5.31.20: The Frustration and Desperation of the Tormented in America

Where do we go from here?
Where do we start?

If those two questions can not be answered in a meaningful way then as a country we're lost. The individual who could provide the initial guidance to a vision for moving forward is the president of the United States. Unfortunately, we have a man as president (to say we have a president ill-suited to the moment would imply that he was presidential in the first place) who, as NBC's Garrett Haake reported from interviews in Washington D.C., no longer speaks in a meaningful way for the people or to the people.

Meanwhile, here's a short list: Minneapolis, Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Dallas, Baltimore, Sacramento, Boston, Las Vegas, Louisville, Salt Lake City, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami and let's not forget Atlanta.

These lifeblood hubs of America are literally blowing up because of the frustration and desperation of the tormented. One hundred thousand Americans died in three months, 40 million people are out of work, a third of Americans developing anxiety and depression, and then...

A white police office in Minneapolis is charged with 3rd degree murder and 2nd degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd - an African-American man, a human being with rights - ripping the scab off a wound that has been infected for 400 years.

We're overheating in an already hot summer that hasn't even officially started yet and we're only getting to a presidential election on which Donald Trump has no conceivable inclination to turn down the heat.

But in the moment, while local and state law enforcement restore order, the president should address the nation. As Joshua Johnson pointed out - the president's always matter, but can Mr. Trump provide words of sympathy and understanding while being strong.

Mr. Johnson also mentioned along the way in the panel discussion that without systematic changes, heavy-handedness will prevail. State Attorney General Keith Ellison (D-MN), DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms (D) all did make mention a different sort of element present at the protests, which will unfortunately only grow the anger and the numbers if those aforementioned systematic changes don't start to occur. But anger begets anger and white supremacists like the ones we saw in Charlottesville, the ones that Mr. Trump likes to send dog whistles to.

Did we say it was going to be hot this summer?

As with the coronavirus, we need leadership at a federal level or as Attorney General Ellison more diplomatically put it, more constructive help which would be a great start. In a more practical sense, the cities need more federal assistance. States going bankrupt is not an option despite what Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would suggest, but both Mayor Bowser and Mayor Lance-Bottoms emphasized this point as it is truly an imperative, if only to prepare for a next wave of a pandemic which is sure to occur.

With the knowledge that Joe Biden is not going to pick a vice-presidential candidate until August, we find ourselves in the very rare position of agreeing with fmr. governor Pat McCrory on one point he made. A lot can happen between now and August. Ninety-nine percent of the time Mr. McCrory is clueless on presenting the right solutions or at the very least slightly tone-deaf as he was today. But Mr. McCrory also said as a Republican, Congresswoman Val Demmings (D-FL) worries him as a candidate a great deal. The two-term Congresswoman Demmings is the fmr. Orlando Chief of Police and pulled from her expertise to offer another way in which the federal government could act by re-implementing and build on national retraining programs for police forces and building relationships with their communities. From her informed position, she also explained that police forces are asking for this.

Chuck Todd asked Congresswoman Demmings if the president called her for help in this moment of crisis, would she help and she emphatically said that she would advising him to show compassion and that our diversity as Americans is what makes this nation strong.

Yes, Republicans look at an informed, steady hand of leadership and worry, no doubt she is one of the names at the top of Mr. Biden's list.


Panel: Teresa Maria Kumar, Voto Latino; Joshua Johnson, NBC; Pat McCrory, fmr. governor North Carolina (R)


A few more things...
1.
In response to a reporter's question yesterday about whether the president's supporters staging counter-protests would only escalate tensions, Mr. Trump responded with this:

"MAGA loves the black people."
                                  -President Donald J. Trump, 5.30.2020

This is just wrong on so many levels, again dog-whistle racism - a clear illustration of his us and them mentality at all times.

2.
Also, as Mayor Lance-Bottoms, we're beyond the tipping point in terms of systematic racial injustice and then how do blame a community for defacing symbols of that very thing:

Click on text to read the full story at The Washington Post

And talk about sticking it in an entire community's face, the United Daughters of the Confederacy? Really? 

We as descendants despite living in the 21st century are still united in representing symbols and a heritage of oppression, racism and slavery. 

As an law abiding everyday American, who just so happens to also be African-American, how would you like to walk by their headquarters everyday?

3.
Lastly, we don't usually feature screenshots from other news websites, but CNN's front page last night illustrated so many things unraveling on so many levels.

Click to enlarge

5.24.20: Taking Advantage of a Crisis

It's an unusual Memorial Day weekend to understate it, dramatically.  This column on this particular weekend traditionally puts the focus on the troops and the sacrifices they continue to make this very day, however, it's impossible not to be thinking about the 97,714 individuals who have lost their lives in the past three months from Covid-19 and the heroic efforts of all U.S. Healthcare workers who are putting their lives on the line for us here at home.

The most tragic is that of this writing the above number of Covid-19 deaths is already inaccurate as the total increases seemingly unabated. There is a race for a vaccine and in a joint interview with Dr. Dan Barouch of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor Medical College, they acknowledged that there has been good news on this front and that 12 to 18 months is an imaginable timeline if everything breaks right in the development, but that's a big 'if.'

However, Dr. Hotez also made the point that with the development of a vaccine as such speed, the anti-vaccination lobby will certainly cast doubt on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine. He stated that as many as 25% of the U.S. population would not take the vaccine even if it were available. He explained that the Trump Administration's designated name for the project is 'Warp Speed' which just helps to cast more doubt on vaccine effectiveness. It should be noted, as Dr. Hotez, pointed out as a medical expert on vaccination who has a child with autism, that he wrote a book refuting this claim making him public enemy number one, using his words, with the anti-vaxxers. In this column's humble opinion, the entire anti-vaccination stance stems from the conspiracy theories online that also push distrust of our public health institutions and government writ large.

But with Memorial Day upon us, all 50 states have reopened in varying degrees, and for the most part the governors, such as Mike DeWine (R-OH) of acting in accordance with scientific data and common sense on carefully reopening their respective states. As part of that reopening, governors are insisting that citizens wear masks. The emotional speech by North Dakota Governor, Doug Burgum (R-ND) emphasized the need to not make wearing a mask a political (red and blue) issue. After the clip, Governor DeWine said that he agreed with Mr. Burgum that this crisis effects all of us and that wearing a mask shouldn't be political, but that it's protection for your fellow citizen.

It's heartening to hear Republican and Democratic governors alike advocating this and providing model behavior. Unfortunately, as we've said before in this column, states are on their own as the federal government's response (i.e. the Trump Administration) has been abysmal, which was enforced every day this week by the president himself.

Monday: The president said he would have done nothing differently to combat the pandemic.
Tuesday: The president said he was taking hydroxychloroquine, which the FDA and medical researches could increase your chance of death.
Wednesday: The president said that he would withhold aid to states that mailed out applications for mail-in ballots.
Thursday: Mr. Trump went to a Ford Motors plant where they are making masks and didn't wear one in public, saying that he didn't want to give the press the photo-op (a photo was taken) because Mr. Trump wearing a mask doesn't send the right message. Huh?
Friday: The president said that houses of worship were essential and that he would override governors' decisions if they decided not to open them, despite public health risks. This is something the president doesn't have the power to do, but it's Trump so knowing what is legal and what is not never really matters to him.

As Andrea Mitchell pointed out, mask wearing shouldn't be politicized and governors are trying to tamp that down, however, the one person who is politicizing it the most is President Trump. Never has the president understood that he is the president for all Americans and in times of crisis, like this, the president should be working to bring people to work together.

Instead of taking responsibility, to which the president said he takes none at all, he has pointed the finger of blame at various entities and individuals, but in the past few weeks has been sharpening his ire toward China. In the interview with National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, he compared the China's response (cover-up) of the Covid-19 outbreak to Russia's initial cover-up of Chernobyl. That's not going to go a long way for better relations, which are strained to say the least. Mr. O'Brien didn't really have a solid answer for what the U.S.'s response would be given Beijing's new crackdown on Hong Kong, which is seeing fresh protests today.

In a time of crisis, like now where the rest of the world is focused on the pandemic, President Xi's government is using the opportunity to crack down on Hong Kong. Chuck Todd asked Mr. O'Brien about sanctions, but even with those in place, it won't stop Beijing's actions. The panel, as well as this column, is that China will get away with it. The only voice that would stand up to this action would be an American one, but that's not going to happen for two reasons. One, Mr. Trump is desperate for a trade deal, which doesn't like it's going to happen and two, Mr. Trump is taking advantage of this crisis himself with the firings of 4 inspectors general in 6 weeks and the continued undoing of the Mueller investigation and the convictions that resulted from it.

President Trump has vacillated back and forth on being soft on China one minute and then being tough on them the next. The problems that we're seeing now between the countries (the world's largest two economies) is exacerbated by the lack of a consistent strategy and position on the part of the U.S. administration.

In a time when the president insists on politicizing everything to the detriment of us all, this column would like to wish that all Americans enjoy their holiday weekend and to look out for one another. Wear a mask, it's not for you but for the others around you - a small but selfless act.


Panel: Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa; Jeh Johnson, fmr. head of Homeland Security

One more thing...
Chuck Todd signed off today, saying "Thanks for trusting us," which is so indicative of our time when so many outlets for information are not. The outlets of information that can not be trusted starts with the U.S. President, and until that changes America will see it's role in the world continuing to diminish.

5.17.20: "Vaccine or no vaccine, we're back." Yeah, baby!

"Vaccine or no vaccine, we're back." Yeah, baby!

The president called us warriors, willing to put our lives in danger, perhaps die, for the cause. And we are because we can't let the cure become worse than the disease. As the president explained, he's lost friends as have many people, but 90,000 dead Americans in two month is such a small percentage of the population. What did we lose in WW II? 420,000? Even that's a small percentage, and Covid-19 isn't even close to that.

Seriously, the administration has given it enough attention and haven't we all become tired of Dr. Anthony Fauci going on and on. There's something going on with him anyway and you have to ask if he can really be trusted? We're not looking in the rear view mirror. We need to get back to work and get the economy going. So grab a helmet and buck up.

From the world of the cosmically callous, it's back to reality...

By the way, the cause and the goal above all else is for Donald Trump to be reelected for another term as president, of course.

And as he sees it, he is running on three issues - one that's sent him packing, another that has gone south, and yet another that's flat out made up. Director of Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro said he's "not looking in the rear view mirror" in doing his other task of D.P.A. coordinator. Well, isn't that good for him, but everyone else is looking back over the past 3 1/2 years trying to decide if they want more of this.

The Covid-19 virus has sent administration packing and into complete switching-gears mode because it knows that it's never going to get a handle on something it never had a handle on in the first place. In the meantime, the economy tanked to historically low levels - this being the only thing he could have possibly run on. Mr. Trump is mistaken if he thinks damage that will take years to correct will come back well enough in a few months for him to make his case. And the third is the made up Obamagate to distract and sure up his base supporters, which incumbent aren't doing at this point in the race as it's already a done deal in most cases.

To Hell with the president's reelection for a moment, this is a serious problem for the American populace. The president of the United States, from the White House lawn no less, is propagating his own conspiracy theory, but reality has come crashing in. So sure, from the president's perspective, his section is taking on water, but we're in the boat with him. This is administration energy and attention to manufacturing a scandal for political gain while the public suffers. You be the judge of that.

 PBS's Yamiche Alcindor explained that the president was going back to his 2016 and going on the offensive, attacking President Obama, as well as Mr. Biden, as Mr. Trump's campaign advisors consider him part of the tick. However, the issue is that a conspiracy theory is originating from the office of the U.S. presidency this time around, not a candidate.

And Republicans on the Hill, they got nothing. As Politco's Anna Palmer explained, even considering the president's Obamagate attacks, Republicans are unwilling to break with him and in some cases coordinating.  Obamagate, what's that? Sounds good, I'll co-sign. That's about what you get from them these days.

When something like this comes from the White House, it pretty much blows up Clint Watts conspiracy theory bonfire model that first there's a spark, then kindling - more people sharing, and then gasoline - social media and influencer discussion. Well, the president of the United States skips right to the end, to our collective chagrin.

But Republicans' silence on that stupidity is not what offends. Since April 1st to this past Friday, the 15th, the Trump Administration has fired 4 Inspectors General, eliminating oversight of the administration on a wide-ranging basis. The last instance was Mr. Trump taking action at the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who was in fact being investigated. Republicans on the Hill: Yeah, we get it. Forget about oversight and the rule of law for the time being. It's only when a Democrat is in the White House will they flex their full hypocrisy muscle.


Lastly, given all of the norm (and law) breaking on the part of Donald Trump as our president, we're not going to criticize Barack Obama for taking a dig at the current president. Some one who gets people to listen has to speak up. There's also the fact that it's like dismissed common knowledge that Obama would have done a much better job.

"...tore back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they're doing."

"Some aren't even pretending to be in charge."

'Nough said.


Panel: Yamiche Alcindor, PBS News Hour; Peter Alexander, NBC News; Anna Palmer, Politico

5.10.20: The Message to Americans - Tragedy and Incompetence - Learn to Live With It

With unemployment claims topping 22 million and the death toll from COVID-19 approaching 80,000, the president preoccupied himself this morning with Michael Flynn and discrediting the Mueller Investigation instead of coming up with a national plan on how this country can move forward safely to bring back economic activity.

The two infectious disease experts on today's program respectively made statements that transcend. Jeffrey Shaman from Columbia University said that even though the Administration dropped the ball (our term) early on in proactive against the virus, we have to "pick up from where we are now," While Dr. Michael Osterholm said that we have to "learn to live with it."

However, without a national plan coming from a decisive Administration in the White House, pick up and and learning to live it become ever more difficult. Maybe it's just the thoughts of this column, but it's impossible to reconcile the president saying his administration is doing a great job when the country is staring 100,000 deaths in the face. And when the president this week nonchalantly says that over 22 million job losses were to be expected, it's downright depressing to think about where the president's head is at. Obviously, it's not on the millions of Americans who are suffering at this moment.

And in the midst of this pandemic, the Trump Administration is still backing the lawsuit to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, which would leave 20 million Americans without access to health insurance. When Mr. Todd asked Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) about this, Mr. Alexander said that when the individual mandate penalty was lowered to $0, no senator thought that this invalidated the entire law as the suit claims.

This is all in light of the fact that White House staffers in close contact with the president and vice-president tested positive for the virus this week. As Kristen Welker reported, White House staff has been shaken by this, even as they are instituting ramped up testing and contact tracing. However, ramping up these measures for the entire country is out of the question.

Chuck Todd's thread throughout the program was "Where's the plan?" which is a legitimate question but he drilled down on as if there would be an answer (a plan) coming. However, the reality is that there won't be a national plan. The president has left the states to make their own decisions without any federal coordination so that the country as a whole can emerge from this crisis. The president has called Americans 'warriors' in fighting this invisible enemy, but pragmatically what he is really saying is that many more Americans are going to die and that's just the way it has to be to get the economy moving again. The president has said that the economy will come back in the summer despite economists saying that it will take years to recover all the job losses. Given the unemployment rates for the different population segments, it's unlikely that the administration will focus on those hardest hit.

Robert F. Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, explained that this is an opportunity for the United States to restructure the banking system because 94% of minority owned businesses are under-banked or are not affiliated with any bank at all. It would be wise to follow this course, but again it's difficult  to see it actually happening given that corporate allies of the administration will do their best to exploit the crisis instead of correctly the economy inequality that this crisis has laid bear.

Richard Haas said that many countries aren't seeing the United States that they thought we knew, and because of this they will increasingly go their own way, which will only increase instability. We can not speak for other countries' perceptions, but this isn't even the America that Americans once knew.


Panel: Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal; Kristen Welker, NBC News; Richard Haas, President of the Council on Foreign Relations

5.3.20: Patchwork and Band-Aids

Today's watch word: patchwork. Used by both Dr. Tom Inglesby of Johns Hopkins and by infectious disease doctor Dr. Nahid Bhadelia to describe the United States' response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It stands to reason that there is concern about some states re-opening their economies too quickly because there hasn't been a coordinated national approach to combating the virus. All the states are in different stages, showing varying statistics, hence 'patchwork.'

Listening to state health officials from Alabama and Michigan respectively, they are taking different approaches according to the statistics and situation on the ground, as it were. However, they are basing their respective recommendations on facts and leave it to the governor to act equipped with an informed opinion. "It's not personal" is how Dr. Joneigh Khaldun from Michigan described it when discussing outside political pressure. Dr. Harris from Alabama explained it's present but that doesn't change the facts he presents.

However, Mr. Todd also asked Dr. Harris about Georgia with its aggressive reopening of their economy in lieu of statistics that show it's not safe to do so. Dr. Harris did express concern understandably but said that Alabama was prepared. The point here is that this is exactly where Administration and Federal response leadership is needed. The Trump Administration gutted the CDC (Center for Disease Control) which is the agency that would track and trace on a national level so that a state like Alabama could better understand what's happening in neighboring states.

But the federal response on several levels has failed. Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report explained that some politicians rise to the moment, which is why many governors' approval rating are so high. She also said that Donald Trump has risen to the moment like every other in his presidency with polarization and divisiveness.

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia explained that the Covid-19 virus acts to have the immune system attack itself. The growing partisan response, amplified shamefully by the president, is the virus that has been spreading across the country and the result is our democracy attacking itself. This is the consequence of Donald Trump's unfit leadership.

In the face of 1 million-plus infections and over 66,000 Americans dead in 2 months, the president said this week that the administration has done a 'spectacular' job, to use his word and his son-in-law described the administration's work as an 'American Success Story.' At this point, the only astute question to ask is, "What planet are these individuals living on?"

That brings us to today's operative percentage - 10 percent. Douglas Holtz-Eakin that in the months of April through June we'll see a 10% decline in national income; twelve percent is Great Depression era numbers. He also called the trillions of dollars CARES Act a band-aid. Dr. Bhadelia also explained that in areas where positive tests are over 10%, it's an indication that there is too little testing. All of this is on the federal government so it's ridiculous to equal what is actually happening with words like 'spectacular' and 'success.'

The potential answer to this lack of presidential leadership is in one fmr. Vice-President Joe Biden who has had to answer questions this week about a sexually assault allegation made by former Senate staffer Tara Reade. It's too soon to even judge and the only consensus that has come out of this so far is that there are no good players here. Mr. Biden, on Friday, flatly denied the allegation saying that it never happened, putting himself on the record and requesting full transparency. Given what we know and what has been said, Ms. Walter explained that this is a fight over who to believe and hypocrisy, with a slavering of the latter all over. Republicans are pointing out the hypocrisy on the part of the Democrats as Justice Brett Cavanaugh wasn't given the benefit of the doubt so why should Mr. Biden when it seems his accuser is more credible. But that's hypocrisy on the Republicans as well as there is no mention of the president's many accusers.

Frankly, at this moment we're just going to see how this one plays out because the current situation is allowing for putting any hope in any one person's hands, not even 10 percent.


Panel: Kasie Hunt, NBC News; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum, fmr. Budget Director; Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, NBC Medical Contributor