Clear and Present Danger Requires Action

We are living in a time of clear and present danger. A danger to our institutions. To our democracy. To individuals who oppose and criticize our next duly elected president who will have at his disposal powers heretofore thought to be finite but in light of a Supreme Court decision now are infinite, unencumbered even by the Constitution, supreme powers to enact his wishes and exact his revenge. 

Almost daily Donald Trump or one of his henchmen, some possibly with forthcoming Senate approval for top level administration jobs such as heads of our legal and law enforcement systems, promise retribution against those who challenged Trump’s actions. 

It does not matter if the cases against them are whimsical. Responding to federal inquiries and indictments requires legal representation. Resulting legal fees can easily bankrupt an accused. 

The argument that President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter might embolden Trump to pardon those convicted of January 6 crimes is ludicrous. Clearly anyone espousing such a belief has not paid attention to what Trump has been saying for months. He views them as patriots, not insurrectionists. He was going to free them regardless of Biden’s action. He has to, to solidify his hold on the extreme conspiracy theorists who are foundational parts of his base.

Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. Trump has hinted at declaring martial law to quell protests. Sounds crazy and extreme, no? But look no further than to one of our strongest allies, South Korea, and see that presidents can easily deny individual rights in their quest to exert unconstrained power. Though South Korea’s legislature quickly voted to lift the proclamation, and the president complied, it would be problematic to expect the Republican controlled House and Senate to reverse Trump. 

So, was Biden hasty in pardoning his son? Was he abusing presidential authority and precedent? Was he encouraging Trump to act injudiciously? 

No, on all counts. Biden’s presidency saved lives with an effective Covid policy. He restored American international relations. His economic and infrastructure programs reduced inflation, prompted job creation and began much needed investments in new manufacturing and repairs or replacement of outdated, dilapidated public works. 

Trump has changed the character of government. It is backward to hold Biden to standards his immediate predecessor and immediate successor did and will practice. 

Three weeks ago on November 14 I called for Biden to extend pre-emptive pardons to all those expected to be on Trump’s retribution list. The other day, John Dean of Watergate notoriety expressed similar thoughts. Thursday night The New York Times reported “Biden Team Considers Blanket Pardons Before Trump’s Promised ‘Retribution’” (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/us/politics/biden-trump-pardons.html?smid=em-share). HuffPost carried a similar article Friday morning.

Momentum is building. It must be driving Trump crazy to helplessly watch his reign of vengeance potentially dissipate before his bloodthirsty eyes.

Non Political Musings

“Location, Location, Location” is the mantra in real estate, whether it be where to place a store or where to buy a home. Recently I’ve been amused by several location-based news stories.

From a posting on my residential association news feed:

“Sadly the store in Scarsdale called DAISO 

next to Amazing Savings is closing December 7, 2024.  I found it to be a unique fun store. If you have never been, you might want to take a run inside for holiday gifts etc.”

Now, ordinarily I would not find notice of a store closing to be a source of amusement. But Daiso is a Japanese -owned store. December 7 is not the best of dates to elicit feelings of sympathy for the Japanese company.  

By the way, Japan is 13 hours ahead of New York time. So when the Daiso in Scarsdale closes for the last time at 9 pm on Saturday, December 7, it will be Sunday in Tokyo. Hmmm… 

Naming Rights: On a family trip to Israel in 1990, Gilda struck up a conversation with the younger man sitting next to her. He introduced himself as Brad Berger, to which Gilda replied, “We live on the street named after you, Brad Lane.” 

Brad’s father, Martin Berger, was a cofounder of Robert Martin Company, a diversified real estate development company. Martin’s partner was Robert Weinberg.

The subdivision we live in was built in 1966, one of the first Robert Martin residential projects before the company became the premier developer of office park complexes in Westchester. 

There are three streets inside our development off Saxon Woods Road: Romar Avenue (obviously named after Robert and Martin); Teramar Way (for years I assumed this one block street was named for Terri and Martin, but I can find no record of a Terri Berger); and Brad Lane, named for the aforementioned Brad Berger who was 10 at the time our house was built. 

My musings about street names was prompted by an article in The New York Times appropriately titled, “How Do New Streets Get Their Names (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/30/realestate/naming-streets.html?smid=em-share). 

 

One of the rules contained in the article (for those who didn’t bother to link) is that street names should not be duplicated in a community so emergency services or just plain delivery drivers would not be confused. 

There is, however, another Teramar Way listed in White Plains, with houses built in 1964. Its houses are technically in Greenburgh, just off Tarrytown Road, but are listed as having a White Plains address. More than once a deliveryman has brought an unsolicited meal or package to one of the homes on our development’s Teramar Way.

It’s a minor inconvenience, seemingly impossible to resolve. To no avail city officials have been asked for a street name change. 

Travel Time: Somehow my Facebook feed knows I will be traveling to Argentina’s Patagonia region because I keep getting ads for sweaters, socks and gloves made with alpaca fibers. 

“Did the World Need a Hot Santa? It Got One Anyway.”

That was the headline of a Times article December 1, with an email explanation that “A new series of ads from Target features Kris K., a “weirdly hot” version of the beloved character, continuing a trend of spicing up holiday favorites (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/style/target-hot-santa-ads.html?smid=em-share).

Since many Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers (“White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” to name just a few), I wonder if Jewish marketing mavens will pass up the opportunity to sex-up Hanukkah promotions? Can’t you visualize a buff, curly-haired Judah the Maccabee in gladiator-style skirt and armored top pitching silver menorahs, with candle wax dripping down his muscular legs? 

Well, enough stimulation. Twenty more days till Hanukkah and that other festive holiday. 

Bravo, Joe Biden. Now Issue More Pardons

 Bravo, President Biden for taking a rational and rightful action Sunday in issuing a “full and unconditional pardon” to his son Hunter, thus shielding him from what was expected to be a vicious attack by Donald Trump’s administration following inauguration day. 

Now, Biden has 50 more days to issue countless more pardons to officials and politicians who Trump has disparaged “to avoid Russian-style show trials … to chop off Trump’s vile retribution action before it can poison our nation,” as I wrote November 14. 

Much of Biden’s legislative and diplomatic legacies Trump will try to dismantle. Trump has already shown he does not abide by the rule of law, has no devotion to institutions foreign and domestic, has no boundaries in his demeanor and execution of personal aggrandizement. 

My list of those Biden should pardon is not meant to be exhaustive. But it is worth repeating here:

Special counsel Jack Smith and his entire legal team;

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her legal team; 

Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss; 

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; 

New York Attorney General Letitia James;

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg;

New York Judge Juan Merchan;

Attorney General Merrick Garland; 

Retired generals, admirals and cabinet members who criticized Trump, including  John Kelly, Mark A. Milley, James Mattis, H.R. McMaster, Stanley McChrystal, Mark Esper, Mike Mullen, James Stavridis;

Former diplomats, law enforcement and intelligence officials including John Bolton, John Brennan, James Robert Clapper Jr., James Comey, Susan Rice; 

Witnesses against Trump including Cassidy Jacqueline Hutchinson, Alexander Vindman; 

Former Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger;

Former Vice President Dick Cheney;

Senator-elect Adam Schiff; 

Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin; Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton;

Dr. Anthony Fauci;

Former President Barack and Michelle Obama;

Hunter Biden;

James and Francis Biden;

And finally, Himself. 

An Ignorant Electorate Normalizes Trump

More than one post-election recap reported that far too many voters lacked specific knowledge about the candidates. Too often they conflated Kamala Harris’ positions with those of Donald Trump, and Trump’s with hers. There were voters who didn’t realize Joe Biden was not running for reelection. 

In short, too many voters were just plain ignorant of the facts. They knew they were unhappy, which translated into “throw the bums out,” meaning anyone would be better than another Democrat in the White House. 

It’s an imperfect nation we live in. We cannot legislate a qualifying test to secure a right-to-vote card, but we could, through the Department of Education, strongly pressure each state to require students pass a mandatory civics class before high school graduation. 

Immigrants must pass an American history test before earning U. S. citizenship. I wonder, how many of our  teenagers would pass such a test? Whom am I kidding—how many adults would pass? A written test must be passed to secure a driver’s license. Shouldn’t we require civics knowledge before we send graduating high schoolers off to work, to the military or to higher education?

As The Washington Post noted in a recent article, “The preponderance of voters who get no news whatsoever suggests the very notion of an “informed electorate” might become a thing of the past.” 

Normalizing Trump: The rationalization of a Trump presidency has begun. Pam Bondi is no Matt Gaetz. Our judicial process under Bondi as attorney general is safe, the anti-Trump public reasons, no longer at risk of being placed in the hands of a pedophile drug user. 

Only, Bondi bought into Trump’s false claims the 2020 election was stolen from him, so how professionally responsible can she be? She also opposes Obamacare and LGBTQ rights. 

Almost all Republican U. S. senators and representatives are true-Trump believers, so Bondi will not have difficulty gaining acceptance from the party elite. She doesn’t look like Mephistopheles reincarnate, as Gaetz does. Yes, she is no Matt Gaetz, but she did reject joining a lawsuit alleging Trump University fraud shenanigans after her re-election campaign for Florida attorney general received a $25,000 contribution from a Trump family foundation. 

She obviously has bought into Trump’s infallibility. And the culpability of Trump’s enemies. She has accused Joe Biden and his son Hunter of corrupt actions while the elder Biden was a private citizen. Surprise would not be in order if she orders a new investigation into the Biden family (unless, of course, President Biden follows my advice and issues pre-emptive pardons to himself, his family, and a host of others Trump has targeted for retribution).  

Normalizing Trump is not happening just inside the Washington Beltway. Viewers of cable news are said to be switching in droves from left-leaning sites like MSNBC to Fox News and other conservative outlets. If I worried about readership numbers I’d be concerned. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is getting credit for challenging medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural and food production orthodoxies. He advocates more personal choice on vaccines and consumption of unpasteurized milk; he believes consumers would be healthier if fewer chemicals were used in farming and if Americans ate fewer processed foods. Personal choice is good if it doesn’t harm or expose others to communicable diseases. Minimizing chemicals while consuming more naturally produced foods sounds like sound ideas. Doubtful, though, RFK Jr. will be able to convince his boss to alter his fast-food diet.

The Trump cabinet reflects ideologues not to my liking, but, I have a different take on Barry Goldwater’s 1964 signature statement, “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.” 

Extreme actions by a Trump administration may well be the only means of awakening the public to the ill-conceived plans of Trumpism. Will the public accept: higher prices for goods because of Trump tariffs?; higher food prices when immigrant labor is not there to farm the land, process meat and poultry?; housing options are limited because immigrants are not present to build affordable homes?; higher medical costs because Obamacare has been scaled back or eliminated?   

We’ll see. For now, Republicans—let’s call them Trumpcans from now on as they surely do not possess the same ideals and mores as Republicans of the past—hold majorities in the House and Senate to enact Trump’s wishes. 

The fight “in pursuit of justice” should not be in moderation, but neither should it be without reason. 

As for my patriotic contribution, as I did during Trump’s first term and subsequently, I intend to never publish two consecutive words containing his elected title and name. 

New Realities, Real and Imagined

 Comical headline of the week, from Reuters:  “Muslims who voted for Trump upset”

It is a no-brainer that Donald Trump has been pro-Israel, going so far as to suggest Bibi Netanyahu should finish the job quickly in Gaza. Were Palestinian and Arab Americans not listening? 

Sure, they were upset with the Democratic administration for its arming and enabling Israel to basically carpet bomb Gaza. But did they really think Trump would restrain Israel?

Apparently Trump’s picks of Israel-lovers/Palestinian-rights-deniers Marco Rubio to be secretary of state and Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel was too much. 

So, after probably denying Kamala Harris votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and other states with Arab populations and voters who were upset with Democrats, reality is setting in. Sadly, the rest of the country has to suffer through their naivety.

Disillusionment will not be confined to the anti-Israel crowd. 

When their illegal migrant relatives are rounded up and deported regardless of how many years they have been in America, regardless of their legal American spouse or children, will Hispanics lament their vote for Trump?

When funding for preschool programs and school lunches dries up, will lower income voters accept their disappointment? 

When their health care and pharmaceutical coverage are weakened, will under- and uninsured Americans long for the days of Obamacare? 

When natural disasters become more frequent and more extreme, will the Trump federal government be sufficiently responsive? 

I avoided reading most analyses of the election, though this one from The Forward provided a common sense explanation of what happened November 5 as part of a chain of electoral cataclysms to left-leaning, even centrist, democratic governments the world over. Here’s a link: https://forward.com/opinion/676075/against-interpretation-trump-election-victory/

Politics is a ruthless business. Triumphant politicians are not inclined to give a life line to their defeated counterparts. Rather, if it is in their power, they will exert more pressure on the heel pushing their opponent’s neck into the mud. To the victor goes the spoils. 

I offer no suggestions for surviving Trump 2.0. But, as we confront the prospect of four more years of Trumpism, and at least two of a Republican controlled House and Senate, here are some predictions and thoughts that could make the future even more unsettling:

• If Trump purges civil servants in government departments, how trustworthy will any “official” statements, such as the unemployment rate or GDP rate, be? Trump will be fulfilling George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth paradigm; 
• Joe Biden is a traditionalist, an institutionalist. Trump is anti-establishment. An agent provocateur. A disruptor. Biden would never consider appointing anyone without their having prior experience in the field. Trump favors loyalty over competency. Biden plays by the norms. That’s why I doubt he will act as I and others have proposed to issue pre-emptive pardons to those public and private citizens who have “wronged” Trump. Meanwhile, Trump will pardon most if not all of those guilty of January 6 crimes; 
• Thanks to the Supreme Court, Trump will enjoy immunity from any actions he individually carries out. But immunity, it seems to me, does not extend to his appointees, even if acting on direct orders from a president. Crassly put, if Trump shoots someone, say a suspected illegal migrant, he could claim executive privilege; if he orders an underling to shoot someone, the shooter would be required to show justifiable cause or be charged and tried. In other words, Trump’s sycophants better be certain the actions Trump wants them to carry out are legal; 
• The GOP-controlled Senate will do what Democrats were too pussyfooted to enact, namely, killing the filibuster rule that requires at least 60 votes to pass most legislation. For Republicans, a simple majority vote would suffice; 
• With the aid of the Republican Senate, Trump will expand the number of Supreme Court justices to 15, thus ensuring decades-long conservative majorities on the court;  
• Assuming Trump does not impose himself for perpetuity on America in 2028, do not expect his legacy will be carried forward by JD Vance, his vice president. Rather, as dynasties are familial, not transferable, Trump will advance Donald Trump Jr. as his rightful successor; 
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use the power of the purse to force communities across America to stop putting fluoride in municipal drinking water or risk losing federal funding for water-related projects; 
• RFK Jr. and the secretary of Education will use the same monetary threat to pressure school systems to remove mandatory vaccinations; 
• Federal funding will be denied any school system that permits participation in girls sports by any transgender student;
• To appease the religious right, Trump will reverse legal distribution of reproductive medications that can terminate pregnancies.

Pardons Before Trump's Vile Retribution

In the waning days of any presidency there is a scurry of activities to complete an agenda, most prominently the issuance of pardons. With Donald Trump vowing to exact revenge on his enemies—real and imagined—President Biden has an opportunity to thwart his successor’s evil intent. 

Joe Biden should issue blanket pre-emptive pardons to all those suspected to be in Trump’s and attorney general designate Matt Gaetz’s crosshairs. 

Biden should definitively state there is no reason to believe any of those pardoned did anything illegal, but the need to shield them from an unwarranted and costly assault on their integrity requires him to act presumptively and pre-emptively. 

These pardons should include special counsel Jack Smith and his entire legal team;

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her legal team; 

Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss; 

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; 

New York Attorney General Letitia James;

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg;

New York Judge Juan Merchan;

Attorney General Merrick Garland; 

Retired generals, admirals and cabinet members who criticized Trump, including  John Kelly, Mark A. Milley, James Mattis, H.R. McMaster, Stanley McChrystal, Mark Esper, Mike Mullen, James Stavridis;

Former diplomats, law enforcement and intelligence officials including John Bolton, John Brennan, James Robert Clapper Jr., James Comey, Susan Rice; 

Witnesses against Trump including Cassidy Jacqueline Hutchinson, Alexander Vindman; 

Former Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger;

Former Vice President Dick Cheney;

Senator-elect Adam Schiff; 

Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin; Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton;

Dr. Anthony Fauci;

Former President Barack and Michelle Obama;

Hunter Biden;

James and Francis Biden;

And finally, Himself. 

By selecting Gaetz to be attorney general Trump has confirmed his disdain for the rule of law. By presaging his intention to pardon those convicted of impeding democracy and attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump has dismissed judicial norms and respect for our legal system. 

Will Biden seize the moment? Three times during his half century of service to the country he has failed to. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee he did not exert his power to deny Clarence Thomas a seat on the Supreme Court. As president he did not exert his influence on Attorney General Garland to speedily investigate and prosecute Trump for his actions after the 2020 election. And, he did not fulfill his commitment to be a transitional one-term president, hampering the Democratic Party’s chances in the 2024 election. 

He now has a fourth opportunity to rise to the moment. 

The only way to avoid Russian-style show trials is for Biden to chop off Trump’s vile retribution action before it can poison our nation.