The Imperial Presidency

 

In 1970 President Nixon, upon returning from a European trip decided that the White House police force looked pedestrian, compared to what he had seen overseas.  Uniforms were designed at considerable expense and on the next Head of State visit the force was decked out in double breasted jackets with gold buttons, striped pants, braided shoulder cords, a White House insignia, and uniform hats with raised covers.  They looked as if they had stepped from a B-Movie set and were basically soon laughed away into oblivion.

Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote about the Nixon tapes and other overreaches of the Nixon Presidency and compared his term to others who preceded him. His book (The Imperial Presidency, 1973) discusses what the founding fathers intended in the Constitution with their separation of powers and how those intentions had been misused.  He mentioned the use of executive privilege, unchecked electronic surveillance and misuse of executive powers against one’s political opponents. He asked what are the American people and Congress going to do about this?  Eventually the Supreme Court ruled against Nixon, saying that no President was above the law and the Watergate investigation ended his term in office.  So, while abuses in office are not new, seldom have presidential practices, processes and customs been mangled as they have over the last three and one-half years.

We are seeing similar scenarios now, except that now the Senate was unwilling to reign in this president by affirming his impeachment. Despite overwhelming evidence of corruption and using his office for personal gain, the Senate did not do its’ Constitutionally mandated job. In 2019 a New York Times opinion writer wrote that Americans do not want an Imperial Presidency and that we currently have a very weak president, but a strong presidency.  Warning bells are ringing all over the country as the government is not doing its job to protect the population of the country; from forest fires in the West, Derechos in Iowa, Hurricanes in the gulf, a nationwide economic failure and widespread cases of COVID, the country has been left adrift.

In the meantime, the Republican Party held a semblance of a virtual convention. The president and his administration ignored the regulations of the Hatch Act as Cabinet members addressed the convention and appeared at events.  The president commandeered the people’s House for his and the first lady’s speeches. Covid was addressed in the past tense as if it were gone. VP Pence, speaking at the Federal space of Fort McHenry, mentioned the need to make the country great again, again.  Where has he been for the last four years; does he own none of this administration’s failures?  Traditionally, Elected Federal officials are prohibited from using Federal buildings for campaign activities (although the President and VP are exempted – their staffs are not).  Members of Congress often use party offices, outside but nearby their Capitol Hill offices, to make political or fund-raising calls.  Low level Federal employees have been fined or fired if they send partisan emails or share candidate materials.  Kelly Ann Conway has been criticized multiple times for partisan remarks she made from the White House lawn.  So, these restrictions were not unknown by the president and his associates, but they just blew them off.

None of the country’s problem as noted above were mentioned, but there was a lot a blame pushed onto former VP Biden, whom I must point out was not in office when George Floyd was killed (Floyd was not mentioned either). Biden, it was said at various times, would destroy the suburbs, turn the country socialist and defund the police – (not true). The fact checkers had a field day with this speech, so many comments were labeled untrue or misleading.  All of these remarks were given before a crowd of around 2000 invited guests seated side by side, mostly unmasked, on the White House lawn. 

The staging as the president and the first Lady strolled down the marble stairs from the White House balcony before illuminated campaign signs and a bevy of flags, seemed to be so overdone.  It reminded me of the movie, “The Producers,” – a comedy by Mel Brooks. In that movie there is a chorus singing Springtime for Hitler (it is a farce) as they come down a wide staircase dressed in absurd costumes and head dresses.  All during the speech I expected to see these chorus lines come swaying down the staircase. Instead all we saw were fireworks spelling out the presidents’ name and a performer singing opera from the balcony! Showtime, anyone? Seriously, though his remarks went on for 70 minutes, it was an uncharacteristically low energy teleprompter speech delivered in a monotone sing-song style. The most animated response from the audience was when he turned and pointed to the White House and said “we are here and they are not”! 

It is now apparent that the Republicans will use every instance of urban unrest as a scare tactic to drive suburban white women back into their camp. The chief executive is provoking violence and in response, supporters of his have shown up heavily armed at some demonstrations. Ms. Conway welcomed the unrest; she said that the more unrest, the more support for their side. A teen-aged so-called police supporter (known to have attended a recent presidential rally) killed two volunteers aiding protesters in Kenosha and seriously injured another person then left without getting arrested. (He was eventually picked up.) Christian groups in Arizona, among other places, have started raising money for his defense.  The president is now planning to go to Kenosha (although he has not called the paralyzed Black man shot in the back by the police which started the unrest); he says he will go to support the police in his Law and Order role.  VP Biden and Kamala Harris have talked to the family. They have a fine line to walk in supporting the protests, but also with condemning the violence and destruction which followed peaceful protests. Somehow, if the marchers understand that they are driving voters toward the Republicans and decreasing support for the movement as polls have shown, maybe it is time for them to step back, until after the election.  However, I fear they are trusting neither party and these actions may continue, although I hope not.

The NBA and WNBA were among several sports teams which spoke out against the shooting and boycotted some scheduled games, stating they cannot play under these circumstances. They are using their very prominent voices to say Enough! – this must stop. Clippers Coach Doc Rivers asked poignantly “It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.”

Hopefully he will be proven wrong and it will not take a generation to accomplish this change. I think these athletes have a public forum and can use it well.  They, like Republican Senator Tim Scott can still ask, how many times have you been stopped by the police for no reason? There should be more accountability by police forces across this country; there should be equal justice under the law. That is what we, as a country, state that we support. But these changes must start with each of us now; we cannot allow a president to further demagogue a tense situation and promote racism. So, now we move forward to see what next week will bring – someone has been killed in Portland, details are unclear, except that he was a right-wing supporter.

COVID STATS – New York Times (NYT)

The CDC has changed its reporting and is now giving a rolling 7- day total of new cases and no longer lists daily cases as a solo number. The NYT keeps a tally also, so I have changed to those totals – which are higher than the CDC.  It is a shame what this administration is doing to the independence of the CDC.

Total US cases:  as of 8/30/20 - 6,006,100.  Total number of deaths: 182,965 Numbers of new cases per day 41,924 (averaged) Total new deaths pe day – 871.  The numbers of new cases and new deaths are decreasing slightly.  However, this week the state of Iowa has reported huge numbers of new cases, so they may be the next hot spot.  College campuses are reporting high numbers of cases among student arrivals. California is trying to reset its’ parameters to re-open so that it can contain spread.

Maryland is continuing to show improved numbers of infections. Total cases: 107,294. Total new cases:630

Total deaths:3,746. Total new deaths: 10.

The Governor of MD announced at the end of last week that, since the case rate is under 5% now, he believes schools should open on time in classrooms.  This message was accompanied by the promise of grants to any school systems which opened. Many counties, which planned to open on August 31^st, cried Foul! They had a virtual semester already planned out, with notices sent to families and students.  It was also noted that these virus numbers fluctuate and have not been low for any extended periods.

Well I guess this is a wrap for now. I will leave you with some words from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.  “The American democracy must discover a middle ground between making the President a czar and making him a puppet.  …To put it succinctly – we need a strong Presidency – but a strong Presidency within the Constitution.”

Let’s make it happen! Let’s elect a president who believes in the Rule of Law, checks and balances and separation of powers.

“Til next week! Peace.

Visions of Light vs. Darkness

 

On January 20, 1961, I stood on the snowy Capitol grounds to see the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy and hear his speech. It was in this speech that he voiced the famous phrase: “And so, my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” But he also said – in that same speech – “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” (Liberty can be defined as free from oppression with rights of freedom.)

It seems that we are at a crossroad of political thought.  One side sees light and speaks in hopeful terms, while at the same time being aware of actions which do not reflect the values which we claim to cherish. He looks toward a brighter more inclusive future. The other creates chaos, promotes division and speaks in ever darker terms about the future unless he is re-elected and claims that any criticism of America is unpatriotic.  What President Kennedy described was patriotic; the current White House is promoting a cult culture rather than a governing model. The president describes an America under Biden as one which would give you blood in the streets, anarchy as he depicted in Portland protests and destruction widespread as seen in Minneapolis.

The Democratic virtual convention presented a different vision. Presidential candidate Joe Biden gave a thoughtful acceptance speech this week – it was not a speech of fire and lightening as is often seen. He started out with a quote from civil rights leader Ella Baker: “Give people light and they shall find the way – give people light”. He indicated that the current president has cloaked America in darkness for far too long, voicing too much anger, creating too many fears and promoting ever increasing divisiveness. He spoke of getting America again respected by our allies, protecting our environment and finally addressing those job creating infrastructure projects which the president has been boasting about for years, but which never got started. He mentioned how important character is as a trait in a leader. He faulted the President for his handling of the pandemic and insisted, were he president, he would listen to the scientists and health care experts. He praised Kamala Harris and mentioned how she believes in the power of the rule of law and how she was against the obstacles to good government thrown up by this administration. He spoke out against racism (and mentioned his conversations with George Floyds daughter and John Lewis) and how it was important to address this issue now. Biden claimed that while he will be elected as a Democrat, he will be a president for all Americans, unlike the current occupant of the White House.

Prior to his speech on Thursday evening, the virtual convention heard from middle-class Americans, diverse Americans and interest groups on healthcare, the economy and union jobs.  There were environmentalists and anti-gun rights speakers; Gabby Giffords gave a powerful testimony against assault type weapons. All the luminaries in the Democratic Party had a role to play.  Even Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter appeared in a voice over announcing their support for Biden.  There was unity on the virtual screen for all to see.  Two of the most powerful addresses came from Michelle and Barack Obama.  Michelle gave a ‘get out the vote/how to vote/why you must vote’ speech. She described the ineffective response to the corona virus and the great number of deaths as unacceptable. In her opinion, the president was unable to govern. She said that all should vote as if their lives depended upon voting, because they do.

Former President Obama was more direct and starker in his speech, reminding voters that this president has never stepped up to assume the mantle of the presidency because he is incapable of doing so. To emphasize his points, he spoke from the Museum of the American Revolution’s Center in Philadelphia. The governance of our country is based on the Constitution which underpins every department of our government. In his speech he mentions that the president is the custodian of our democracy but has shown no interest in preserving and protecting these interests. He warned that the efforts to suppress votes, or convince voters to lose faith in voting, were to make people cynical and feel as if their voices and votes do not matter. He stated that this president has worked to dismantle the checks and balances established in our Constitution. Obama indicated that if we do not vote for Joe Biden and instead give the president another four years that our democracy, as we now know it, will wither and die.

Kamala Harris in her acceptance speech answered many critics who felt that she would not give forceful remarks.  She was warm, spoke of family and her roots in the black community and sorority sisters but also of her Indian roots and the culture of her mother. Her use of an Indian word involving family endeared her to many native Tamil speakers.  She spoke of the need for inclusion and of the toll the pandemic had taken on the minority communities. She noted also that there is no vaccine for racism. In her speech she mentioned the dreams she had for what our country could and should be: “A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect. A country where we look out for one another, where we rise and fall as one, where we face our challenges, and celebrate our triumphs—together. Today… that country feels distant.”

Darkness versus Light, what do you think? Is this your vision of America?  Are we divided not only by red states and blue states but also by our perception of reality, light and darkness? How is anyone to unite this country if we cannot find common values to share, common ideas of what is good for all? Personally, I would like to believe that we are still a country capable of greatness which we have not yet realized. I so do hope that we do not succumb to the unlivable, ungovernable picture that this president and his minions are painting. Just how many endless loops of the storm troops in Portland are we expected to see?  How about film of peaceful protestors getting gassed and bludgeoned at Lafayette Square for a Presidential photo op? Guess we won’t be seeing that. I will try to watch the Republican gathering this week, but I am not certain that I can stand all of the misconceptions, exaggerations and outright lies I expect to hear.  And the fact that the president is speaking each night from the White House (the people’s house, mind you) is a bit too much. Do the Republicans really expect that a campaign based on Willie Horton tactics, as seen in the 80’s against Michael Dukakis, will persuade “suburban housewives” that only four more years of this president will keep them safe?  As they on the air, – stay tuned, folks!

CDC Stats this date:

Total US cases: 5,643812.   Total deaths: 175,651265.

Total new Cases: 45,265.     Total new deaths: 1006.

Totals for Maryland: Cases:103,523.  New cases 624.  Total deaths: 3685 Total new: 11.

The President called a news conference on Sunday to tout the use of a new breakthrough treatment for COVID-19 patients, umm er., except that it wasn’t.  The treatment was for the use of convalescent plasma (or antibody rich plasma) taken from patients who had recovered from the virus. The data indicated that this was a small group without a control group or randomized study and could be labeled ‘may be effective”. Claiming that rogue elements of the ‘deep state’ at the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) were holding up this “new treatment”, he demanded to learn why this process had not been expedited. He also badgered the FDA into issuing an emergency use authorization (EUA) for this transfusion, much as he had demanded advance permits for Hydroxychloroquine. What is happening is that the results of a study showed that in some really sick patients, a small percentage were improved at a certain stage in their illness, when they received convalescent plasma from recovered COVID cases; but this is not a new therapy as this technique has been used with other conditions and this study was not definitive nor conclusive. According to some, the president wanted something new to crow about at the convention which starts on Monday. Wonder what he will come up with just before the election – Putin’s vaccine?  

Well that’s a wrap for now – the air is rich with news.  The National Zoo has a new 2 day old baby panda cub - which is so very tiny, but has a healthy cry.  So, this is something we can all be happy about.

‘Til next week – peace.

 

 

 

Are You Better Off Now?

 

I never thought that I would be quoting Ronald Reagan, but I remembered recently his question in the Presidential debate with President Jimmy Carter as he asked “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”  Even President Carter had to say no, as this was a time when Iran still held American hostages, interest rates were in the teens, and the economy was suffering through an oil embargo. Well, if one were to ask this question today, the President would also have to say NO as our country is still held hostage by the pandemic with more than 5 million positive COVID cases, the economy is demonstrating a major downturn with unemployment rates over 10%  and more than 30 million workers on state rolls, and children cannot safely attend in-school classes. 

The next controversy is a self- inflicted wound as the President is attacking the reliability and safety of elections by mail by and ensuring chaos by setting up a political friend as Postmaster General who now appears to be in charge of destabilizing the US Postal Service (USPS). The postal service was never meant to be a for profit business, but rather a service; it was established in 1775 by Benjamin Franklin before we even declared independence and was defined in the Constitution. It has been applauded in verse, fiction and folklore, from delivering mail to outposts in Alaska to the Riders of the Pony Express. Saddled with an onerous obligation to pre-pay employee benefits by Congress in 2006, hindered by economic weaknesses and internet expansion, the post office has posted significant losses in recent years.  Supplemental funds for the USPS were included along with extended unemployment checks, and relief for states whose revenues have been severely diminished during the pandemic, in the HEROES Act which is currently stymied because the President will not agree to release of these monies. The Washington Post recently reported that the President was convinced that the Post Office contributed to the 3 million more votes that Hillary Clinton posted in the 2016 election by fraudulently delivering absentee ballots and has been planning to disrupt it ever since.  So, while he refusing to allow Congress to allot more money to the post office, out of work Americans are suffering and wondering how they can pay their bills. Makes no sense to me, how about you?

Currently there is an uproar brewing across the country as seniors and veterans who rely on the postal service to deliver their medication are worrying, businesses are trying to meet customer needs but are hearing that overtime has been cut, mail is being left behind for the next day’s delivery and mail-sorting machines are being taken off line.  Aside from the daily dire pronouncements about election fraud from the Oval office, election officials are concerned as State offices have received warnings that later arriving ballots may not be delivered by election day.  Advice has gone out to ask voters to request a ballot as soon as possible and to mail it in immediately. I have already requested mine – have you?

The other big news this week was the selection of Senator Kamala Harris as the candidate for Vice President on the Democratic ticket (to be ratified this upcoming week at the Democratic Convention).  Former Vice-President Joe Biden had said that he would pick a woman for his second in command; many encouraged him to choose a woman of color and several candidates were on his list to be vetted. From what I have heard, his choice was applauded by most Democratic voters; tears of joy were described by some black women I heard interviewed.  Many brought up the experience half a century ago of Shirley Chisholm who ran a lonely campaign for President, but was the first African American woman to do so.  Others mentioned the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and the compelling figure she was as a Democratic leader. 

Harris has a history which is shared by many in the country today who are first generation children of immigrants.  Her parents were both academics who met while in college; her mother was of Indian nationality, while her father was of African heritage and from Jamaica. She describes a childhood of being taken to protest rallies and demonstrations for justice, so perhaps her decisions to work as an attorney and prosecutor were formed early on.  She indicated that her mother believed that American society would always see her more as African American than Indian American, so even though she attended mostly white schools as a child, she sought out more black experiences by attending an historic Black school (HBUC) - Howard University in Washington DC and joined an important sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. Later, her work in the district attorney’s office as a prosecutor helped deepen her knowledge of the justice system and gave her a platform to run on for Attorney General of California. These years helped form her philosophy, which some said was too much on law and order; others criticized her for not supporting the death penalty in the murder of a police officer.  When elected to the Senate overwhelmingly, she brought her prosecutorial skills to questioning administration officials and nominees appearing before the Senate Judicial Committee.  (She has been called nasty by the President because she sternly questioned Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court hearings.) Has anyone deserved it more?

What does it mean to have a woman a heartbeat away from the Presidency?  Many have noted that this month is the 100^th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage - or the gaining of the right to vote by the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution. Some have also mentioned that it was difficult for African American women to gain recognition by that movement, although they finally were allowed to be part of the marches. So, while they might have gained the right to vote, it was many generations before those rights became fully realized; and in some areas, even now, that right is in jeopardy. 

Some have questioned whether being number two on the ticket might shelter Kamala Harris from the sexism and misogyny that Hillary Clinton was exposed to.  Already the president is raising the birtherism issue because her parents were immigrants.  Others are worried that racism will again play a part in the campaign, perhaps as a backlash to recent civil rights unrest. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an election based on the issues and maybe the topic – is the current office holder fit for the highest office in the land?  “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” The president ‘trumpeting’ his scores on a recent cognitive test, often used for dementia screening, left many voters wondering about his ability to make daily rational decisions.

CDC UPDATE daily stats

Total US cases as of 8-16-20: 5,340,232 Total Deaths: 168,696

Total numbers of new cases last 24 hours: 54,686          Total number - new deaths: 1150

State of Maryland: Total cases: 100,212 Total deaths: 3502

New cases: 816 New deaths: 5

Timely Tidbits:

·  A veteran employee of the defense Intelligence Agency, Kyle Murphy, has resigned stating: I have seen up close the president’s disdain for democratic values, and recent events should be put in the context of a continuous slide toward authoritarianism. Our laws enshrine a fundamental belief that a nation’s security forces should defend, not undermine, the core principles of democracy, and that they are not a leader’s personal tool to silence critics and retain power. 

 

·  Florida Governor DeSantis threatened school systems with loss of state funds if they did not open schools immediately despite COVID fears. Hillsborough County, the 8^th largest school system in the country, caved in after the governor threatened to hold back $200 million dollars in expected funding from the county. DeSantis never truly shut down Florida and has not instituted a mandatory mask policy for the state, although some beaches and bars have had restrictions enforced and local areas such as Key West, Miami-Dad and Palm Beach have required masks.

· The Democratic Convention starts on Monday August 17^th, followed by the         Republican Convention a week later.  There will be speeches and virtual meetings, but no balloons, big crowds or confetti as both parties have decided to forego the typical political convention model of thousands of supporters cheering in a Convention Center.  So, the pandemic has altered another rite of American life just as it has changed weddings, funerals and graduations.  Wonder if there will be a TV audience for a Zoom convention?

And in conclusion:  zoo keepers at the National Zoo indicated that Mei Xiang, the resident female panda might be expecting, according to daily ultrasounds - and a daily panda baby watch is underway.  Historically, pandas never look pregnant and give birth to a cub previously described as about the size of a stick of butter, so the deliveries are difficult to spot.  Since pandas are cute and cuddly when young, it would be good to finally have something to “ohh and ahh” about around town.

‘Til next week – peace.

One Nation Indivisible?

 

In a few short weeks we will gather in various communities and remember the anniversary of September 11, 2001. I remember holding candles in silent vigils to say “we will not forget” and “united we stand” as we honored those whose lives were lost on that day. We did not look to see if those who died were from red states or blue states; we grieved American lives lost whether or not they were citizens, young or old, gay or straight, red, white, black, brown or yellow – they were ours.

But now we seem to have a President who wishes to divide Americans into groups that are ‘his people’ and the rest of us. When the pandemic was devastating cities on the east and west coasts, he knew those were not his voters. Our country has had issues of regional stressors now and then but it is difficult to remember a time when a President only wanted to be President for states he won in the previous election. Recently he claimed that states such as Florida and Arizona can run mail-in elections properly since they have Republican Governors but states such as Nevada – with a Democratic governor – cannot be expected to run a valid election.  He tried to allocate supplies during the early days of the pandemic to Governors who did not criticize him. The inability of the government to properly provide resources such as ventilators, testing kits, and personal protective equipment to meet critical state needs will go down as one of the greatest failures ever of our Federal government. The muzzling of real scientists is not far behind. State governors and health departments had to try to fend for themselves to provide for their residents, often competing against neighboring states and the Federal government, to obtain necessary supplies as the President set out to further divide this nation.

In 1858, President Lincoln famously said in a speech before he was elected,” that a house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.”  He then struggled to maintain the union, which still separated due to the Civil War. But since the end of that war, we have been one country for better or worse. In 2004, at the Democratic Convention, Barack Obama gave a rousing speech where he promoted a United States of America as he said: “The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states-red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states." He was trying to identify the reasons we have to work together and noted more commonalities than differences.

But this pandemic has demonstrated just how divided this country is.  Despite the severity of COVID-19, once it was declared a pandemic, the states were never given clear guidance on how best to shut down and how long the quarantines should last.  Consequently, almost as soon as the shutdowns started, the clamor to re-open began.  The President sent mixed messages as he praised armed men who stormed the state house in Michigan, demanding the right to open businesses and to not wear masks. And after just a few weeks, the President spoke about opening churches in time for Easter, even as public health experts demurred. He supported rallies by demonstrators across the country who protested unmasked and in close formations. So consequently, we as a country, never really went into a prolonged and regulated shut-down as was seen in Italy, Germany and many countries in the Far East. While major cities such as New York, Washington DC and San Francisco became virtual ghost towns, areas in other states did not require masks, even as they slowed some commerce and may have restricted some religious gatherings. As the virus swept through meat packing plants and mayors of some small towns wanted to impose quarantines and mask guidelines, they were over ruled by their Governors and the President who demanded that meat packers stay open to avoid a national meat shortage.  Many workers in these plants were immigrants who did not have a good understanding of the pandemic and lived in multi-family homes, so they could not easily isolate.

So now, as states across the South defied mask orders and opened bars, retail and beaches, the virus is claiming more lives and tallying more positive cases. The Mayor of Atlanta wanted to impose a mandatory mask order but the city was sued by the Georgia governor who has long resisted closures and masks and has now opened schools. The state of Texas long resisted any restrictions, but after a sudden uptick in cases, has encouraged masks and even made them mandatory in some counties after much push back.  Currently some 15 states have no mandatory mask requirements, according to the AARP guidelines.  Each has a Republican governor, so we are definitely back to the red state - blue state issue. This is why we cannot stop this pandemic. Even today, over 200,000 motorcyclists are meeting at their annual gathering in Sturgis, South Dakota, an event encouraged by the city for the income it produces; the hospital is readying its’ COVID unit as they gather. Health experts warned against this annual rally as cyclists come from across the country to attend and will return to, their home states afterwards. News photos of the event, showed few masks being worn. This group seems to have no collective sense of community responsibility. Annual events across the country have been rescheduled, postponed or cancelled; why not this event as well? This is a place where rugged individualism, which Americans so prize, is working to our detriment.

It is apparent that residents of this country cannot come together to save our shared lives. Few are willing to endure the sacrifices it would take to reduce the spread of the virus.  The rest of the world looks at us in amazement as this most scientifically advanced country cannot get itself organized enough to lock down 334 million people for a couple of months, so we shall keep on seeing waves of virus outbreaks crisscross this country until we get serious. The New York Times today had a forceful editorial about this outbreak and concluded that we have a strong case of national apathy and confusing instructions.  The editorial quotes Thomas Frieden, a former CDC Director, who stated that we have a glut of data and a dearth of information. It further indicated that only about 50% of the country engaged in a true lockdown, whereas in Europe the compliance was about 90%. Scientific experts have indicated that if we unite as a country and forget the nonsense that “mask wearing or not” are political statements, engage in a true nationwide lockdown for 6 – 8 weeks, and endure some more sacrifices together, we could stop this viral spread. But we need leadership from all 50 states and associated territories to believe that we are all in this together, it cannot just be a phrase on TV ads. It is obvious that we are not going to receive adequate information from the Federal government.

COVID-19 Statistics as of August 9^th:

Total U.S. cases: 4,974,959. Total U.S. deaths:161,284.

(Although the news tonight reported that we had surpassed 5 million.)

Total numbers of new cases last 24 hours: 54,590. Total number of new deaths: 1,064.

(Almost one new death each minute,)

Maryland: Total cases: 94,581 Total deaths 3,577.  New cases 775.  New deaths: 12.

To conclude:

This week marked the anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The effect of the bomb in Hiroshima killed some 80,000 people outright and injured more than 35,000.  Another 40,000 would die within a year of after-effects from the radiation and injuries; 40,000 more died in Nagasaki.  Others would live their lives with scars and late effects of radiation. These were not military targets but cities of civilians. Japan surrendered a few days later.  Justification was given to say that these bombs saved the lives of Americans from what could have been a prolonged mainland assault on Japan and to show the Soviet Union, the might of the United States arsenal. In retrospect, many today question those purposes.

“Til next week. Peace.

The Rite and Rights of Voting

 

“The Congress may determine the Time of ‘chusing’ the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.” United States Constitution - Article ll, Section l ‘original spelling’.

On a day where the news was not looking good, the President decided to float the idea of postponing the election if voters could not go to the polls in the usual manner.  If it is too dangerous to go to school or back to work, then maybe congregating to vote in November is not a good idea?  He seemed somehow to consider voting by mail – which he does (as do the overseas military, embassy staffs, and the populations of several states) - appropriate, but not absentee voting which he considers suspicious, possibly fraudulent and open to rigging; (there is basically no difference between them.) As is mentioned in the lead-off paragraph, Congress sets the date for the election and the President cannot change it. His newly appointed (major Republican funder and political appointee) Postmaster General has tried to reorganize the mail delivery, by stopping overtime and the long term requirement that each piece of mail in the post office on any given day, must be handled that day. Is it possible that they are setting the stage for delaying valid ballots from reaching election centers?  While some states have made it easy to have ballot drop-offs at public buildings, the Republican Party has sued the State of Pennsylvania to prohibit use of such drop-off points, claiming, without evidence, that they are easily tampered with. 

Many, including myself, think that this is all a set of false claims and bogus moves and part of a wider plan to discredit and create disbelief in the election process and eventual outcomes, especially if Vice-President Biden is declared the winner.  By creating doubts in the propriety of the process, some voters may become alienated or discouraged and not vote, or - if they do vote - will be suspicious of the final results. Such claims were made against Hillary Clinton, even though she lost the Electoral College vote, when she won the popular vote by over three million votes. (In 2016, more than 138 million Americans voted; that was only 58.1% of the total number of eligible voters.) Do you remember that the President claimed that millions of illegal immigrants voted for Clinton; he was claiming the election was rigged in her favor, even though he won.  He is already warning about it taking months, maybe years, to know the final results this time and raising doubts about whether or not he might leave office if he loses.

In Maryland, Governor Hogan, decrying some ballot mailing glitches in the June Primary where every voter should have received a ballot - but did not, has decided to mail out applications for absentee ballots, but not ballots, for the Presidential election in November.  He has decided to open every poll, to the dismay of many of the elderly poll workers who have indicated they will not be available during a pandemic.  Many venues (such as churches and schools) which formerly housed the polls have also said that their facilities will not be open for the election. So, as of now, the county election boards, the poll workers, the voters and state government are all at odds over the format for this increasingly important election when the state and local governments should be doing all they can to facilitate a smooth process. Maryland has a no excuse clause for absentee voters, so one does not need a doctor’s notice or letter from work to apply. Voters are encouraged to make a request for their absentee ballot early and not wait for the state to send the application. One may be requested on line at the State Board of Elections.  The last date for such requests will be October 22nd for the November 3^rd election. Completed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by November 13^th at the latest in order to be counted.

Votes on voting machines provide rapid results; the votes on paper ballots take much longer as each paper ballot must be scanned or computer read after validation of the voter and the ID on the ballot at hand.  Whereas voting at a poll requires check in of some type and validation of the voter, by the time that vote is cast – it has been correctly tallied, especially if there is use of an optical scanner and a paper trail kept on hand. In California in 2018, due to a large number of mailed ballots –over 30% or about 8 million – final results were not in for several weeks in some close races. (As an aside – in this year’s Presidential Primary race more than 100,000 mailed ballots were disqualified for one reason or another in California alone.) Many experts believe, that as many as 75% of the November votes will be mailed in across the country, due to fears of voting in person during a pandemic.  The longer it might take to have final tallies, the more time there will be for those on the fringes of reality to voice conspiracy theories about who is fixing this state or that election.  One third of the Senate is elected every two years, as well as all members of the House of Representatives, so much more is at stake than the Presidency. But be ready, it Is doubtful that the networks will be able to call the National results on election night or even the week afterwards.  There may well be local races called before the Presidential race. How many remember the Florida hanging chads and the election so badly decided by the Supreme Court – in what many believe was an overly partisan decision?  The President is already threatening litigation if the results are not in his favor.  We will need to have a wide margin across the country – or what is called an old-fashioned landslide - to block such efforts.

Congressman John Lewis wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times published on the day of his funeral.  In it he indicated: “Voting and participating in the voting process is key.  The vote is the most powerful non-violent change agent you have in a democratic society.  You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”

President Obama in his eulogy for Mr. Lewis spoke out sharply against measures such as voter suppression, voter intimidation and voter roll purging as he urged that the Congress reaffirm the measures of the Voting Rights Bill of 1965, which was gutted in the Shelby decision by the Supreme Court, and rename the new bill in favor of Congressman Lewis. He urged further efforts toward both voting and marching. 

There were several tidbits on my list this week, but this blog will then be too long, so I will catch up next week.

Covid Stats from the CDC:

Total United States cases as of 8/2/20:   4,601,526      Total Deaths: 154,002

Total new cases previous 24 hours: 58,947                    Total new deaths: 1,132

Totals for Maryland: Cases: 90,274 Total deaths: 3,381 New cases: 1,019   New deaths 13

It has been just over 60 days since The New York Times printed that amazing front page with the roll call of the names of the 100,000 deaths by that date from COVID-19. In just the last 60 days we have increased that number by over 50% and some say we will reach 180,000 deaths by late August. Meanwhile, the virus continues unchecked in over half of the country at this time.  There is still no National Plan for a unified approach to masks, limited exposure, safe distancing or closures. Former GOP candidate for President, Herman Cain, attended the rally in Tulsa and sat in the crowd without a mask, despite knowing that he was a cancer survivor and had other health concerns; several days later he was diagnosed with COVID, and this week, sadly, he died from the disease which complicated his other health issues.

In closing, I will quote the Rev. James Lawson, age 91, who also spoke powerfully at the Lewis Funeral.  Lawson, a civil rights era veteran, had been a mentor to Lewis and other students at the time in Nashville when their activism was just starting.  He recalled those times and compared them to present day issues.  It was his thought that we do not need the Constitution to be changed, but rather that we need the Constitution to come alive.  Only we, the people, can do that. Can we meet his challenge?

‘Til next week – Peace.