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.