Justice for All

 

The oath that a Supreme Court Justice must take is defined by law and has changed a bit over time. (A justice must take a Constitutional oath and a Judicial oath or a combination.) The combined oath for the office of Supreme Court Justice is the following:  “I, ___”name”______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as­­­­­­­­­­______ ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­under the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will w ell and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So, help me God.”

Judge Amy Coney Barrett was nominated by the president yesterday for the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ginsburg. She is expected to receive a swift approval by the Republican led Senate which is demonstrating that its’ oath of office means little and power and hypocrisy mean a lot. As judges go, she is young and relatively inexperienced and, if confirmed, will be the youngest ever seated on the court. She had been a law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia and is loved by those in the Conservative movement; she graduated at the top of her class at Notre Dame Law School. So far,her decisions as a judge on the 7^th Circuit of the Court of Appeals and journaled legal opinion articles have demonstrated that she is against abortion, for second amendment rights and not supportive of immigrant rights, the death penalty and the Affordable Care Act. She is a member of a fringe charismatic religious group, (which some have called a cult), that supports covenant marriage and the domination of the husband in that marriage and supports conversion therapy for gay persons. One can only hope that, if selected, Judge Barrett believes the words of her stated oath and leaves her personal opinions aside when deciding cases. The Affordable Care Act termination case being brought by the Republican States Attorneys General is due to be heard the week after the election. If her appointment is rushed through, it is hoped by the Administration that she can be sworn in in time to hear oral arguments, since she is known to have spoken out against the law. With any luck, her appointment can be delayed a bit.

It appears that no choice could have been further from the beliefs and actions of the late Justice Ginsburg. When the president paid respects at her viewing at the Supreme Court, he was booed by spectators and many chanted “Vote him out.” I so hope that this happens. If Barrett is chosen, as seems inevitable, her choice will leave the court with a 6-3 right vs. left makeup. In the 2019-20 court session, of the 63 petitions in which decisions were made - only 19 were unanimous and 17 were decided by a 7-2 or 8-1 decision.

I had planned to write about the damage being done to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) this week, but events have pushed those subjects back a bit. In my opinion these are two agencies, staffed by career professionals, scientists, physicians and statisticians whose positions on issues should not be politicized.

Instead, let’s take a look at the extraordinary assault on the electoral process being waged by the president and the attorney general. The Atlantic Magazine felt that this information was so important that it published this article by Barton Gellman early so that it could be read before the election.  His reporting indicates that the president is counting on Republicans voting in person and giving him the lead on election night, while he expects Democrats to vote by mail and intends to challenge these votes.  A strategy, he reported, has been mapped out to challenge signatures and look minutely at the voting processes.  Instead of hanging chads as was seen in Florida in 2000, now reviewing postmarks could be the new way to invalidate a ballot as postmarks are not always clear. (However, attempts at hobbling the postal services were not successful; a Federal judge has also blocked the post office from any slow down or further decommissioning of equipment before the election.) Should those measures fail, some states with Republican legislatures and governors are being primed to invalidate the selected electors and appoint new ones who would choose the president – so he could then win the electoral college and serve another term.  

Academic scholars, according to Gellman, are indicating that unless there is an overwhelming win by Biden that the country could face a serious Constitutional crisis. As the returns in 2018 on election night changed as more mailed in ballots were counted in succeeding days, the president called for a stop to the counting after election night; this is something he will try to claim again is necessary. The Biden campaign and ordinary voters cannot allow him to do this. The president is already saying that if he does not win, that will mean that the election is fraudulent and so he would not have to leave office; at times he has even said that he thinks three terms might be nice – has he ever read the two-term limit in the constitution? And eventually, it is said, he will challenge the results in state after state and turn to “his” Republican majority on the Supreme Court to rule in his favor. As has been mentioned before here, the Republican Party is working to suppress the Black vote, especially in swing states; that is also why they have been working to get the troubled rapper Kanye West on the ballot and so far, according to Politico, have succeeded in seven states. There are also reliable reports that the party is working to have voter intimidation and physical challenges to vote counting in several states. Last week in Northern Virginia, supporters of the president harassed voters standing in long lines for early voting.

According to the potential scenario laid out in the Atlantic the president will never concede: “All of which is to say that there is no version of the Interregnum in which Trump congratulates Biden on his victory. He has told us so. “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election,” Trump said at the Republican National Convention on August 24. Unless he wins a bona fide victory in the Electoral College, Trump’s refusal to concede—his mere denial of defeat—will have cascading effects.”

As a counter to some of these threatening actions, Gellman suggests voting in person - in early voting if possible - stationing police at polling places and at Boards of Elections to protect voters and secure the ballots and setting up preparations to address possible armed intimidators. Does this all sound alarming to you, it does to me!  One of the best things about modern America has always been our democratic freedom to vote and to subsequently have a peaceful transition and orderly inauguration. The fact that this president can call into question the legitimacy of these processes is, to me, appalling.  But then, he has done so much to take down the norms of our usually effective governmental systems, that I guess this too, should not be a surprise.  However, it is definitely a disappointment, no that is not a strong enough word – it is a disavowal of his oath of office to protect and defend this democracy and the Constitution of this country. Please read the article linked above for Barton Gellman’s full discussion.

***********************************************************************************

Over this last week we have hit two negative milestones – more than 7 million cases and over 200,000 deaths. According to Dr. Fauci we have flattened the curve somewhat, but at far too high a level (over 40,000 daily cases) as we approach flu season.

According to the NY Times: COVID stats nationally as of 9/26/20

Total cases: 7,138,000. Total new cases: 42,761. Total deaths: 204,500. Total new deaths: 759.

Maryland stats (State of MD) Total cases: 122,972. Total new cases 613. Total deaths 3,925. Total new deaths: 8.

***********************************************************************************

In other dismal news this week, the Grand Jury in Kentucky has returned no charges against the officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. One officer was dismissed for shooting into the next-door apartment and charged with wanton endangerment in that shooting. The officers who shot Taylor were not charged but were said to have been justified in returning fire as her boy-friend fired a shot after the apartment door was rammed open. This is apparently in regard to the law of self-defense. (The facts about the warrant having little merit apparently did not get reviewed.) The family lawyers felt that the prosecutor did not present an adequate case and demanded to see the Grand Jury transcript.  Several days of protests have followed this decision in Louisville and other cities. Earlier the City of Louisville had settled a civil suit by the family and agreed to some police department reforms, neighborhood policing and other changes, some of which looked at stopping no knock warrants.

Several hundred armed so-called “proud boys” – right wing agitators - held a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, but they were smaller in numbers than anticipated and did not get the counter-response from the left that they had expected. Whew!

The NY Times has just reported that for several years before his election, the president paid either taxes of $750.00 or 0 dollars. Quite a bombshell -more to come for sure!

‘Til next week- peace.

 

 

The Court Needs Balance

 

In the end, the cancer won, as it usually does. But over more than twenty years, she, along with her physicians, fought back. As it attacked multiple organ systems, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation were used to combat the spread– along with the formidable will of the patient. But, sadly, the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg came to an end on Friday September 18^th at the age of 87 years. She died on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year, which some say conveys special honors on one who dies on that day.

As crowds formed spontaneously outside the Supreme Court Building Friday evening to pay respects and just mourn, the importance of her death to the American people is made clear.  People, who came by the thousands, sang Amazing Grace, recited Jewish prayers and left flowers. They appeared to just want to be near her place of work, the place where she made her mark on the interpretation of laws for most of us. When she took her seat on the Supreme Court, things changed.  As only the second woman to sit on the high court, and the first progressive defender of women’s rights to be seated, she has made a difference during her twenty-seven years as a Justice. For many of those years she was the only woman present and she had a formidable task to educate her fellow jurists on issues of gender equality.

She had laid the groundwork as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union many years before in a series of cases argued over time which set out the issues where men and women were treated differently under the law. For example, a male military officer could get an allowance for a female dependent spouse while a female officer could not qualify for the same funds for her husband. In another case, a husband could not qualify for spousal benefits from Social Security after the death of his wife in childbirth so that he could care for their child. These were a few of the several decisions which she argued before the court in the 1970’s and won. At that same time, she had to contend with justices such as William Douglas who had complained about women appearing before the court whining and droning on about women’s liberation. Consequently, her arguments had to be concise and compelling, which is why the cases were chosen so carefully and not always based on women, but rather on matters of unequal treatment under the law.

Over her many years on the court, she was never in the majority on a right/left court balance, although she authored many majority opinions and many significant dissents. One of her most important cases included the suit to allow women to enter the Virginia Military institute, a college which, even though state supported with tax payer dollars, refused admission to women. Others included support for damages in the case of environmental pollution and for developmentally disabled individuals to receive state funded care. Significant dissents were among her more recent opinions as the court turned more conservative. Of these, dissent in Gore v. Bush, Lilly Ledbetter, and Hobby Lobby, Citizens United, and Shelby County were significant. (I have just summarized the popular case names in these fairly well-known decisions.) In Obergefell v Hodges – (the same sex marriage decision) she was a member of the 5-4 majority with the opinion written by then Justice Kennedy.

Suffice it to say, her presence as a Justice will be missed. Her contribution to popular culture and the nickname the notorious RBG, - while derided by some - also energized the young to the importance of the Court in a way that decades of staid mostly white males seated on the bench have not done. Saturday Night Live brought her image to many more and emphasized her style, concerns and quiet strength with humor.  As she became a pop icon, the Supreme Court became more noticed by others by often aware of its’ role. In 2018 The Hill polled voters about their knowledge of the Supreme Court and found that about half could not name even one justice; while those who could name one most often mentioned Justice Ginsburg - others noted were Roberts and Thomas.  When the hearings about Judge Kavanaugh were aired, more could also add his name. As the administration has sought to blur the separate but equal powers of government, more awareness is key to enforcing these divisions.

Senate leader Mitch McConnell has been mentioned here before for his denial of a Court nomination to President Obama in a power play which put politics over propriety and precedent. It is obvious now that the specious argument he made then and, is contradicting now in his hurry to add another justice before the next president takes office, ranks of hypocrisy, but he does not care. The Republicans did not even give pause to mourn or pay tribute before they gleefully announced that they would choose a successor and set hearings. I am hopeful that public opinion can weigh in strongly enough to make him and his supporters pay a political price and that senators who are up for election this term, including McConnell, are defeated if they persist in these actions. It is said that McConnell is unbeatable in Kentucky – but who knows?

In my opinion, the Bush v Gore decision started the modern era of selecting politics before the Constitution – not that the court has not been political in the past, but Justices Scalia, and Thomas and later, Alito. seemingly have refused to entertain a thought not held by the founders, even though much of modern society could not have been anticipated by them. (Remember, only male property owners were allowed to vote at that time and persons of color, women and slaves were not given that right, although Amendments have mostly corrected those deficiencies.)

The Affordable Care Act is to be considered again by the Court right after the election in a lawsuit brought by the Administration and Republican state Attorney Generals in another attempt to strike it down after the law was upheld by Congress. The health care law is overwhelmingly supported by the public as is Roe v. Wade, which conservatives hope to again bring before a more conservative court. When the Court moves beyond public opinion it may endanger the support it has held in the minds of Americans as the last, best and fairest word on any given issue. This administration has already defied Congress with not answering subpoenas, denied the rule of law, and attempted to undermine the CDC, Justice Department and Health and Human Services; it should not be allowed to defile the Supreme Court by improperly rushing through a nomination. 

To quote earlier statements by Senators Graham, and Grassley, each said the process of 2016 should not be repeated and, as the people decide the next president, he should be allowed to select a nominee. However yesterday Graham – demonstrating he has no moral core, checks instead to see which way the winds are blowing – backtracked again and said he would vote to choose a nominee now. Some say Senators Collins, Murkowski and Romney are also not in favor, but time will tell. In another odd twist, if Martha McSally (R) loses her special election Senate seat to astronaut Mark Kelly (D) in Arizona, he would immediately be seated and take away another Republican vote in the 53-47 Senate, so McConnell has an incentive to not only finance her race, but to also get the vote before November 3^rd which might be a tall order. The New York Times indicated in an article that the court battle may energize Democrats more than Republicans as it further demonstrates polarization in the country. If the American people quite loudly make their voices heard, there is a possibility that some Republicans might listen; if not, then I hope we can turn the Senate Democratic in a repeat of the landslides of 2018 in the House, and, of course, elect Joe Biden.

***********************************************************************************

There have been many policy issues and personnel changes at the CDC over the last week – I will take a look at those next week. We are approaching 200,000 COVID-19 deaths in the next day or so, even as total incidence slows nationwide; just before the anticipated start of flu season in the US and the projected second Fall wave starts.

Latest COVID-19 Stats: (New York Times) as of 9/19/20.

Total US cases: 6.808,400 Total new cases: 41,844 Total Deaths: 199,308 Total new deaths: 672.

Total Maryland Cases: 120,489 Total new cases: 548 Total Deaths:3,879 Total new deaths 7.

***********************************************************************************

If early voting has started for your area, please VOTE!

Well, this has been quite a week, so I guess I will close now with the turn of phrase suggested by some in tribute to Justice Ginsberg, “May her memory be a revolution.”

‘Til next week, peace.

 

To Tell the Truth

 

 

In October 1962, the American populace learned that the country might be on the brink of nuclear war with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR aka Russia), as the two nuclear prepared powers faced off over missiles being placed in Cuba – only 90 miles from the American coast of Florida. We learned that the missiles had been requested by Castro to protect his country from another invasion by America (this was after the failed Cuban Bay of Pigs CIA invasion plot of the year before – long story for another day). Anyway, on this particular day in October President Kennedy made an oval office address to his country and explained that we had learned about the missile base with a spy plane overflight the week before which had made photos of the installation. He spoke of military preparedness and diplomatic discussions. He noted that the Navy was blockading Russian supply ships from reaching Cuba (technically quarantining them). He indicated that the missiles were a clear and present danger since their range was at least 1000 miles and could strike much of the mid-Atlantic and southern part of the country. And he also told the country that the future was on this date – uncertain – but that he was working for a peaceful solution. He pulled his audience in and made them aware that the situation was serious, but it was something they needed to know. He indicated specific steps his administration was taking. He communicated.  

Was it the whole truth, most likely not, but it was enough to inform the populace. Those of us in the DC area at the time made dark jokes about being in the target zone and wondered what would happen next. I can attest to the fact that those were indeed tense times. Kennedy later had his UN Ambassador, Adlai Stevenson, show the photos that had been taken from the air to the Security Council as proof of the urgency of the matter. Pointedly, when Kennedy sent an emissary to French President De Gaulle to show him the photos and explain the issues, he reportedly said something such as this – “I do not need to see the photos, the word of the President is good enough proof for me.”

(Now I know I am over simplifying here – but that was a complex situation not easily conveyed in a few words. Ultimately the Russians turned their ships around, removed the missiles, the US removed the blockade, agreed to not invade Cuba and eventually removed missiles from Turkey as a compromise. And, as it was an age prior to our instant communication era now, a telephone hot line link was established between the two Capitols and their leaders, to lessen miscommunications in the future. The book by Robert Kennedy – and subsequent movie - Thirteen Days describes some of the battles among the administrations executive committee members for and against armed conflict at that time.)

It has recently come to light that our current president knew all along about the seriousness of the corona virus but played it down and lied so as to not frighten the American people. (Book titled Rage and tapes from author Bob Woodward in talks with this president, where this is discussed; tapes were knowingly made.)  As seen above, the American people can take tough news.  It also appears that the lack of truthfulness on this subject has led many of his followers to disregard the warnings of health experts and others and treat this pandemic as just another flu.  But many of us in the health care fields, myself included, knew that he was lying as we understood that the seasonal flu does not typically put patients on ventilators or cause such widespread outbreaks. We understood the necessity to isolate, quarantine and wear masks. We saw what was happening in Italy, on cruise ships and in China and knew this would not ease easily with warm weather. 

But the issue became politicized – which should never happen with such serious health care concerns – and those on the right and left saw two separate outbreaks. The right-wing media echoed the presidents’ descriptions of “nothing to worry about here” and the rest of the country was counting the dead and dying with horror as schools and businesses closed and life as we knew it changed in a moment. Wearing masks became a political statement. The president became convinced, some say, that the truth would spook the stock market and spoil his chances for re-election. As states across the South and West opened up prematurely, deaths soared. The toll is approaching 200,000 deaths at this time.  We commemorated the 9/11 deaths this week with sorrow and shared grief. As an aside, we are losing the same number of Americans now every three days.

It is important to be able to trust the words of our leaders in serious issues such as this.  The Administration tried to hush Dr. Anthony Faucci, one of our medical experts in this area and silenced the leaders of the world-renowned Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eventually forcing them to rewrite guidelines. This week it was reported that actual disease numbers are being manipulated and changed by people in Health and Human Services (HHS) from the CDC data. Some ‘red’ states are being encouraged to not report full data. The Government went to war with the World Health Organization, dropped out of international vaccine research and stood outside the civilized world which now has us quarantined and unable to travel, due to the US continued high levels of disease. It has demanded that the Food and Drug Administration promote unscientific treatments for Covid-19. 

When mostly ‘blue-state’” governors tried to keep their states quarantined, the president praised armed invaders at state capitols and unmasked demonstrators at protest events.  Some states are quarantining arrivals from other less regulated areas which creates more confusion. The government decided to reduce funds for testing; fewer tests keep us from knowing how many silent or asymptomatic, but communicable, cases are in our communities now. Such a move is contrary to all public health warnings; authorities indicate that we need an average of 2.5 million tests per day, not fewer than 1 million, as is happening now.

This is not leadership – it is instead a dereliction of the president’s sworn responsibilities and duties to protect the people of this country.

***********************************************************************************

COVID-19 Stats as of this date:  (New York Times)

Total numbers-US cases: 6,521,200. Deaths: 193, 715 New cases (last 24 H) 39,192 

New deaths 698

Total Maryland numbers: 116,359 cases. Deaths: 3,838 New cases: 659 New deaths: 8.

***********************************************************************************

I cannot close today without mentioning the horrific forest fires which are raging currently along our Western coasts.  The states of California, Oregon and Washington are seeing unprecedented levels of destruction each day as thousands of acres burn up and towns see hundreds of homes which are reduced to ashes. California has had 3.1 million acres burned, Oregon and Washington- much smaller states - have lost I million and 600,000 acres respectively at this time.  Oregon expects about 500,000 acres to burn in an entire year, so these fires, which are at the start pf the fire season, are quite unusual in scope and severity. The loss of life is yet untallied, but it is expected to be large; more than 24 deaths are confirmed as of now. Smoke has blocked out the sun in many areas and air pollution levels exceed that of Beijing, one of the most polluted cities in the world. In Washington state the air pollution levels were so high they were said to have broken the air quality monitors in some areas. California governor Gavin Newsom spoke of the reality of climate change: “The hots are getting a lot hotter and the wets are getting a lot wetter,” he observed. “The science is absolute. The data is self-evident.”

In a year which has seen widespread flooding as well as drought in several countries in Africa, along with extensive fires in Siberia, Brazil and Australia which had not been seen at those levels before, it should be obvious that our small planet is beset by major changes in the climate.  Global climate change is happening right now, not in a half century from now as some had predicted. Stay tuned. 

Well, that is quite enough for today.  ‘Sometimes it seems like it is all too much’ as a neighbor remarked to me recently – ‘I cannot ever remember a year such as this’, said the 70-year-old lady. Neither can I.

‘Til next week, then.

Peace.

Freedom isn’t Free

 

Nathan Hale was a 21-year-old Continental soldier when he volunteered to go behind the lines of the British Army and spy on their troop movements. He was betrayed by a cousin who supported the British and was hanged as a spy without a trial. His last words were said to be: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” His statue stands at the CIA today as a reminder of his bravery and sacrifice. 

Since the days of the Revolutionary War, Americans have answered their country’s call to bear arms to defend the freedoms we all enjoy today.  The cost has been extraordinarily high. If one counts only the military involved in four wars, (World War l, World War ll, Korea and Vietnam) then the tally would be approximately 44 million servicemen and women who served, and who suffered approximately half a million deaths and over a million injuries. Wars are brutal, messy, and traumatic, even for the victors, and have long term effects on those who serve and their families.  Freedom comes at a terrible price.

A famous verse from World War One was written by a Canadian battle surgeon: John McCrae, in May 1915. McCrae died of pneumonia and meningitis in 1918 

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Flanders Fields was a battlefield in Belgium near the French border but has become a cemetery to commemorate the war dead.  Poppies grew up there after the war and poppies, even now, are symbols worn to commemorate those killed and injured in that war. Belleau Woods in France, was the site of a ferocious battle during the same war. Marines and the Germans fought over a three-week time period to capture some farmland; eventually the Marines were victorious, but at the cost of almost 2000 dead Americans.  It was at this cemetery where a ceremony was held in 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the battle with delegations of dignitaries whose countries’ forces fought in the war. The President had visited other sites in France but was said to not visit this one because he could not use his helicopter on a stormy day. Others said that he did not want to get his hair messed up.  More recently it has been said that he thought those who got killed were losers and suckers for serving in the military and wondered why they should be honored. Jeff Goldberg, writing in the Atlantic, noted that on multiple occasions, including this one, that the president disparaged the troops. According to quotes from staff who were there on that day, Goldberg indicated that the president had no understanding of why America even fought in that war. At another time, on a Veterans Day visit to Arlington Cemetery with General Kelly, whose son had been killed in battle, he asked why anyone would volunteer to serve, ‘what did they get from it?’ he wondered. Many people have reported that he also belittled John McCain for getting captured and former President George H W Bush for getting shot down during WW ll. The White House has pushed back against these stories saying he has provided more funds for the military than other presidents and that he respects the military, but multiple sources have confirmed these reports.

The president likes the military – whom he calls my military, but has little understanding that – even though he is Commander in Chief – the oath sworn by all military members is to the Constitution, not him. He likes to show off tanks and planes, but not wounded amputees. He is less than honest when he claims to call families of all deceased military members and not good with empathy. Many active and retired military members were astounded that he used active military troops to clear Lafayette Square for his photo ops. American troops (aside from the National Guard) are not supposed to be deployed on American soil except in extraordinary circumstances.

From my perspective, I know we need the military, just as we need the police and we, as Americans, should respect their devotion and service. Do I wish that we fought fewer wars? Yes. Do I expect to see our elected officials support our troops? Yes.  To me, that means having adequate medical treatment for active and retired military members and their families, to provide housing that is free of mold, to provide equipment that is up to date and safe, and to recognize PTSD and treat it more effectively without stigma. Along with most Americans I say – ‘thank you for your service’, something which was not said to returning Vietnam war veterans. My grandmother was a Gold Star Mother from WW ll and she carried the pain of her son’s death until the day she died. When the president does not respect the military members who died, he is also disrespecting women like my grandmother and their grief. I do hope that current and former military personnel and their families remember these attitudes when it comes time to vote.  Vote Vets has a powerful ad out about this matter.

Today we celebrate Labor Day and recognize the hard work of many Americans, unionized and non-union. The Corona virus has changed our lives and even who and how we celebrate these days. We honor those nurses and other necessary healthcare workers and ancillary providers such as police, fire and EMT's, physicians and respiratory therapists, pharmacists and housekeepers who brought our countrymen and women through the initial COVID New York City crisis and who are still there every day and in hot spots across the country. It is estimated that more than a thousand of them have died for their service. Now I call upon city, state and federal agencies to make certain that each of these groups is supplied with adequate personal protective equipment to do their jobs and that hospitals get enough physical equipment to provide urgent care. I celebrate essential workers who are keeping stores and restaurants open, transit running, mail delivered and goods shipped, so that we can all get through these trying days. I applaud teachers who had to reinvent their teaching styles at a moment’s notice and learn how to teach virtually.  I hope that they are not forced back into classrooms before we can best provide for their safety and that of their students. I celebrate those Moms and Dads who suddenly found them selves with multiple duties for parenting at home and doing work in environments less than optimal; you made it work by hook or by crook. I worry about seniors trapped in nursing homes who cannot see their loved ones and loved ones who do not get to say good -bye as a result of this cruel virus. I am concerned that the Administration will badger the pharmaceutical industry or try to force the FDA to accept a vaccine before it is ready, so as to make a splash before election day. We do not need another rushed vaccine mishap such as we saw with the Swine Flu episode during the 1970’s. The virus is still very much with us and authorities are quite concerned about a possible spike nationwide after this holiday weekend.

Corona Virus Stats (New York Times) as of September 6, 2020

Total number of US Cases: 6,291,000 Total Deaths: 188,700; new cases: 42,080, new deaths 711.

Maryland totals: 112,557 cases.  Deaths: 3,799; new cases: 772, new deaths: 7.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the state was ready for Stage Three of re-opening which would allow churches, restaurants and theaters to open but have reduced capacity in their spaces, among other easing of regulations. Many thought this was done to increase business over the Holiday weekend since recent numbers show a 13% increase in cases. Several areas remained at Stage Two, including Montgomery, Prince George and Anne Arundel counties.

Well, another week has gone by with too much news: A naked black man, with mental health issues and high on PCP is restrained by police and eventually dies in Rochester. Police in Louisville reportedly try to coerce Brianna Taylor’s old boy-friend into saying she was involved with drugs in order to get a plea bargain (he refused). A right-wing protester is killed in Portland and police kill the supposed killer in a gun battle. The president goes to Kenosha but does not talk to Jacob Blake’s family; former VP Joe Biden does go to Kenosha and speaks with protesters, Blake and members of his family, yet does decry violence and looting.  And that is just a few headlines!

How about a look at the panda cam to see how the baby panda is doing?

‘Til next week – peace.