Republicans out of touch beyond reality

The GOP has always been out of touch to the point they continually risk their credibility by their actions. After almost four years of Donald Trump with his antics in the White House, laughable at times, these poor souls believe the Oval Office lunatic has performed well, even if you can accept it, on the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. OK, the economy is doing well but aside from killing 180,000 Americans, it has created unemployment in the U.S. of around 10%.


 CBS published their Poll today that makes the Grand Old Party even more comical. Here's an excerpt...

"The vast majority of Republican voters approve of the U.S. economy’s state and how the government handled the coronavirus, and more than half say the level of deaths has been “acceptable,” a new poll shows."

180,000 deaths due to COVID-19 are "acceptable?" A clear picture of just how little Republicans value your life. This is despicable, but should illustrate to voters across the U.S. how this Party has only one thing in mind, to win at any cost. Any cost! The osmosis of Moscow Mitch McConnell has instilled his sick philosophy into the ranks of the GOP; nothing matters matters more than power and the Party. Here's more from the CBS Poll...

"Heading into their party’s convention on Monday, 75% of Republicans say the U.S. is in better condition than it was four years ago, with 82% crediting President Donald Trump for that, according to the national survey from CBS News and pollster YouGov released Sunday."

Yet, when you look at all voters, only 25% say the U.S. is better off than four years ago, 65% say it’s not. There's more and you can see it on CBS here.

U.S. lags in therapeutic testing for coronavirus

Convalescent plasma

The United States ranks 18th in the testing of COVID-19, per 1,000 population, behind Russia. We are number one in total cases, number two in new cases, #1 in total deaths, #2 in new deaths and #1 in serious/critical cases. And for all of this we can thank Donald Trump for his early reaction to the crisis, telling the public it will just go away. It didn't. The complete incompetence of the oval office lunatic is unquestionable, but his continuing ineptitude is unforgivable. 

But the scientists are telling us...

"the clinical trials necessary to provide that evidence for convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies have been fraught with delays and have had problems recruiting volunteers. Many trials are only beginning now, months into the pandemic, because researchers focused their early efforts on therapies, such as hydroxychloroquine, that didn't pan out."

Erica Edwards of NBC points out that we are eight months into the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, and we still don't have a prescribed direction. A direction that should come from Donald Trump, but rather than face the issue, he prefers to play golf. Nero fiddled while Rome burned; the White House maniac plays another round of golf while the U.S. dies from COVID-19. Yet over 40% of Americans still hold a favorable rating of Trump. Why?

Edwards continues...

"Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials, considered the gold standard, evaluate whether a treatment works by comparing it to a placebo. At the outset, neither the researchers nor the participants know who is getting the real thing and who is getting the placebo."

But people who have the virus do not want to be the guinea pig, rather they want the real thing now. You can't force someone into this kind of situation, but the predicament clearly shows the lack of education for the public in trying to solve the coronavirus pandemic. People must understand the urgency to get something done before COVID-19 turns into a 1918 flu pandemic. And that's another factor with the flu season near and thousands of anti-vaxxers out there.

Edwards explains the process...

"The idea behind both convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies is to provide the immune system with a boost to fight off the virus. Convalescent plasma refers to the antibody-rich blood product taken from patients who've already recuperated, and monoclonal antibodies are a synthetic version of those antibodies that could be mass-produced in a lab."

This article is definitely worth a read.

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Wearing a mask to prevent coronavirus

Comments from readers re. the use of face masks...

D.B. believes that a healthy lifestyle is more important than a face mask: "Masks are simply delaying when any of us will get the virus."

Meaning, let's hurry up and catch coronavirus so we can get over it and be free of problems. WRONG! It is proved that long-term lasting effects can be heart trouble, respiratory problems and neurological complications.

In another case, Ron disagrees and says that masks are useless: “Since coronavirus can pass through ANY mask including the N-95, what is the reason for making masks mandatory? They probably are 99.9 % useless.” I question his statement, and masks have been proved to stop COVID-19.

And yet another non-believer, Tom says he is not confused about face masks: “I have worn a mask in total about a half hour since this nonsense started in March. I have been among many people and even in crowds nearing 100, without masking. I have not been sick in any way." Freakin' lucky, but stupid as a rock.

There's more in this article a well-worth a read.

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Explain today's pandemic deniers

Biggest denier of them all

The most devastating stand of all is their denial of COVID-19, itself, exclaiming that it is only a virus. It doesn't get more stupid than that. Here is how CNN Health describes it...

"With so much information available about the severity of the coronavirus and the need to follow guidelines, some people still refuse to accept reality."

The quick answer to the above is that these people don't believe the scientists, the experts trained to work in these fields. Rather, they look to social media for the answers, with some killing their children with radical, worthless remedies. The problem here is not only do they do harm to their own family, they also put friends and innocent bystanders in harm's way. And that is where I draw the line, most certainly with children, friends and innocent bystanders.

There is a lengthy Q & A between CNN and psychologists Eve and Mark Whitmore that basically attempts to explain denial in its relationship to the coronavirus pandemic. Science/medicine has a tendency to identify a problem like this, then quickly apply a name that is supposed to give it credibility. It may be appropriate here, but I have another name, independence, doing what I please regardless of the outcome, which is a product of the Donald Trump era.

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How to make sure your November mail-in vote is counted

The U.S. Postal Service, under the control of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, was appointed because he is a big supporter and donor to Donald Trump's campaign. He is single handedly dismantling the Post Office for the sole purpose of preventing the mail-in votes to arrive on time. As an example, DeJoy has started removing sorting machines from several locations, the lifeblood of these facilities to direct mail to the right people on time.

Remember the guy at the New York post office hand-sorting mail when he found the letter to Santa Claus. Without sorting machines all offices revert to this method which drastically slows down the process. In keeping with his changes, DeJoy has notified 46 states that their mail-in ballots may not arrive on time to be counted. Just what Trump ordered. I did a post yesterday with my solution to beating Donald Trump and Republicans on this issue...

"States must send out the mail-in ballots earlier than normal to compensate for slow mail delivery. I would suggest you contact both your Senator and representative, using the following sites:
U.S. SenateU.S. House of Representatives
In keeping with sending ballots out early, states should extend the date for receiving them, again, to compensate for a slowed down postal system. Put this in your note to your Senator and Congress person."

CNN reports that Pennsylvania is already considering extending mail-in ballot receipt by three days. Of course, Pennsylvania's governor, Tom Wolf, is a Democrat, but states with Republican governors can be pressured, or as I said in my earlier post, shamed into doing the right thing. Also, RepresentUS has a site, "How to Vote by Mail this November," with information on each state. Give them your email and they'll keep you updated. BE SURE AND VOTE IN NOV.

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How to beat Trump/Moscow Mitch at their own game

Pariah of the Senate Moscow Mitch McConnell

As I indicated, the miscreants we are up against are Donald Trump, who is double-jeopardy right now by fighting the stimulus program along with trying to gut the U.S. Postal Service for the sole purpose of preventing a mail-in vote. The other is Senate leader Moscow Mitch McConnell, who is against everything from the left, plus he has recessed the Senate until September 8. Contrary to this stupid move, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has cancelled the House recess.

The question is what do we do about it. Assuming the American public could be codified to the point of shaming the Trump administration to back off (he has done it before if he thought it would benefit him) the new Postmaster General could be forced to stop his bulldozing of the Post Office. Because Moscow Mitch is running a tight Senate race in Kentucky against Amy McGrath, McConnell could be enticed to cooperate.

In case none of this works, the next move is a huge decision. Should we just vote in person? In view of the COVID-19 situation, that is a tough decision for some, especially the older seniors, particularly the elderly. There is one more option, and it is somewhat simple. States must send out the mail-in ballots earlier than normal to compensate for slow mail delivery. I would suggest you contact both your Senator and representative, using the following sites:

U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives

In keeping with sending ballots out early, states should extend the date for receiving them, again, to compensate for a slowed down postal system. Put this in your note to your Senator and Congress person. And I realize these ideas won't fly with Republican governors, so the pressure on Congress must be the max to get anything done. Donald Trump and Republicans will do anything within their power to thwart this election in their favor. Those on the left must do more.

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Jonathan Karl: "Front Row at the Trump Show"

I just finished "Front Row at the Trump Show," and like a good mystery novel, you just can't put it down. Jonathan Karl has known Donald Trump for over twenty-five years beginning the book with his first trip to New Hampshire just before becoming a declared candidate. As he presses on, there is the Trump real estate con man including all the outrageous activities that went along with this and his exploiting of women.

Karl had a reasonably close relationship with Trump during the 2016 campaign, reporting on the man perhaps being the most guilty ever of unpredictability. The author is quoted re. his first contact with Donald Trump...

"I was a cub reporter for a New York tabloid. He was a flamboyant real estate developer with a scandalous personal life." (To quote Avril Lavigne, "Can I make it any more obvious?")

In one instance during the 2016 debates, Meghan Kelly of Fox News asked him about calling women he didn't like things like "pigs," "dogs," "slobs" and "disgusting animals" on his Twitter account. Trump's reply was, "Only Rosie O'Donnell," which engendered some laughter. Karl is privy to a lot of Donald Trump's relationships either directly or indirectly, so it is clear from his book who he likes or dislikes.

There are twenty-four chapters and each one is packed with a new expose of the man he claims is redefining the U.S. presidency. It's up to the reader to determine just how bad the new profile is. A MUST READ at Amazon.

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Donald Trump knows he's had it

Here's the scenario from salon's Amanda Marcotte...

"The parallels between the situation of many abuse victims and the nation’s dilemma when it comes to removing Donald Trump from power have not been lost on feminists. As sex educator Twanna Hines noted on Twitter on Friday, Trump “knows his time is up.' She predicted that he will lash out the way that abusers do “when the relationship is ending.'”

He's hard at work trying to sabotage the stimulus programs presented by both sides, and he gave up long ago in the fight against COVID-19. Now he is doing his best to destroy the U.S. Postal Service making his crony, supporter and large donor Louis DeJoy Postmaster. According to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)...

"he's worried that 'the postmaster general is working with the president to make it a problem so he can argue he doesn't like vote by mail.'"

In a major move, DeJoy has started removing mail sorting machines out of postal facilities, for what reason no one knows, except to delay the mail-in voting in November. From my experience in the junk mail business, there is nothing more important to the USPS than mail sorting machines that speed up the process while making it more accurate. Somehow this kind of action must be halted immediately and what's been done reversed. This can't wait until November!

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Noam Chomsky: 2020 election tampering for real

Noam Chomsky

Vote for Joe Biden, Noam Chomsky is telling Progressives. We cannot afford another four years of Donald Trump, nor can we afford to let down our guard now because Trump and other Republicans cannot be trusted until the last vote is counted. They're corrupt, all of them, and will do anything to thwart the election from Joe Biden. Chomsky wants Biden to stay on track to support Progressive issues and hopefully Kamala Harris will help insure that.

Chomsky cautions...

"despite all the polls showing Biden ahead, a Biden victory is 'anything but a sure thing.'”

And...

“Election tampering is a huge industry. Massive campaign funding in the last days can have a major effect, as seems to have happened in 2016. The leading specialist on campaign funding, Tom Ferguson, found that a ‘dual wave of money’ for both president and Senate had a substantial and probably decisive impact in the final days of the ’16 campaign.”

Already Trump has been fighting the mail-in vote since it has a tendency to include more Democrats. I have heard figures that at least 75% of the country is eligible to vote by mail, which could produce 80 million ballots to count. And another example of Trump's dirty hands meddling in the 2020 vote, his new Postmaster General, Louis Dejoy, is purposely slowing down the mail. Add to that the regular GOP voter suppression of the left to round off their efforts.

Here's a shocker for me, Noam Chomsky warned that...

“'popular support for autocracy runs disturbingly high.'” in the U.S., and he made his point by citing an Ipsos poll that was released last week and addressed 'Americans’ views on the media.'”

The latter would explain at least some of those poor souls that support Donald Trump with his autocratic power hold on the U.S. government. It would seem that these misfits are just begging for a 1984 society, welcoming Big Brother into their homes. These are the same double-digits who scream about too much government control, refusing to vaccinate their children and wear face masks and socially distance in the COVID-19 pandemic. Pathetic!

Against concealed and open carry of guns

I've wondered from the beginning why these cowboys feel the need to walk around on the streets armed, finally coming to the conclusion it somehow makes them feel like a man. For some time there has been a debate over whether this action keeps the streets safe. A new study says NO! It's the "good guy with a gun" theory that says. "If more well-intentioned people carry guns, there's a higher chance of stopping a violent shooter."

I've never witnessed anything personally, but there was a report from the Gabby Giffords shooting in Tucson that says two civilian gun carriers on the scene heard gunfire and rushed in with their weapons drawn and almost shot each other. These carriers can be a menace...

"according to new research published in the journal Justice Quarterly. The study found that laws allowing more people to carry guns in public are associated with a rise in gun violence. The results also showed that the higher a state's gun-ownership rate, the more likely a mass shooting is."

Emma Fridel, an assistant professor at Florida State University authored the study and found...

"that looser concealed-carry laws had little impact on mass shootings and increased a state's gun homicide rate by 11%. Higher rates of firearm ownership overall, meanwhile, was associated with a 53.5% increase in the likelihood of a mass shooting."

But during all this, concealed carry laws proliferate throughout the country, and Congress is even considering passing federal legislation making them overlap nationwide. Hopefully, November will change all this.

NRA should be dissolved

The New York Attorney General has been investigating the National Rifle Assn. and it head, Wayne LaPierre, for some time now. Some time back the NRA was accused of an insurance scam that alleges they acted "as an unlicensed insurance producer and engaging in misleading marketing practices." That was in February with the state seeking upwards of $14 million in civil fines. In the 18-month investigation it found the NRA is "fraught with fraud and abuse."

Here's what NPR reported...

"Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period.

The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty."

There's more...

"The NRA's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets," James said in a statement. "The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law."

 And back in September of 2019, it was also revealed by NPR that the NRA had...

"acted as a "foreign asset" for Russia in the period leading up to the 2016 election, according to a new investigation unveiled Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore."

A colossal example of how the NRA will accept support, including funding from anyone to further its goals. It seems that...

"the Senate Finance Committee's Democratic staff found that the NRA underwrote political access for Russian nationals Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin more than previously known — even though the two had declared their ties to the Kremlin."

Butina spent 15 months in prison and was then deported to Russia. The NRA has also spent time in Russia on a visit hosted by Maria including the gun group's board members and supporters. There was also concern over how the trip was financed. It is just another example of an organization gone bad, after having been created for hunters. The change from a peaceful body to one that promotes violence to attain its goals was orchestrated by NRA head, Wayne LaPierre.

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Donald Trump supporters thinking twice?

Salon points out that Donald Trump followers have never really cared that he is "a liar and a cheat." That, in itself, identifies the profile of these minions. And they would follow him right off the end of a cliff. The piece by Amanda Marcotte says, "The evidence of Trump's sociopathic disregard for business ethics, or any ethics at all, is overwhelming."

Trump cheated people who worked for him, finding ways to refuse to pay them. He spent decades engaged in tax fraud, reaping hundreds of millions through the process. Trump's claims to be a billionaire appear the inverse of reality, where he was a billion dollars in the red, making him the photonegative of a billionaire. Trump University was a scam, described in court as preying "upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money." Trump's supposed charitable foundation was also a scam that faked giving to worthy causes but operated largely as a way for Trump to pay bribes and pay down his personal debts with other people's money. Trump's real estate business was drowning in fraud, with the entire family engaging in practices that should have resulted in criminal charges, such as lying to potential buyers about how well their condos were selling.

The above is an aggregate of some of the most egregious acts of a card-carrying con artist. It is, however, the regular behavior of the one who sits in the Oval Office of the White House. And, after almost four years, I am proud to say that I have never called this buffoon "President." Marcotte adds...

"There are easily a dozen more examples of the various ways that Trump has shamelessly lied, distorted numbers, cheated other people and generally committed fraud with the ease most of us would pour a cup of coffee. It was inevitable that he would do the same thing as president — but with the coronavirus statistics, that has turned deadly."

Donald Trump will go down in history as the worst, certainly, most corrupt and incompetent president the United States has ever had. I just hope Joe Biden is up to the job ahead of him to pick up the shambles of the Trump administration and cure the U.S. of the Trump stigma.

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Republicans/White House cause Americans to suffer financially

“House Democrats passed a bill specifically designed to deal with this mess two and a half months ago,” Krugman notes. “The Trump Administration and Senate Republicans had plenty of time to propose an alternative. Instead, they didn’t even focus on the issue until days before the benefits ended. And even now, they’re refusing to offer anything that might significantly alleviate workers’ plight. This is an astonishing failure of governance — right up there with the mishandling of the pandemic itself.”  READ MORE...