FREAK OUT FRIDAY – October 30, 2020

We have neighbors down the street with whom we had developed a sort of tradition.  Every year we’d go over to their house on New Year’s Eve.  We’d celebrate the end of the old year, watch the ball drop in Times Square.  I’d sing “Edelweiss” for some reason because the wife loved the way I did that song.  It was a nice annual interaction.

We never discussed politics.  Never came up.  I had no idea where their allegiances were, and no particular interest either.  And that was fine.

Then Trump was elected.  And apparently they discovered my political leanings.  And as it turned out, they were Trump supporters.

And we were never invited back.

Not my doing.  We’d be perfectly happy to pick up the tradition.  But I suspect that’s not going to happen.  And if it did, not discussing politics would now become somewhat strained, because politics now informs every aspect of American lives.  

Part of that is because of social media.  Trump has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, between his incessant, unending string of twitter rants and his followers—both genuine American and Russian bots–permeating Facebook, Twitter and every other means of public discourse.  If you’re a Biden supporter and put signs up on your front lawn, you’ve drawn a target on your house and the signs will likely vanish when you’re not looking.  If you’re a Trump supporter you scornfully challenge the manliness of anyone who is wimpy enough to wear a facemask because you know that the Coronavirus is on the retreat even as death counts spike

How did we become this fractured, this divided?  Is it ALL because of Trump?  Was he able to single-handedly shred the country this badly?

No.  Any awareness of history indicates that he is simply the culmination of the slow disintegration of American discourse.  He is the head of the pimple that took decades to develop.  The rise of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh combined with a political climate that became increasingly divisive.  The notion of GOPers who valued adherence to American values over party loyalty that led to Nixon being told to leave office is long gone.  Over the past decades, what we believe in terms of the party has defined us, separated us into tribes.  It used to be believed that the things that united us were far more significant than that which divided us.  That those who held variant views were defined as the loyal opposition.  

That is no longer the case.  There’s us and there’s them.  There’s real facts and alternative facts.  Those who agree with us love the country.  Those who disagree with us hate the country.  They are not the opposition, they are the enemy.  They are fascists (and mysteriously antifacists at the same time, because both are bad somehow.). They are racists or socialists.  They are evil and we are good.  They are traitors to the American spirit and should just get the hëll out of the country and go live somewhere else, which is something of a challenge since most countries won’t allow us to cross their borders.  And whose fault is that?  If you’re on the left, it’s Trump’s.  If you’re on the right, it’s the Chinese and Dr. Fauci and the Democrats.

We literally cannot agree on truth anymore.  If Watergate were happening right now, forty percent of Nixon’s followers would not believe the coverage of the Washington Post.  Deep Throat would be considered a fictional creation of those liars, Woodward and Bernstein, and Fox News would be pounding away with opposing stories decrying the savage witch hunt from liberals trying to take down Nixon whom they’d been gunning for ever since JFK unfairly beat him in 1960.  That is how much the world has deteriorated.

It didn’t have to be like this.  On the other hand, maybe it did.  It may well be that social media has caused the American experience to deteriorate because the veil has been pierced and we know too much about each other.   Walt Simonson said years ago that the separation between fans and professionals was a good thing; that we should remain divided from the fans to help maintain the mystery.  That is long gone, and now pros must live in fear that one moment’s uncontrolled angry post on Twitter can literally end their careers as they become “cancelled,” driven into oblivion.  There is a constant search for a new enemy to be pilloried. 

No one is exempt from this.

Except, seemingly, Trump.  The living incarnation of Teflon Don.  We have become so overwhelmed, so numb to his violations of decency, that things which—had Obama said or done them—would have wound up on the front pages of every newspaper, don’t even register anymore.  Hëll, if Hillary Clinton had handled the Coronavirus as badly as Trump, the GOP would have impeached her and removed her from office.  Done deal.  But Trump has his hardcore defenders.  His supporters were left to freeze to death in Nebraska and you know the majority of them will still defend him.  

Four years ago, on my website, I put out a poll asking how long people thought he would survive his presidency.  How and when and why would he wind up leaving?  A handful thought that he might make it through all four years; most believed that he would resign or be thrown out of office.  I suppose he should get SOME credit for surviving much longer than most of us believed he would. 

I need to note that I was worried that his presidency would indeed be a disaster.  That Hillary would be right:  some emergency would surface that he would be unable to handle, which is exactly what happened.  

But I wanted to be wrong.  I wanted him to grow into the role.  I wanted him to surprise all of us.  I wanted him to be a strong leader who set us down a path to greatness, supported American ideals, protected all of us.  I cannot recall any time in my life where I wanted my gut instincts to be misplaced.

And now here we are.  Nearly a quarter of a million Americans dead.  The environment under siege.  The Supreme Court with a bulletproof conservative majority representing the views of the minority of the populace.  The very notion of truth now under siege as people cling to their own truths rather than deal with facts that fly in the face of them.  

It is interesting to note that George Orwell, who wrote “1984,” the novel through which we are now living, was a Democratic Socialist.  That would be enough to get him tagged by modern commentators as a Communist, even though he based the dystopian world of “1984” on Russia.  A world where everyone is always being watched.  A world where facts give way to Newspeak, which rewrites language into a new vocabulary that suits the wants and desires of Big Brother.   The Thought Police—or as they’re known now, Social Justice Warriors on the left or angry snowflakes on the right—come after you if you dare to say something that runs contrary to their popular beliefs (currently they’re targeting the Girl Scouts for congratulating Judge Barrett, which pìššëd øff the left, so they quickly took down the tweet, which pìššëd øff the right.  Either way, lower cookie sales this year.)

The fortunate thing is that, for the moment, we still have an option that Orwell’s world did not possess:  the opportunity to vote people out of office.  Granted, Trump is going to do everything he can to try and invalidate it, because that’s what dictators do.  They take away rights not immediately, not in one shot, but progressively, one small slice at a time, the death of a thousand cuts.  

This Tuesday is going to make or break this country.  That’s what it comes down to.

This is the last Freak Out Friday.  I admit that Trump has somewhat dominated this site the past two weeks, irrespective of my desire to limit him to one day a week, but with the advent of election day that is more or less understandable.  

If, God forbid, he wins…if every single poll in the country is wrong…I will not return to Freak Out Friday.

Why?

Because my attacks on Trump will be unabated.  I will no longer endeavor to constrain myself to one day.  Every day of the week, whenever I feel like it, I will lay into him and attack him, because that will be the only option left.  It will be a full-on assault.

The gloves will be off.

PAD

Final Presidential debate

8;18: Currently watching “Supernatural.” Feeling very relaxed. That’s gonna change.

8:59; Please don’t let Biden screw up.

9:03: So I wonder how long it will be before Trump tries shouting over Biden’s mic.

9:05: Oh yeah. I’m sure Trump will let Biden speak.

9:05: And literally the first sentence out of his mouth is a lie. The estimated 2 million who were going to die was if the government did absolutely nothing. The vaccine is not coming and not ready. It’s all bûllšhìŧ.

9:07: No, he hasn’t been congratulated. Almost every country in the world has forbidden US citizens from coming there. And no, it’s not going away.

9:08: There we go. Biden is answering the question directly. Stark contrast. Meanwhile Trump actually looks like HE is falling asleep.

9:10: The military has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

9:11: Jesus. Winter is coming has now become part of our lives.

9:13: What in the hëll is Trump talking about? He’s just kind of rambling. I’ve lost track of his point.

9:15: “We’re not learning to live with it. We’re dying with it.” Best line so far.

9;16: Excellent. Biden finally stated that his comment about xenophobia wasn’t related to the shutdown. A lot of people might still not know that.

9:19: Have to admit, Trump is more under control this time. He’s not interrupting.

9:21: No, New York is not a ghost town. Kath was in NYC just a few days ago and she says it’s not. YOUR wonderful city? You disowned it, you schmuck.

9:23: Seriously? He’s attacking MICHIGAN? Where his followers tried to kidnap the governor?

9:23: Biden is trying not to break up. And no, Fauci is NOT a Democrat. He’s an independent. He keeps tossing this lie around.

9:25: “We have plenty of money.” Bûllšhìŧ. They’re out of money, having to pull advertising in a number of states.

9:29: And once again he pulls out the bûllšhìŧ rumor that Biden was given $3 million from Russia. We know that’s complete nonsense. Again, it’s right out of the Goebbels playbook. Say a lie enough times and it becomes the truth. ‘

9:30: He has the nerve to state that BIDEN is raking in money? Trump has made millions upon millions of dollars off American taxpayers.

9:31: Nail him on the tax returns. Screw him to the wall. Yes, Biden is saying everything I was just saying.

9:32: Oh God, he’s STILL hauling out the whole thing about how he can’t release his taxes because they’re under audit. It’s a complete lie.

9:34: No, they did NOT spy on his campaign. And now he’s off on the whole witch hunt thing. Jesus, this doesn’t end.

9:37: Yes, exactly. Trump cozies up to dictators and screws over our friends.

9:40: She’s doing a good job at wrangling him.

9:41: Good. Don’t get dragged into back and forth. Talk directly to the American people.

9:43: There’s no war SO FAR. Kim is preparing for it and he’s not acknowledging it.

9:45: Cut his microphone off. Let her steer the conversation.

9:46: He’ll make a vague promises about a much better program and talk about the individual mandate. That’s all he’s got.

9:48: He wants to come up with a new program? Odd. I thought he already had one. And no, Biden will NOT terminate private health care.

9:50: Good. Spell out that he’s not going to eliminate private insurance.

9:52: I love the contrast: Trump shakes his head while Biden speaks, and Biden is clearly laughing while Trump talks.

9:54: No, he’s not talking about ANY of that when he’s talking about a private option. “He’s very confused.” Good observation.

9:55: Trump’s losing it. The stock market? When was THAT brought up?

9:57: “We’re ready, willing and able” says the guy who walked away from the negotiations.

9:57: Biden is getting seriously pìššëd, talking about the stalled Heroes Act. Good to see that passion flying.

9:58: Yes, Democratic cities were being helped, and so were Republican farmers. But hey, why not take the opportunity to throw out some xenophobic comments about how people are going to want to come here from foreign countries.

10:02: And he’s not going to answer this question. And no, we don’t have 400 miles of wall; it’s thirty. “We’re working on it; we’re trying very hard.” Uh huh.

10;04: “We made a mistake.” Four words you will NEVER hear Trump say.

10;07: And we’re back with the whole thing about the notion that immigrants are murderers and racists. Gee, why would ANYONE think he’s xenophobic.

10:10: Given a chance to show his empathy, Trump says one sentence and then goes to the attack. And now he’s hauling out the whole “I’ve done more for black people than any other president” bûllšhìŧ.

10:12: Good. Don’t repeat the lie. Just say, “I never said that.” If you repeat the lie, that’s what people come away remembering.

10:12: Yes, he did run because of Barack Obama; because Obama made jokes about him.

10:15: Yes. He’s bringing up the exact story that I posted just the other day. Trump is spewing all sorts of bûllšhìŧ that the Russians have been feeding them.

10:17: “I have great relations with all people.” Gee, I seem to recall lots of people writing books about how much they hate him.

10:18: “A dog whistle as big as a foghorn.” Best line so far.

10:19: Once again he admits a mistake, something Trump will never do. Of course, it could be argued that he’s changed his mind in this instance because his own son suffered from drug problems. But so what?

10:21: Asked and answered. He and Obama DID do things during the eight years. Trump seriously can’t process it. And yes, we did have a Republican congress. Talk them into it? McConnell made a point of saying he was going to block everything Obama wanted to do. You don’t get to blame a man who wasn’t president on things that Obama wasn’t able to do because the GOP blocked them.

10:23: No, he hasn’t done an incredible job. He’s been doing everything he can to remove all rules protecting the environment.

10:26: Biden is laughing again. That’s gonna make Trump nuts.

10:26: Well yes, the plan he’s describing is crazy, but that’s because that’s not remotely the plan; it’s just a figment of his imagination.

10:28: WIND KILLS BIRDS? SERIOUSLY? Next he’s going to say that roadrunners outwit coyotes.

10:30: Well, thank God that’s over…oh. Shìŧ. They’re still going.

10:31: I’ve totally lost track of what they’re talking about.

10:34: “I was getting calls”. That’s what he always says when he makes šhìŧ up. And here’s the last question and once again HE DOESN’T ANSWER IT.

10:35: Biden, of course, answer it directly. It’s perfect because talking directly to Americans is when he’s at his best.

10:36: Anyone who forgets to vote at this point is so stupid that we don’t need their vote.

10:37: Christ, they’re going to say Trump won because he didn’t interrupt Biden.

FREAK OUT FRIDAY – October 16, 2020

I did as I said I would:  I watched “Supernatural,” and don’t regret it for a moment.  I then tuned in to watch the last half hour of Biden:  he seemed natural, relaxed, and sane.

Then, in order to write this column, I sat down and watched the Trump town hall on Youtube.   

I am producing this commentary as I’m watching it.  Think of it as a belated live blog.  The good thing is that Kathleen is upstairs asleep and doesn’t have to deal with hearing Trump’s voice.

  1.  Savannah Guthrie starts out by asking him about his last negative Covid test, which the White House has been dodging.  Trump replies that he doesn’t remember being tested before the debate; Guthrie presses him on it and now he says he probably was tested.  So right off the bat, he changes his tune:  “Possibly I did, possibly I didn’t.”  Let’s face facts:  he knew that he had it and was hoping to give it to Biden.
  •  He claims that he’s not against masks.  Another lie.  He disparages Biden for wearing them and refuses to wear one himself.  People actually pay attention to what he says and does.  And Guthrie isn’t letting him get away with it.   She’s calling him on the hypocrisy.
  • “On the excess mortality, we’re a winner.”  What in the HÊLL is he talking about?  Guthrie rightly points out that our per capita death rate is the highest in the world and all he does is talk about Regeneron.  She asked him about whether he is in favor of letting more people die and throw it out to herd immunity, which he doesn’t answer.  Instead he claims that millions could have died, and Guthrie again nails him by pointing out that number is based on a study speculating about deaths if the government had done nothing.  
  • He claims he denounces white supremacy but can’t help going after Antifa and the left anyway.  And now he states once again that he knows nothing about QAnon, which is the EXACT same answer he gave weeks ago. Even if it was true then, he did nothing to research it or investigate a movement that his own FBI equates with terrorism?  Doesn’t he understand that constantly saying “I don’t know about it” regarding things that everyone else in the country is aware of makes him look like a dámņëd idiot? 
  • God, he is SO defensive.  She’s pressing him and he keeps bìŧçhìņg and whining and pìššìņg and moaning.  
  • “You’re the President! You’re not like somebody’s crazy uncle who can retweet whatever.”  That’s the best observation any news person has ever made to his face.  
  • “Your own FBI director says there’s no evidence of voter fraud.”  “Well then he’s not doing a very good job.”  That’s Trump right there.  Bad mouth the law enforcement agency that, oh yes, just rounded up a bunch of white supremacists who wanted to kidnap and execute the governor of Virginia.  Yes, that’s very supportive.  I’m sure they appreciate it. 
  • “There is in fact no evidence of widespread voter fraud.”  She’s absolutely right and he won’t admit it.  He’s still operating under the delusion he’s going to win.
  • Yet another lie:  everyone in the room wanted Trump to do the travel ban.  They had to talk him into it.  And then he turned around and claimed that it was entirely his idea and everyone else opposed him.  Also Biden did NOT call him xenophobic and racist because of the China shut down; he called him that because he IS xenophobic and racist.
  1.  And Guthrie real-time fact checks him again.  No one is saying 40 percent unemployment; as Guthrie points out, twenty percent, yes, not double that.  
  1. “I was okay with the masks” says the man whose behavior has turned masks into a political question that has divided the country.  My God, the bûllšhìŧ that just radiates from this man is palpable. 
  1. “We’re always protecting people with pre-existing conditions.”  No.  He’s not.  His people are pushing forward a case to the SCOTUS that would eliminate it entirely.  Ah, and Guthrie is nailing him on it.  And yet again he hauls out his dodge about how he’s going to replace it with a much better program WHICH DOES NOT EXIST.  He’s been claiming it for almost four years and has produced NOTHING.  
  1. Trump was the one who shut down conversations about the stimulus package and naturally he blames Pelosi for it.  He cannot take responsibility for anything.  And Guthrie is continuing to hold his feet to the fire.  He keeps trying to toss it back to Pelosi and Guthrie is making it painfully obvious that he’s shucking and jiving.  Trump says he can’t ask the Republicans to agree to it because of Pelosi?  Does that make sense to anyone aside from Trump?
  1. No, Biden does NOT want to raise taxes on middle income taxpayers.  Yet another lie.  
  1. $420 million is a small amount of money?  Seriously?
  1. He’s “treated badly” by the IRS?  Is anyone treated WELL by the IRS?  It’s the IRS’s job to take money away from you, not to treat you with kid gloves.  And he keeps repeating the lie that he will eventually release his tax returns.  Along with his “repeal and replace” lie, it’s one of his favorites.  He claims “I wouldn’t mind saying” who he owes money to, and then of course doesn’t say anything specific.  Deny, deny, deny.  
  1.  And once again Guthrie confronts him with his hypocrisy, pointing out that back in 2016 he stated Obama should not be allowed to appoint a new judge to the SCOTUS.  His response is to claim that the grilling of Judge Cavanaugh “changed the game.”  How?  How did that hearing take McConnell and the GOP and Trump himself off the hook of being raging hypocrites?  
  1. An interesting question from an anti-choicer (a term I feel is far more accurate than Pro-Lifer):  if they managed to overturn Roe v. Wade, as Trump is trying to do, what protections would be put in place when the mother’s life is in danger?  And of course he didn’t answer it.  Didn’t even come close.  Didn’t address it at all.  He won’t even admit that he wants to get rid of a woman’s right to choose.  Instead he just claims that he wants the SCOTUS to make a decision on it.  News flash:  They DID make a decision in 1973, and the GOP has been trying to overturn it ever since.  Trump is trying to slam Barrett through so that she can be part of a 6-3 majority to overturn it and yet doesn’t have the balls to admit that that’s what he’s doing.
  1. The reason we don’t like it when he says he’s done more for the African-American community than any president since Lincoln is because it’s a lie.  Off the top of my head, Lyndon Johnson signed Civil Rights into existence.  That was pretty dámņëd significant.  Trump’s boasts of what he’s done are, to put it mildly, dubious.  And of course this woman doesn’t get her question answered either.
  • “We’re going to take care of DACA.”  Yes, just like a Mafioso “takes care” of people he considers enemies.  He then goes on to claim that he’s built four hundred miles of border wall, up from his previous claim of three hundred.  Actual amount he’s built:  thirty miles.  The rest is just repairs on already existing structures.  
  • God, the fact checkers are going to be so busy tearing apart his final comments.  It’s nothing but lies, lies and exaggerations.

Kathleen would have blown her brains out if she’d had to watch this.

I’ll tell you this:  I don’t watch the Today Show, but I might just start doing so to follow this Savannah Guthrie.  It was great to watch her fact-check him in real time.

I honestly don’t know how anyone could be undecided at this point.  Contrast Trump’s rambling, ill-mannered, disingenuous, finger-pointing accusatory style with Biden’s measured, practiced tone, and anyone with two functioning brain cells to rub together can see which one should be leading this country for the next four years.

PAD

FREAK OUT FRIDAY – October 8, 2020

It’s astounding how election day seems to both be speeding toward us and simultaneously taking its own freaking sweet time.  As fast as it’s moving, it’s also taking forever.  We are becoming that desperate to get Trump out of office that every day he’s still there seems like ten.

It’s also been ten days since Trump came down with Covid.  After coming out of a several day stay at Walter Reed that would have cost the average American citizen around $100,000, he has paraded around the White House maskless, standing on a balcony and invoking recollections of “Evita.”  Meanwhile the White House itself has become something of a ghost town.  Thirty-four staffers (that we know of) have contracted Covid, in addition to Melania Trump, Hope Hicks, Steven Miller, Kayleigh McEnany,  (and my guess is Mike Pence as well.).  Most staffers are working from home while Trump continues to insist that he’s fine, not communicable, recovering nicely, in terrific physical shape rather than being morbidly obese, and declaring that people should be perfectly fine with living with a disease that has killed over 210,000 Americans with no end in sight.  At the same time, his staff refuses to specify when was the last time he tested negative.  That reluctance suggests one of two things:  Either he knew he had it when he went to debate Biden and hoped he’d give it to his opponent.  Or his statements that he was being tested every other day were lies and he wasn’t being tested at all.  Neither reflects well.

Meanwhile schools remain in a state of flux as students and teachers come down with it and Broadway has announced that they are going to remain shut down until May of 2021.  Thousands of people remain unemployed, billions of dollars annually won’t flow into New York’s coffers, and obviously there won’t be any Tony Awards in 2021.  But hey, at least Trump is feeling well enough to…

Okay.  Clearly he’s not feeling well enough to do pretty much anything.

The country is witnessing something unique in our history:  We are watching a chief executive of the United States having a complete mental breakdown.

This is not hyperbole.  This is not a typical assessment that Trump is an egotistical narcissist.  

We are genuinely watching a walking advertisement for the 25th Amendment.   Nancy Pelosi obviously agrees, because she is currently introducing a bill regarding it that many speculate is because she wants to activate it.

Trump has retreated to his comfort bubble of Fox News and rallies.  He rambles for an hour at a time to hapless Fox commentators who keep lobbing him softball questions while he rants about why hasn’t Hillary Clinton been indicted (for what?  No clue.) and calls Kamala Harris a monster in the same way that an angry teen would describe the girl who dumped him a week before prom.  When it was decided that the next presidential debate would be done virtually, Trump dismissed the idea.  Of course he did.  He has no record to run on; he has a huge target on his back thanks to Covid and the collapsing economy.  His assertions that Biden is lacking mentally were totally demolished thanks to Biden’s performance in the first shout fest.  (And it’s now turned out that Trump’s constant interruptions were a strategy suggested by Chris Christie deliberately to try and trigger Biden’s stammer, which could then be sold as proof of dementia.  I hope some sort of karmic revenge is exerted on Christie so that…what?  Excuse me?  Christie has Covid, too?  Wow, that was fast.).  It’s natural that Trump would therefore shun the notion of a virtual debate.  His entire debate strategy depends on looming and trying to shout over his opponent.  If he’s on a TV screen, he’s entirely at the mercy of the moderators.   I’m reasonably sure they watched the first debate, know exactly what Trump will do, and will not hesitate to shut him down.  If he’s in person and they mute his mic, he can shout in hopes his voice will be picked up over Biden’s microphone.  If he’s on a video screen, they just mute him.  It’ll be like debating Max Headroom.

Biden, of course, agreed to the format, which is perfect.  Ninety minutes of a Trump-free town hall should be all that’s required to nail down the final support Biden needs to take the election in such an indisputable fashion that Trump will never be able to offer proof of wrong-doing among voters.

Besides, Trump has other things to worry about now.  It’s been announced that five years ago, Trump received a $21.1 million tax break after promising to preserve over 150 acres of woodland near his getaway estate, Seven Springs.  As something that should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention, Trump’s people doubled the value of the land in order to jack up the tax break, and that is now under investigation.  It’s unlikely that anything will come from this new inquiry before election day, but it’s yet another Trump tax crime to be piled onto the steaming corpse of his tax dodging activities.

God knows there are already enough books out there about Trump, but in the future there are going to be entire volumes written about the 2020 election.  We’re watching something unique:  a campaign that is literally falling apart on a national level.  They’re running out of money; their competitor is leading them in all polls by double digits; Trump pulled one campaign manager because of the under attendance of his Oklahoma rally and the new manager has Covid.  It’s like his whole campaign is being run by Milo Murphy.  

It has to end.

So I want all of you to get out there today and vote to…

What?  Another month?  

Dammit.

PAD

FREAK OUT FRIDAY – OCTOBER 2, 2020

We will not laugh.

This is serious business.

We are * heh * we are adults here and we will not laugh at the situation.  There are * heh heh * there are lives on the line and we will not chuckle, guffaw or otherwise spread any sense of amusement over the…

…the…

BWWAAAAAHAAHAHAHAAHAAHAHHHHHHAAAAA

Ha.

Okay.  Okay, I’ve composed myself now.  God, for the first time in my life, I know exactly how Mary Richards felt at the funeral of Chuckles the Clown.

For anyone who has just woken up or was living under a rock or is recovering from a coma and doesn’t know what I’m talking about:  Both Trump and Melania have tested positive for that notorious hoax, Covid-19.  It seems most likely that he contracted it from Hope Hicks, although amazingly a day or so ago it was clear he was trying to lay groundwork for the notion that he got it from the police or military.  “I’m with them so much.  And when they come over here, it’s very hard to say, stay back, stay back.  It’s a tough kind of situation,” he asserted, implying that if he contracted Covid, it would be from enthusiastic soldiers or law enforcement.  Gee, what a shame that he doesn’t have a coterie of body guards who could stand between him and those who want to approach him and keep them back.  Oh, wait…

There’s one other thing that’s certain now:  the whole Trump family must have it.  They were all sitting together, unmasked, on Tuesday night.  Ivanka, Eric, Don Jr., Barron…the odds are Yuge that every one of them will test positive.

This, of course, should solve the entire next debate problem.  At the very least, he’ll still be in quarantine.  And if it sickens and weakens him, he will simply not physically be able to attend.  That means that the only way he would have to be a presence at the next debate would be over video feed, and suddenly muting him becomes VERY feasible indeed.  There were those who claimed that muting him wouldn’t help; he’d simply shout so his voice would be picked up by Biden’s microphone.  Yeah, not so much when he’s on a video screen.  

And if he dies from it…

Understand, I wish death on nobody.  But if he dies from it, I believe that will finally be the wake-up call that the purblind idiots who follow his example and don’t wear masks or social distance will require to realize the disease doesn’t care about your toughness or your politics or your arrogance.  It cares about nothing except existing and spreading.  And if you give it leave to do so, it will take that invitation and run with it.  

Still, I think it behooves us to address this development in the way that Trump himself would.  Ahem…

This is going to be the best case of Covid-19 ever.  

I mean, I’ve heard others talk about getting Covid and either getting completely better from it or in rare instances, expiring from it, although you know, if they did, it’s because they were already old and lived their lives and made bad decisions that left them open to dying from it.  But they’re nothing compared to Trump.  Trump’s Covid is going to be the biggest, the best case of Covid ever.  Doctors are already saying how impressed they are by his Covid.  That they’ve seen many cases of it, but they’ve never seen a case of it like this before.  They’re all saying that shooting bleach into his body wouldn’t have done the trick because no one has ever had a case of Covid like this before.  (Of course, they said it sarcastically, but still…). Yes, sure, Herman Cain had it, but his wasn’t nearly as bad.  Trump’s is the biggest, the most Yuge, the most Covid any coronavirus has ever seen.  In fact, after this, no one else is going to have to worry about getting it because theirs won’t be able to match up.  In fact, we should stop testing altogether, because no matter what kind of Covid anyone else has, it won’t match up or be anywhere near as bad as Trump’s.  However big it is, Trump’s is bigger.  In fact, his Covid is the rarest of all:  It’s perfect.  It’s the perfect case of Covid.  All other cases of Covid have been leading up to this one.  It’s the top, the ultimate, the absolutely most perfect case of Covid in not only the history of Covid, but the history of all diseases that have killed hundreds of thousands of people.  All the other Covids can just be forgotten about.  In fact, Sleepy Joe will probably get it just to show that he can have a better case, but his won’t be nearly as perfect.

(Much thanks to Debbie Sohn for suggesting the “biggest case of Covid” approach.)

Let’s face it:  this was inevitable.  I mean, it just was.  He ignored the advice of scientists.  He held indoor rallies, he didn’t social distance, he almost never wore masks.  It all really stems from a simple psychological reason:  He considers doing what one is told a sign of weakness.  Rules, orders, dictates, laws, those don’t apply to him.  Weakness must be avoided at all because if you’re weak, you’re a loser, and a loser is absolutely the worst thing you can be.  Better to die than to lose.

Now we see if he gets his wish.

PAD 

Live Blogging the first Presidential debate

7:51: Right wingers are already saying that Biden 1) already knows all the questions and 2) is taking drugs. There are, to my knowledge, no performance enhancing drugs for mental awareness, and *I* know what the questions will be.

7:52: I’m still convinced that Trump will ignore the social distancing rule and immediately come over to try and shake Biden’s hand.

8:40: Here’s why Biden has the advantage, bottom line: in recent months, when faced with hard questions during press conferences, Trump oftentimes bolts without replying. Because since he is in fact a bully and a coward, his instinct is to run from a fight. That’s not an option here. He’s going to go in feeling Biden and Wallace are teaming up against him and he’ll be fighting his fight or flight instinct to flee the entire time. That’s going to be distracting.

8:59: Biden’s family is masked. Trump’s family isn’t. Of course.

9:00: Nope, Melania is masked.

9:05: Nope, Trump didn’t try to shake his hand.

9:07: He’s assuming he’s going to win the election. Which figures.

9:08: Wait, wait, the Democrats DIDN’T have the election during Merrick Garland? They HAD THE White House, you moron.

9:11: Trump is NOT GOING TO SHUT UP. He’s not going to let Biden express any thoughts without interrupting with lies.

9:13: Jesus, Roe v. Wade IS on the ballot, it’s being challenged right now in courts, and Trump’s candidate wants to do away with it.

9:14: I can’t wait to hear this. Trump has NO medical plan.

9:15: Keep laughing at him, Joe. That’s going to get to him.

9:17: Cut Trump’s mike off.

9:18: No, Trump has NOT guaranteed preexisting conditions. He is currently in the courts trying to get rid of it.

9:20: Well , Biden dodged that question.

9:23: He couldn’t even let two minutes pass without interrupting.

9:25: No, they didn’t say Trump did a phenomenal job. More fabrication.

9:26: Notice that Biden is looking into camera, addressing America, and Trump is staring at Biden.

9:28: YES! Nail him with the šhìŧ he’s said in the past. “That was sarcastic?” Seroiusly? Now he’s trying to roll it back.

9:30: Again Biden is talking right at us. Good.

9:32: “Will he shush for a moment?” No, he won’t.

9:33: Trump is wrong. Covid has long-term effects, even on young people. Saying they’re immune to it is just wrong.

9:34: Yes, Fauci changed his approach on masks because that’s what scientists do, they learn and change. So you don’t dismiss the latest thing because they’ve learned things in between.

9:36: NO NEGATIVE EFFECT? Tell that to Herman Cain.

9:38: Oh yeah we’re doing record business. That’s why Disney has just announced it’s laying off 28,000 people.

9:40: And again, he can’t go two minutes without interrupting. They should really cut his mike.

9:41: “Excuse me, I should be allowed to ignore the rules to say whatever I want.” And no, Ohio isn’t very proud of him. Polls indicate he’s 9 points behind Biden.

9:43: He’s just saying the same old šhìŧ. “I paid millions.” “You’ll see my tax returns.” Yeah? Biden and Harris posted his.

9;44; Wait, so now he’s saying it’s OBAMA’S fault because of the tax codes? Seriously?

9:47: Why didn’t Biden do more when he was VP? Because McConnell did everything he could to prevent Obama from doing pretty much anything. God, the fact checkers are going to be going insane covering Trump’s slew of lies.

9:50: SHUT OFF HIS MIC!

9:54: Thank God Biden is going first. Let’s see if he can get through it uninterrupted.

9:54: Twenty-three seconds. That’s how long he was able to be quiet.

9:55: Go, Joe. Demolish him.

9:59: And he’s doing it again. Biden let him have his say and then Trump has to come back and start shouting again.

10:00: Race training is radical? I mean, I’d ask if he was insane, but we already know the answer.

10:03: Biden is starting to interrupt him, to do what Trump does. He should do it more, loudly, and frankly he should start using profanity. “Shut the fûçk up, dumb ášš.

10:10: He wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t tell the white supremacists to knock it off. Jesus.

10:12: No, he doesn’t. There are plenty of vets who can’t get help, who have been abandoned.

10:12: They left openings because McConnell blocked them all, you sack of šhìŧ.

10:14: That was indeed a rhetorical question because we know the answer: Trump cannot, will not keep his word or keep to a promise.

10:15: Give it to him, Biden. The part where he defended Beau is great. High point.

10:17: Once again, “people” believe something. People are against the Paris accord. Really? I’ve seen no one save for extreme Trumpies who endorse leaving the accord.’

10:18: Forest cities. He’s back on Endor.

10:27: Almost over. Thank God.

10:29: Jesus, Trump’s body language during that speech was appalling.

10:29: They’ve caught no one. No one. This is all total bûllšhìŧ. Plenty of Trump’s people have been caught and jailed. There is no fraud. No matter how much he claims it, it isn’t true.

10:35: Oh yeah, that’s not instigating trouble. Trump’s armed followers walking in and watching voters so they can scare people off. Great move.

10:38: God, unless they cut Trump’s mic, I’m not sure I can handle two more of these.

FREAK OUT FRIDAY – September 25, 2020

I remember the days when a week could go by and you wouldn’t even register the fact that we had a president, much less be aware of some stupid thing that he had said or done.  Unfortunately the past four years that hasn’t happened.  It seems not a week has gone by where Trump hasn’t found a way to lower the bar or one of his enablers has made an argument that just leaves you scratching your head and saying, “What?”

For instance, just today, Trump’s lawyer appeared before an appeals judge, trying to prevent the Manhattan DA from getting his hands on years of Trump’s financial records.  He contended that the DA’s warrant was overbroad.  At one point the judge reasonably asked, “Is there (any) request for documents that would not, in your view, be overbroad?” This was of course the attorney’s opportunity to present an argument as to what he considered permissible.  Instead he replied, “I think the answer is probably no, your honor.”  He literally would not tolerate or endorse ANY probe into Trump’s financial background:  not his tax returns, not his business records, nothing.  All the stuff that you and I would have to turn over if we were being investigated, Trump’s representatives believed Trump did not have to accommodate.

Meanwhile Trump has leftists and anyone who actually enjoys living in a democracy freaking out because he seems to be making it clear that he has no intention of relinquishing office.  His reluctance to do so certainly makes sense; there are enough investigations into his malfeasance to basically assure that he will probably end up in jail…something that I am convinced will never happen.  I am positive that if he winds up losing on November 3, and holding onto power seems hopeless, at some point in the next sixty days he’s going to head off to visit Saudi Arabia or Russia along with his entire family and will never return to the United States again.  Hëll, he might even leave Melania and Barron behind.  That could make it simpler, be less obvious.  

But so far he’s not the slightest bit interested in conceding that such a thing could happen.  When asked Wednesday if he would acknowledge that he had lost to Biden should the election skew  that way, he took a pause from his unsupported claims of voter fraud to state, “We’re going to have to see what happens.”  He then went on to say, “Get rid of the ballots and we’ll have a very peaceful..there won’t be a transfer frankly.  There’ll be a continuation.”  

“Get rid of the ballots.”

Once again, as he so often has before, Trump said the quiet part out loud.  Just as he did that time when he admitted that if we had genuine election reform and there was no voter interference, we’d never see another Republican voted into office.  Just as when he specifically said that his intention was to prevent the post office from doing its job and delivering properly mailed ballots. He admitted it out loud:  If we can just get rid of those annoying ballots that wanted to put Biden into office, he wouldn’t have to worry about the transfer of power because there wouldn’t be any.

Meanwhile Trump, six weeks out of election, is trying to bribe seniors by claiming he’s going to be sending out cards that will get them $200 off prescription drugs.  The $7 billion dollars required to pay for this undertaking is supposedly to come from savings that will come from Trump’s “most favored nations” drug pricing proposal.  Except it hasn’t been implemented yet, so the $7 billion doesn’t exist, and I’m reasonably sure that since Congress controls the purse strings, this is simply yet another empty Trump promise 

We are indeed so used to the unfulfilled promises that he makes that I think we’ve forgotten that he doesn’t really stick to anything he says.  That’s why, unlike many of my brethren, I do not give the slightest of dámņš over his reluctance to say that he won’t follow the wishes of the American public.  Because there is one truth about Trump that we must keep in mind:  He’s a bully.  And when faced with a genuine threat, a real fight, bullies always back down and run.

The election in Wisconsin some months ago, I think, put forward an indisputable truth:  Democrats have had enough and more than enough.  The GOP did everything they could to impede Democrats voting months ago and the Democrats STILL carried the day.  I think that’s what’s going to happen this time as well.  I think the will of Democrats is going to be so overwhelming that TV news is going to have no problem calling the votes.  I think it’s going to be a freaking landslide.  I think Biden is going to be elected by the largest majority in history, so much so that it won’t be necessary to count the mail-ins.  That Trump will be reduced to praying that the mailed ballots which he has been disparaging for the last year will save him, except they won’t.  I think, believe it or not, that Moscow Mitch McConnell spoke the absolute truth when he dismissed concerns that there wouldn’t be an orderly transition of power.  The reason he’s steamrolling forward with replacing RBG is that he’s convinced Trump will not remain in office and this is his last opportunity to stock the SCOTUS with a super majority, which has been his goal all along.  Indeed, he sold out democracy, his party, and his soul in order to achieve it.

I think we’re going to be rid of Trump.  Let’s just hope we’ll still have a country when he’s gone.

PAD