The president went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, today, against the wishes of both the governor and the Kenosha mayor, ostensibly to express sympathy, but really to try to change the narrative from the almost 185,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus and more than 6 million infected.
As far as I’m concerned, 3rd November can’t come soon enough! Having finished the fourth of my flex-hybrid classes over the first two days of the semester, I looked at my sophomore and junior students — some in person and others online — and saw an innocence and vulnerability that had not been as visible in January, and it broke my heart.
Each one has been impacted by this pandemic in someway and each one is frightened by the gaslighting and incomprehensible changes which have given a dark hue to their dreams, their futures. Never have I seen so much enthusiasm for learning about human rights, diasporic communities, immigrants, freedom of speech, BLM, white privilege, and social justice. Then again, how will I guide them through this semester of learning with a new sense of strength, possibilities, and a garnering of ethical values, questions, and insights that will imbue them with vision and the knowledge that they are the future, the instruments of harmony and hopefulness?
I choked up reading your post. What a tumultuous, painful time we are going through and what a weighty responsibility you, and all teachers, have. Cheers for your students‘ eagerness to learn.
The very fact that your students are showing this enthusiasm is key. You no doubt feel the weight of responsibility for guiding them, but the very fact that they want to be guided should make it easier for all of you to find your way. It can, and should, be a dance.
If every student had such a caring, dedicated teacher, we'd be a much better nation. Thank you.
And thank you, HCR, for also going above and beyond.
That’s wonder how you see your students, hear their interests and values, give them some structure, and forge ahead. You and they sound like a great group, and these kind of stories give me hope.
Speaking of distracting from the COVID-19 deaths, the CDC puts out a report yesterday that in 94% of US COVID deaths the person had some other underlying condition. This is disturbing in so many ways. First, it implies that the reported deaths have been overblown because the 60 year old with diabetes who passed away from COVID would have died eventually anyway. Yet, that 60 year old was managing their diabetes with medication and diet and could have easily lived another 20 to 30 years. Second, and maybe more disturbing, is that our once well-respected CDC would put out a statement like that, which is obviously political red meat for Trump’s base. Trumpers are jumping all over that to say “see, COVID’s not that bad.”
While it’s not unimportant that Covid-19 builds on pre-existing conditions, dismissing it with “those people were going to die anyway” has two huge problems. First of all, life itself is a pre-existing condition. We all die. Yet we care about when and how. Which brings us to second issue: the very idea of “those people” - them not us, so it doesn’t matter. I remember the chill in the collective air when it came out originally that this disease was primarily hitting and killing people in communities of color. The national urgency temperature dropped overnight.
I remember being here before when it was GRID (Gay Related Immunodeficiency) and the Repugnant president did not even mention it. Who cared if gay men died? It took an "innocent" child getting it thru a blood transfusion to garner some sympathy for ppl with AIDS.
Point out to Trump's base that life is a pre-existing condition, and we're all going to die. Even them. By their logic, if you have a kitchen grease fire, should you then let the entire house burn down rather than try to put it out?
As a person with underlying conditions, the news of excluding the US from a Covax Facility dashes my last hope. I hung everything on other countries, and anticipated avoiding US developed vaccines.
I’m not sure I agree with the assessment of Fauci and Birx, though I do agree with everything else. It seemed to me that Dr. Birx had been willing to put a rosy perspective on the situation, for whatever reason, and therefore was pushed into the spotlight. Dr. Fauci was hidden, as opposed to hiding himself, specifically because he was being more upfront about it. Something about the things Dr. Birx was saying rubbed me the wrong way almost from the beginning.
You can't be wrong about Fauci's motives, Birx's complicity, and "CDC and this administration blatantly lying". This was my guiding principle while working on Wall Street, and I was never found wrong.
Thank you for keeping watch! I get home and as soon as I’ve eaten, I’m out. So exhausted! Our school had its first positive case today. One week into face to face. I pray the teacher, a good friend, is okay. But everyone is just going past the numbers and the risks! Like it’s nothing! How can we keep moving on and paying attention, if anyone of us is sick and at risk? I see every child in the school! We’re all at serious risk. Please somebody recognize this as the national crisis it is, and get kids out of classrooms! Gov Abbott, are you listening?
I wouldn’t know anything else is going on in the world if I didn’t read your posts. Thank you so much for all your hard work! Hope your students know how lucky they are! Stay home, stay safe!
I really feel for you and everyone who has had to return to the classroom with all the associated risks this year. There is just no good solution, but keeping everyone healthy and alive should certainly be the priority. Colorado College had all students return to campus and today decided they had to close the school and send everyone back home, because there were already too many new cases.
In RI the governor was practically begging educators to believe they’d be kept safe clearly indicating their is tremendous fear a lot of them WILL quit!
Why suffer like this? Because you are a part of the American healthcare delivery system, where you, like the vast majority of your fellow citizens, get your health insurance through your employer. If you become sick enough to become unemployed, you will lose the means to pay for your medical treatment and possible recovery. That's a win for the insurance company (fewer claims) and a win for your employer (getting rid of a diseased employee). The sad fact that it's your loss is just the price we all (or most of us) have to bear in order to prevent the creeping blight of Socialism.
Saw this quote recently and thought...same old Republican playbook.
This is from a campaign speech Harry S. Truman gave while campaigning for Adalai Stevenson in October 1952
"Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years. Socialism is what they called Public Power. Socialism is what they called Social Security. Socialism is what they called Price Supports. Socialism is what they called Bank Deposit Insurance. Socialism is what they called the growth of Free and Independent Labor Organizations. Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps All the People.
It's not even actual Socialism - which means the government owns the means of production (all factories and farms, as a start). The word is used as some kind of bogey to scare people away from the idea of the government being for all the people, not just a few.
Thank you again for your work. I feel as if now I understand what happened today, even though I spend way too much time keeping up with each new development. It is striking that somehow Biden is responsible for what happens, even though he isn't president. The ultimate in gaslighting.
As you point out, Trump and his minions are trying to suppress not the coronavirus but the fact that it's still ravaging the country. How have they numbed us to the reality that tens of thousands of lives have been lost and even more afflicted with longlasting symptoms?
Even in my darkest moments, I believe the truth will win in the end. A fresh spate of polls tonight shows that states aren't buying Trump's deceptions. His lies also will help negate the "revelations" from Barr and others that are around the corner.
Oh, I wish I could live long enough to see history cast the lot for what they are — betrayers of American democracy and all those who died for the cause. Even now, after all this time, it's shocking to see what they all have wrought, with no hint of concern for how they ultimately will be judged. They deserve shunning and shame, plus in many cases, criminal prosecution.
In terms of legal decisions recently too, on the subject of Trump's finances, a federal appeals court trio of Trump dominated judges in a "short panel hearing" denied the legal basis of Congressional subpoenas...as no law had been passed to allow them!. A full panel hearing an appeal, guided by the dissenting member of the initial judicial trio will, as in the Flynn case, overturn this stupidity as the power of investigation of the executive flows directly from the constitution. A clear illustration of the reason why McConnell is so intent on confirming new "conservative" judges and thus perpetuating their legacy and possibly exonerating them for their hideous posturing, dangerous neglect of the needs of the people, inaction on covid and legal irresponsiblity.
Definitely an example of why Mitch passed over dozens if not hundreds of qualified lawyers and lower court judges with conservative politics, to push through unqualified persons who would act only from loyalty to those who gave them the job.
“The corrupt World Health Organization!?” A bilateral thousand page report finds Don the Con guilty of accepting help from Russia again and it’s buried in red herrings that he throws out about mini- strokes and the press gobbles it up. HIS actual corruption is never dealt with. A quarter million people could die of virus by Election Day and he’s still selling snake oil. Just 1 image should have sunk him just like supposedly it did to Dukakis and Gore. How about the Goya products on the Truman desk with a big thumbs up. The most corrupt president in the history of America wants another 4 years to isolate us from the rest of humanity to make himself great.
Funny you say "he’s still selling snake oil". Back in the 80's I was at Bankers Trust, where Trump had defaulted on his Real Estate loans. The Bank decided that, rather than buy his snake oil and accept liens on his NYC properties as chattel, we'd take possession of his yacht. That set him off balance, as it remained docked just outside the Bank Headquarters. I think he had trouble getting laid without the boat. He had to pay after that.
Sure, it's known by people from back then. The next episode may be more interesting though. Bankers Trust subsequently was acquired by Deutsche Bank, in an attempt to enter major-league investment banking. They reversed course and opened the spigot to Trump (no other Street firm would touch him, but they had a balance sheet just prime for losses - and oversized bonuses). Deutsche's legacy was Nazi Germany. What's anticipated next is for Deutche to release Donald's well-guarded (NOT) financials. In exchange for lenient treatment for money laundering in the United States.
But it's really the voters that voted for him and republican senators. The same senators who acquitted him without even calling a single witness in the impeachment trial. A con will con, it's in their nature. I blame the people who put him in charge.
I didn't mean to imply they were conned. I was trying to say a conman will try to con. I truly believe his supporters and republicans in general cannot be conned, they are just horrible evil deplorable human beings. My hope is that liberals stop showing them kindness and treat them the same way they would treat you. They can never be reasoned with and no one should try. Unfortunately compassion can't be turned off in some people and they will keep trying.
One more thing. Anytime I accidentally feel compassion for them I think about being shot 7 times in the back while unarmed and in front of children and how conservatives rushed to defend the shooting.
Cruz and the other presidential candidates who got the abusive sociopath treatment certainly failed their trial responsibility but trump lost the popular vote by almost 3 million. He carried the electoral college by 10,000 votes in some states. So it’s also the people who didn’t vote. I am very annoyed that we never hear about the turnout of voters. A 50% turnout is shameful in a democracy. The primary turnout was worse and the news breathlessly reported his wins, giving him a lot of undeserved momentum. Voting is a responsibility as well as a right. November has to be an undeniable landslide. Power to the people!
HCR, as a fellow historian I really appreciate that you don't report on items that you feel are poorly sourced--would that others do as you do!! I find the whole "mini-stroke" thing really interesting because I have a lot of experience with taking care of people who have had TIAs--transient ischemic attacks. These are not quite strokes because they don't actually show up in brain scans but they do mimic strokes and can be a warning sign of the possibility of a stroke in future. My father had quite a few of these, and I witnessed my ex-partner having one too. They have all the usual signs: slurred speech, short term memory loss, balance issues, weakness in the extremities, etc. But the symptoms fade within hours. I would not be at all surprised if Trump were to be having numerous TIAs on a regular basis. He is morbidly obese, his diet is terrible, he is on medication (supposedly) that messes with his blood pressure. But TIAs are not detectable on EEGs because they don't cause longterm brain damage. They are dangerous, though, because the person who experiences them is mentally and physically incapacitated during the TIA and in the recovery period--and they can happen in waves.
A friend of mine who works in medicine keeps yelling "tertiary-stage syphilis--look it up!"...I won't go that far, but it does make one wonder. Cover-ups of presidential ailments go WAY back, so we may be left to theorize and speculate for a while longer.
I admit this is a digression, but i must pass this on. A friend told me to write down the list of the Seven Deadly Sins...you know, lust, gluttony,etc. Then tick off each one that Donald Trump is guilty of. Any left without a checkmark?
I soothe myself by watching videos from Republican Voters against Trump. There’s at least one guy who did a great video doing exactly this. And, none without a check mark. I guess you could say he gets high grades for that !!!
I can't help but feel that Trump's petty refusal to join the international Covid-19 vaccine initiative is going to come back to bite him (and us). His base, of course, will say that that's just dandy, because "the WHO is corrupt", but the rest of the country will wonder why any true leader would potentially deny his nation every possible chance to end this pandemic?
This is such a blatant example of Trump's putting his own selfish, petty wants ahead of the needs of 330,000,000 Americans, it staggers the imagination. And yet, that is fully who Trump is.
Honestly, it makes me wonder if trump WANTS us to die, which is a stupid statement. But how can anyone come to another conclusion when he refused testing kits, preferring to waste time doing our own; enable the federal government to use its Ability to make PPE purchases; and now, refuses to join the WHO vaccination consortium. All this for HIS ego. If you didn’t already figure out how little he cares for human life, now you know.
Maybe his base figures it's a price worth paying, as long as those dying are "those people" - you know, "the takers, the slack-asses, the poor, the disabled, the non-white. "
Because wealth is only created by the slave-owner, the factory owner, the company owner - not by the enslaved people, the farm workers, the factory workers, etc, etc - and let's get the base to ignore the inconvenient fact that they overlap with some of those groups.
And insisting on sending millions of children to the school (aka COVID19 chamber) as sacrifices to the economy - How many will get the virus and how many will die. Same with teachers, but I cannot get the picture of sending the children to possibly die.
The depths of Trump's depravity seem unbounded. What amazes me is all the "pro-life" voters who stand by while he sacrifices so many human beings, including children, to "the economy" on behalf of his own re-election.
In some cases, yes. The hypocrites who lead the anti-abortion movement aren't even pro-birth, they are simply in favor of increasing their own wealth and power. That's not everyone. The Catholic Bishops' Conference has had the consistency to oppose both abortion and capital punishment, for example. The Catholic Church in Merrick, NY, where I grew up, provided support to unwed mothers including after the children were born. There are plenty of people, even if I'm not one of them, who sincerely believe that abortion is unjustified murder including when the pregnant woman is married and cannot afford to feed another child. Where I cannot see reasonable disagreement from sincerely religious people is when the issue is children in cages - how is that pro-family? - or hundreds of thousands of people dying of covid when nationally organized testing and federal pro-mask campaigns could prevent two thirds of those deaths.
I don't believe that tRump wants us to die. What he wants is to outsmart everyone else. IF things had gone the way he was betting on (that the virus would just magically disappear), then he would have come out like a very smart business man, which is what he craves so much to be seen as.
Heather, it would be great if you could give us a little more from the Michael Schmidt book about a story that has gotten lost in the news. The fact that the FBI and Mueller's team both thought the other was doing a counterintelligence investigation into Trump's Russian ties, so nobody has done it.
Do any of you, like me, need some good tunes to shore up our emotions for the next few months? I'd like to nominate Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer for its lyrics (we have been waiting and waiting for this current administration to be held to account) and, as they used to say on the old Bandstand show, "it's got a good beat and it's easy to dance to" -- even if, as in my case, it means dancing off my nervous energy alone in my kitchen. Any suggestions for other good "campaign songs"?
Well, I use Mozart and Bach to escape and wall off the insanity. And then there's Wagner, whose operatic tetralogy depicts the world corrupted by greed and forgetful of Nature. It is then ultimately all destroyed, redeemed by love, and everything returns to Ur-Nature--Ring-shaped, all returning to what it was at the beginning. Pretty cosmic stuff. But hey, I can also turn to R&B or Ella Fitzgerald to remind me of the endurance of art. We "pick our poison", I guess...
Professor Richardson, You write this morning about Trump's legal problems. They may be small potatoes compared to what faces him once he is out of office and no longer has Bill Barr running interference. I speculate in a piece this morning whether his actions vis-a-vis Russia constitute treason as defined in the Constitution. https://www.pangyrus.com/politics/perspective-trumps-acts-may-face-america-with-an-unwelcome-dilemma/
As history seems to be repeating itself, remember the Nuremburg trials began in Germany with a percentage of the German populace still in tacit support of Hitler and Nazis...over the period of the trials, as all the crimes and offenses were made known, public opinion shifted dramatically. It happened then and there, and it could happen here and now.
To answer the question you actually asked - I think that leading offenders like Bill Barr must face some sort of punishment for betraying the country as they did. The question of what to do about the third of the country who swallowed the snake oil is much harder, and requires reconciliation not revenge. If I had specific ideas I would share them, hopefully wiser heads than mine can get there.
Yes, crimes were committed by this criminal cabal and justice must be meted. Reconciliation is what got us here. From the Post-Civil War reconciliation right through Obama's "Let's all look forward, and NOT backward". Just kicking the can down the road for our children.
Doesn't anyone want to protect our children (mine are tough as nails, but other's children will be vulnerable to this streak).
That's why I want to hold the actors accountable and work on root causes in regard to the followers. Rebuild the economy, this time with equal opportunity for everyone. These episodes of fascism do best when the economy is tanking for most people and it's easier to blame someone you can hurt than the ones who are actually hurting you.
Thank you for sharing the link for your article. You pose a good question in asking whether the (hopefully) new administration should prosecute for treason, given the return of capital punishment. Obviously, this is a very thorny problem. On the one hand, to choose to not prosecute is to willingly further abdicate rule of law, a dangerous approach in these unstable times for our democracy. On the other, to prosecute under capital punishment could lead to execution. This is almost unthinkable and would surely create civil and political upheaval the likes of which we have never seen before. And, yes, I am taking into consideration the (First) American civil war. Lastly, to ignore it altogether, in addition to willfully abdicating rule of law, would and/or should bring into question the very competency and legitimacy of the new administration. There is no good solution here that I can see at this time, except possibly to prosecute and then grant some form of leniency in sentencing in an explicit effort to heal the nation. The new administration must tread very carefully.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. First and most important, we need a thorough investigation of Trump's ties with Russia. Then would come presentation of the evidence of treason or another crime to a grand jury. If the grand jury indicted, a public trial would come next. I'd recommend saying from the get-go that the prosecution had no intention of seeking the death penalty. None of the excruciating choices you outline come into play until Trump leaves office though, do they?
Of course, it could be approached From the beginning with the statement that the death penalty would not be considered. But why not repeal the death penalty prior to starting to avoid accusations of not following the law? I agree that there must be a full accounting of his/their ties to Russia and then trial - there is a sequence of actions and procedure to be followed under rule of law. And, yes, nothing happens until he leaves office. I would also suggest that nothing may also happen unless the senate turns more blue. He is not a sole operator.
Isn't that giving in to bullies? That's how conservatives win. They can bend and break the rules but then hide behind heal the nation. It's always feels like asymmetrical warfare between liberals and conservatives.
The most telling evidence that Trump has suffered a stroke was his attempt to lift a glass to get a drink of water and having to use both hands to get it to his mouth. An unsteady gait and lack of balance is another sign. If you know anyone who has suffered and survived from a stroke, you know that muscle weakness and lack of coordination are frequent results. The weakness occurs on the opposite side of the body from the side in the brain that suffered the stroke. It is possible in mild cases to do specific exercises to strengthen the weakened side to return function, which is probably what he did before demonstrating at the Tulsa rally that he had no problem lifting a glass with one hand.
From personal experience i know that "mini-strokes" do not necessarily hinder your mental capacities, change your reflexes, diminish your senses nor alter your physical condition.....if you are treated in time! If you are in denial then some "scars" always remain. The problem with Trump's case is that we wouldn't necessarily notice as he's already living in a very strange, virtual world and, outwardly as well as inwardly, is a bearer of very significant "handicaps". However, when you think back to certain incidents....his difficulty descending a ramp in Las Vegas for instance...you start to think. I don't think we're likely to get a "factual" medical bulletin out of this administration to clarify the situation so we could start an external investigation or competition....Spot the Symptome....and accolades for the best suggestion. It would give us something to laugh about for the next 92 days and boost our "spiritual" defenses.
The Kenosha “round table” only had one seat at it, really. The reporters had asked questions to two African American pastors present and Trump actually answered FOR them. Twice. CNN covered this if anyone wants to read it.
We are in the home stretch and the gaslighting is becoming more and more frenetic. Any minute I expect Joseph Cotton to come rushing in to save us all. I guess Biden will have play the part.
It's interesting that tRump can clearly foresee the future if a Biden is elected. tRump seems unable to see clearly what's happening right now, or he's writing his own history of what's happening daily across the country. His success hinges on making a mess that only he can clean up. You would think he might wish to make life in the US better before the election. I think we all imagine how the country might change when Biden becomes president, but no one can predict that things will get worse. What I do believe will get worse are the ever growing numbers of Covid cases and deaths. Until there are aggressive steps to slow/stop the spread, the numbers will just go up. And there's no way tRump re-write that history.
As far as I’m concerned, 3rd November can’t come soon enough! Having finished the fourth of my flex-hybrid classes over the first two days of the semester, I looked at my sophomore and junior students — some in person and others online — and saw an innocence and vulnerability that had not been as visible in January, and it broke my heart.
Each one has been impacted by this pandemic in someway and each one is frightened by the gaslighting and incomprehensible changes which have given a dark hue to their dreams, their futures. Never have I seen so much enthusiasm for learning about human rights, diasporic communities, immigrants, freedom of speech, BLM, white privilege, and social justice. Then again, how will I guide them through this semester of learning with a new sense of strength, possibilities, and a garnering of ethical values, questions, and insights that will imbue them with vision and the knowledge that they are the future, the instruments of harmony and hopefulness?
I choked up reading your post. What a tumultuous, painful time we are going through and what a weighty responsibility you, and all teachers, have. Cheers for your students‘ eagerness to learn.
The very fact that your students are showing this enthusiasm is key. You no doubt feel the weight of responsibility for guiding them, but the very fact that they want to be guided should make it easier for all of you to find your way. It can, and should, be a dance.
If every student had such a caring, dedicated teacher, we'd be a much better nation. Thank you.
And thank you, HCR, for also going above and beyond.
That’s wonder how you see your students, hear their interests and values, give them some structure, and forge ahead. You and they sound like a great group, and these kind of stories give me hope.
Meant: That’s wonderful...!
Speaking of distracting from the COVID-19 deaths, the CDC puts out a report yesterday that in 94% of US COVID deaths the person had some other underlying condition. This is disturbing in so many ways. First, it implies that the reported deaths have been overblown because the 60 year old with diabetes who passed away from COVID would have died eventually anyway. Yet, that 60 year old was managing their diabetes with medication and diet and could have easily lived another 20 to 30 years. Second, and maybe more disturbing, is that our once well-respected CDC would put out a statement like that, which is obviously political red meat for Trump’s base. Trumpers are jumping all over that to say “see, COVID’s not that bad.”
While it’s not unimportant that Covid-19 builds on pre-existing conditions, dismissing it with “those people were going to die anyway” has two huge problems. First of all, life itself is a pre-existing condition. We all die. Yet we care about when and how. Which brings us to second issue: the very idea of “those people” - them not us, so it doesn’t matter. I remember the chill in the collective air when it came out originally that this disease was primarily hitting and killing people in communities of color. The national urgency temperature dropped overnight.
I remember being here before when it was GRID (Gay Related Immunodeficiency) and the Repugnant president did not even mention it. Who cared if gay men died? It took an "innocent" child getting it thru a blood transfusion to garner some sympathy for ppl with AIDS.
Then as now, even friends of the president dying did not make a dent in his ignoring mass death.
Of course the Trumpers are forgetting that in fact a large percentage of them have the same co-existing diseases, making them vulnerable too.
Point out to Trump's base that life is a pre-existing condition, and we're all going to die. Even them. By their logic, if you have a kitchen grease fire, should you then let the entire house burn down rather than try to put it out?
Give me a freakin' break!
They would let the house burn down if you were in it with them. Does this surprise?
No, Daniel. It doesn't surprise me in the least.
As a person with underlying conditions, the news of excluding the US from a Covax Facility dashes my last hope. I hung everything on other countries, and anticipated avoiding US developed vaccines.
Yes and I have already seen this incorrect post on FB several times.
I’m not sure I agree with the assessment of Fauci and Birx, though I do agree with everything else. It seemed to me that Dr. Birx had been willing to put a rosy perspective on the situation, for whatever reason, and therefore was pushed into the spotlight. Dr. Fauci was hidden, as opposed to hiding himself, specifically because he was being more upfront about it. Something about the things Dr. Birx was saying rubbed me the wrong way almost from the beginning.
You can't be wrong about Fauci's motives, Birx's complicity, and "CDC and this administration blatantly lying". This was my guiding principle while working on Wall Street, and I was never found wrong.
You got it right.
Fauci took 3 weeks off to have and recover from a nodule on his vocal cord.
have surgery and recover from the removal of a nodule on his vocal cord. Had you noticed he was steadily losing his voice?
He has gotten so many threats from the bully base that he and his family had to have security. What does that portend if trump wins in November?
Thank you for keeping watch! I get home and as soon as I’ve eaten, I’m out. So exhausted! Our school had its first positive case today. One week into face to face. I pray the teacher, a good friend, is okay. But everyone is just going past the numbers and the risks! Like it’s nothing! How can we keep moving on and paying attention, if anyone of us is sick and at risk? I see every child in the school! We’re all at serious risk. Please somebody recognize this as the national crisis it is, and get kids out of classrooms! Gov Abbott, are you listening?
I wouldn’t know anything else is going on in the world if I didn’t read your posts. Thank you so much for all your hard work! Hope your students know how lucky they are! Stay home, stay safe!
I really feel for you and everyone who has had to return to the classroom with all the associated risks this year. There is just no good solution, but keeping everyone healthy and alive should certainly be the priority. Colorado College had all students return to campus and today decided they had to close the school and send everyone back home, because there were already too many new cases.
Teachers are quitting now. I can’t afford to. Can’t afford not to either! Do what we can!
In RI the governor was practically begging educators to believe they’d be kept safe clearly indicating their is tremendous fear a lot of them WILL quit!
I recommend quitting. Why suffer like this, with such a sad demise at the end?
Why suffer like this? Because you are a part of the American healthcare delivery system, where you, like the vast majority of your fellow citizens, get your health insurance through your employer. If you become sick enough to become unemployed, you will lose the means to pay for your medical treatment and possible recovery. That's a win for the insurance company (fewer claims) and a win for your employer (getting rid of a diseased employee). The sad fact that it's your loss is just the price we all (or most of us) have to bear in order to prevent the creeping blight of Socialism.
Saw this quote recently and thought...same old Republican playbook.
This is from a campaign speech Harry S. Truman gave while campaigning for Adalai Stevenson in October 1952
"Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years. Socialism is what they called Public Power. Socialism is what they called Social Security. Socialism is what they called Price Supports. Socialism is what they called Bank Deposit Insurance. Socialism is what they called the growth of Free and Independent Labor Organizations. Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps All the People.
It's not even actual Socialism - which means the government owns the means of production (all factories and farms, as a start). The word is used as some kind of bogey to scare people away from the idea of the government being for all the people, not just a few.
If you mean by "Socialism" the extortion that employers hold over employees...I am independent of that.
Thank you again for your work. I feel as if now I understand what happened today, even though I spend way too much time keeping up with each new development. It is striking that somehow Biden is responsible for what happens, even though he isn't president. The ultimate in gaslighting.
As you point out, Trump and his minions are trying to suppress not the coronavirus but the fact that it's still ravaging the country. How have they numbed us to the reality that tens of thousands of lives have been lost and even more afflicted with longlasting symptoms?
Even in my darkest moments, I believe the truth will win in the end. A fresh spate of polls tonight shows that states aren't buying Trump's deceptions. His lies also will help negate the "revelations" from Barr and others that are around the corner.
Oh, I wish I could live long enough to see history cast the lot for what they are — betrayers of American democracy and all those who died for the cause. Even now, after all this time, it's shocking to see what they all have wrought, with no hint of concern for how they ultimately will be judged. They deserve shunning and shame, plus in many cases, criminal prosecution.
They must be destroyed. You know, if warranted. Justice must prevail, no more of that "Let's just look forward."
Absolutely! Shrub (a small bush!) was definitely a very bad president, but *rump is not in the same universe, let alone the same time zone!
In terms of legal decisions recently too, on the subject of Trump's finances, a federal appeals court trio of Trump dominated judges in a "short panel hearing" denied the legal basis of Congressional subpoenas...as no law had been passed to allow them!. A full panel hearing an appeal, guided by the dissenting member of the initial judicial trio will, as in the Flynn case, overturn this stupidity as the power of investigation of the executive flows directly from the constitution. A clear illustration of the reason why McConnell is so intent on confirming new "conservative" judges and thus perpetuating their legacy and possibly exonerating them for their hideous posturing, dangerous neglect of the needs of the people, inaction on covid and legal irresponsiblity.
For sources see CNN, Politicos, WP and NYT
Definitely an example of why Mitch passed over dozens if not hundreds of qualified lawyers and lower court judges with conservative politics, to push through unqualified persons who would act only from loyalty to those who gave them the job.
“The corrupt World Health Organization!?” A bilateral thousand page report finds Don the Con guilty of accepting help from Russia again and it’s buried in red herrings that he throws out about mini- strokes and the press gobbles it up. HIS actual corruption is never dealt with. A quarter million people could die of virus by Election Day and he’s still selling snake oil. Just 1 image should have sunk him just like supposedly it did to Dukakis and Gore. How about the Goya products on the Truman desk with a big thumbs up. The most corrupt president in the history of America wants another 4 years to isolate us from the rest of humanity to make himself great.
Funny you say "he’s still selling snake oil". Back in the 80's I was at Bankers Trust, where Trump had defaulted on his Real Estate loans. The Bank decided that, rather than buy his snake oil and accept liens on his NYC properties as chattel, we'd take possession of his yacht. That set him off balance, as it remained docked just outside the Bank Headquarters. I think he had trouble getting laid without the boat. He had to pay after that.
What a great story. May I pass it on?
Sure, it's known by people from back then. The next episode may be more interesting though. Bankers Trust subsequently was acquired by Deutsche Bank, in an attempt to enter major-league investment banking. They reversed course and opened the spigot to Trump (no other Street firm would touch him, but they had a balance sheet just prime for losses - and oversized bonuses). Deutsche's legacy was Nazi Germany. What's anticipated next is for Deutche to release Donald's well-guarded (NOT) financials. In exchange for lenient treatment for money laundering in the United States.
But it's really the voters that voted for him and republican senators. The same senators who acquitted him without even calling a single witness in the impeachment trial. A con will con, it's in their nature. I blame the people who put him in charge.
I blame them all. Conned, more likely complicit. They want him. He represents them. Get it?
I didn't mean to imply they were conned. I was trying to say a conman will try to con. I truly believe his supporters and republicans in general cannot be conned, they are just horrible evil deplorable human beings. My hope is that liberals stop showing them kindness and treat them the same way they would treat you. They can never be reasoned with and no one should try. Unfortunately compassion can't be turned off in some people and they will keep trying.
We stand together on this. We need to be clear-eyed, and not fool ourselves. When people speak and act badly, believe them. They mean it.
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." -- Maya Angelou
One more thing. Anytime I accidentally feel compassion for them I think about being shot 7 times in the back while unarmed and in front of children and how conservatives rushed to defend the shooting.
Cruz and the other presidential candidates who got the abusive sociopath treatment certainly failed their trial responsibility but trump lost the popular vote by almost 3 million. He carried the electoral college by 10,000 votes in some states. So it’s also the people who didn’t vote. I am very annoyed that we never hear about the turnout of voters. A 50% turnout is shameful in a democracy. The primary turnout was worse and the news breathlessly reported his wins, giving him a lot of undeserved momentum. Voting is a responsibility as well as a right. November has to be an undeniable landslide. Power to the people!
Actually, he has said he wants 12 more years. To keep up with Putin?
HCR, as a fellow historian I really appreciate that you don't report on items that you feel are poorly sourced--would that others do as you do!! I find the whole "mini-stroke" thing really interesting because I have a lot of experience with taking care of people who have had TIAs--transient ischemic attacks. These are not quite strokes because they don't actually show up in brain scans but they do mimic strokes and can be a warning sign of the possibility of a stroke in future. My father had quite a few of these, and I witnessed my ex-partner having one too. They have all the usual signs: slurred speech, short term memory loss, balance issues, weakness in the extremities, etc. But the symptoms fade within hours. I would not be at all surprised if Trump were to be having numerous TIAs on a regular basis. He is morbidly obese, his diet is terrible, he is on medication (supposedly) that messes with his blood pressure. But TIAs are not detectable on EEGs because they don't cause longterm brain damage. They are dangerous, though, because the person who experiences them is mentally and physically incapacitated during the TIA and in the recovery period--and they can happen in waves.
Just sayin'
Then what caused the longterm brain damage. He's got holes in his brain from something.
A friend of mine who works in medicine keeps yelling "tertiary-stage syphilis--look it up!"...I won't go that far, but it does make one wonder. Cover-ups of presidential ailments go WAY back, so we may be left to theorize and speculate for a while longer.
I admit this is a digression, but i must pass this on. A friend told me to write down the list of the Seven Deadly Sins...you know, lust, gluttony,etc. Then tick off each one that Donald Trump is guilty of. Any left without a checkmark?
The Declaration of Independence has another checklist against King George that we could also tick of from. Very similar grievances.
So there are conditions under which the Seven Deadly Sins are not so deadly to the sinner?
Obviously
Read Dante for a complete description of his Hell.
Which Circle would the Donald be in?
I soothe myself by watching videos from Republican Voters against Trump. There’s at least one guy who did a great video doing exactly this. And, none without a check mark. I guess you could say he gets high grades for that !!!
No high grade when you simply check an obvious answer. It's like an SAT where every choice is correct.
I can't help but feel that Trump's petty refusal to join the international Covid-19 vaccine initiative is going to come back to bite him (and us). His base, of course, will say that that's just dandy, because "the WHO is corrupt", but the rest of the country will wonder why any true leader would potentially deny his nation every possible chance to end this pandemic?
This is such a blatant example of Trump's putting his own selfish, petty wants ahead of the needs of 330,000,000 Americans, it staggers the imagination. And yet, that is fully who Trump is.
Honestly, it makes me wonder if trump WANTS us to die, which is a stupid statement. But how can anyone come to another conclusion when he refused testing kits, preferring to waste time doing our own; enable the federal government to use its Ability to make PPE purchases; and now, refuses to join the WHO vaccination consortium. All this for HIS ego. If you didn’t already figure out how little he cares for human life, now you know.
Maybe his base figures it's a price worth paying, as long as those dying are "those people" - you know, "the takers, the slack-asses, the poor, the disabled, the non-white. "
Because wealth is only created by the slave-owner, the factory owner, the company owner - not by the enslaved people, the farm workers, the factory workers, etc, etc - and let's get the base to ignore the inconvenient fact that they overlap with some of those groups.
And insisting on sending millions of children to the school (aka COVID19 chamber) as sacrifices to the economy - How many will get the virus and how many will die. Same with teachers, but I cannot get the picture of sending the children to possibly die.
The depths of Trump's depravity seem unbounded. What amazes me is all the "pro-life" voters who stand by while he sacrifices so many human beings, including children, to "the economy" on behalf of his own re-election.
I am sure that you know that "pro-lifers" don't love unborn children, as they claim. They hate unwed mothers.
In some cases, yes. The hypocrites who lead the anti-abortion movement aren't even pro-birth, they are simply in favor of increasing their own wealth and power. That's not everyone. The Catholic Bishops' Conference has had the consistency to oppose both abortion and capital punishment, for example. The Catholic Church in Merrick, NY, where I grew up, provided support to unwed mothers including after the children were born. There are plenty of people, even if I'm not one of them, who sincerely believe that abortion is unjustified murder including when the pregnant woman is married and cannot afford to feed another child. Where I cannot see reasonable disagreement from sincerely religious people is when the issue is children in cages - how is that pro-family? - or hundreds of thousands of people dying of covid when nationally organized testing and federal pro-mask campaigns could prevent two thirds of those deaths.
I don't believe that tRump wants us to die. What he wants is to outsmart everyone else. IF things had gone the way he was betting on (that the virus would just magically disappear), then he would have come out like a very smart business man, which is what he craves so much to be seen as.
Heather, it would be great if you could give us a little more from the Michael Schmidt book about a story that has gotten lost in the news. The fact that the FBI and Mueller's team both thought the other was doing a counterintelligence investigation into Trump's Russian ties, so nobody has done it.
Do any of you, like me, need some good tunes to shore up our emotions for the next few months? I'd like to nominate Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer for its lyrics (we have been waiting and waiting for this current administration to be held to account) and, as they used to say on the old Bandstand show, "it's got a good beat and it's easy to dance to" -- even if, as in my case, it means dancing off my nervous energy alone in my kitchen. Any suggestions for other good "campaign songs"?
Well, I use Mozart and Bach to escape and wall off the insanity. And then there's Wagner, whose operatic tetralogy depicts the world corrupted by greed and forgetful of Nature. It is then ultimately all destroyed, redeemed by love, and everything returns to Ur-Nature--Ring-shaped, all returning to what it was at the beginning. Pretty cosmic stuff. But hey, I can also turn to R&B or Ella Fitzgerald to remind me of the endurance of art. We "pick our poison", I guess...
I am a lifelong fan of Bach. His music is the balm that heals all my woes.
I’ll put your suggestion on in a moment, thanks!
I also like “Woman in the White House“ By Sheryl Crow.
Professor Richardson, You write this morning about Trump's legal problems. They may be small potatoes compared to what faces him once he is out of office and no longer has Bill Barr running interference. I speculate in a piece this morning whether his actions vis-a-vis Russia constitute treason as defined in the Constitution. https://www.pangyrus.com/politics/perspective-trumps-acts-may-face-america-with-an-unwelcome-dilemma/
Great article! I sincerely hope that he, his family and his cronies are all held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
You must know that "he, his family and his cronies" are well-liked and represent a great many of your citizens. What to do about them?
As history seems to be repeating itself, remember the Nuremburg trials began in Germany with a percentage of the German populace still in tacit support of Hitler and Nazis...over the period of the trials, as all the crimes and offenses were made known, public opinion shifted dramatically. It happened then and there, and it could happen here and now.
To answer the question you actually asked - I think that leading offenders like Bill Barr must face some sort of punishment for betraying the country as they did. The question of what to do about the third of the country who swallowed the snake oil is much harder, and requires reconciliation not revenge. If I had specific ideas I would share them, hopefully wiser heads than mine can get there.
Yes, crimes were committed by this criminal cabal and justice must be meted. Reconciliation is what got us here. From the Post-Civil War reconciliation right through Obama's "Let's all look forward, and NOT backward". Just kicking the can down the road for our children.
Doesn't anyone want to protect our children (mine are tough as nails, but other's children will be vulnerable to this streak).
That's why I want to hold the actors accountable and work on root causes in regard to the followers. Rebuild the economy, this time with equal opportunity for everyone. These episodes of fascism do best when the economy is tanking for most people and it's easier to blame someone you can hurt than the ones who are actually hurting you.
That is why we need an accounting, including figuring out and taking steps to make it harder for the next would-be autocrat to get this far.
Thank you for sharing the link for your article. You pose a good question in asking whether the (hopefully) new administration should prosecute for treason, given the return of capital punishment. Obviously, this is a very thorny problem. On the one hand, to choose to not prosecute is to willingly further abdicate rule of law, a dangerous approach in these unstable times for our democracy. On the other, to prosecute under capital punishment could lead to execution. This is almost unthinkable and would surely create civil and political upheaval the likes of which we have never seen before. And, yes, I am taking into consideration the (First) American civil war. Lastly, to ignore it altogether, in addition to willfully abdicating rule of law, would and/or should bring into question the very competency and legitimacy of the new administration. There is no good solution here that I can see at this time, except possibly to prosecute and then grant some form of leniency in sentencing in an explicit effort to heal the nation. The new administration must tread very carefully.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. First and most important, we need a thorough investigation of Trump's ties with Russia. Then would come presentation of the evidence of treason or another crime to a grand jury. If the grand jury indicted, a public trial would come next. I'd recommend saying from the get-go that the prosecution had no intention of seeking the death penalty. None of the excruciating choices you outline come into play until Trump leaves office though, do they?
Of course, it could be approached From the beginning with the statement that the death penalty would not be considered. But why not repeal the death penalty prior to starting to avoid accusations of not following the law? I agree that there must be a full accounting of his/their ties to Russia and then trial - there is a sequence of actions and procedure to be followed under rule of law. And, yes, nothing happens until he leaves office. I would also suggest that nothing may also happen unless the senate turns more blue. He is not a sole operator.
Isn't that giving in to bullies? That's how conservatives win. They can bend and break the rules but then hide behind heal the nation. It's always feels like asymmetrical warfare between liberals and conservatives.
The most telling evidence that Trump has suffered a stroke was his attempt to lift a glass to get a drink of water and having to use both hands to get it to his mouth. An unsteady gait and lack of balance is another sign. If you know anyone who has suffered and survived from a stroke, you know that muscle weakness and lack of coordination are frequent results. The weakness occurs on the opposite side of the body from the side in the brain that suffered the stroke. It is possible in mild cases to do specific exercises to strengthen the weakened side to return function, which is probably what he did before demonstrating at the Tulsa rally that he had no problem lifting a glass with one hand.
From personal experience i know that "mini-strokes" do not necessarily hinder your mental capacities, change your reflexes, diminish your senses nor alter your physical condition.....if you are treated in time! If you are in denial then some "scars" always remain. The problem with Trump's case is that we wouldn't necessarily notice as he's already living in a very strange, virtual world and, outwardly as well as inwardly, is a bearer of very significant "handicaps". However, when you think back to certain incidents....his difficulty descending a ramp in Las Vegas for instance...you start to think. I don't think we're likely to get a "factual" medical bulletin out of this administration to clarify the situation so we could start an external investigation or competition....Spot the Symptome....and accolades for the best suggestion. It would give us something to laugh about for the next 92 days and boost our "spiritual" defenses.
The Kenosha “round table” only had one seat at it, really. The reporters had asked questions to two African American pastors present and Trump actually answered FOR them. Twice. CNN covered this if anyone wants to read it.
We are in the home stretch and the gaslighting is becoming more and more frenetic. Any minute I expect Joseph Cotton to come rushing in to save us all. I guess Biden will have play the part.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/politics/donald-trump-pastors-systemic-racism/index.html
It's interesting that tRump can clearly foresee the future if a Biden is elected. tRump seems unable to see clearly what's happening right now, or he's writing his own history of what's happening daily across the country. His success hinges on making a mess that only he can clean up. You would think he might wish to make life in the US better before the election. I think we all imagine how the country might change when Biden becomes president, but no one can predict that things will get worse. What I do believe will get worse are the ever growing numbers of Covid cases and deaths. Until there are aggressive steps to slow/stop the spread, the numbers will just go up. And there's no way tRump re-write that history.