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Donald Trump

Monsters from the Id: Does Trump Know a Krell Society Is Suicidal?

June 10, 2020
by Peter Feinman
The Monster from the Id Has Learned to Tweet ( https://www.imdb.com)

Spoiler Alert: “Monsters from the id” is a key phrase in the sci-fy classic Forbidden Planet. The story takes place in the 22nd century. It involves a rescue effort of a previous ship and colony. The would-be rescuers learn that the people from the first ship had died a hideous death. They were ripped apart by some apparently monstrous and invisible force. Only one couple survived.

The planet had been inhabited by the now vanished Krell people. It turns out that these superior beings had transformed themselves from physical beings into ones tapped into the energy of the planet. One unexpected problem occurred. The transformation brought their ids with them. Given the virtually unlimited energy now at the disposal of the Krell, it was only a matter of a very brief time before the monsters from the id led to destruction of all of them until none were left. When one of the humans gained access to the surviving Krell technology, it was the monster from his id that destroyed the other members of his crew and started to destroy the crew of the rescue ship.

We do not have a device that can transform physical beings into energy but we do have the technology to unleash the monsters from the id on the world. The technology that enables the destructive power of the id to wreak havoc is Twitter. Through it the impulsive thoughts of a person may become a veritable smoke monster from Lost as its viciousness is released into the national discourse.

This ability to instantaneously transform thought into verbal energy via Twitter is easily abused. It is a technology that should only be used by adults and which can be quite dangerous in the hands of an immature child. Back on August 2018, I explored the intertwining of Twitter and adolescence (Omarosa and the President: A Case of Arrested Development – Suppose Life Is Not a Journey?) I quoted Jennifer Senior’s op ed on the topic (“The High School We Can’t Log Off From” NYT, 8/5/18 print). She wrote:

Twitter is a dark reservoir of hatred, home to the diseased national id. It turns us into our worst selves — dehumanizing us, deranging us, keying us up, beating us down, turning us into shrieking outrage monkeys hellbent on the innocents of Oz. It uncomplicates complicated discussion; stealth-curates our news; hijacks our dopamine systems, carrying us off on a devil’s quest for ever more dime bags of retweets and likes.

Most Twitter users know that the medium has an unfortunate tendency to transform adults into anxious adolescents. But perhaps it’s time to start thinking about this problem clinically. The fact is, Twitter is changing us — regressing us — in ways developmental psychologists would find weirdly recognizable.

Should we be surprised that a man who’s so frequently compared to a needy adolescent has chosen Twitter as his favorite medium?

For the 7th-grade smart-aleck dumb-aleck, Twitter is the perfect invention.

To substantiate her perceptions Senior draws on an internet expert.

Clay Shirky, one of the shrewdest internet theorists around, has noted that the faster the medium is, the more emotional it gets. Twitter, as we know, is pretty fast, and therefore runs pretty hot. (Emotional tweets, research has shown, travel more swiftly than anodyne ones.) We often become creatures of our limbic systems when we tweet. Our self-regulation deserts us (been there); our prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive function and impulse control, goes offline; we become reward-seeking Scud missiles, addicts in search of a fix.

She still is focusing on the mature adult. Her analysis is based on adult having a developed prefrontal cortex going offline. She has overlooked the situation of an immature child in an adult body who does not have a developed prefrontal cortex such as our Little Donnee Waney.

MONSTERS FROM HIS ID

Regrettably we just experienced an instance of Twitter at its worst. Lately our immature child president with no self-control or superego has been giving full vent to the monsters from his id. First there were his series of tweets accusing Joe Scarborough of murder. Now he is piling it on a critically hurt 75-year old who had the misfortune to be knocked to the ground while peacefully protesting. By the time Little Donnee Waney and his Fox (and OANN) Flying Monkeys are done, this person will have become the second Seth Rich, a key operative in a terrorist conspiracy to take down the duly elected President of the United States who is America’s greatest President and who has done more for black people than any president save maybe Lincoln.

In my previous blog [Mitch McConnell: Howard Baker (Time to Go) vs Stay the Course (Go Down with the Ship)], I posited that Mitch McConnell was going to have a decision to make about the 2020 elections. At some point he was going to have to decide what his assessment was of the prospects of Trumpicans maintaining their Senate majority and what could be done if those prospects were negative. I suggested the situation was not immediately urgent, it was fluid, and you never know what might happen next.

Little did I know how right I was. A day later, the embattled simple-minded President succumbed as he always does to the monsters from his id. Like the little child scared of every noise or bump in the night, Little Donnee Waney saw an evil terrorist conspiracy where none existed (just as he had done with supposed fraud in voting by mail). He immediately unleashed the monsters from his id on the world.

“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”

Now all Trumpican candidates and Mitch McConnell have a totally unexpected decision to make.

IF THEY RUN, THEY CAN’T HIDE

Things were bad enough already for Trumpicans seeking to maintain their majority in the Senate. Even prior to June 8, Trumpicans knew that the majority was at stake. As if the real issues ⸺ coronavirus, recession and unemployment, China ⸺ partially due to the President’s ineptitude and mismanagement weren’t enough, he has gone out of his way to complicate the election for them. First, there was his domination of Lafayette Square in the greatest military victory by and American President ever (The Battle of Lafayette Square: The Greatest Victory in American History).  Second, there was his monsters-of-the-id tweet about someone even older than him being a key operative of a terrorist conspiracy. Third both he and the Trumpicans are learning that it’s not Law and Order as usual.  It seems as if every Trumpican senate candidate should have a giant bottle of hydroxychloroquine, disinfectant, and antacid on their night stands.

If McConnell didn’t have a headache before, he should have one now. In the previous blog, I discussed Ron Johnson and how the Wisconsin Senator might want to reassess his Trumpican loyalty come January, 2021 when his re-election campaign starts. Consider how this loyalist tied himself up in a knot in response to this latest expression of the monsters of Little Donnee Waney’s id:  he hadn’t seen the tweet, but he also didn’t want it read to him. “I would rather not hear it,” he said as he ducked into an elevator.

Some Senators don’t have the option of ducking the issue for long. For loyalist Steve Daines of Montana, his re-election campaign just became more difficult. “The violence we are seeing across the nation is heartbreaking. We all need to pull together — both for civility and peaceful dialogue.” What are he and the other Trumpican candidates going to say when asked during the campaign:

When the President said the number of coronavirus cases would drop from 15 to zero, did you believe him?

When the President recommended trying disinfectant as a cure, did you agree with him?

When the President suggested Scarborough was guilty of murder, did you agree with him?

When the President said he went down to the bunker to inspect it and not for safety as Bill Barr said, which one do you believe?

When the President said Gugino was a terrorist agent, did you believe him?

So why don’t Trumpicans tell the truth? Do they still live in fear of the monsters from his id and the base that he can release? What is he going to do? Tell people not to vote for the disloyal incumbents and candidates? They should stay home instead? They should just vote for the President and leave the remaining ballot lines blank? They should let the Democratic candidates win?

As I said, Mitch McConnell has a decision to make. He does not have the luxury of coping by being in denial in response to polls that the presidential campaign does. At any moment another monster from his id may be released on the world to make matters even worse. And by the time McConnell decides he needs to do something about it, it will be too late. In the movie Forbidden Planet, the heroic captain acted in time, got the girl, and they rode off into galactic space together. Unfortunately for McConnell, this is the real world. The immature child president playing imaginary games can unleash the monsters from his id at any moment. He will continue to do so until the Red Wave does to the Senate in 2020 what it did to the House in 2018.

 

Todd Alcott (https://davallone.tumblr.com/post/125863268306/monsters-from-the-id)

Mitch McConnell: Howard Baker (Time to Go) vs Stay the Course (Go Down with the Ship)

June 8, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Will the Red Wave Be as Successful in 2020 as it was in 2018? (amazon.com)

Mitch McConnell has a decision to make…if he hasn’t made it already. McConnell is an adult. He lives in the real world. The Senate Majority leader has a transactional relationship with the President of the United. McConnell’s decision will be based on his analysis of the political situation and the November elections. Whether or not his assessment turns out to be accurate is not the subject of this post. Instead it is to examine the parameters of that decision-making.

McConnell’s political agenda is a fairly simple one.

1. Help rich people get richer
2. Appoint conservatives to judge positions
3. Don’t help, you know….those people.

His assessment of the election results will be based on how those results affect his ability to achieve his agenda.

HELP RICH PEOPLE GET RICHER

To fulfill this objective requires the support of the House, the Senate, and the White House. Following the 2016 elections, McConnell had this trifecta. As a result he was able to pass a tax cut for the wealthy. This goal already was part of the agenda for the former party of Lincoln even prior to the election.

McConnell recognizes that those days are over. That political confluence is not likely to return. If anything the 2020 census will probably make it even more difficult to attain the political trifecta. At present if he wants to help rich people get richer, he has to do so through economic recovery acts. Otherwise, there would seem to be little he can do anymore to help rich people get richer in this Congressional term or the next.

APPOINT CONSERVATIVES TO JUDGE POSITIONS 

To fulfill this objective requires the support of the Senate and the White House. During the past three years he has had exceptional results in appointing conservatives to judicial positions. McConnell recognizes that the window of opportunity may be closing here due to the loss of the Senate, the White House, or both. As a result he has been seeking the retirements of older judges so he can replace them with young conservatives. So far that initiative has not been successful. Still, one can anticipate that he continue to appoint these judges right up to the very last  moment on December 31 if he can depending on the election results.

If there is no change in the Senate and the White House, then the urgency is off and McConnell can wait to the new session.

If there is a change in only the White House, then the urgency remains and he will seek to use every moment he has left. In the next session, he will oppose the nominations of new Democratic President. He will stymie the recommendations of the former Democratic Vice President just as he had done to the former Democratic President.

If there is a change only in the Senate, then time is urgent.

If there is a change in both the Senate and the White House, then time is urgent.

So at this point, it is in McConnell’s interests to appoint as many conservatives to judge positions as he can.

DON’T HELP, YOU KNOW….THOSE PEOPLE

McConnell has had two opportunities this year to help people he does not want to help. The economic freefall as the result of the coronavirus forced his hand to provide temporary relief including to the people who were hardest hit by the virus. Now that the medical crisis officially is over and the economy officially is back from the recession, McConnell has put the brakes on any additional help. Why should expensive Democratic states that subsidize the Confederate states with their taxes get any assistance to perpetuate their wasteful ways helping the wrong kind of people?

McConnell supported the efforts of the commander in-chief to use military force to liberate Lafayette Park from the heavily-armed terrorists who had surrounded the White House.  The death of George Floyd has witnessed four previous presidents preaching unity. What an excellent opportunity for McConnell beyond boilerplate to spurn any sign of compassion or desire for unity in the country when it includes the wrong people.

McConnell needs to maintain control of the Senate so in case Biden becomes President the world isn’t turned topsy turvy and the rich are called upon to help those who aren’t rich.

SENATE ELECTION PROGNOSTICATIONS

What is McConnell’s assessment of the Senate election results?

At present the Senate configuration is as follows:

51 Trumpicans
45 Democrats
2  Independents who caucus with the Democrats
2  Republicans who caucus with the Trumpicans

Previously, I had raised the question of how Mitt Romney would caucus in the next session (Where Will Mitt Romney Caucus in 2021?). Depending on the Presidential and Senate election results, his vote could be the determining one in who controls the Senate. Now there appear to be two Republicans with Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski joining Romney. Together this amplifies the power of the Republicans in determining the control of the Senate in the next session.

Consider this quite possible scenario: the Democrats lose one seat in Alabama and pick up three in Arizona, Colorado, and Maine. Under these results the Senate configuration will be:

49 Trumpicans
47 Democrats
2   Independents who caucus with the Democrats
2   Republicans.

How will the two Republicans caucus if they have the power to decide who controls the Senate? In the interim, the Trumpicans will continually demonize Murkowski as a traitor, will not support her if she chooses to run for re-election, and will not welcome her in the Trumpican party.  In other words, the Trumpicans will do everything they can to encourage her to caucus with the Democrats in 2021 where that one vote might mean the difference. The other Republican Senator already voted to remove the President from office and is on the trump list. If the Democrats prevail in the Presidential election, it is easy to imagine the two Republicans caucusing with the Democrats.

This analysis excludes the other potential seats which also may be won by Democrats. Since all the candidates haven’t even been selected yet, it is too early to be realistic about the final results in the Senate. In addition, who knows what other events will occur between now and November (or October with early voting). It’s not so long ago that the coronavirus dominated the news. Now that the President of the United States has dominated Lafayette Square as he deployed his forces to take back the country, the results of his great victory have yet to be factored into the polls. What will the reaction be when coronavirus deaths in the United States hit 200,000? What will happen in the international arena? What will the response be to the October indictments of the Deep State including Obama and Biden as co-conspirators? So it easy to understand why predictions for the Senate remain fluid.

One should also keep in mind, that depending on the election results, Trumpican Senators up for re-election in 2022 may experience an agonizing reappraisal. If the vaunted red wave predicted by the Trumpican in chief dooms Trumpican control of the Senate as it did the House in 2018, then Trumpican Senators may want to reevaluate their position.

Consider Wisconsin as an example. In 2016, Wisconsin was not Trumpican during the primary. It barely was so in the Presidential election.  In fact, the then Republican Senator won by a larger margin. Since then the Senator has converted to the Trumpican cause and is gung ho on indicting Deep State Democrats. However, also since his election, Democrats have won statewide elections for governor and a state judge. Democrats also have gained popular vote victories for Congressional and state legislative seats but due to gerrymandering have been unable to turn those state majorities into victories. That may change after the 2020 census. Regardless, in statewide Senate election in 2022, Johnson will be running as a Trumpican. Or will he like other Trumpican Senators running in 2022 see the light and have a change of heart? Will it be too late?

Everything above is based on possible scenarios. The situation is very fluid. Maybe we will try again to buy Greenland? Maybe a hurricane really will hit Alabama? Maybe North Korea will launch a missile or detonate a bomb or both? So as McConnell assesses the situation for the Senate, there are a lot of variables to consider. As we get closer and closer to actual voting, many of the variables will stabilize. Then it will be possible to get a better fix on the results. Then it may be too late to do anything about the prospective results if they are adverse to McConnell who himself is a candidate. In the meantime, McConnell will do everything he can to appoint conservatives as judges and not to help you know…those people despite everything which has occurred.

Mount Rushmore Opportunity for a Little Little Boy: Does He Know It?

June 5, 2020
by Peter Feinman
The Macho Macho Boy Twins (Photo: AP)

In American history, there have been three existential moments when the fate of the United States was at risk: creation, secession, and depression.

CREATION

At the birth of the country, there was no guarantee that it would be successful. There was no guarantee that the fledgling states would successfully constitute themselves. One person made a difference and earned the reputation as the indispensable person. We will never know if without George Washington, the United States would have been created or not. What we do know, it is not simply by chance that he was in that position. People picked America’s first action hero to command the American forces and people wrote the Constitution with the expectation that he would be President. He fulfilled expectations.

SECESSION

At the secession, one may reasonably posit that the election of Abraham Lincoln triggered the event. But the idea that America was a house divided already was known. If it hadn’t been Lincoln’s election that immediately led to the Second Civil War, it would have been something else. It is easy to imagine that America’s Second Civil War could have ended with two separate countries as we are today except not legally. No one anticipated that Lincoln would become America’s greatest president outside the Confederacy. He exceeded expectations.

DEPRESSION

At the depression, one may reasonably posit that the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a direct result of the failure under Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt was elected to save America. No one knew that there would be a second and unrelated threat looming just years away –World War II. Similarly, Roosevelt’s success in the 1930s during the depression did not necessarily mean he was right person to be the wartime leader. Roosevelt first fulfilled and then exceeded expectations when the second threat arose.

Today, if one would to identify the three greatest American presidents, outside the current White House and the Confederate states, the answers would be Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. Historians can play the “what if” counterfactual one on do times make the person or does the person make the times. The other Roosevelt is likely to be a favored choice for Presidents who could have risen to the occasion to save the country had the opportunity existed. It is a lot easier to select Presidents who would have failed miserably had they been President during these crises or whose shortcomings precipitated the crisis in the first place.

MOUNT RUSHMORE OPPORTUNITY

At this moment in time, America experiences multiple threats. The times cry out for a Mount Rushmore President to lead us from the calamities facing us. It seems as if fate is piling it on, confronting America with one challenge after another. We are facing:

1. the attempt by the Middle Kingdom to wrest world leadership from us

2. America’s Third Civil War

3. the global coronavirus crises

4. the global economic recession if not depression

and, of course, below-the-radar, climate change which hasn’t disappeared from the real world even as it recedes from the news media due to all the other events.

To some extent, during the 2016 election We the People given our Electoral College system picked a President to deal precisely with most of these issues.

With climate change, the choice was simple. The candidate who denied that climate change existed and who claimed it was a Chinese hoax won. As one might expect, the anti-science values of his supporters carried over into other science-related issues. He has meet expectations.

With China, the choice also was simple. The winning candidate was one who had no interest in America’s role in human history or position in the world. Everything was transactional. Everything was a zero-sum game. There were no allies, only transactional relationships. We pulled out of the anti-China alliance the previous President had put together. The new President did so because he vowed to undo whatever Obama had done. The new President did try to apply his transactional zero-sum values to trade the Middle Kingdom but so far without much to show for it. Now he is trying to blame China for the coronavirus crisis and turn China into Mexicans and Salvadorans. That will work with Trumpicans again in the election but has little substance in the global arena. He has not met expectations but is still trying; plus the game has changed due to the new circumstances.

With America’s Third Civil War, the choice also was simple. The winning candidate made no attempt to be President of We the People. He made no attempt to be an e pluribus unum President. He saw that America was not a house divided but two houses. He did not divide America, he exploited the divisions which existed. The longtime pretend Democrat and Clinton supporter realized he had no future there just as he had none with the New York elitists whose approval he craved and never received. Instead he became a fake Republican, heard the call of Sarah Palin to take back the country from you know….those people, and answered the call. As long as Trumpicans think he is fighting for them against the terrorists, they will continue to accept him as their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name no matter what else happens. He is meeting expectations and still fighting as the battle is not yet over.

With the coronavirus, that was unexpected. Just as Roosevelt had been elected for one crisis, the depression, and then had to face another one, so to now there was a second crisis unrelated to the first. The winning candidate was elected to save real Americans by taking back the country, not to fight a virus. Whereas Roosevelt proved successful in dealing with the unexpected, the same does not apply now. Success if fighting against immigrant people does not translate into success in fighting against an immigrant virus. Still, he has claimed success, asserted he wouldn’t have changed anything, and declared himself a “10.” The wartime President against the invisible enemy has won and saved over 2 million American lives in the process. By November, the coronavirus crisis will be over if it isn’t already and who will remember the problems of the spring.

With the depression, again the unexpected occurred. The United States economy already was on its way back in 2016. The one action taken to help rich people get richer did not contribute to a more successful economy. Now we are on our way back. By November we will be back and who will remember the problems of the spring.

To recap, the winning candidate did do what he pledged to do…up to a point. He did wreak havoc with the international arena. He did ignore climate change. He did fight immigration. He did insult, demean, and mock the politically correct, the news media, and the Republicans who did not accept the new Trumpican order. He did not end Obamacare. He did not return manly manufacturing jobs to the United States. He did not return manly coal mining jobs to their former number. He did save America from the coronavirus and did rebuild the economy. So despite his dishonesty, ignorance, narcissism, above-the –law behavior, and conduct as a seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck, he had and still has a legitimate chance win the Electoral College again.

What is important to realize is that the immature child playing imaginary games where he makes up the roles genuinely believes he has succeeded as a wartime general and that Trumpicans accept his version of the truth as communicated via Tweets and Fox.

WARTIME GENERAL FOR AMERICA’S THIRD CIVIL WAR

The same considerations apply to the ramped up Third Civil War in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Bonespur Boy is seeking to replicate his wartime victory over the coronavirus over the thugs and terrorists.

“We will end it now.”

“If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

“My administration will stop mob violence, and stop it cold.”

“These are terrorists. These are terrorists. And they are looking to do bad things to our country.”

“Only I can save our country because I am a very stable genius, the smartest person in the room.”

You want empathy? Try weak wimpy sleepy Joe Biden. I will dominate the streets. I won the battle of Lafayette Square (The Battle of Lafayette Square: The Greatest Victory in American History). Real men don’t wear masks. Real men don’t go into bunkers (except to inspect them!). I am Macho Macho Man like Putin, ruler for life as I should be, too.

Obviously it is only because of Divine Providence, that at this moment of existential crisis, that our Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name, is here as President of the United States. He saved the economy once, he will do it again. He saved the country from the coronavirus. He will take back the country for real Americans. Truly we are blessed that at this moment of existential crisis, we have a President equal to if not superior to Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. And if you don’t believe me, just ask him.

For all his talk about having the greatest first year if a President ever,

For all his talk about having the greatest first two years of a President ever,

For all his talk about having done more for black Americans than any President except Lincoln,

He had a legitimate opportunity in the real world to become one of America’s greatest Presidents if only he knew it and was capable of rising to the occasion.

The Battle of Lafayette Square: The Greatest Victory in American History

June 4, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Prequel to "The Mouth that Roared: The Battle of Lafayette Square" (Amazon)

There have been many famous battles in American history, ones of great significance not just to this country but to the world.

Saratoga

The Alamo

Gettysburg

D-Day.

These battles reverberated through American history. They helped define who we are as a country and a people.

But I suggest when the future histories of this country are written, one battle above all others will stand out: the battle when America’s greatest warrior took our country back in the Battle of Lafayette Square.

Think of the situation Little Donnee Waney faced. There he was hunkered and bunkered deep in the bowels of the earth. He was trapped in an area no American sees except in movies like White House Down. Outside surrounding the real White House were heavily armed terrorists. There were terrorists by the thousands, terrorists by the tens of thousands, terrorists by the hundreds of thousands. Bonespur Boy had promised he would fight for real Americans. Now the moment of truth had arrived.

Showing no fear, the immature child playing imaginary games where he makes up the rules, rose up out of the earth to vanquish the forces of chaos armed to the teeth prepared to destroy him. Never before in American history had anyone seen such a courageous act as when this President confidently strode across Lafayette Square eyes fixed on his destination – a photo-op in front of a historic church where he would brandish a Bible upside down and destroy those who would destroy him.

Songs will be song.

Stories will be written.

Tales will be told.

Movies will be made.

“The Mouth That Roared.” Coming to a theater near you now that the coronavirus crisis is over and we can sit in theaters once again.

His exploits have complicated the design of the Unpresidential Library. In my original vision, at the entrance to the library would be a statue of him bent over with Stormy Daniels swatting with a copy of Forbes Magazine with him on the cover. The statue would say “I’m kissing my ass. I’m kissing my ass. I’m kissing my ass.” Then the statue changed to one of Little Donnee Disinfectant holding a bottle of disinfectant. Clorox and Lysol would pay big money to ensure their product wasn’t the one the very stable genius was holding. Now, I am thinking the entrance to the Unpresidential Library should have a statue of our Lord and Saviour, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name, holding the Bible as the minions of Satan were swept from the land in a confrontation worthy of Armageddon itself. One small step at Lafayette Square, one giant step towards taking back the country.

SHOCK AND AWE BY THE MILITARY

The military reacted in shock and awe at this display of courage and heroism at the Battle of Lafayette Square. They were stunned by this raw display of power. They thought they were just going out to inspect the troops following the inspection of the bunker. They had no idea they were about the witness the greatest act of sheer bravado in the history of the country. They could be seen trembling in awe at what they had witnessed.

Former Marine general and secretary of defense James Mattis was privileged to witness something he had never seen before not even in a dream James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution.

When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.

He recognized that this President was trying to do something no President previously had tried to accomplish.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.

Mattis even went so far as to call for another witch hunt into the Constitutional violations perpetrated by the divider in-chief, unique in the history of this country.

We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.

So moved was Bill Barr that the Attorney General promised to investigate as soon as he completed the exoneration of America’s greatest warrior president from the Russian collusion and Ukranian extortion charges and indicted Obama and Biden.

Mattis even acknowledged that America’s greatest President was one for the ages. He was on par with Abraham Lincoln having devoted his life to the exact same values:

we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite. Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

These are the very words which have guided our heroic President and genius history scholar all his life. These are the values he comments on endlessly when he is not insulting, mocking, and demeaning people as scum. They are the values that have led him to this great victory. It seems like only yesterday, when Little Donnee Disinfectant was the laughingstock of the world. But now after his televised victory at the Battle of Lafayette Square, he stands tall with Trumpicans. Surely another Red Wave reminiscent of 2018 will sweep Trumpicans to victory in the House, the Senate, and the White House. All the polls show it.

It seems like only yesterday (it was June 2!), when I wrote

And what makes you think the generals will obey a command from the Commander in-chief to send troops into American states to suppress American people?….The American military is not the Department of Justice. The generals are more likely to be loyal to the Constitution than the individual who happens to be President. If Bonespur Boy tries to intimidate the military into playing his game of domination, he may be in for a surprise. Generals are not Trumpican Senators who have sold their soul and will roll over like obedient dogs at whatever whistle he blows, command he issues, or photo-op he desires. Borg to Hong Kong: Resistance Is Futile (Not in America)

Little did I know what was coming!

TRUMPICAN SCOTT JENNINGS INADVERTENTLY SHOWS BIDEN HOW TO WIN

CNN contributor Scott Jennings probably still is a Republican although he toes the Trumpican line. He is an adult who lives in the real world. He ventures off the Fox Reservation to appear on FakeNews outlets. He works very hard at not degenerating to the level of Kellyanne Conway but he has not followed the example of George Conway, George Will, or Rick Wilson in asserting a Republican identity instead of a Trumpican one. As might be expected, Jennings offered a trumpican perspective on the Battle of Lafayette Square. But in so doing he detailed exactly how Joe Biden could leverage that victory into a defining moment for his own presidential campaign. Obviously that was not Jennings’s intent and it is quite possible Biden will let this opportunity slip away.

Jenning wrote a piece for CNN entitled Trump’s law and order message strikes a chord. He stated:

If it takes a deployment of the US military to do it, because governors and mayors cannot get control of the situation in their jurisdictions, I think the President will find public support for it.

The military may not support it, but Trumpicans will. Jennings admitted his befuddlement with the actions at Lafayette Square and then commented on what Joe Biden could now do to seize the moment.

I was not sure what to make of his march to St. John’s Church across Lafayette Square as I watched it unfold live on Monday. I wish he could have taken one step further and stepped into the church and opened the Bible he held. I wish he had invited faith and civil rights leaders to go there with him. And I wish he would have sat in the front row for a church service aimed at praying for peace, calm and unity.

Churches and Bibles are not props; they are tools for the faithful to spread the Word of God and to unify people around God’s teachings. And churches, perhaps more than any other place, can be powerful places from which to broadcast expressions of sympathy and calm.

Are you listening Joe? The advice of this political operative is to go into the church and have a unity memorial service. There are four former Presidents who are preaching for unity, Democratic and Republican presidents. Invite them to the service. Have them open the Bible and read the passages that helped them through there moments of trauma and despair. Do that for yourself as well. Invite the ex-military generals too who have spoken out against turning cities into battlegrounds. Have the service Jennings says should have been held in the first place.

Listen to what others have said and what you have said.

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde the Episcopal bishop of Washington who oversees the St. John’s Episcopal Church, said:

[Trump just used a Bible and a church of my diocese as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our church stands for.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said:

We need our President, and all who hold office, to be moral leaders who help us to be a people and nation living these values. For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

You, Joe Biden said:

The country is crying out for leadership, leadership that can unite us.

You have been given the opportunity to provide that leadership. Have the memorial service for unity that should have been held at St. John’s Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square. Transform the battlefield to a City on Hill. Seize the moment.

P.S. And don’t forget to say “thank you” to Jennings for showing you the way.

Borg to Hong Kong: Resistance Is Futile (Not in America)

June 2, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Is Resistance Futile for Hong Kong? Is It Futile for the Federation? (https://www.startrek.com/database_article/borg-cube)

Back on August 7, 2019, I wrote a blog entitled When Will the Borg Assimilate Hong Kong?: Is Resistance Futile? I did so triggered by the title of an article “Can Hong Kong’s Resistance Win? (NYT July 14, 2019). I even speculated that the reporter might have had in the Borg in mind when contrasting China and Hong Kong:

If human beings have other wants or needs ⸺ like independent thinking, free expression or person happiness ⸺ well, those are things for our rivals, the Western democracies to pursue. The West’s production model is less efficient than ours. Ours has “Chinese characteristics.”

In that blog, I noted that China has its own Hannitys and Huckabees. It has its own propaganda machine that even surpasses Fox. It even matches the Fox techniques. Chinese are graduates of the Laura Ingraham School of Spin. As one Chinese professor said in support of the Chinese government against the Hong Kong Spring:

They are obviously actors, not Hong Kong citizens.  

Ingraham could not have said it better herself. In fact, she has said it. The same technique is being used today in America in reference to “outside agitators.”

The NYT article reported that activists who claim Hong Kong has a unique identity that needs to be protected are called “localists.” They advocate for independence, an increasingly taboo subject. The localists differentiate themselves from mainland Chinese. They do so by employing derogatory language. They call the mainlanders “locusts” [not “animals’ or “scum” or “lowlifes and losers”] and “invaders.” By American standards, these localists in support of Hong Kong independence are using racist language. They compound the derision by referring to the people of China as being from “Chee-na” instead of “China.”

Pro-Chinese people understand the insults and have responded in opposition to such castigation of mainland Chinese. As one individual said:

We’re all Chinese people with yellow skin. Why are you discriminating against your own people? 

So the pro-freedom and independence people use demeaning language to belittle and mock the locusts who invade their land and overwhelm their communities. The pro-government people refers to the Asian people of color as “yellow.”

The issue then as it is now really wasn’t so much “if” the Borg would assimilate Hong Kong as “when.” Evidently, China decided now was the time.

Why?

Why did China decide that now was the propitious time for its Bill Barr to legally swallow up Hong Kong into the Chinese legal system?

The answer really should be obvious. The Wolf Warriors smell the weakness in the global arena and are ready to feast on America and the world.

In response to the Pompeo accusations on the coronavirus, the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese newspaper, stated:

“Such lunacy is a clear byproduct, first and foremost, of the proverbial anxiety that the U.S. has suffered since China began its global ascension. It is also a combination of envy and panic on behalf of Washington elites.”

CCTV reiterated the message:

“If this evil politician Pompeo is allowed to continue his swaggering bluff, one fears that the United States ‘great again’ can only be a joke.”

Sounds like China recognizes the weakness of the United States. Every move by our immature child President to withdraw from the global arena either from an international organization or geographic presence, is matched by Xi seeking to fill the vacuum. The brilliant success of the ‘America Alone’ policy was on full display at a recent W.H.O meeting. George Bush’s “coalition of the willing” a scant generation ago was reduced to a pathetic attempt to gain Taiwan admission into the very organization the United States was about to leave! The feeble attempt highlights the decay and decline in American power under the lack of leadership by Little Donnee Wanney. Or should one say he has reaped what he has sown.

The Global Times was back at it when the weak President ramped up the rhetoric promising fire and fury as had never been seen before.

“Washington is making a bigger gamble, but America’s economy is not as fat as it once was, and it still coughs from the coronavirus. Their extreme tactics amount to nothing more than the slow suicide of a superpower.”

Given the success of regime change and behavior modification from sanctions in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, it is hardly surprising that the current manufacturing center of the world is dismissive of the threats from the fading giant.

Quite the contrary. The Wolf Warriors are moving ahead on all fronts. China is aggressive against India, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam in addition to Hong Kong. Who is going to stop them? It is not as though China doesn’t have its own friends in Asia either like Nepal, Pakistan, and the Maldives. Meanwhile the United States is pretending the coronavirus crisis is over and is facing its own internal problems. Now the United States is the awkward position of defending the right of Hong Kongers to be free while calling for the domination by force of Americans seeking justice and equality. So far Xi has just proposed unleashing his Bill Barr; by contrast, Macho Macho Boy is calling for American troops to crack down on the agitators even when they are peaceful and white.

Here one may observe why although resistance is futile in Hong Kong, it is not in America. True the world is watching the riots just as it watched the failure of America to manage the coronavirus crisis. The eyes of the world are still upon us no matter what we do. But what is it we are doing? The story is not yet over and there is more to see than the looting and burning.

The world will also see police chiefs and officers kneeling down, hugging, and shaking hands with protesters.

The world will also see governors defying the President’s “request” for National Guard troops to be sent to the capital to protect the President.

The world will also see governors defying the President’s threat to send military forces into the states if he decides to do so.

And what makes you think the generals will obey a command from the Commander in-chief to send troops into American states to suppress American people?

What makes you think the troops if they do go will fire on the American people? Troops who are minorities themselves. Troops who may be from the very area they are called upon to secure. Troops who may even know people in the crowd. The American military is not the Department of Justice. The generals are more likely to be loyal to the Constitution than the individual who happens to be President. If Bonespur Boy tries to intimidate the military into playing his game of domination, he may be in for a surprise. Generals are not Trumpican Senators who have sold their soul and will roll over like obedient dogs at whatever whistle he blows, command he issues, or photo-op he desires.

The world will also see that America has an alternative to the current President. Countries throughout the world are familiar with the idea of Vice President from one administration challenging the President of the current administration. The current crisis has liberated the former Vice President and current Presidential challenger from his basement prison. He is now free to roam around the country, to offer an alternative, to bond with protesters, to show empathy, to hug people. Will the American President call upon American forces to fire upon his Vice President opponent if he stands with the protesters?

The situation between China and America is quite different. The Wolf Warriors will move aggressively secure in the knowledge that there is no one to stop them. By contrast, the America people, the American governors, and the American military will not be cowed by Little Donnee Wanney. And the world will see both countries in action almost on split screen as just happened with the current President and former Vice President. In that comparison, the world will also see why it wants the United States to be the world leader. All we need is a President who accepts that role and has vision for the 21st century.

Unmasking Trumpicans: I Live Free and You Die

May 29, 2020
by Peter Feinman
We Live Free and You Risk Dying

The coronavirus has had many non-medical effects on America…and you don’t need a red pill to see them. Think of the talking heads, some of whom receive (and open) these posts. Now we can see your kitchens, your livings rooms, your offices with the required bookcase. Sharp-eyed people or more technically-advanced people can even identify the books on the shelves. We can see men without ties and women without makeup. Will the talking head practices revert to normal once the crisis ceases or will some of the changes become permanent?

With Trumpicans, we have had an opportunity to glimpse their world view from something as simple wearing masks. I doubt if anyone only a few months ago anticipated that masks would become a political issue and part of the culture wars, but they have. Masks serve as a reminder that anything no matter how seemingly innocuous is grist for the culture war mill.

So what can we learn from the Trumpican preference not to wear a mask?

Are Trumpicans Thrill-seekers Who Like to Live on the Edge?

Trumpicans explain their opposition to wearing masks along the lines of: We don’t need the Government telling us what to do. We are free to make our own decisions and decide what risks we want to take. After all, tomorrow, I could get hit by a car.

Part of this explanation is based on the fact Trumpicans don’t get the virus. After three months, they can see who does get infected and dies and who doesn’t. The reality is that Trumpican states and even more so, Trumpican counties, have had a far lower rate of infection and deaths than states and counties that voted Democratic. And if there is a hotspot in a Trumpican area it could be meat plant. That means people who aren’t real Americans anyway. Now the land of Field of Dreams is the state where people at meat plants don’t count unless they are 10% infected or more.

Let’s pursue this idea of taking risks just as we do every day when we could be hit by a car. Automobile accidents are in the 30,000+ fatality range annually. That means in three months, the coronavirus has already tripled the annual deaths from motor vehicle accidents. Do Trumpicans know that? Do they still like the odds?

Do Trumpicans wear seat belts? If so, why?

Do Trumpicans wear helmets on bikes and/or motocycles?  If so, why?

Do Trumpican children wear helmets on bikes? If so, why?

Do Trumpicans buckle up on airplanes? If so, why?

At the beginning of his show, Hannity often informs his audience to “buckle up.” What does he mean when he uses that metaphor?

Maybe Trumpicans naturally like to live dangerously and take risks and that separates them from wimpy sissies who wear masks.

Trumpicans Demand Their 007 License to Kill   

Even if Trumpicans prefer to live dangerously, do they demand that people around them do so as well?

For example, do Trumpicans support “Drink and Drive”? Do they regard “Don’t Drink and Drive” as an infringement on their rights? Are Trumpicans naturally able to hold their liquor so the restriction need not apply to them? Do they realize that “Don’t Drink and Drive” is not only for their protection as potential drivers?

In other words, “Don’t Drink and Drive” isn’t only about the drunk driver. It’s also about the passengers in the car. It’s also about the people out for a walk who don’t want to be hit a by car. It’s about the people who are out for a jog, a bike ride with a helmet on, or a car ride buckled up, all of whom do not want to be hit by a drunk driver. Is it the position of Trumpicans that not only do they take risks for themselves but that everyone around them has to take the same risks? Do they think their right to drink and drive gives them the right to play Russian roulette with the lives of others?

The same considerations apply to vaccines. Think of how many people today demand the right to play Russian roulette with lives of others including children. Now imagine what will happen if a vaccine for the coronavirus is discovered but Joe Biden is President. How many more people will refuse to be vaccinated as a matter of personal freedom then?

We are at a point now where the wearing versus not wearing a mask will move beyond a political preference to an economic and legal boundary. Retail establishments, government buildings, planes and trains, will have mask-only policies. You want to go to Disneyland, wear a mask. You want to enter a hotel, wear a mask. You want watch a ball game, wear mask or stay home or go to a Trumpican bar. Here is where Trumpicans will sue to demand their right to play Russian roulette with the lives of others, their right to their 007 license to kill.

Vaccinations may mitigate the need for masks. However how will anyone know if the other person has been vaccinated? Will proof of vaccination be required before entering a venue?

Robert E. Lee versus Abraham Lincoln

No matter how poorly the coronavirus has been managed in America, Trumpicans are not going to abandon their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name. When the war starting going badly for the Confederacy, did Confederates abandon Lee for Lincoln? Did they shift alliances because of the pending and then actual defeat? No. No matter how many Confederates died, they did not abandon their cause. Still 155 years, Confederates prefer Lee to Lincoln even as they have become Republicans. Confederates have remained loyal to their cause despite the defeat and Trumpicans will remain loyal as well no matter how many Americans die.

How Would Trumpicans Know the Coronavirus War is Going Badly?

Now that we have crossed the 100,000 dead and rising threshold, there is a sense that Trumpicans should realize that the wartime general has done a poor job. How would they know that?

As I have repeatedly said, Trumpicans like mainland Chinese, get their news from one and only one source – the government propaganda outlet. Several weeks ago Fox resumed its normal programming – all Deep State, all the time. The onion was being pulled back layer as one guest mentioned to reveal Obamagate, the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the United States. Each day witnessed more and more of the corrupt actions of the Deep State against Michael Flynn. It was only a matter of time before Durham exposed the whole rotten under belly of American politics.

Where was the coronavirus in all this programming? It was in interviews with the wartime general bragging about what a great job he had done. It was in the criticisms of the unelected Fauci really being part of the Deep State. Why should he have the power to prevent America from being re-opened? It was in praise of heroic Trumpican governors re-opening their states with no ill effects. It was in praise of heroic state legislators trying to force Democratic governors to re-open. It was praise of heroic freedom fighters trying to liberate their state from Democratic rule.

How would Trumpicans know that Americans were still dying?

How would Trumpicans know that Little Donnee Disinfectant was the laughing stock of the world?

How would Trumpicans know that Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea have all done vastly a superior job individually and even collectively in total to the American experience?

How would Trumpicans know that 40,000-plus people arrived from China after the ban and that the virus hitting New York came from Europe where white people live?

The only way our Dear Leader deserves a “10” is in trying to maximize the number of American deaths. But the only Trumpicans who know that are the old people who are the most exposed and are willing to support Biden. And according to the heroic Trumpican Texan Lt. Governor, old people should be willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of an open economy where nobody needs to wear a mask.

Trumpicans still live in an a world where real men don’t wear masks, real Americans don’t die from coronavirus, and their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name, is still fighting for them and deserves a “10.” At least they know enough not to actually ingest disinfectant.

 

A Tweet Taxonomy for a Very Little Man: Bringing Order to Trump’s Chaos

May 28, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Twins with no sense of decency (Leonard Mccombe/The LIFE Images Collection, via Getty Images, (left); Patrick Semansky, via Associated Press, (right).

The news media is failing the American people. It is failing the American people by continuing to treat the very little man as if he were an adult. The burden has now fallen to Twitter to try to monitor what the media should have been doing all along.

Anderson Cooper is facing the truth about our immature child president. He has referred to his hissy-fit tweets as “schoolyard.” Exactly right. What else should you expect from a seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck? What took you so long?

Cooper also has called Little Donnee Waney “a little man.” He did so repeatedly in fact. In the segment I heard, I kept waiting for Cooper to add the word “very” but he didn’t. Still, he looks as if he has reached the point where enough is enough.  Perhaps it is because America is at 100,000 dead on this President’s watch and he still rates himself a “10” who wouldn’t change a thing. Perhaps it is because of the incessant unfounded assaults on Joe Scarborough. Perhaps it is because of the complete lack of empathy and sympathy by the very little man. Perhaps it is because of another racial incident during the presidency of the Racist in-chief. Perhaps it is because of his willingness to jeopardize the health of Americans by not wearing a mask. Perhaps it is because of the absurd miracle cures the scam artist peddles to the desperate people who accept him as their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his name. Perhaps it is all of the above and today was just the day when the straw broke the camel’s back for Cooper.

The time is long past due when the news media should stop treating Little Donnee Waney as an adult. The time is long past for the news media to follow the example of Twitter. Instead of simply reporting on what he said and expressing some rage, the media needs to be more organized and disciplined. It is tiring hearing people talk about how the immature child erupted today at the White House and/or on Twitter. That’s what eight year olds do. They have tantrums. A child having a tantrum is no more news than tracking the eruptions of Old Faithful is. His tantrums may not be quite as regular but that happen frequently enough to know that tantrum tweets, tantrum press conference exchanges, and tantrum political rallies are par for the course.

Don’t report his tantrums as news. Classify them.  Here is a system I proposed last September (Bringing Order to Chaos: Creating a Trump Taxonomy). It’s a suggestion on how to fill a need. You may have your ideas. That’s fine as long as something is done to systematize the Little Man’s comments instead of treating everything one up.

  1. Trumps – Little Donnee Waney is incapable of telling the truth except by accident. So far he has trumped over 12,000 times [obviously outdated!]. In this instance, the number of occurrences is being tracked. Unfortunately news organizations do not display a bar chart with the ever increasing numbers or announce each day how many additional trumps were told the previous day.
  2. Hissy fits – Here is where the seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck is in his natural habitat. It is easy to see how much he enjoys demeaning people. He demeans people as individuals, by ethnicity, by race, by religion, by appearance and he has great fun doing so. He especially enjoys responding to criticisms about him by others by insulting them personally. He would not rape someone because she is not his type but did not volunteer what his type was.
  3. Bozos – This category refers to the statements by the very stable genius that display his true ignorance. Who knew that Canada burned the White House after the patriots captured the airports? Who knew that 306 Electoral College votes was a landslide? It is important to distinguish between bozos and trumps. If he says that two plus two equals five, then you need to make a determination. Does he know that the correct answer is four and deliberately misstated the answer? That is a trump. Or is he genuinely ignorant of the correct answer? In that case, it’s a bozo.
  4. Alabamas – This is a new term for a long-time action of his. When the immature child is caught in a mistake, whether an honest one or a bozo or a trump, what is his reaction? He always doubles down. He never admits he made a mistake. He will demand other people who work for him to trump at the cost of their integrity and possibly their job if that what it takes to cover up his mistake. He will never man up, he will always carry on like the immature child he is. In the classifying of actions as Alabamas, one always needs to link them to the underlying bozo or trump that made the Alabama necessary. The database needs to have cross-referencing capabilities. [One day the Sharpie he used to mark the path of the hurricane will be in the Unpresidential Library.]
  5. Ka-chings – Part of the reason for his running for President was to make money. As President, he has worked ceaselessly to bring home the bacon. If China offered to build Trump Resorts in the South China Sea, he would have caved in a moment. [Probably not true now.] It’s all about the Benjamins. We need a running tally of the ka-chings both as to the number and the dollar value.
  6. Swamp Builder – There once was a time when some news outlets tracked the number of resigned appointees in this administration. Clearly far from hiring the best people available, he aims for people like himself – people who know how to game the system, people who sexually assault or harass women, people who are ignorant. As long as they are loyal to him what does he care? And if he does hire a competent and honest person, how long do such adults last in the White House anyway? How many appointees have there been and how many turned out be ignorant criminal scam artists…including those who still are in power?
  7. Flip Flops – If you do not like what he says, wait a while and he may say the opposite; if you do like what he says, do not count your chickens before they are hatched. He will release his tax returns. He will release his tax returns after the IRS completes its audit. He will release his tax returns after hell freezes over. He will meet with Iran without pre-conditions. He never said he would. He will support gun control. No, he will not. You will have to pry his assault weapons from his small cold dead hands. Again there is a need for cross-referencing. The original pronouncement before he flips probably was a trump.
  8. Hide and Seek – The most transparent government in the history of the United States (classified as a trump) will reveal nothing. No law, no regulation, no subpoena, no court ruling will ever cause him to reveal anything. Based on the concept of six-degrees-of-separation, this means that everyone in the United States is prohibited from testifying against him because they have some connection to him. How many outstanding unanswered requests for information are there? Historians will want to know. [When will Scarborough and the Klausutis family sue him for everything he has?]
  9. Unfilled Promises – After the election he will sue each and every woman who accused him of sexual harassment. He will balance the budget. He will pay off the debt. He will bring back coal. He will present a beautiful beautiful health care plan. AND MEXICO WILL PAY FOR THE WALL!

Help make the life of future graduate students in history easier. The historians writing about this administration are going to need this information. The application of this classification system will change the way news is reported. Look at the power of Twitter to disrupt the White House and Trumpicans in but a single day. Imagine what would happen if every nasty cutie pie scum bogus charge was tracked, classified, and made visible for all the voting public to see? What are you waiting for?

Contingency Plans for January 20, 2021: If He Loses

May 26, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Preview to the Third Civil War: Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor: 12th & 13th of April, 1861 (https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b49873/)

What are the contingency plans for January 20, 2021, if Joe Biden wins the election?
What are the contingency plans for January 20, 2021, if Joe Biden loses the election?

America’s Third Civil War is moving forward to its showdown. So far the skirmishes in the culture war have been mostly local and mostly non-violent. Clearly now the intensity is ratcheting up. That process will continue until Election Day. Given the write-in ballots, the boiling point may not be reached until after Election Day as the time required simply to count the votes may go beyond Tuesday. And then there will be the law suits. Lots and lots of lawsuits.

Two pre-election Civil War scenarios have been presented in the publications I receive. The first was published in the January/February 2019 issue of The Atlantic by Elizabeth Goitein, a co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, entitled The Alarming Scope of the President’s Emergency Powers. I have slightly revised her possible scenario to bring it up-to-date.

Imagine that it’s late 2020. Trump’s approval ratings are at an all-time low. A disgruntled former employee has leaked documents showing that the Trump Organization was involved in illegal business dealings with Russian oligarchs [and Saudi royalty]. A disgruntled government employee has leaked Trump’s taxes showing that he has violated the law many times for many years.  The coronavirus and trade war with China and other countries has taken a significant toll on the economy. Trump has been caught once again managing ineptly, and his international gaffes are becoming impossible for lawmakers concerned about national security to ignore.

In straw polls pitting Trump against various potential Democratic presidential candidates, the Democrat consistently wins. Trump reacts. Unfazed by his own brazen hypocrisy, he tweets that the Ukraine and China are planning a cyber operation to interfere with the 2020 election. His Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, claims to have seen ironclad (but highly classified) evidence of this planned assault on U.S. democracy [and the release of Covid-19]. Trump’s inflammatory tweets provoke predictable saber rattling by the Chinese leaders; he responds by threatening preemptive sanctions and tariffs. Some Defense Department officials have misgivings, but others have been waiting for such an opportunity. As China’s statements grow more warlike, “Chinaphobia” takes hold among the American public.

Proclaiming a threat of war, Trump invokes Section 706 of the Communications Act to assume government control over internet traffic inside the United States, in order to prevent the spread of Chinese disinformation and propaganda. He also declares a national emergency under International Emergency Economic Powers Act, authorizing the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of any person or organization suspected of supporting China’s activities against the United States. Wielding the authority conferred by these laws, the government shuts down several left-leaning websites and domestic civil-society organizations, based on government determinations (classified, of course) that they are subject to Chinese influence. These include websites and organizations that are focused on getting out the vote [and resisting voter suppression].

Lawsuits follow. Several judges issue orders declaring Trump’s actions unconstitutional, but a handful of judges appointed by the president side with the administration. On the eve of the election, the cases reach the Supreme Court. In a 5–4 opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Court observes that the president’s powers are at their zenith when he is using authority granted by Congress to protect national security. Setting new precedent, the Court holds that the First Amendment does not protect Chinese propaganda and that the government needs no warrant to freeze Americans’ assets if its goal is to mitigate a foreign threat.

Protests erupt.

On Twitter, Trump calls the protesters traitors and suggests (in capital letters) that they could use a good beating. When counterprotesters oblige, Trump blames the original protesters for sparking the violent confrontations and deploys the Insurrection Act to federalize the National Guard in several states. Using the Presidential Alert system first tested in October 2018, the president sends a text message to every American’s cellphone, warning that there is “a risk of violence at polling stations” and that “troops will be deployed as necessary” to keep order. Some members of opposition groups are frightened into staying home on Election Day; other people simply can’t find accurate information online about voting. With turnout at a historical low, a president who was facing impeachment just months earlier handily wins reelection—and marks his victory by renewing the state of emergency.

Over all, this prognostication remains fairly believable. I tried to update it to reflect the coronavirus and to diminish the Iran factor. I did not revise it to account for the extensive voter suppression activities already underway in the attacks on mail-in ballots, the cleansing of voter rolls in Trumpican-governed states, and the pending deployment of the Trumpican Voter Suppression army. These actions will only heighten the tension. We can witness in Hong Kong what easily could happen here.

The second example “How Far Would Trump Go to Keep Job? Foes Brainstorm Options,”   (NYT, May 25, 2020, print), is briefer as reported in the article. My awareness of this article triggered my reviving The Atlantic one. Preparing such scenarios seems more relevant now as we approach the moment of truth. In this version:

In October, President Trump declares a state of emergency in major cities in battleground states, like Milwaukee and Detroit, banning polling places from opening.

A week before the election, Attorney General William P. Barr announces a criminal investigation into the Democratic presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

After Mr. Biden wins a narrow Electoral College victory, Mr. Trump refuses to accept the results, won’t leave the White House and declines to allow the Biden transition team customary access to agencies before the Jan. 20 inauguration.

The approach here is more domestic-based but ultimately leads the same moment of truth for the United States. It also means that if Joe Biden wins he will face more than legal battles that will drag on for weeks. He will receive no transition support since according to the incumbent, Biden didn’t win and isn’t entitled to any. Therefore as much as possible Biden needs to be ready Day 1 with a full slate of officials who know what they are doing. This interim period will provide a window of opportunity for any foreign entity wishing to take advantage of the American vulnerability. It puts the American military in a bind since it already knows what the rest of the world knows: the American commander in-chief is a blithering idiot, a simpleminded person of limited knowledge, attention span, and retention. Who knows what he might order to be done? Who knows who will obey him?

I first considered the topic of the 2020 election chaos in a blog back in 2018 about Anonymous

Suppose the very stable genius is wrong about 2020 (assuming he is still in office and chooses to run again)? Will the President honor the election results? Will the President leave the White House voluntarily? Will he demand a full investigation into the rigged results? Will he remain in the White House until the investigation by his Attorney General (not a stupid Southerner[Sessions]) is completed?  

In the follow up on March 17, 2019, I added this perspective on my earlier blog:

Those of you who read this blog [2018], may I have thought I was off my rocker. I am pleased to note that five months later the Fixer, who well knows the personality of Person #1 and what he is capable of, raised the exact same concerns in his Congressional testimony. There was not the chance to resolve this issue in the 2018 elections since the Democratic tidal wave was so huge. Even for someone living in an alternate reality there are limits as to how many Congressional districts can be contested. The situation is quite different at the presidential level.

Suppose in 2020, the Democratic candidate wins by the same small margin as the 306 electoral vote landslide in 2016? How many states would need to be contested to switch the national results? At this point it is impossible to know. Indeed we may never know if the margin is comparable to the Congressional vote in 2018. An almost 9% spread is difficult to finesse to an Electoral College victory.

I revisited the subject on May 6, 2019, When Did You First Know Individual #1 Would Reject the 2020 Results If He Lost? following an article two days earlier. Remember Nancy Pelosi’s concerns (Pelosi Warns Democrats: Stay in the Center or Trump May Contest Election Results, NYT, May 4, 2019):

PERSON #1 WON’T LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE VOLUNTARILY

Few people outside Ms. Pelosi’s inner circle were aware of how worried she was that Mr. Trump would try to stop the opposition party from taking control of the House unless the Democrats’ victory was emphatic enough to be indisputable.

 “If we win by four seats, by a thousand votes each, he’s not going to respect the election. He would poison the public mind. He would challenge each of the races; he would say you can’t seat those people.” In recent weeks, Ms. Pelosi has told associates that she does not automatically trust the president to respect the results of any election short of an overwhelming defeat.

 She said the victory in 2020 needed to be by a margin so “big” that it cannot reasonably be challenged.

 “We have to inoculate against that, we have to be prepared for that,” as she discussed her concern that Mr. Trump would not give up power voluntarily if he lost re-election by a slim margin.

The questions I asked on March 17, 2019, remain valid.

Will Individual #1 unleash his muscle in his militias, military, police, and Second Amendment people to protect him from the greatest threat to the United States ever?

How long would it take the Supreme Court to adjudicate all the legal claims filed?

If his Supreme Court betrayed him, would Individual #1 honor its ruling?

Who would actually extract Individual # from the White House?

Based on The New York Times article, it appears that more people and with more standing than I have now realize the issue is not some wild-eyed hypothetical but a real world possibility with the clock ticking. We are headed for a showdown. Of course, if the post-election legal fight drags on long enough, it could lead to Nancy Pelosi becoming President on January 20, 2021 (Could Nancy Pelosi Become the First Female President?: A Constitutional Crisis).

One final possibility to consider is suppose Biden loses. How will people react to four more years of our immature child president? Will that result push people over the edge? That is a subject for another blog.

If Mike Pence Were President, How Many More Americans Would Be Alive Today?: Over 80,000 and Counting

May 22, 2020
by Peter Feinman
God’s Plan for Mike Pence (The Atlantic, Tim O'Brien)

If Mike Pence were President, how many more Americans would be alive today? I posed that question in my blog on April 27, 2020, entitled If Mike Pence Were President, How Many More Americans Would Be Alive Today? At that time, I did not have a specific figure. I wrote this about the counterfactual:

This time we have hard-based scientific evidence that the situation could have been different. We know that social distancing and lock-downs work. It is possible to examine the dates of when cities in the United States (like New York) and cities throughout the world commenced a lock down. The numbers aren’t hidden figures. They are visible in plain sight. We know that the earlier these actions were taken, the fewer deaths there would have been and would be.  The same applies to the states. It is possible to examine the numbers from the 50 states and observe how many lives would have been saved if a state had acted a day earlier, two days earlier, a week earlier, or two weeks earlier. We know with different national leadership fewer Americans would have died and the economy wouldn’t have collapsed as much.

In my concluding paragraph, I wrote:

It is really not so difficult to imagine a different scenario being played out. The evidence is right there before us. We have the numbers. We have the multiple examples from the different cities, states, and countries.

Now we have the answer. A team of researchers at Columbia University have crunched the numbers and created a model in a report entitled “Differential Effects of Intervention Timing on COVID-19 Spread in the United States” by Sen Pei Kandula and Jeffrey Shaman. I don’t expect it to be on the night stand of our elementary-school literate President or mentioned on Fox except perhaps in a derogatory way.

According to the study, the implementation of mitigation measures a week or two earlier would have made a substantial difference. They used the May 3 death toll of 65,307 as a control point for the number of deaths and March 15 as the date for the start of mitigation measures in the United States. The results for starting earlier are:

March 8 – a decrease in the number of deaths from 65, 307 to 29,410 deaths for a reduction of 35,987 or almost 55%

March 1 – a decrease in the number of deaths from 65,307 to 11,253 deaths for a reduction of 54,054 or almost 83%.

If we extrapolate the results to the pending 100,000 actual deaths, the results based on the March 1 date mean approximately 17,000 Americans would have died instead for a reduction of 83,000. Presumably these calculations would ripple through the timeline.

True, this is a model. But when asked by Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” about the impact of starting mitigation efforts in February Anthony Fauci replied:

“I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives…  Obviously, no one is going to deny that.”

My immediate reaction on hearing that comment was that obviously one person was going to deny that. After all he rated himself a “10” and wouldn’t change anything he has done. Fauci went on to say:

“We make a recommendation. Often, the recommendation is taken. Sometimes it’s not. But we — it is what it is. We are where we are right now.”

Would we be where we are right now if the Senate had voted to remove the impeached President and Mike Pence had become President in February instead? We will never know but I think it is safe to say he couldn’t have done any worse. We certainly never would have heard of hydroxychloroquine or have considered the feasibility of disinfectants. Time Magazine has reported a spike in accidental poisonings with household disinfectants (May 25, 2020). The number of prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine has nearly doubled now that it has the Presidential seal of approval. How long will it be before the lawsuits against the government start?

But, of course, Mike Pence did not become President? Could he have risen to the occasion and become a profile in courage against the buffoon President? Could Vice President Brown Nose have cast aside his subordinate identity and become as outspoken and dedicated to the truth as Fauci is? I asked that question in a blog on October 3, 2019, minus the Fauci reference, entitled Will Mike Pence Become a Profile in Courage?   The blog gave me the opportunity to compare Pence to a lookalike Star Trek figure Captain Merik in “Bread and Circuses” who did rise to the occasion.

Mike Pence Is No Captain Merik in Star Trek “Bread and Circuses” (William Smithers)

My conclusion then was that Pence would not:

What will Mike Pence do? He prides himself on his Christian values. Will he tell the truth? He prides himself on never dining alone with a woman who is not his wife. Will he tell the truth? He prides himself on his integrity. Will he tell the truth? He thinks he is part of God’s plan. Will he tell the truth?

No. Even his staff knows the truth does not register with him.

He will not rise to the occasion.

He will not be a profile in courage.

He never would have been picked for the position of Vice President if he was.

Thinking about this topic now caused me to reread The Atlantic article God’s Plan for Mike Pence by McKay Coppins (January/February 2018). Coppins began by describing Pence’s appearance at a political rally where he passed on the good wishes of the president.

He delivers this message with a slight chuckle that has a certain, almost subversive quality to it. Watch Pence give enough speeches, and you’ll notice that this often happens when he’s in front of a friendly crowd. He’ll be witnessing to evangelicals at a mega-church, or addressing conservative supporters at a rally, and when the moment comes for him to pass along the president’s well-wishes, the words are invariably accompanied by an amused little chuckle that prompts knowing laughter from the attendees. It’s almost as if, in that brief, barely perceptible moment, Pence is sending a message to those with ears to hear—that he recognizes the absurdity of his situation; that he knows just what sort of man he’s working for; that while things may look bad now, there is a grand purpose at work here, a plan that will manifest itself in due time. [bold added]

Did you notice that “slight chuckle” at any of the coronavirus press conferences? You probably noticed the grimaces and groans of Fauci and Birx as the simple-minded immature child wandered off into his imaginary world. As for Vice President Brown Nose, nary a facial expression of any kind except beaming adulation. At some point someone will document the timeline of when and why Pence sold his soul.

Coppins also reported Pence as saying:

“We’ve come to a pivotal moment in the life of this country….It’s a good time to pray for America.” His voice rising in righteous fervor, the vice president promises an opening of the heavens. “If His people who are called by His name will humble themselves and pray,” he proclaims, “He’ll hear from heaven, and He’ll heal this land!”

It is quite possible Pence actually believes what he is preaching. If McConnell has been the conduit for the appointment of conservative judges, then Pence has been the conduit for white evangelical Christians to the White House. He’s doing God’s work.

Pence is following God’s plan.  “If you’re Mike Pence, and you believe what he believes, you know God had a plan,” says Ralph Reed.

Coppins own analysis probably written at the end of 2017 is tinged with tragic irony given what has occurred.

Pence is a man who believes heaven and Earth have conspired to place him a heartbeat—or an impeachment vote—away from the presidency. At some crucial juncture in the not-too-distant future, that could make him a threat to Trump.

We had the impeachment. Did you notice any change in Pence? We are having the coronavirus crisis. Did you notice any change in Pence? Do you think the President ever worries about the Vice President telling the truth?

Coppins observed:

In Pence, Trump has found an obedient deputy whose willingness to suffer indignity and humiliation at the pleasure of the president appears boundless.

Still true over two years later.

Kellyanne Conway: “Mike Pence is someone whose faith allows him to subvert his ego to the greater good.”

Pence’s belief in “servant leadership” makes him a perfect patsy for a skilled con artist who knows how to manipulate people.

Evangelical Marc Short [White House director of legislative affairs] told me that in moments of need, Pence turns to a favorite passage in Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Coppins noted this passage in conjunction with the Hollywood Access tape crisis. What exactly is that plan? Is it to go down with a sinking ship? Is it to stand idly by and watch tens of thousands of Americans die? When will that divine plan manifest itself? According to the evangelical Vice President in April:

“I truly do believe that if we all continue to do that kind of social distancing and other guidance broadly from federal and state officials, that we’re going to put this coronavirus in the past. I believe by early June we’re going to see our nation largely past this epidemic. I think honestly, if you look at the trends today, that I think by Memorial Day weekend we will have this coronavirus epidemic behind us.”

The day of reckoning is upon us. Memorial Day Weekend is here. Will Pence face the truth of his failed prophecy? Will he see the light at the end of tunnel? Will he rise to the occasion? Will he be the leader America needs? No. No. No. And no. Are you kidding me? He will claim his prophecy has been fulfilled just as his Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name, will.

Friday Night Lights: Risking Lives for the Dow

May 21, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Friday Night Lights versus the Coronavirus (https://www.nccfnl.com/)

We have now celebrated V-Zero Day over the coronavirus per the White House Council of Economic Advisers. In a few days we will be looking back at the crisis per the Vice President of the United States. Next month we will be back to normal per the son in-law of the President of the United States. We have prevailed. There is light at the end of the tunnel per the President of the United States. We’re back!

What does it mean to be back to normal? For Trumpicans, the coronavirus crisis has been an economic crisis and not a medical crisis. People in New York got the virus. People in prisons did. People in nursing homes did. You know…those people did. Real Americans didn’t get the coronavirus.  As a person at a plaza in an Atlanta suburb said:

“When you start seeing where the cases are coming from and the demographics⸺I’m not worried.” (quoted in the Washington Post and by Michelle Goldberg, NYT 5/19/20).

The counter quotation on the same day was by Rebecca Patterson the girlfriend of Ron Wilkins in Texas who endured 37 days on a ventilator and has the medical bills to show it.

“People don’t really understand how serious this is until they know somebody who’s going through it. It’s only a matter of time before everyone in the country knows someone. I don’t know what the solution is but I don’t think hurrying to open is it.” (USA Today, 5/19/20).

If she was a Trumpican, it doesn’t seem like she is anymore.

Friday Night Lights

Sports, like every other segment of society, has been part of the coronavirus crisis. The Olympics have been postponed. Professional basketball and hockey seasons ended. Tennis tournaments and gold matches weren’t held. There was no “Play ball” for baseball. Football is trying to figure out what to do. Colleges are struggling with how to play sports if there are no students on campus or in the stands. But what about high school sports which affects every community in the country?

Friday Night Lights has been a book, a movie, and a TV series. It carved out a niche for itself as a tale of the role of high school football in a Texan community. It almost was an anthropological window into the way of life of a people and with a story to boot. Even people who were not from a Friday Night Light community themselves were drawn into its storylines of small town life with larger than life meaning.

But besides all that other stuff, it also was about football, about high school kids playing football, about high school kids playing football with practices in August which is only a few months away. Forget about all the talk about reopening schools in September for a moment and think about reopening football practice in a little over two months. Kids practice wearing helmets not masks; they practice near each other with no social distancing; and they sweat a lot especially in the hot and humid south.

And then there are the games. In a Friday Nights Light community, the whole town turns out for the games. It is not like high school in urban communities especially ones with professional sports. It’s tough enough to get coverage of college games yet along high school games there. Friday Night Lights and College Town football are different worlds from City Professional sports. Are you going to deprive these communities of the events that are essential to the social fabric of a community?

The game is more than a game. The whole community is involved. Politicians, families, local businesses, churches…you name it, it is part of the experience. So are the after game parties. So are the caravans to the away games. So is sitting in the stands. Real men don’t wear masks. Real Americans don’t get coronavirus. Who’s going to tell people in the stands to wear masks? Who’s going to tell them to sit apart? Who’s going to enforce it? Friday Night Light life poses an immense challenge if the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the son in-law of the President of the United States, and the White House Council of Economic Advisers are wrong and we have not prevailed, are not looking back, and there still is no light at the end of tunnel.

Church       

Friday Night Lights are not the only places where people gather on a weekly basis. There also is Sunday morning church. That debate isn’t waiting for August, it’s happening now. Weekly services are part of the routine of life for millions of Americans. For others who attend church for marriages, funerals, and the big holidays, the world of people who religiously attend weekly is as remote as Friday Night Lights football communities are. Simply being there in a religious building on a regular basis is part of the way millions bring order to chaos, strengthen themselves for the days to come, and find comfort. Are you going to deprive people of what is essential to their way of life?

We know that people gathered together indoors for an extensive period of time provide a ripe venue for the spread of the coronavirus. Outbreaks have occurred when simply one person has attended such family and religious events. People may not be in churches for as long as they are in a nursing home, a prison, a meat plant, or a cruise ship, but at this point, no one knows how much time it takes to spread the virus. It’s one thing for people to be willing to take the risk with their own lives; it is quite another for them to risk the lives of others. That’s the equivalent of not taking a vaccine.

Political Rallies

Our president feeds on the adulation of people who have accepted him as their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name. How long can he go without being fed? How long can they go without praising his name, laughing at his insults, and reciting the approved chants? He needs his rallies.

These rallies are indoors and for long periods of time.

No one who wears a mask will be allowed inside. Only Fox will be able to cover the events, the mainstream media won’t be able to.

Only Trumpicans will be present. They are immune to the coronavirus and the crisis is over.

Is there any doubt that Trumpicans will flock by the thousands to rally on behalf of their Lord and Savior once they are finally able to? After all, what could possibly happen to them?

Trumpican Presidential Convention

The single longest and largest concentration of Trumpicans will occur this August at the Trumpican coronation. Nobody will be allowed to wear a mask and there will be armed freedom fighters stationed at the entrances to ensure that no weak and wimpy people are allowed in. There will be no social distancing either. For days, Trumpicans by the thousands will rally indoors on behalf of their leader. And then they will walk the streets of the city in search of food and alcohol where they can continue the celebration. After all, what could possibly happen to them? We have prevailed, we are looking back, and we have reached the light at the end of tunnel.

The reopening of the country will pose many problems. First is the lack of reliable information from our national government. Second is the lack of reliable information from our state governments. Third is the belief in one’s invulnerability which doesn’t end when you stop being a teenager. Fourth is the fact that we are social animals who need to be with other people and touch them physically. Fifth is the origin of this country with the “Don’t Tread on Me” ethos that complicates the challenge of getting people to obey the government or common sense. And finally, of course, there is our impulsive immature child president who lives in an imaginary world where he creates his truth simply by speaking it and helped cause this crisis to begin with. All these factors do not bode well for the reopening.