats alike who live in places like New Orleans or California believe that climate change is real because they have experienced it first hand. For the rest of us, we have to trust the science, which is easy to ignore.

Do we have to wait for more Republicans to die of the coronavirus or have their homes destroyed by natural disasters before we can address these issues. Infants eventually develop object permanence. Hopefully, Republicans will as well.

November 17, 2020

There is a legal concept called burden of proof. Burden of proof is the requirement that the plaintiff show by a preponderance of evidence that all the facts necessary to win a judgment are presented and are probably true. When someone accuses someone else of traitorous and treasonous actions, the burden proof is clearly on the accuser. I think we are now at the point that the burden of proof is not on us anymore, but is now on Donald Trump that he is not guilty of traitorous activity and treason.

What is Donald Trump guilty of? He revealed classified information to our adversaries. He delegitimized the electoral process in both 2016 and 2020. He accepted the word of a dictator and adversary over the intelligence reports provided to him by his own government. He had several undocumented conversations with Vladimir Putin. He obstructed justice ten times per the Mueller Report. He was impeached for trying to trade military aid for political favors. He tried to delegitimize the 44th President of the United States with the birtherism claims. He degraded the effectiveness of the FBI and the CIA. He promoted conspiracy theories. He threatened to lock us his political opponents. He weakened our relationship with NATO. He refused to condemn Russia for putting bounties on the heads of US troops. He lied to the American people about the severity of the coronavirus, and failed to aggressively address a pandemic that has killed over 250,000 people. He has encouraged domestic terrorist groups. He has tried to weaken the free press. He has refused to concede the election and provide intelligence briefings to President-elect Biden, putting both our national health and safety at risk. He has discussed bombing Iran during the transition period for no other apparent reason than throwing a monkey wrench into the next administration.

David Rothkopf, in his book “Traitor,” puts Trump’s actions in perspective, comparing him unfavorably with traitors from our past. Trump is a clear and present danger, and the burden of proof is on him to prove otherwise.