March 14, 2020

Donald Trump finally got around to announcing that the coronavirus was a national emergency. He got beat to the punch by every sports organization, university, public and private school, and Broadway. Trump announced he will be sending the Army to protect our borders, and the Coast Guard to protect our shores. The Air Force will be conducting reconnaissance flights to make sure their are no secret attacks from Europe. He will be diverting funds already approved and allocated by Congress for domestic relief to build a wall around the entire United States. This should be done in time for the next pandemic.

“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said. He is now in the process of rounding up the usual suspects. There is warrant out for the arrest of former President Barack Obama. Democrats will be detained as they report for work. Trump has tasked Steve Mnuchin to negotiate with Nancy Pelosi, probably negotiating the terms of her incarceration. There will be no pardons. Dr. Anthony Fauci will not be considered for the Presidential Medal of Freedom like Rush Limbaugh. Trump will be tested, but he has threatened to sue anyone, who releases the results of his tests.

Trump reportedly went crazy when health officials tried to explain to him the concept of exponential growth curves. Bell curves didn’t ring true with the President either. “Don’t confuse me the facts, “ he said. Trump was told by medical expert, Mike Pence, that it was safer to reside in a warm climate and stay outdoors so he headed directly to the southern White House, Mar-a-Lago, to lead the nation’s response to this national emergency. He will be meeting with experts in small groups of four for approximately four hours per meeting.

March 13, 2020

With schools closing, sports events canceling, travel being interrupted, and TV shows going dark, what are you going to do? This is an unmitigated disaster. You don’t have to be self-quarantined to go crazy. Many of you will not survive, not because of the coronavirus, but because of boredom. Here is my survival kit.

You could actually start talking to each other rather than keeping your collective noses stuck in iPhones and social media. You might learn something about your friends, your colleagues, your family, and yourself. You will learn who the real Trumpies are.

You could go outside, and start on that New Year’s resolution you made about getting some exercise. The President is morbidly obese. You don’t have to be also.

You can get a jump on Spring cleaning. You could Kondo your surroundings, and get rid of all of the things that do not bring you joy. Hopefully, that includes Donald Trump.

You can’t travel, but you can still work on learning that foreign language you said you were going to learn before your trip. Hopefully, Americans will still be welcome.

You can cook at home rather than go out to fast food restaurants like the President. It’s healthier, cheaper, and more satisfying. Invite some friends or neighbors over. See above about talking.

You can stop being a spectator, and start being a participant. Participate in the political process.

You can read a book during what was once TV time. You can make yourself more knowledgeable about what a disaster the Trump administration is. Read “A Very Stable Genius” or “Commander-in-Cheat.”

You now have time to write a letter. Send one to your Congressman or Senator complaining about Trump’s response to the coronavirus. It is a lot harder than an e-mail or a Tweet, but it will be much more appreciated by the recipient. Use complete prose. Do not use text-speak.

You could learn to play bridge. Nah!

March 11, 2020

Dusty : Jo, Bill, it’s coming! It’s headed right for us!

Bill : It’s already here!

This was a terrifying exchange during the movie, “Twister.” Change the names, and you have Trump’s response to the coronavirus except for the fact that Trump denied the coronavirus was heading right for us. While he was obfuscating, bloviating, and lying, health professionals knew the virus was already amongst us. Maybe the virus could have been contained. We will never know. Now we are at the mercy of viral math, and I suspect Trump skipped the class on exponential growth curves.

Now we have an address from the Oval Office that focuses on keeping the coronavirus out of the US by instituting a travel ban on Europe, but, quizzically, not the UK. There was a muddle of economic measures about tax breaks and SBA loans. There was no real discussion about testing where we rank last in the world. That’s right…DFL. Washington is now first in war, first in peace, and last in coronavirus testing. Mr. President, it is already here.

March 10, 2020

We all watch the weather on TV, and have weather apps on our cell phones. Research has shown that weathermen, by a significant margin, err on the side of predicting bad weather over good. The reason is simple. If the weatherman predicts good weather and it rains, you are not happy. However, if he predicts bad weather and the sun comes out, all is good. It’s called job preservation.

Which brings me to coronavirus. The worst thing you can do in managing a crisis like this is to make happy talk, and pretend that everything is fine. People will remember if things go from bad to worse, and they will not forgive and forget. However, if you lay out the facts, and put out a worst case scenario, people will cut you some slack if events surprise on the upside. It’s no great secret. It is just managing expectations.

March 7, 2020

Chuck Schumer, minority leader in the U.S. Senate and fellow college classmate, apologized for his intemperate remarks regarding the Supreme Court. He was taken to task by Mitch McConnell in the well of the Senate, and by Chief Justice Roberts. It was deserved. I think what he was trying to say was that Republicans will pay the price at the polls for their attempts to overturn Roe vs. Wade, but Schumer can speak for himself.

What I didn’t hear from McConnell was any criticism when the President attacked Justices Ginsburg and Sotamayor, or any push back when the President attacked the foreman on the Stone jury. Trump tweeted about the judge on that case with no repercussions. McConnell was silent when Trump referred to “Obama judges.” “Mitch the Mute” said nothing when Trump attacked a federal judge because he was of Mexican descent. Trump has criticized the courts, and law enforcement repeatedly, and Mitch has said nothing. Mitch engineered one of the greatest heists of all time in getting Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. McConnell and Trump will reap the whirlwind that Schumer so inelegantly referred to.

March 6, 2020

The “Atlantic” just published a piece about why the writer believed Elizabeth Warren did not resonate with a lot of voters. I won’t repeat the article, but I would like to add my own theory. Many years ago, I attended an all day seminar on management, and, specifically, the differences between managing men and women. The basic premise was that men and women, while being equally competent, are different. It was incumbent upon managers to understand and recognize the differences if they were to be successful in the workplace.

As it turns out, men and women process information differently. Women tend to be more methodical and more patient when analyzing a situation. They tend to ask more questions. They are more process driven. They eventually reach the right decision, but they are seen by men as being overly cautious and indecisive. Men, on the other hand, are bottom line oriented. They just want the answer. Speed is a virtue. This is seen by others as being confident and decisive.

Which gets me to Elizabeth Warren, who has a plan for everything. She can discuss issues in infinite detail. She is a policy wonk, and Harvard professor. In a man’s world, these are not seen as positive attributes. She, like Hillary Clinton, was the smartest person in the room, and paid the price for it. In the immortal words of Sgt. Joe Friday, “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.”

March 6, 2020

“All we have to fear is fever itself.” Donald Trump was presented with an FDR moment, and he shanked it. Rather than addressing the pending pandemic head on with truth and reassurance, he went to his ignorant, political playbook. Blame Democrats, and deny the facts. Blame Obama. Claim that April will solve the problem, and assert that the virus will disappear miraculously. Disagree with the experts because he has a gut feeling. Paul Romer, Stanford economist famously said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” The coronavirus is certainly a crisis, and Trump has miserably wasted it. President’s are judged by how they manage the crises they are handed. As we all know, Trump has small hands. Hopefully, that gut feeling is not the coronavirus.

March 4, 2020

The Democratic Party is effectively down to two, septuagenarian, white men as Presidential candidates. I know Elizabeth Warren and Tulsi Gabbard are still in the race, but are they really? And that is the point. While Republicans make no effort or pretense in being a party welcoming to all, the Democrats are at least trying. Over the past few months, we have seen several women, several people of color, a gay man, a young man, two billionaires, and many thousandaires vie for the nomination. All the Republicans have to offer is also two older men of color, one orange and the other snow white.

Democrats are concerned that Bernie’s Youth Brigade will not embrace Joe Biden, and, as they did in 2016 with Hillary, hand the election to Donald Trump. As a recently minted septuagenarian, all I can say is that you don’t have to be young to have youthful policies. The young people I talk to are interested in climate change, the cost of higher education, income inequality, and gun safety. These are Democratic issues, not exclusively Bernie issues. Republicans are not even talking about these issues other than to deny that they even exist. Youth may be wasted on the youth, but hopefully it won’t be wasted on Bernie Sanders.