Trumpster Fire

April 17, 2020

It has been a taxing few days. The White House is now a virtual Trumpster fire. In rapid succession, Trump threatened to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, promoted in-person voting in Wisconsin, asserted that he had total authority over the nation’s Governors, withdrew funding from the W.H.O., formed a new committee of hundreds of executives to get America going again, and delayed emergency relief checks because he wanted his signature on them. Did he think that Americans wouldn’t cash the checks because they would cherish having his signature? All this from an ersatz used auto salesman turned wannabe autocrat. In the middle of this maelstrom, over 34,500 Americans have died with thousands more on the way.

Mr. President, focus. Your hair is on fire. You are inattentive and impulsive. ADHD is a preexisting condition covered by Obamacare. Get whatever help you need. Stop putting other people in charge. Stop creating committees. Stop blaming. Either take charge, or get out of the way. You want to put America back to work. Why don’t you start by going back to work yourself, and stop the ridiculous and time-wasting daily press conferences?

Stop listening to the wing nuts on the right because no one is listening to you. Laura Ingram is hoping that the coronavirus will just disappear like SARS. She says that we never developed a vaccine for AIDS so what is the big deal. Dr. Oz says 2-3% mortality for children is an acceptable trade off for going back to school. Dr. Phil compares the coronavirus to fatalities from car accidents so let’s go back to work. Larry Kudlow says people die by staying at home. It goes on and on. Some of these same crazed conservatives have been attacking Bill Gates for being particularly prescient in 2015 about the coming pandemic with conspiracy theories that he created Covid-19 in order to profit from it.

You didn’t start the fire

It was always burning

Since the world’s been turning

You didn’t start the fire

No you didn’t light it

Now try to fight it?

One Bad Man

April 16, 2020

(“One Bad Man” is a parody of Jack Nicholson’s tirade in the courtroom scene from “A Few Good Men.”)

I eat breakfast a few hundred yards away from millions of Americans, who are trying to infect me. So don’t think for one second that you can come down here wearing a mask, and make me nervous.

Son, we live in a world that has risks, and I ignore those risks predicted by scientists with models. Who’s going to do it? You? Dr. Anthony Fauci? I have greater vulnerability than you can possible fathom. I lie everyday, and blame others. I have that luxury. I have the luxury of not knowing what you know. That a loss of even one individual, while tragic, probably makes me money. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, costs lives.

You want the truth because deep down, in places you can’t talk about at parties, you don’t want me at the podium. You don’t need me at the podium. You use words like honesty, transparency, competence, and leadership. You use those words as the backbone of a life defending something. You use them as a lifeline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the American flag that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I destroy it.

I’d suggest you just said “Thank You,” and went on your way. Otherwise, I’d suggest you diagnose yourself, and go to the emergency room. Either way, I don’t give a damn about what you think you are entitled to.

And, you’re damn right I ignored the Covid.

Rue-tine

April 13, 2020

As we shelter in place and practice social distancing, we are desperately trying to organize our days in this new normal. We crave routine, but the routine rug has been pulled out from under us leaving us to wander aimlessly around our homes. I check the Reminder list on my iPhone constantly looking for something to do. My iCalendar has nothing but white space. I used to hate shopping. Now I look for a reason to buy something. Without routine, I have to think if this is a shave day. Fortunately, my wife is very good at reminding me.

What little routine I have only gets me through 9:00AM. I get up around six, wash my face, brush my teeth, and then head for the kitchen. I make the coffee, and then take my vitamins with some fruit juice. I turn on MSNBC, and dive into my online newspapers. Sometimes I get inspired to write a piece for my blog, and submit it as a letter to the editor to the Springfield Republican. I would do the New York Times crossword puzzle, but that is usually finished online at 10:00PM the night before. I have started doing a Yoga for Golfers online session at 9:00AM.

That is the end of my routine. I feel like a Florida retiree, whose only concern is where to go for the Happy Hour dinner special. I focus more than ever before on the next meal. You only get three times per day to get it right, and you would hate to screw up on even one meal. I bake muffins. I have gotten good at blueberry, bran, and cornmeal muffins. I also bake banana bread, pumpkin bread, and date nut bread. I make Jell-O. I read. I have gone from reading one book per month to one book per week. I am trying to learn Italian, and I study the rules of golf. I try to walk and/or play golf every afternoon. It is a good amount of exercise in lieu of spinning, and it keeps me from picking on junk food before dinner.

I refuse to make the daily Trump Show part of my routine.

Summer of ‘20

April 12, 2020

In one of the best books about baseball ever written, David Halberstam, in his “Summer of ‘49, chronicles the historic pennant race between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Every Red Sox fan is all too familiar with how it ended. One of the key points that Halberstam made in his book was that the Yankees and the Red Sox approached competition differently. After a good try, the Red Sox would pat each other on the back regardless of the outcome. The Yankees, on the other hand, were only results oriented. If it was your job to move a runner along, you better get it done. It wasn’t about how, it was about how many.

This brings me to the Presidency, and, specifically, the current one. The current President wants a participation trophy for doing the best he can. He wants and demands to be appreciated for his efforts. He is the old Boston Red Sox where good was good enough. Ironically, even though he grew up in Queens and matriculated to Manhattan, he is no New York Yankee. The Yankees would demand a win. Coming in late and last in a response to the coronavirus would not have been acceptable. Trump is not the Sultan of Swat. He is the Iron-Deficient Horse.

The Graying of America

April 9, 2020

Who knew that so many of the people on television were coloring their hair? Slowly but surely, people are returning to their roots. The only people whose hair is not not changing is Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Kudos to Mike Pence for always going with the natural look, which begs the question, how does Trump keep his hair a flaxen yellow in the middle of a pandemic when the rest of us are going native? Hair dressing is considered non-essential by everyone except the President, who has actually commented on his hair in his press briefings.

Also, in this age of e-books and Kindle, who knew so many people had libraries. People are obviously proud of their books. Some of the libraries are modest, and some are over the top. Regardless, it is nice to see what people are reading. The only person on TV not seen in front of his library is Donald Trump. He may have a magazine rack somewhere but we haven’t seen that either. He could use the Library of Congress as a backdrop. Mr. President, show me your books and show me your roots, and, while you are it, cover your face.

Less Than Supreme Court

April 9, 2020

In 2013, the Supreme Court effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Immediately, many states took action to implement procedures restricting the voters’ ability to cast ballots. Restrictive ID laws, the closing of polling locations, reduced hours, signature matching requirements, and other techniques were used to hold down voter turnout targeted specifically at Democratic constituencies. The 2010 census and mid-term elections opened the doors to rampant gerrymandering by Republican legislatures.

Now we have the disgrace of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to not allow the state of Wisconsin and its Democratic Governor to adjust the dates and form of its primary because of the coronavirus pandemic. As they deliberated in isolation, they decided it made legal sense to send voters into harm’s way. We all saw images on TV of people standing in long lines for hours wearing face masks. We all heard the story of the nurse, who, after completing her shift, was denied the right to vote because she arrived three minutes late due to not being able to find a parking space. These conservative justices, approved by a conservative Senate, should be ashamed of themselves. As with Trump’s handling of the pandemic, people will die because of the decisions they made. They need to get their heads out of their legal books and briefs, and take a look out of the window.

Pearl Harbor

April 8, 2020

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and thousands of Americans died. After several weeks of denying the advice of his experts that the attack actually happened, President Roosevelt immediately restricted all traffic from Japan. He overlooked the war that was currently being waged in Europe. He told the American public that the situation was well under control, and would soon go away. The Japanese didn’t like to fight in warm weather. He told America to relax because he was a wartime President.

Unfortunately, because of America’s reluctance to get involved in foreign entanglements and its preference for isolationism, FDR had defunded the Defense Department, and dismissed most of its leadership. “I got no quarrel with those Japs,” the President said. The United States had a critical shortage of guns, ammo, ships, planes, and everything else needed to confront the enemy. Roosevelt immediately blamed the media for blowing the attack way out of proportion. “We lose more babies to abortion every year than we did at Pearl Harbor,” Rosevelt said. “And, besides, who could have seen this coming?”

He then held a meeting with the Governors of the country to find out what they were doing to fight the Japanese. He told them that he had no responsibility in the crisis, but he would be there to backstop their efforts. The national stockpile of guns and bullets was his, not theirs, and they should go out and find their own munitions. He held daily Fireside Chats where, in addition to the media, he blamed his predecessor, GM, and the Defense Department amongst others. He lied about his response, and told Americans it would be over by Easter. His experts tried to correct him. He fired one of his Generals, who pleaded that his troops needed more ammunition.

He inexplicably refused to ask Congress for a declaration of war. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I have a gut feeling that the Japanese will go away miraculously.”

Trumptown

April 7, 2020

In 1978, 918 men, women, and children died after drinking Kool-Aid laced with cyanide in a suicide death pact ordered by their leader, Jim Jones. They were loyal followers of a megalomaniac, who presented himself as a religious leader, and they paid the ultimate price. Now, we have a portion of the country in the thrall of another megalomaniac, who makes vague religious references, and they are following him over the coronavirus cliff.

These people are predominantly Fox TV watchers. Fox TV and other conservative outlets are complicit in this charade. Polls show that Fox watchers are much more likely to believe the lies of the President than people who watch MSNBC. They are less likely to shelter in place. They are more likely to flout recommendations for social distancing and masks.

One “minister” wants to put people on buses, and transport them to Easter services. Another man of the cloth held a religious service, and people shook hands. Trump himself wanted to open up business by Easter. A group of right wing “libertarians” see government safety guidelines as an attack on their God-given right to infect each other, and will defy their elected leaders.

Trump might just well be dispensing Kool-Aid. People will die. Ironically, it is the people who voted for him, who are putting themselves at the most risk. May God help them. Welcome to Trumptown.