Day 132 of Nat'l Emergency: Lawn Sign for Justice, Petty President, Will Trump Take a Shot

We have proudly joined the woke lawn sign brigade. Designed by Gilda, our sign displays an illustration of eight children of various ethnicities next to a Martin Luther King Jr. saying, “Injustice Anywhere Is a threat to Justice Everywhere.”

Presidential adviser and not-too-secret white supremacist Stephen Miller notwithstanding, Jews have been at the forefront of civil rights activism. We believe in the legitimacy behind the Black Lives Matter movement but have been repulsed by the open antisemitism and anti-Israel stances of some of its leaders and followers, made all the more reprehensible by the organization’s failure to call out repression and discrimination common in Arab Moslem lands. 

Our sign already has won approval from neighbors. We’re at the end of a cul de sac so the sign will get limited exposure. But it’s the sentiment that counts, not the number of eyeballs that see it.

Petty President: The pettiness, the mean-spiritness of Donald Trump continues to know no bounds as it continues to amaze. His latest denigration of the office of the president involves the removal of the official portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush from a public viewing area and their placement in a non public room of the White House.

He couldn’t remove Barack Obama’s portrait because it has not been officially unveiled in deference to the longstanding animosity Trump has toward his immediate predecessor.

One has to wonder how Trump will be treated by his successor, an especially trenchant thought if it is Joe Biden in 2021 or a different Democrat in 2025. Will he be invited to ceremonial functions? Will he be shunned by the members of the exclusive Past Presidents club? 

Will foreign governments welcome him, not that he was an avid jet-setter before his election? As he was not overly complimentary to most foreign leaders while in office, his options for frequent flyer points are limited. Okay, he could visit Turkey, Russia, Brazil. And Israel. Perhaps his good buddy Kim Jong-un will invite him to a deeper visit inside North Korea. Or Xi Jinping might want to show him China’s biological warfare labs that Trump is always talking about.  

Will He Take the Shot? Should an anti COVID-19 vaccine be introduced while he is still in office, will Trump display presidential leadership by publicly taking the shot, or will he punk out and reinforce the cautionary call of the anti-vax brigade that rejects all types of inoculations? Perhaps he will claim an exemption to the injection because of a flareup of his bone spurs.

The current fight over wearing a mask to contain the pandemic’s spread will be child’s play compared to the opposition anti-vaxers will wage, especially if anyone administered the vaccine becomes infected (https://nyti.ms/2OAxMM1). 

It is truly a sad time when the health care system once touted as the best in the world has become a shell of its former prominence. 

Feds vs. States: Where does federal vs. state responsibility begin? States’ rights vs. federal authority. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, Trump has chosen to push responsibility for containment of the virus to governors, except when he sees political gain advocating opening up the economy and schools. He is trying to strongarm states to do his bidding even as case numbers and deaths rise. But his bottom line is that states, not he, are responsible for the pain the country is experiencing.

On the other hand, having clearly lost his bid to be a successful wartime general in the battle to beat COVID-19, Trump has shifted gears to be the law and order president by sending in federal troops to Portland, OR, to arrest and control Black Lives Matter and related protesters. No state or local official asked for federal troop assistance. Indeed, they have vociferously rejected their presence.

But Trump doesn’t care because this narrative fits the image he wants to project to his base and to voters who might feel threatened by the protesters. 

Day 128 Nat'l Emergency: Is the Political Pendulum Swinging?

With just under four months till the election the pendulum has given signs it is ready to swing backward.

After more than four months of jabs and haymakers that have left his administration reeling, Donald Trump appears to have regained some energy. 

Conservative voices are saying woke movements have gone too far. A federal judge has strongly questioned the sexual harassment and abuse settlement against Harvey Weinstein. Conservative columnist Andrew Sullivan is leaving New York Magazine. Bari Weiss is leaving The New York Times because she claims a bullying atmosphere that attacks non liberal stances is tolerated by management. Federal executions have begun anew with Trump threatening more. Trump is further threatening to send in federal forces to cities run by liberal mayors he says cannot control violence. He also is said to be supportive of a Missouri couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters. The CDC director is blaming visiting Northerners for the pandemic outbreak in the South. Trump administration lackeys are degrading the expertise of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Though Joe Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania polls is double digits pollsters say a majority believe there is a “secret” number of Trump voters who could keep the Keystone State red.

Trump is betting his base enjoys their White privilege even as fence-sitting voters will be repulsed by excesses of ultra-progressive woke groups. Their combined ballots will keep him in the White House for another four years

Trump is like that Philadelphia icon—Rocky. It is hard to knock him down. To keep him down.

Biden so far has played a version of Muhammed Ali’s rope-a-dope strategy against George Forman, keeping mostly to himself. He is letting Trump tire himself and the public out with outlandish tweets on all manner of national affairs alongside public displays of indifference to the personal, human losses from COVID-19, now totaling more than 138,000 lives from more than 3.48 million confirmed cases. Even now that he is wearing a mask in public the glower beneath it comes through.

The race for the presidency is a like a 15-round championship boxing match, not a three-round amateur bout. Polling can be illusory. Hillary learned that lesson four years ago.

Barring an international emergency or another vacancy on the Supreme Court, the election will be settled by three intertwined events: the status of the pandemic, the state of the economy, and the success, or lack of, school reopenings.

The pendulum might be swinging a little more in Trump’s direction but there is plenty time for it to swing back to Biden’s corner. 

Day 127 of Nat'l Emergency: Acting American

Making the rounds of Facebook is a tableau of four pictures of the American flag: 

A woman caresses a flag draped coffin. The caption reads: “This is why you don’t step on the flag;” 

A wheelchaired black veteran sits before a flag. The caption: “This is why you stand for the national anthem;”

A military tombstone with a small American flag in the grass beside it. The caption: “This is why we don’t erase history;” 

An American flag with the following saying: “You’re not a Black, White, Yellow, Brown. You’re an American. Start acting like it.”

The tableau is an unmistakeable call for patriotism and respect for the flag. It challenges the idea that protest for racial equality and against police brutality is justified. Protest is unAmerican. All that is required to be a good person is to “act American.”

What the tableau does not address is the everyday actions people of color confront in our country.

When Mr. Black applies for a job he is qualified for, does Mr. White look past his skin color to his qualifications? History tells us, not likely.

When Mr. and Mrs. Yellow apply for a lease on an apartment in an upper middle class neighborhood, does Landlord White rent them the unit? History tells us, not likely.

When Mr. Brown walks down a street at night wearing a hoodie, will he be safe from police? History tells us, not likely.

When Mr. White walks down a street at night wearing a hoodie, or applies for a job or an apartment rental, will he be safe from police harassment, be evaluated for the new job and be considered for a lease? History tells us, most probably.

Ignoring these realities is not in itself a sign of bigotry any more than not standing for the national anthem is a sign of disrespect for the country or a lack of patriotism. 

This country was founded on the belief that protest by speech, writing and peaceful assembly is lawful. In other words, it is patriotic, it is American, to seek redress of grievances and inequality.

It is unAmerican to deny a qualified applicant a job or housing because of race, religion, national creed or sexual orientation. Yet, for hundreds of years, even to this day, White Americans discriminate against people of color and because of their sex.

Systemic racism permeates police departments. 

The question is, when will all of White America realize their past and present so that All Americans may have an equal future?

Day 126 Nat'l Emergency: Constitutional Rights, COVID and the Sun, Tammy's Time and Teddy's Grandson Speaks

Our basket full of fruits, vegetables, some dairy products and several grocery items, we were about to enter the self checkout lane when Gilda remembered she needed two cans of coconut milk. We zipped into the international foods aisle and picked up two cans of Goya coconut milk.

The next day Gilda read the CEO of Goya Foods was a big Trump supporter, that Latinos and others were boycotting Goya products because of his advocacy, and that he went on Fox News to decry the boycott as an infringement of his right to free speech (https://mol.im/a/8512787).

We have now joined the boycott.

Is it a restriction of free speech? Hardly. A boycott is itself an expression of free speech. It poses no physical harm. CEO Robert Unanue may continue to spout his love of Trump, but at least now he is aware his market share might suffer. 

Lesson to be learned—it is hardly ever wise to mix politics with business. Support nonpartisan programs yes, but endorse specific candidates at your company’s peril.

Is requiring a mask be worn before entering a store or boarding a plane a violation of one’s constitutional rights? Hardly. Private enterprise may regulate behavior within its territory. Just as retailers, restaurants and other service establishments have the right to deny entry if attire codes for shoes, tops, bottoms, and other clothing items are not followed, and may enforce smoking prohibitions, they also can regulate the wearing of a mask by anyone who desires to patronize their private property. 

That’s the key—it is their private property. They are not violating anyone’s constitutional rights by setting behavior standards (https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/retailers-require-face-masks-coronavirus.html).

The troubling aspect of the Goya and mask protesters’ protests is that they are emulating Trump’s claims that his constitutional rights are being restricted when Twitter and other Internet sites remove or tag his communications as untrue or inflame violence. Users of Internet message boards do so with the understanding that they must abide by each site’s protocols. There is no law that requires a company to freely spread Trump’s or anyone’s propaganda. There is no law that restricts companies from restricting messages that violate their standards of performance. 

Steam Heat: If we’ve learned anything from our time under Trump’s shadow it is that The Donald rarely remembers what he said the day before, much less months ago. 

But we remember. We remember how he cavalierly told an anxious public not to worry about the COVID-19 virus, that with the coming spring and summer the coronavirus will melt away in the sun and heat. “It dies very quickly with the sun,” he said on April 23. 

I wonder how that forecast is sitting with the residents of Florida, Texas and Arizona as they swelter under extreme heat and a raging pandemic. 

When will Trump’s supporters finally realize he is no doctor, no scientist, no weather forecaster? When will they accept their lives depend on that realization? I cannot really feel sorry for them. They’ve chosen ignorance and bombast over science and sound medical advice.

Trump is the prototype Yahoo envisaged by Jonathan Swift in “Gulliver’s Travels.” He is a non believer in science. Moreover, when science displays his deficiencies he attacks the scientists as Dr. Anthony Fauci is discovering. 

One of the subplots of the November election will be the public’s appreciation of science. Much like wearing or not wearing a mask has turned into a referendum showing anti-Trump vs. pro-Trump forces, the belief in science and medical advice is pigeonholing the electorate in seemingly uncompromising camps.

The same can be said for those who seek a reevaluation of many of our country’s historic figure statues and those who oppose it.

Tammy Duckworth has catapulted into contention to be Joe Biden’s vice presidential running mate with her recent dustup with Trump and Fox News bloviator Tucker Carlson. They criticized her “openness to ‘a national dialogue’ about our founders’ complex legacies.”

Her combative op-ed in The New York Times included one of the best retorts to Trump’s bullying and Carlson’s questioning of her patriotism (https://nyti.ms/3iL97Cg). 

The junior senator from Illinois, a decorated Iraq war Illinois National Guard veteran, who lost her legs from a rocket propelled grenade in 2004, wrote, “These titanium legs don’t buckle.” 

To which my friend Hymie would add, “and they don’t have bone spurs,” a dig at Trump’s alleged medical excuse for evading the draft during the Vietnam War. Carlson also never served in the military. A year younger than Duckworth, he chose not to enlist for the Gulf War or for subsequent action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Duckworth volunteered.

One of the more eloquent commentaries on the debate over statues of historic figures comes from Mark Roosevelt. A statue of his great grandfather, Theodore Roosevelt, astride a horse while an African and a Native American stand beneath him on either side of the horse, is slated to be moved from the Central Park West entry to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

The president of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, N.M., Mark Roosevelt supported the move. His words are worth listening to: https://www.facebook.com/CBSSundayMorning/videos/298818314812875/

Day 121 Nat'l Emergency: Disaster for Trump or the Country? The People Will Decide

The letter in Wednesday’s New York Times called the Trump presidency a “disaster, a record he can’t run on.”

I share the sentiment but disagree with the analysis.

One need only look to the Supreme Court and federal judicial appointments to recognize that for conservatives Trump has been a most successful president, defanging consumer and employee protections, undercutting Obamacare, dissolving the wall that separates church and state, providing religious cover for discrimination against women and minorities. It is a record Trump is proud to run on.

Or one could look to a watering down of environmental protections to realize Trump has succeeded in poisoning our atmosphere, polluting our rivers and lifting safeguards on national lands, to know that Trump has handed big business successes they never imagined. It is a record Trump is proud to run on.

One could look at our frayed international relations to see Trump has succeeded in making America a shadow of its once dominant position in the world, just what the isolationists along with Russia and China hoped to achieve. It is a record Trump is proud to run on.

One need only reflect on the universal meaning of the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address to comprehend that Trump has succeeded in pushing back against the twin drives for equality and tolerance for women and people of color to the joy of white supremacists. It is a record Trump is proud to run on.

One need only listen to the venom within political discourse to appreciate that Trump has succeeded in dehumanizing and demeaning political engagement, reducing it to an exchange of insults rather than ideas. Bullying vs. compromise. It is a record Trump is proud to run on.

One need only close one’s heart to the sorrow seeping through our land from Trump’s failure to act decisively in a timely manner to thwart the spread of the coronavirus, to accept Trump’s dismissal of science and medical expertise as a success against coastal elites. In his failure to express compassion for victims and their families, in his disdain for wearing a mask and shutting down schools and places of work, Trump not only places more importance on dollars over deaths but suggests a variation of his rebuke of John McCain, that he doesn’t like servicemen who become prisoners of war—he apparently doesn’t like anyone weak enough to succumb to COVID-19.  It is a record Trump is proud to run on.

Trump has brought the country to a tipping point.

It is said the only perfect vision is 20/20 hindsight. Four years ago one could only assume the worst based on his rhetoric.

Now, in 2020, Americans must choose if the trail Trump has led us on for four years deserves another four years. Or if the process of reconciliation can begin with a new president committed to our founding ideals no matter how imperfectly they have been realized in the past. 

Polls show Trump has support from less than 50% of the population. It is up to the majority to disavow Trump and his enablers in the House and Senate. Only the majority can turn Trump’s reelection campaign into a disaster—for him or for the country.

Day 116 of Nat'l Emergency: Reading, Shopping, Fixing and Trump's Bucket List

What 10 years of retirement couldn’t accomplish the coronavirus did in less than three months. I’m finally reading books. 

A disappointment of my retirement is that, with rare exceptions as for a course I might be taking, I never engaged in reading novels or non fiction books. Shameful. I know. 

In the four months since quarantine began, however, I am averaging a book a month, spurred on, I readily admit, by Gilda’s voracious reading appetite. 

I used to explain my lack of reading by saying reading put me to sleep. Part of my apnea condition.

Now, when I first lay down in bed, or when I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot readily fall back to sleep, I wind up reading 45 to 90 minutes. As there’s no rush to wake up early the next morning, I simply tack on extra hours before rising from bed. 

I’m still ashamed, but less so.

Gilda Is No Golda: As in “Fiddler on the Roof.” She doesn’t want to hear, much less interpret, my dreams.  

Must be because I’m no Tevye. 

Trader Joe’s has it in for me. I shop very selectively at Trader Joe’s. I’m only interested in dark chocolate mint candies and dark chocolate mint cookies, the key being dark chocolate is better for you than milk chocolate. 

Twice in the last few months, however, the specialty grocer has discontinued two dark chocolate mint cookies I found irresistible.

After a futile Internet search for comparably priced cookies I stumbled across a slightly higher priced alternative at our local Stop & Shop. 

For now the mint candies are still being sold, but I am wary Trader Joe’s does not realize a third strike would end my patronage.

Rain Man: It’s about to thunderstorm outside as I write this note Friday afternoon. Rumbles already have presaged the downpour. But as anyone who has recently driven past the Grassy Sprain reservoir can attest, the water level is the lowest in years, if not decades. Since we’ve had few drenching rain days this year I wondered if we were subject to drought conditions made all the more severe by our constant hand washing.

Mind you, I’m not complaining about sunshine filled days. Our solar panels are offsetting all or most of the cost of electricity to run the air conditioning. But upon returning home the other day after seeing the reservoir for the first time this year I googled an inquiry.

Apparently, regular maintenance on the spillway and gatehouse gates began in January that necessitated draining most of the reservoir to a level that would allow work but not kill any of the fish in the lake. It will take at least half a year for nature to refill the reservoir.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Home Improvement Tip of the Day: After doing two loads of wash and putting in towels for a third our 10-year-old Kenmore washing machine wouldn’t start. I called Sears Home Services and set up an appointment.

There was a glitch in the electronic ignition. I anticipated a costly repair bill or, more probable, purchase of a new washing machine.

The repairman said he’d try a trick to restart the machine. By simultaneously replugging the washer into a socket while pushing repeatedly on the power button the machine might start. It did! 

Thank you repairman. Thank you Sears. Coincidentally, a week later Reuters reported that Sears is considering selling its repair and home improvement business (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-homeservices-exclusive/exclusive-sears-exploring-sale-of-home-improvement-business-idUSKBN242780).

Stockpiling Over?: Here’s another news flash: At least in Westchester County, coronavirus-inspired hoarding seems to be a condition of the past. 

During recent trips to Costco and Stop & Shop there were no lines to get in, checkout was hassle free and products, even toilet paper, were plentiful. More importantly, everyone was wearing a mask.

A product that might be in short supply in apparel stores, depending on your neighborhood, are Hawaiian shirts. Seems the flowery, loose fitting tops are a must-have for creatures of the dark side of heavily armed right wing extremism (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/style/boogaloo-hawaiian-shirt.html?referringSource=articleShare).

Who knew a symbol of paradise could be turned into a symbol of hate?

Bucket List: There’s a simple explanation why Donald Trump is proceeding with an extravaganza at Mount Rushmore to commemorate Independence Day despite state and national officials warning it is unwise to have a fireworks display over parched land witnessed by thousands of unmasked, not socially distanced, attendees. 

The ego-boosting celebration is on his bucket list.

Unless he wins reelection, tonight’s big show under the stoney eyes of four presidents, none of whom Trump considers greater than himself, would be his last chance to display presidential upsmanship.

I wonder how many Hawaiian shirts will be worn by the 7,500 expected attendees?

Day 115 Nat'l Emergency: Four More Years

How relentlessly depressing it must be to be a political reporter these days. Sure, election coverage is supposed to be exhilarating, but in the Age of Trump it cannot be anything but depressing, at least if you are a thinking woman or man.

It is not policy differences that traumatize. After all, one can disagree on the best course for the economy or foreign relations. Republicans and Democrats have been at odds for generations.

But if one has even half a brain it is cruel and unusual punishment to be a reporter required to listen to continual degradation of science and medical precautions in the wake of a pandemic that already has snuffed out the lives of 125,000 Americans. The sad tally will rise countless thousands more because Republican administrations in Washington, DC, and numerous states refuse to listen to healthcare experts. 

I don’t listen to Trump’s rally speeches, other than snippets national news programs air. I don’t follow his tweets or Facebook rantings. I am convinced from news reports and, regrettably, from the few friends I know who are Trumpsters, that the Trump-converted cannot be enlightened that he is a danger physically and metaphysically to the health and welfare of the United States. 

Responding to a middle-of-the-road friend’s inquiry as to who would be blamed if Joe Biden fails to defeat Trump, I responded, “The basket of deplorables—not the Trump voters but the deplorables who chose not to vote.” 

Political punsters opine that it is up to Biden to sufficiently enthuse the electorate to unseat Trump. Yes, Biden needs to sell a vision for America. But it is equally important that everyday Americans come to grips with what Trump has stripped from our nation’s ideals and values. They must want to return to civility, to respect, to a position admired, not pitied or flabbergasted, by the rest of the world.

Trump won in 2016 because anti-Hillary voters in key swing states thought Trump would be a lesser evil than Clinton. Some Never Trumpers and disaffected Bernie Bros sat out the election rather than cast their votes for Hillary. Or they voted for third party candidates. Many more, millions across the country, just didn’t vote because. No real reason. Just because. 

All those voters that didn’t go against Trump now have an inflection point decision to make. They’ve seen what Trump can and cannot do as manager of our country. They must decide if the country can survive or thrive four more years of his (mis)management. 

Recent Supreme Court decisions protecting abortion rights in Louisiana, LGBTQ rights nationwide and Dreamers from deportation provide Trump a red-meat platform to stir up his base and possibly others who want a more conservative court. Having delivered two Supreme Court justices and 198 lower court judges, Trump will argue his work to overhaul the judicial system is not complete. 

Of course, that argument also works as a counterbalance to pump up Democratic opposition.

Unlike four years ago, Trump must run on his record. He likes being the center of attention, but that spotlight comes with liabilities. 

He clearly has an attention span problem. He doesn’t hear what others tell him or what is contained in Internet files he retweets. He doesn’t hear himself. His staff is forever reclassifying what he willingly reveals in public. He plays with his smartphone during meetings of his economic advisors. 

He is what we would call a gifted child, only in his case it refers not to his brain power but to the millions in cash father Fred Sr. gifted him.

As his polling numbers turn south—an otherwise favorite geographic area for Trump (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun)—some are wondering if he will decide he’s had enough abuse and just abandon the reelection effort. 

It will never happen! His ego would not permit him to walk away. He sees his rabid fans as sufficient to secure a second term. If he were to abandon them they would abandon his post-presidential role as a TV talking head. 

He will not be restricted by tradition, as past presidents have been, to standing by without commenting in the extreme about his successor’s actions. He has no compunction about destroying tradition or national heritage.

Trump is a tumulter through and through. That’s why if he loses the election he will keep his public profile high through TV work as a commentator on the ultra-conservative One America News Network with an eye to running again in 2024. 

He will use that as a springboard to launch a new campaign because in his mind he MUST avenge his humiliating defeat in 2020, much the way he decided to run in 2016 to avenge his humiliation at the White House Correspondents dinner in 2011.

Political reporters will have no respite from Trump for at least the next four years, whether he wins or not. And neither will the rest of us.