Month: September 2020

We live in dark times.

A plague torments us, our economy is crumbling, social unrest is commonplace throughout the land, Oregon and California are on fire, the Gulf states are being pounded by hurricanes, and citizens have lost civility and the ability to reason. Gun sales are booming.

It appears that God has pulled the plug.

My grandson Craig visited us for the past few days. He’s 19 and finishing up high school this term, albeit primarily online. He’s a real fine lad, well-spoken, gets good grades, and in normal times would be destined for great things. He doesn’t do drugs, hang out with the party people, and is thoughtful and careful with the female folk that he has met. Craig is exactly the kind of guy that any parent would want their daughter to hang with.

However, his life, like so many others, is well and truly screwed right now. The economy is down and will be getting much worse in the next six months, he has no marketable skills, and doesn’t have the wherewithal to afford the expensive university education that he deserves. Millions of high school grads this year will be in the same boat: scarce money and no job prospects. To make matters worse, many of their parents might also be without jobs and the family home might be in foreclosure.

Desperate times, for sure.

Charlie and I have been lobbying Craig for awhile now to enlist in one of the military branches where he would get room and board, some pay, learn a skill, and qualify for G.I. benefits when he leaves the service. Maybe in four years (in the Navy, it looks like) the economy will be better, he will have a better understanding of what he might want to do for a career, and he will be eligible for the college G.I. Bill. Later, he will be eligible for veterans’ benefits like a V.A. home loan.

It’s a start.

Things were simpler back in my day, when the American economy was running at full steam and a college education was dirt cheap. I’m guessing that my four-year degree from Cal State University at Los Angeles cost me $2,000 tops. I paid for it by working 20 hours a week doing various jobs like doing data processing at the L.A. County Jail, making and delivering Broasted Chicken, unloading and loading boxes from trucks, and lifeguarding and teaching swimming. Four years of tuition at CSULA now costs $28,000.

Back in those days (i.e. the Sixties), many young men expected to follow in the footsteps of their father, working on an assembly line, toiling in a mine, hawking consumer goods, or learning the ropes in the parents’ restaurant or retail establishment. Such work had provided for their family, given them a piece of the American Dream, and provided relative security. They’d never be rich but they’d be satisfied with a secure job and a happy family. And maybe be able to afford a nice vacation each year.

It’s a different world now.

The American economy bears little resemblance to its counterpart in the Sixties. A great portion of the consumables that used to be made in the U.S. are now imported from countries which have extremely cheap labor costs. Those jobs weren’t “stolen”, as some politicians would have us believe, but rather they were relocated as a natural by-product of capitalism, which we Americans have been brainwashed into thinking is the be-all, end-all of economic systems. Unfortunately, capitalism is bean counting run amok; i.e. the only thing that matters is profit and increased share price for stockholders. CEO’s, Boards of Directors, and stockholders don’t care where the profits come from as long as they keep coming. They have no loyalty to anyone, any town, or any nation…although that’s not what their politician friends would have you believe.

Certainly, Americans have benefitted from more affordable consumer goods, but that benefit has been offset to a great degree by our increased reliance on other nations (China, India, Third World countries) for basic necessities and the fact that so many American jobs were outsourced. As a result, we are now a service economy, relying to a great degree on the health of the financial services sector and leisure industries. Should the economy go into a tailspin, the worst-hit industries will be…the financial services and leisure sectors.

This is happening today and the carnage will worsen in 2021, no matter who is President of The United States.

One of the reasons is the fact that the richest one percent of Americans will still control eighty percent of the wealth in our country. They make the decisions, and their designated proxies in government follow their orders. The status quo is represented by the Federal Reserve Board, and those appointees are part of the economic elite. Change/progress only occurs when it is in the economic interest of the elite. If this group makes mistakes and suffers economic loss, the Federal Reserve has their back, as do the Nation’s taxpayers.

Another reason for concern is that there are millions of young people like my grandson Craig who are literally tuned-out of politics and government. Tens of millions of this cohort didn’t vote in the 2016 Presidential election because they saw little difference between the candidates. Clinton and Trump were “old, rich White people” who couldn’t relate to young people’s struggles, hopes and dreams.

Young people are remarkably uninformed about things that matter. They are attuned to styles, music, and “reality” entertainment (that is, in fact, staged). They spend more time on their cell phones than on sleep or productive pursuits. Because they participate abundantly in social media, these young people are constantly being barraged by fake news, conspiracy theories, and delicious re-Tweetable gossip. They have little focus and they feel that government and politics don’t matter to them. They think politicians are fools and, really, who can blame them.

Those are the two components of the population that aren’t about to change anytime soon: the economic elite and the 68 million Generation Z’ers.  The former will prosper and set the table for their friends, and the latter will suffer horribly from the Recession/Depression.

As America circles the drain, there will be louder and louder calls from world leaders to reconsider the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The United States under Donald Trump has withdrawn from world diplomacy and cooperation with other nations, seemingly wanting to go it alone. Other economies are growing and assuming roles that America used to own. Where the U.S has withdrawn, the Chinese and others have filled the vacuum.

If (when) the U.S. dollar is replaced as the world’s reserve currency, it will depreciate in value significantly, throwing America into a deeper economic hole. Every asset we own will be depreciated and everything we want to buy will cost us more.

Some experts predict that America’s predominance on the world stage will end by 2030. Other’s fear a second civil war, pitting one angry sector of the population against another.

It is sad to see the darkness coming, but it is.

That was evident last night, when President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden squared off in the first Presidential Debate of 2020. Charlie and I watched about half of it, until we got sick to our stomachs and turned the channel.

One journalist later said that the President “resorted to strapping on an explosive suicide vest”. Others called the so-called debate a “dumpster fire”, a “shitshow”, and an “epic spectacle, a new low in presidential politics, a new high watermark in national shame”.

You get the idea.

I won’t bore you with the details, except to say that President Donald Trump publicly shat his pants behaving like the schoolyard bully that he is, ignoring pre-approved debate rules, and interrupting opponent Joe Biden 138 times in 90 minutes. He was the most un-Presidential national leader I’ve ever seen on television, demonstrating to all those not already convinced that he is in way over his head.

This obvious conclusion will not be lost on the rest of the world.

The Chinese Politburo, which was undoubtedly watching the spectacle live on television, must have spent those 90 minutes in absolute glee, toasting each other with alcoholic beverages and high-fiving each other. Russian President Vladimir Putin was probably high-fiving himself, for helping to elect Trump in 2016. What a great investment that was!

September 29, 2020…another date which “shall live in infamy”.

“The United States of America”

Gosh, that has a nice ring to it. All the citizens of those states, working together to accomplish great things. We can do that because, of course, we are “united”.

Thank you, Abraham Lincoln!

Actually, when one considers what’s been going on in America over the past half century, the term “The United States of America” should probably be considered an oxymoron, like “military intelligence”, “benign neglect”, “Creation science”, “Federal budget”, “kosher ham”, “pretty ugly”, and “twelve ounce pound cake”.

How about The Divided States of America?

That makes more sense to me, as our government and populous seem to revel in disunity, proudly disagreeing on everything, making little effort to come together on serious issues, and squandering the legacy of accomplishment given to us by our forefathers. They worked together as a team to build things, defeat Nazis, and make the American Dream possible. Conversely, the current crop of politicians and “citizens” waste valuable time and resources shooting spitwads at each other in lieu of solving problems or moving the needle once inch toward progress.

In The Divided States of America, during a deadly pandemic, partisanship rather than science has resulted in 200,000 deaths. We, as a society, can’t even agree if the pandemic is real, if our public health experts know what they’re talking about, and if we would avail ourselves of a vaccine if one were offered.

Meanwhile, in other less “united” nations, and in some “shithole countries” (to use our President’s term), the death rate from Covid-19 per million people is dramatically less than that in our country. The latter is what happens when people work together to solve problems, when a nation’s leader actually knows how to lead.

In The Divided States of America, we seem to have great difficulty agreeing amongst ourselves that a policemen choking a handcuffed, unarmed man to death is a crime. Many citizens feel like our police forces should be allowed to dispense justice on the spot, as they see fit, while other citizens are upset that such extra-judicial force seems to be primarily exercised when the supposed perp is non-Caucasian.

That such police brutality and systematic racism exists has been statistically known for decades. Most Americans acknowledge it as a significant problem. And, yet, there is a significant core of “non-believers” in many states, who favor allowing the police to do whatever they want to, including using excessive force, violating laws, lying about their actions, etc. The massive public demonstrations occurring now throughout the Nation are a reflection of the divide between those who acknowledge the cancer and those who pretend that all is well.

(Interestingly, a lot of attention has been given to the case of Breonna Taylor. This young Black lady, an EMT first responder, was sleeping in her bed in her apartment when three policeman busted down her door and shot up the place, killing Breonna. Her Black boyfriend shot at the un-invited guests who broke into his apartment. This seems to have justified the police over-reaction of riddling the apartment with 30 bullets, many of which struck Miss Taylor. No charges were filed against the officers for murdering Breonna Taylor. One has to wonder what would have been the reaction of Trump’s “Second Amendment” contingent if three Black officers had executed a no-knock warrant on the home of a White resident who was legally armed and proceeded to protect himself, his girlfriend, and his property. That’s why so many Americans own guns…to protect themselves from intruders. Right? At least that’s what the National Rifle Association says. Evidently police officers don’t believe that Black apartment dwellers are covered by the Second Amendment.)

In The Divided States of America, most people believe the 97 percent of the world’s scientists who are alarmed about our warming global climate. Virtually all of the countries in the world have come to the conclusion that this problem is to a significant degree man-made and are taking steps to ameliorate the environmental damage.

However, our President is not one of those believers, and he has mobilized his political base (and supporting petroleum industry lobbyists) to bad mouth climate scientists, disseminate misinformation, withdraw Federal funding for climate research, and punish Administration officials who don’t deny global warming. As a result, a significant portion of American citizens don’t know what to believe. In the meanwhile, catastrophic weather events, like hurricanes and forest fires, are occurring at an accelerating pace, as was predicted by the scientific community.

In The Divided States of America, despite the fact that the original Constitutional doesn’t mention religion and the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion to all, a significant portion of Americans believe that: (1) Christianity is the state religion; (2) Other religions, including atheism, agnosticism, Muslim, Hinduism, Shintoism, etc. are un-American; (3) That Christian beliefs, including opposition to abortion and homosexuality and same-sex unions, should be forced upon all Americans; (4) That Christian dogma, including “Creation science” should be taught in public schools; and, (5) That private Christian schools should receive taxpayer funding like public schools.

Interestingly, a recent Pew research project revealed that only about half of the people who identify as Christian are actually members of a church, and that 27 percent of all Americans never attend church. Research on this subject over time reveals that the number of non-religious citizens has rapidly increased over the past several decades. And yet, Christian evangelicals continue to exert pressure on non-Christians publicly and through government officials who have been co-opted.

In The Divided States of America, the two dominant political parties have opposing views of voting in elections. The Democrats want every eligible American to vote, while the Republicans discourage voting, except in those States and local jurisdictions where there is a Republican majority of registered voters. Voting is a right granted by the Constitution. Why would a political party want to deny a citizen that right?

Absentee or mail-in voting enables many Americans who physically cannot get to a fixed polling place the ability to cast their vote. This is particularly important during a viral pandemic, where mingling with other people can be hazardous. Republican leaders, including the President, discourage any type of voting which doesn’t require the voter to physically show up at a designated polling place. They claim that mail-in voting encourages fraud (although no research by either Party, nor the President’s hand-picked Election Fraud committee, found such evidence), although it is interesting that the President himself votes by mail, as do all of our servicemen stationed overseas, as well as all of the eligible voters in Colorado, Utah, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

Forty percent of eligible voters in our democracy didn’t vote at all in 2016. Why does one political party think that this is a problem to be solved and the other party (and our President) want to dampen voting by fellow Americans?

In The Divided States of America there exists two forms of reality: (1) That which can be seen, heard, experienced and factually proven; and, (2) Whatever Donald J. Trump decides is “real”. If President Trump (or his stand-in, Fox News) announces that water isn’t wet, 1 plus 1 equals 4, or that the moon landing was faked, there are approximately 80 million Americans who will believe him, no questions asked. Of course, most Americans distrust Donald Trump, because he is a psychopathic liar with a proven track record of making shit up to suit his purposes. But, still, the 24/7 misinformation campaign creates a palpable tension between Trumpists and rational Americans that basically sabotages any chance of reasonable discussion on any subject.

The Divided States of America will be on display tomorrow night, as President Trump and Joe Biden will square off in the first Presidential debate of the 2020 campaign.

We can anticipate little civil discourse in this televised “debate”. The combatants will be primed to take each other out at the knees, with “gotcha” ambushes, name-calling, and fact-bending.

President Trump fired a pre-debate shot over the Biden bow this week when he insisted that the ex-Vice President submit to a drug test before the debate (insinuating that “Sleepy Joe” will be using PEDs just to stay awake and respond to questions). We can expect more of this gamesmanship from the President, who wants to dominate the debate by lying about his supposed accomplishments and diverting attention from his failures, like the pandemic response, health care, unemployment, and social unrest due to overly-aggressive police behavior towards people of color.

Joe Biden will want to hammer Trump on the 200,000 deaths from Covid-19, the President’s incessant lying to Americans, the Trump Administration’s lack of progress on health care, and the “tax cut” which benefitted the rich, not the poor.

Speaking of taxes, the New York Times yesterday published a story which alleges that billionaire Donald Trump paid $750 in income tax in 2016 and 2017, and his Trump Organization lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the early 2000’s. Candidate Trump promised to release his tax records to the public but never did. This NYT story, even if it is non-factual, will stand as the truth unless Trump comes forward with his “real” tax records. So, this bombshell has to hurt the President, particularly with blue-collar Americans in swing-States, and we can anticipate Joe Biden saddling up and riding this story bigtime.

Another item that is sure to be “debated” is President Trump’s oft-recited musings on what might happen if he loses the election. The President has refused to commit to a peaceful transition, implying that he might challenge the legitimacy of the election because, in his opinion, it would have had to be “rigged” for him to lose.

Trump, of course, made this same “rigged” claim in 2016, and then won that election. It was only later that the American public realized that Russian government actors helped the Trump campaign to “rig” the election through social media.

If anyone knows anything about “rigging”, it’s Donald Trump.

It’s just a little more than a month to Election Day, and it can’t come soon enough. The campaign spectacle is overwhelming, with the daily “breaking news” and conjecturing from the television network talking heads. Big news this past week was President Trump’s nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death from cancer. Trump will nominate a Conservative, which is not news, and which he has every right to do. Democrats are annoyed but are saving their powder until the Election results come in. I’m sure there will be counter-moves if they win the Presidency and secure control of the Senate.

If the Democrats don’t claim a Senate majority, and Biden wins, The Divided States of America will go on as it has for the past twenty years, spending a lot of effort tarring and feathering the different factions in American society, frittering away valuable time and money, and watching a once-mighty Nation circle the drain, as the Chinese and Russians lick their chops.

We might even experience a second civil war, pitting one angry faction against another. Wouldn’t that be great.

United we stand, divided we fall.

On the evening of June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians played a game against the Texas Rangers. The hapless Indians hadn’t been drawing flies to their games, so a genius in the marketing department decided that the club could increase attendance for the game by offering 10 cent beer.

That night, instead of the average crowd of 3,000 fans, the stadium filled up with 25,000 thirsty spectators. The game was an afterthought to these guzzlers, who were “limited” to six beers per purchase, although there was no limit on the number of purchases. Sixty thousand 12-fluid ounce cups were served that evening…before things got totally out of control. Ladies flashed breasts, naked fans streaked across the ballfield, fans threw hot dogs onto the field, and a full-fledged riot broke out, in which thousands of inebriated patrons stormed the field and fought players on both teams. The bases were stolen, for God’s sake.

Who would’ve thought?

Actually…a large crowd of drunk people typically finds a way to create havoc, whether it be at a beach, a park, a concert, or in a stadium. It’s a Law of Nature, I’m sure. At the very least, it’s predictable. The Cleveland Indians didn’t think their promotion through and paid the price. Thankfully, no one was killed.

In 2016, American voters went the Ten Cent Beer route when they threw their lot in with a candidate for President who had no experience in government and was a well-known narcissistic, egomaniac TV celebrity.

Let’s dissect that: no governmental experience, but expected to effectively manage an enormous and complex public sector organization; a narcissist, which means he loves himself and prioritizes his personal goals above those of others; and, an egomaniac, who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else, including experts in their fields.

New job: Leader of the Greatest Nation on Earth.

What could go wrong?

Well, we’re now 3-1/2 years into the Donald J. Trump presidency and the answer is apparent: pretty much everything. As in a total cockup.

This 2020 Presidential campaign must be, from the Democratic Party perspective, the easiest one in history. That’s because the same qualities that got Donald Trump elected (i.e. outspokenness, lying, exaggerations, dismissal of expert opinions, promises that he couldn’t keep) are all “on the record” on tape, videotape, and Internet.  Stupid and outrageous things that he’s said in front of a microphone or camera are there for the taking; just bundle them up and, ouila!, you’ve got President Trump making your case for his defeat.

There’s so much choice material to choose from that it must be difficult for the Biden campaign to choose from. On any subject, they can find a voice recording or video of Donald Trump making a fool out of himself.

The past couple of weeks have been interesting on the campaign trail.

Social unrest over police brutality and systemic racism continues in many major cities, with mass protests and, in some cases, violence. The Trump response has been threefold: (1) Ignore the issue that is sparking the public unrest; (2) Support heavy-handed suppression of left wing, but not right wing, violence where it has occurred; and (3) Attempt to portray, in campaign ads, the protest violence as “Biden’s World”, as in this is what things would look like if his opponent was elected.

The problem is that the “world” that Donald Trump is alluding to is occurring right now, during his Presidency. He egged on such social unrest, by denigrating people of color and blindly supporting the police, and now elects to do nothing except send in goons to throw tear gas cannisters and beat up people.

There’s no denying: this is Trump’s World.

A recent article in The Atlantic magazine revealed some distasteful Trump quotes from back in 2018 when the President was supposed to honor World War II dead in a French cemetery, but threw a fit because the poor weather might get his hair all wet. According to the article, our President didn’t feel much like participating in the ceremony to honor the “losers” and “suckers” that lost their lives in battle.

To anyone who has followed Donald Trump’s utterings for the past several years, these quotes aren’t shocking. He’s called his own appointed ex-Generals horrible names, he’s insulted Gold Star mothers, he’s claimed that he knows more about the military than our Chiefs of Staff, and found numerous ways to denigrate the heroic public life of Navy pilot/ex-prisoner of war/Senator /ex-Presidential candidate John McCain.

Of course, the Trump camp immediately denied the “losers” and “suckers” quotes. Unfortunately, however, several Administration eyewitnesses from back in 2018 substantiated the Atlantic account, and even the Fox News propaganda arm of the Trump for President campaign verified the sources.

It’s bad when that happens, because the Fox folks are on the payroll.

So, once again, Donald Trump is hoisted on his own petard, an unfortunate occurrence because he really needs the support of the military and veterans to help him win in November, not to mention the impact that such comments by a Commander in Chief might have on all-volunteer military recruitment.

Think about that.

A couple of days later, the President stepped in it again, by asserting that Defense Department leaders choose to continue to fight wars in an attempt to keep defense firms “happy”.

This campaign ploy is an obvious attempt to blame someone (else) for the President’s failure to “bring home the troops” that he promised in 2016.

In addition to being sophomoric, Trump’s comments are inane, as: (1) Everyone knows about the “military-industrial complex”; (2) His appointed guys (who he recruited from the defense industry) run the Defense Department; and, (3) As President of the United States, he could order any or all U.S. military forces home tomorrow if he so wished.

By denigrating his own appointees and the highest military officers, in an attempt to make himself look good, his comments (as Commander in Chief) demoralize his high command and rank-and-file fighters and make him look like the coward he is.

You would think that, after the President had tripped over his Johnson several times this week, the worst would be over.

Not hardly.

Does the name Bob Woodward ring a bell? He and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize some years back for breaking the Watergate story, which essentially brought down the Nixon presidency. There is probably not a more respected professional journalist in America than Bob Woodward.

If he’s reporting it, chances are about 100 percent that it happened.

The journalist has come out with a new book called “Rage”, in which some very interesting quotes from President Trump are included. Specifically, things Trump told Woodward in February 2020 about the unfolding coronavirus pandemic. Evidently, the President knew very early on that that the coronavirus was deadly and highly contagious, posing a grave public health threat to the Nation.

That is, of course, not what the President of the United States told the American people.

At time, the President assured the public that it was just the flu and it would go away quickly.

Privately, he told Woodruff, “This is deadly stuff.”

Publicly, in late February 2020, President Trump called Covid-19 “the Democrats’ new hoax”, again implying that the potential pandemic was not a serious matter.

In March 2020, Trump told Woodruff that, publicly, he “always wanted to play down” the severity of the virus..

In April, as he began to urge the country to re-open, the President told the journalist, “It is so easily transmissible, you wouldn’t even believe it.”

Woodruff’s book excerpts sound like a political hack job, a treasure trove of shit that the Democrats will surely use to great benefit. Are the quotes accurate, you ask?

Bob Woodward has a dozen hours of taped interviews with the President; and, yes, Mr. Trump admitted his innermost thoughts to the journalist.

Why?

Probably because Donald Trump is a narcissistic egomaniac who thought he could steer Bob Woodward into writing a puff piece about him.

He was wrong.

Of course, a day after the story broke, Trump had a positive spin on his earlier dishonesty with the American public: he was trying to “prevent panic” by downplaying the coronavirus.

Which, of course, he has continued to do for the past six months. Accordingly, many Americans believe the pandemic is overblown and not a serious health matter but, rather, a political battle of wills.

So, the Nation failed to unite against Covid-19, over 190,000 people are dead, and flu season approaches.

The very sad thing about all of this, as our country breached the 190,000 dead level this week, is that President Trump’s posture regarding Covid-19 (denial, softpeddling, blame, ignoring experts, pretending to be an expert, promoting false cures, not wearing a mask in public, and placing undue hope on a rapidly-developed vaccine) actually torpedoed his vaunted economy.

If Donald Trump was going to be easily re-elected, “his” economy was going to be the centerpiece of the campaign. If the President had taken the virus seriously, engaged the public to go to battle against the plague, and shown daily leadership, Covid-19 would have come and gone, and the economy would have rebounded quickly.

Instead, our President got his priorities screwed up and did what he’s always done for a living: sell snake oil.

Speaking of snafus, Donald Trump has another serious problem to deal with… that he created: the “miracle” Covid-19 vaccine that he’s been promising by Election Day.

Numerous labs throughout the world are working 24/7 to develop an effective and safe vaccine. Normally, the development of a vaccine takes years. In the case of Covid-19, lots of red tape has been eliminated and a massive amount of funding has been made available. The best scientific guesstimate seems to be that a successful candidate Covid-19 vaccine will emerge from Stage 3 trials around the end of the year.

That would be seven weeks after Election Day.

President Trump continues to tell the public that a vaccine will be available before that date, with the political implication of…”mission accomplished” and “problem solved”. Another Trumpian success story…ho hum. We came, we saw, we conquered. Etc.

The problem with the vaccine issue is that President Trump has spent 3-1/2 years denigrating scientists of all stripes, ridiculing their findings, accusing them of making statements to embarrass him, and finding ways to undermine their expertise, always with a public smirk, like not wearing a facemask in public despite the recommendation of his own Coronavirus Task Force. The implication of his actions and statements is “Don’t trust them”, “Listen to me”.

President Trump may or may not be re-elected, but whomever is occupying the White House when the vaccine is finally available is going to have a hard time signing up folks for inoculations. Recent polls indicate that as many as 80 percent of Americans will not volunteer for the miracle cure.

Why is that?

First, the vaccine development process appears to be politically, rather than scientifically, driven. It is being rushed, per the President’s own words. “Operation Warp Speed” is the term the Administration uses. Instead of being ready when it is effective and safe, it will be available by Election Day, according to the President.

Second, the Administration has spent several years downplaying and ridiculing scientific endeavors and expertise. The President, himself, on national TV, has disagreed vociferously with our Nation’s top epidemiologists; “they’re wrong”, he’s said. Why should the American public now believe that our scientists actually know what they’re doing with this vaccine? Why should we trust them?

Third, there was a significant anti-vaxxer element in society prior to the pandemic. These alarmist nutjobs already mistrusted scientists, and now they will have the added issue of safety being compromised due to “haste”, whether that happens or not.

One of the big pharma companies developing a vaccine, Astra Zeneca, stopped Stage 3 trials this week due to a significant medical issue encountered by one of the test subjects. That is what mass trials are for. Anyone watching pharma ads on TV for any miracle pill can attest that the supposed benefits of the medicine are usually dwarfed by legal disclaimers regarding all of the significant side effects that can occur.

You don’t want any side effects in a vaccine. None, or no one will get a shot or allow their children to do so. Period.

Covid-19 is not political, it’s biological. It is not going anywhere, and will be a problem to society until there is a herd immunity. This can be accomplished by a vaccine, but only if most people take it. If they are reluctant to do so, this pandemic could linger for several years, further cratering the economy.

Nice job, Trump.

And, so, as we chug along the campaign trail, with about seven weeks left, the President is flailing about, lying about his accomplishments, trying mightily to blame others for his own Administration’s failures, and conjuring up a future world of Hell if his opponent is elected.

Meanwhile, his lips continue to move with his brain out-of-gear.

Amazingly, it is probably a toss-up right now as to who will be our next President, Trump or Biden.

As Donald Trump said in 2016, he could “shoot somebody in Times Square” and his people would vote for him anyway.

He has actually done something like that, mismanaging the Covid-19 response and causing 190,000 deaths, and yet the most recent poll numbers show that he’s only trailing Joe Biden by a few percentage points.

It’s time to come up with another gimmick to drive more rednecks to the polls.

He could simply issue another Executive Order, declaring victory.

If that doesn’t work, he could try Ten Cent Beer.

In 1973, the Maryland state legislature, acting under pressure by local police unions, enacted a “Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights”.

This law codified workplace protections for police officers far beyond those afforded to other governmental employees. They included giving officers a formal waiting period before they had to cooperate with internal inquiries into police misconduct, scrubbing records of complaints against officers after a certain period, and ensuring that only fellow officers, not civilians, could investigate them. Currently, sixteen states have such laws on the books.

Other provisions of these LEOBoR statutes include: the officer under investigation can only be interrogated by one investigator, whose name the officer will know in advance; the interrogation must be limited to a “reasonable length of time”; the officer can have anyone they want accompany them to the interrogation; and, the officer is entitled to know the names of the complainants and their specific testimony before he is ever interrogated.

Many of the states which haven’t adopted a LEOBoR statute have such a deferential attitude toward law enforcement that they don’t require such laws…because they exceed them. That would probably include most of the Southern states, where police officers have been conducting the community’s dirty business for decades.

LEOBoR laws are only a small part of the “systemic racism” and “police brutality” problem, but they are a significant component. They give public servants the unchecked right to abuse the authority granted them by local government and deny citizens their Constitutional rights.

We’ve all watched “cop” shows on TV and seen movies on the big screen…way too many of them…to the point that we’re all pretty aware of the police culture that exists. Covering each other’s back, even when the partner has violated training protocol, fudging the facts in an after-action report, or planting or hiding evidence. It happens; they get caught up in the moment, and they lose control. They’re human beings, shit happens, and teammates across the department band together to protect one of their own.

The problem with this is, of course, that some luckless schmuck gets reamed by the criminal justice system and has to pay the price. Sometimes that price is time in jail or prison, being maimed, or being killed…improperly, as in shouldn’t have happened.

This is, of course, wrong as Hell. However, the bigger problem is that police misconduct, overreaction, and brutality occur many times more often when the police officers get involved with people of color. Typically, when this occurs, nothing happens. As in justice for the wronged.

Why is this?

Well, we’re back at the LEOBoR issue. It is so hard to convict a police officer of wrongdoing in many places in our country that the local district attorney doesn’t even try. Politically, most DA’s are tied to the hip with the local PD, so prosecuting a police officer is extremely low on the priority list. Not going to happen.

This is the free pass that many officers take advantage of.

Consider for a minute that your state legislature adopted a specific Bill of Rights for ice cream truck drivers. This law would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to prosecute ice cream truck drivers for misconduct…like sexual predation of young kids. Pervert, would-be-ice cream drivers would flock to your state because they would have free rein to practice their craft. Mayhem would result; parents would be outraged and looking for some political ass to kick. Vigilante squads would be formed. Communities would erupt in outrage. The National Guard would be called.

Does this sound familiar?

Our society made a well-intentioned mistake decades ago when it decided to give police unions a lot of say in how their members were to be judged. Unions in general are not too popular anymore, but police unions are flexing their muscles like never before. They tell everyone…DA’s, judges, elected officials, and citizens…when to jump and how high. Calling one of their dues-paying members to task…good luck with that!

This fact of life has probably not been lost on certain individuals. These would be the schoolyard bullies, the low IQ football players who just enjoy running over people, and racist individuals who dislike fellow human beings who don’t look or talk like them. What a pleasant surprise to find, upon exiting high school, that there is a job out there that perfectly suits your skills and temperament. Good pay, nice retirement package, a “team” of buddies to play with, and, importantly, a Get Out of Jail Free card to use whenever you lose your temper or just fuck someone up for the fun of it.

What a job. Sign me up, he says.

Those particular societal misfits are a perfect fit for law enforcement under the LEOBoR model. At least, some people think that way. “A mad dog on a leash” is the idea. They might bend the rules a bit, some say, but they keep law and order.

When something bad happens, like police brutality caught on videotape, politicians scurry about trying to do something or make excuses. A popular one is, “Ninety nine percent of cops are good.” President Trump likes that one.

While we might agree with that sentiment, we’re still left with two problems: (1) The obvious brutality, which we’ve all seen on TV; and, (2) the fact that the “99 percent” component of the local police brotherhood controls the police union, which is duty-bound to protect the offending officer. Hence, a horrendous political dilemma for local officials: trying to do the right thing while the statutes prevent you from doing so.

Back in 1973, when the LEOBoR statutes were first enacted, no one envisioned every single person walking around with a quality movie camera in their hand, ready to document incidents happening right before them. Like police misconduct. Since that technology didn’t exist, police officers and their partners could lie as they pleased about interactions with citizens. As the saying went when I was young, “Who are you going to believe…a police officer or a criminal?”

Of course, when I was young, I believed that pretty much anyone that a policeman got involved with was guilty of something.

Nowadays, I don’t think like that.

Particularly when I see an officer shooting an unarmed man in the back seven times from a distance of two feet or when I watch a phalanx of police officers beating and teargassing citizens exercising their Constitutional right to free speech.

It is not right, most Americans agree, and it’s time that our elected officials correct the laws relating to police officer behavior.

We don’t need to defund the police, rather we need to rein them in.

They are supposed to “protect and serve” us, rather than vice versa.

As you get older, your goals change. Getting up in the morning is critical; not croaking during the day is also important. You prioritize.

As Jack Nicholson said in The Bucket List, the three things you need to remember when you get older are: never pass up a bathroom; never waste a hard-on; and, never trust a fart.

Words to live by.

When you’re a septuagenarian like me, goals like climbing Mt. Everest, becoming a billionaire, or being elected President are now out of the question, and have been replaced by more realistic achievements like completing some honey-do tasks, playing a round of golf without embarrassing yourself, or passing a driving test.

Come to think of it, our next President will either be 74 or 78 years young. Go figure.

I have a new bucket list to work on, as I am in my first week after right hip replacement surgery. I’ve been here before, as it were, because I had the same surgery done on my left hip less than one year ago. So, I know the drill.

The first Bucket List item was getting up and bearing weight on my legs after surgery. I failed to accomplish that item. The plan was for me to walk a few steps on the day of surgery; then, the doctor would send me home from the hospital. However, when they tried to get me up and out of the recovery bed, my blood pressure dropped to something like 50/20. Not good; in fact, almost fatal. So, I had to stay overnight while things settled. It was probably an effect of the spinal block anesthesia (i.e. causing my blood vessels to dilate). It happened last November after my left hip surgery, too. If I have to replace one of my replacement hips in the future, I think I’ll ask for a general anesthesia, rather than the spinal block. Just sayin’.

Anyway, the next morning I was blue-eyed and bushy-tailed, could hobble to the restroom, my blood pressure was back to 100/65, etc., and they shipped me out. Bucket List Item 1: Checked.

The docs sent me home with a huge supply of narcotics for the pain. Lots of oxycontin and hydrocodone were prescribed to keep me in la la land. However, this was not my first rodeo, and I was acutely aware that extensive use of narcotic pain relievers has the diabolical effect of arresting the function of the bowels. The scientific term is concrete-itis, I think. The situation can easily result in the cure being worse than the problem, when a grapefruit sized turd refuses to budge a week after surgery. So, Bucket List Item 2 is weening oneself from the narcotic pain killers ASAP. This was accomplished on Day 2, when I shifted to Alleve. The pain I can handle, the sorrow I can’t.

Technically, one can walk on a replaced hip as soon as the anesthesia wears off. However, the 12’ diameter area around the wound site (where the surgeon stuck his own arms into my leg elbow-deep to move stuff around, saw off the end of my femur, remove the ball socket from my pelvis, and bolt/glue the new titanium joint into place) feels like you’ve been kicked by a very sturdy mule, maybe a couple of times for emphasis. So, yeah, you can walk…gingerly. Accordingly, an aluminum walker is provided to stabilize you as you painfully hobble around your house. Luckily, we have a spacious one-story home; I can’t even imagine how someone with a multi-level home would recover from this. Ooooooh. Anyway, Bucket List Item 3 is graduating from the walker to the cane, which I accomplished on Day 3.

A physical therapist is assigned to visit your home and help you rehab yourself. The recovery from hip replacement surgery involves an increasing amount of walking, trying to get those bruised and stretched upper thigh muscles back into working order. My therapist visited yesterday and encouraged me to jettison the walker, in favor of the cane, which I did. When he visited again today (Day 4) he noted that I had ditched the cane. (Earlier, I had walked with the cane to the end of our long cul-de-sac, about 150 yards, and back without much difficulty.) My therapist then had me do a few exercises to stretch those muscles and then authorized me to go “cane free”. Bucket List Item 4: Checked.

Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken, Carrot Cake, Wasach Omelet with Country Potatoes, 12 oz. Spaghetti, Chicken Breast with Rice, English Muffins with Peanut Butter, 12 oz. Spaghetti, and a huge Chimichanga smothered in Sour Cream and Jalapeno Salsa. And throw in a few Jellos and sugar-free Chocolates. That is the mass of foodstuffs which was logjammed in my bowels this morning, courtesy of the 24-hour period that my doctor had me on a strong regimen of narcotic pain relievers. I was beginning to feel a bit bloated, even though I’m only on my fourth day out of surgery. Last year, I was concretized for about a week, so the dread was beginning to set in. And then, a miracle happened…I got the urge to purge. And it worked! Thank you, Jesus, for checking off Bucket List Item 5.

The next few Bucket List items are going to be elaborations on previous accomplishments. I intend to walk to the end of our cul-de-sac tomorrow, cane-less. That will be Item 6, checked off on Day 5. I intend to begin to use my recumbent stationary bike (Bucket List Item 7) on Day 6 to begin to put some mileage on my new hip. We’ll see how that goes.

I would like to wait a little bit before doing some significant walking around the community. We have all manner of walking trails, from ¾ mile to 3.8 miles starting right at my house. I would like to get to the point where I can walk each of the dogs about 1 mile every morning…without tripping over the bitches. That will be good exercise for me and greatly appreciated by them, as the scorching heat has kept them indoors for several months now. Little Bonnie has never been on a legitimate walk on leash. That should be fun.

Maybe we start walking together in another week or so (Day 14?).

Beyond that, my Bucket List items include hiking with my friends (8 weeks) and golfing.

My golf game has been pretty shitty for the past couple of years, as I have been attempting to recreate my glory days… with two bad hips. Not gonna happen, because those hips just wouldn’t “fire”. Every swing was a new adventure, as my body refused to do something that it previously did without thinking. When I re-start my golf career in a couple of months, I think that I’m going to go to a swing pro up in St George who can use a computer to analyze what’s working and what isn’t and they make corrections. If I’m going to golf until I drop, then I’d like to do it competently.

At some point, I’d like to tackle Angel’s Landing again. That is a world famous hike in Zion National Park that I’ve done a number of times. It’s a beautiful hike and quite an accomplishment every time you do it. Most of the hikers up there are teens and young adults.

I also would like to do some hiking in the Colorado Rockies with my “adopted son”, Jason Friedman. We’re tentatively scheduled to drive up there (Golden) in the Spring in the RV.

Right now I’m getting a free pass on chores around the house. My son Jonathan is here, cooking and helping out wherever needed, and Charlie is doing all of the stuff that I normally do behind the scenes, like picking up dog poo, feeding the mutts, and finding where Bonnie has tinkled or left a pile.

Any day now, as I walk around without benefit of a cane, Charlie is going to declare, “No mas!”, and I’ll be thrown back into the daily chore rotation.

Which is my normal Bucket List.