Just Who Are We at This Moment?

 Take a walk with me if you dare.  This walk has to do with where we stand as the supposed leading democracy, the leading nation of immigrants, the leading nation in education; the strongest military power in the world; the moral leader among nations; a nation so strong that our president is known as the “leader of the free world, while we are known as “a shining light upon a hill.” One comprehensive survey has been done using a model to score and rank countries developed by BAV Group and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, specifically Professor David J. Reibstein, in consultation with U.S. News & World Report.

A set of 65 country attributes – terms that can be used to describe a country and that are also relevant to the success of a modern nation – were identified. Attributes by nation were presented in a survey of more than 20,000 people from across the globe. Participants assessed how closely they associated an attribute with a nation.

Each country was scored on each of the 65 country attributes based on a collection of individual survey responses. The more a country was perceived to exemplify a certain characteristic in relation to the average, the higher that country's attribute score and vice versa. These scores were normalized to account for outliers and transformed into a scale that could be compared across the board.

Attributes were grouped into nine sub-rankings that rolled into the Best Countries ranking: Adventure, Citizenship, Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship, Heritage, Movers, Open for Business, Power and Quality of Life.  Sub-ranking scores for each country were determined by averaging the scores that country received in each of the attributes comprising that sub-ranking.

A total of 20,548 individuals from 36 countries in four regions - the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and Africa - were surveyed. Of the respondents, 11,591 were informed elites, 6,081 were business decision-makers and 6,927 were considered general public. Some respondents were considered both informed elites and business decision-makers.

And here are a few results about the USA that may (or may not) surprise you:n the overall list of top countries, the USA came in at #7

·      the largest economy in the world is also considered the (#1) most powerful (“consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers and shape global economic patterns”. Their foreign policies are tracked and military budgets are huge). It ranks No. 3 in entrepreneurship and No. 4 in its cultural influence (synonymous with fine food, fashion and easy living – notable as trendsetters)

·      in both quality of life and citizenship (“being a good global citizen – leading the world by example – is often the ingredient that turns a respected country into a lauded one. Countries that care about human rights, gender equality and religious freedom are the nations held up by academics, advocates and others as examples worth imitating”); the US ranks #15

·      in heritage (“remnants of a nation’s historical struggles and accomplishments can become almost synonymous with the country’s name, defining the nation’s values and appeal to others around the world”) and “movers” (up & coming economies; creativity and flexibility)-- we rank 18th and 26^th; but it gets worse:

·      in ‘Adventure’ and “Open for business” (growth rate:  a world in transition carries risks and unpredictability. “The nations that differentiate themselves are those that have the resiliency and momentum to overcome the challenges”)—we rank 33 and 45, respectively.

Let me be clear that I do not believe that one survey is sufficient to show all that must be considered in determining rankings for countries of the world in competition with each other.  This one is not alone in its assessment of this nation.  In another world-wide survey, titled “Child Well-Being In Rich Countries” by the United Nations’ UNICEF Program, out of 144 countries, the top-rated countries for child well-being, overall, in order, are: (1) Netherlands; (2) Norway; (3) Iceland; (4) Finland; (5) Sweden); (6) Germany; (7) Luxembourg; (8) Switzerland; (9) Belgium; and (10) Ireland.  The USA rates 26^th overall, which includes #26 for “Material Well-Being”; #28 for “Child Poverty Rates”; #25 for “Health and Safety”; #26 for “Infant Mortality Rates”; #26 for “Low Birthweight”; #22 for “Immunization Rates”; #27 for “Educational Well-Being”; #27 for “Preschool Enrollment Rates”; #25 for “Participation in Further Education.”

A much broader ranking-system, from the World Economic Forum, is “The Global Competitiveness Report ” which ranks 144 countries, on a wide range of factors related to global economic competitiveness.

The U.S. ranked as #1 on only 4 out of the 117 different factors that are rated, and each of these 4 factors reflects merely the sheer size, the hugeness, of the U.S. economy. These four factors might thus collectively be identified as the Hugeness components: “GDP,” “GDP as a Share of World GDP,” “Available Airline Seat Kilometers,” and “Domestic Market Size Index.” Other than Hugeness, the results for the U.S. are not at all outstanding.  Health Care shows the U.S. ranking as #34 on “Life Expectancy,” and as #41 on “Infant Mortality.” On “Quality of Primary Education,” we are #38. On “Primary Education Enrollment Rate,” we are #58. On “Quality of the Educational System,” we are #28. On “Quality of Math and Science Education,” we are #47.

Another world-wide report on health and healthcare has the USA in a similar position: Thirty-five countries, including the United States, comprise the “Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development” (OECD). Their mission is to promote economic development and social well-being of people worldwide. United States ranks 26th among OECD countries with an average life expectancy of 79 years (Figure 14). Japan leads the world in life expectancy at 84 years.

The United States ranks 29th in infant mortality among the 35 OECD countries—only six countries have higher rates. In 14 countries—including the Nordic countries of northern Europe, Japan, and Slovenia—the infant mortality rate is half the US rate.

We are now landing at our Second Stop:  how do others see us?   The Pew Research Center has been tracking international opinion of the US over a number of years. Its 2016 poll gives a clear insight into how people around the world, from Germany to Japan, felt about America as Barack Obama’s presidency came to an end.

Pew asked people in 16 nations a range of questions to gauge the current level of popularity. Among people surveyed in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and North America, the overall image of the United States remained positive. While the Iraq War in 2003-11 proved deeply unpopular, US-led action against ISIS has been met with widespread approval.  U.S. image, in part, is linked to impressions of the American people. In general, Americans are perceived as optimistic and hardworking, although those outside of the U.S. are divided as to whether Americans can be described as tolerant. When looking at negative characteristics, many people around the globe associate Americans with arrogance, greed, and violence.

Majorities in 13 out of 15 countries surveyed had positive views of the United States in early 2016. In many of these countries, notably France, Poland, Spain, the UK and Japan, favorable views of the U.S. have endured since 2009, when President Barack Obama first took office. America got its highest ratings from Poles (74%), Italians (72%), Japanese (72%) and Swedes (69%).  A few more outcomes, include:

§  In some countries, U.S. gets higher marks among young people; 

§  In seven of the 12 countries where ideology was measured, people on the right were more in tune with America than people on the left. 

§  Many people in America and abroad believed the U.S. government respects the personal freedoms of its citizens. In 11 of the 16 countries polled, more than half held this view

§  Europe split on U.S. government’s respect for personal freedoms

§  Majorities in Greece, Australia, UK and Spain said Americans were arrogant, greedy and violent

How about international opinions of us closer to the present?

§  As has been the case throughout his presidency, U.S. President Donald Trump receives largely negative reviews from publics around the world. Across 32 countries surveyed by Pew Research Center, a median of 64% say they do not have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, while just 29% express confidence in the American leader.

§  Anti-Trump sentiments are especially common in Western Europe: Roughly three-in-four or more lack confidence in Trump in Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. He also gets especially poor reviews in Mexico, where 89% do not have confidence in him.

§  In nearly all nations where trends are available, Trump receives lower ratings than his predecessor, Barack Obama. As reported by the Center in 2017, international confidence in the U.S. president plummeted after Trump’s inauguration, while favorable ratings for the United States also declined.

§  A median of 68% across the nations polled say they disapprove of the U.S. increasing tariffs on imported goods; a median of 66% oppose the Trump administration’s withdrawal from international climate agreements; and 60% disapprove of Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

§  Trump is generally more popular among people on the political right. In 18 nations, those who place themselves on the right side of the ideological spectrum express more confidence in the U.S. president. A significant gap between right and left exists in 12 of the 14 European Union nations polled. Yet even among respondents on the right, confidence in Trump rises to 50% or higher in only six nations.

And now our final step on this journey: how have we come to regard ourselves?  or perhaps more to the point:  what have we decided to accept as being our heritage, our gifts, our leading contributions to our nation and to our world? We seem to have accepted the following through negligence, apostasy/hypocrisy, and other negative behaviors:

1.      it is okay for our leaders to lie to us as often as they like; “trust” is no longer something we can count on; so we exchange the tenet “I cannot tell a Lie” associated with our first president, to “I’ll keep lying to you because I can do anything and get away with it” and indeed Trump has done so because the people and politicians have accepted his behavior

2.      it is acceptable for foreign adversaries (like Russia or China) to interfere in our elections, and to otherwise steal our advances in technology; there are no dire consequences

3.      it is acceptable to allow children to starve, languish, go homeless, live in poverty so that people of means can become richer;

4.      it is apparently OK for the president to use children of asylum-seekers to discourage “illegals” from crossing our borders, even if the human rights of the parents and their separated children were decimated by cruel and inhumane treatment, including permanent separation in some cases

5.      it is okay with us if children are killed by mass shooters in schools as long as gun owners and manufacturers don’t have to conform to rules that could all but end such violence;  we are willing to exchange children’s lives for a culture of gun violence 

  v   Many have come to accept that Black Lives Matter but too many are equally accepting of the brutal treatment and shooting of innocent men because of their skin color.  Placing police on the streets with inadequate training, racial biases and militaristic attitudes toward people of color is not in anyone's best interests

I 6. it is all right with us that children are neglected and have no healthcare insurance; are experiencing increased bouts with asthma; face a planet that is crumbling as long as fossil fuel companies and other polluters are able to make a profit and build a flourishing stock market for themselves;

7.      its ok with us if children’s programs for education, health, and well-being are cut out of the federal budget, including Head Start and School lunch programs and schools of excellence; after all, it’s the responsibility of their parents; not us

8.      it is acceptable to deny first amendment rights as long as an authoritarian president and/or his henchmen are not criticized or protested; stopping book publishing, defense of private takeover of public education by for-profits entities; establishment of doctrines and practices of certain religious sects instead of standing up for separation of church & state as in defunding of Planned Parenthood, and religious exemption of not having to obey the law (ACA) on the subject of contraceptives; or, enshrining religious doctrine about abortion in our laws; freedom of religion attacked by closing mosques and preventing immigration from Muslim countries

9.      it is now even acceptable to watch a president act as though there are no constraints upon his will and desires: he can even close or slow down postal service in order to benefit his own re-election chances, and Congress seems unable to act; the people stand by and act as though they will still get their votes counted (good luck with that!)

10. speaking of elections, it is acceptable in many states to curtail the vote of targeted groups in order to win elections through unnecessary and unreasonable registration requirements; gerrymandering districts; purging of records; changing polling places; not having enough voting machines or poll workers, but most of all, as we now know, by cutting the staff and budgets of postal services, and slowing those services to a crawl with certain “  rules” that direct how to not be efficient in delivery

i11It is our willingness to abandon moral truths and behaviors for might, power, and national white supremacy that precludes us from acting to counter such new normalcy. 

We evidently don’t know what to do, so we do nothing.  The Senate Republicans capitulate; the Supreme Court puts up a good front but then falls short when ultra conservative principles are at stake; principles that often do not appear in our Constitution.

It is evident from this short walk that we are in trouble because we are accepting of lingering racism, sexism, political hackery and unfitness for holding government office.  We have accepted the fantasies and restrictive concepts of  “laissez-faire” capitalism with its “individual responsibility” meme,  lifting oneself by “one’s own bootstraps” or “to be left alone by government” (unless, of course, government has something to offer).  To buy into the concept that government must support a  ”free market” with very few regulations and restrictions plays right into the hands of the very proponents who spread these falsehoods because they are the very ones who profit from its implementation. The proponents of this “national socialism” otherwise known as “crony capitalism” are making sure that CEOs are unhampered by rules and regulations no matter who that hurts among ordinary folk.    

In conclusion then, I have to say that the great experiment is near to becoming the great failure based on a past we have not shed, a history we cannot change and a present debacle for which we have simply settled, as I bewailed in a posting called “So What?” (also: read “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson for a deeper look). 

We are being bamboozled and de-constructed at every turn.  Our values, ideals, freedoms, rights, and government responsible to the People are fading from this earth faster than you can say: “we must not re-elect Donald Trump.” 

Think again – he got in through the flawed Electoral College and then we have allowed him to do what he wants to do; we have accepted his faulty rhetoric and his false assumptions and presumptions.  We have allowed him to capture each branch of our government without a peep except an unsuccessful and unimaginative attempt to oust him from office following the impeachment process.

What is needed are fundamental changes.  I suggest consideration of four for starters:

1)     Impeachment and censure are not adequate.  We must initiate a process of “recall election” based upon malfeasance of administration and harm to citizens

2)     We must have an election system that is untouchable by politicians of any persuasion or discriminatory attitude, and by foreign mischief-makers.  We must pass laws severely penalizing any state or governmental entity that attempts to put any restrictions at all on the right to vote freely, and to have that vote counted correctly.  The first such law should simply be the reforms of H.R.#1.  The second should be in the form of sanctions against Russia.  That is a beginning.

3)     we must have qualifications and requirements as well as duties listed for every elective office and candidates must meet them or be disqualified

4)     Citizens United decision must be overturned.

We are facing the end of what we thought we had in this country: a unique representative democracy dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and have certain  inalienable rights (and responsibilities) that government by, of and for the people must insure and protect. That is why we must elect Biden-Harris as the team at the top to lead us to a re-invigorated and better nation.  The soul of America is at stake and time is running out!

====================*****====================

SOME of the THE WORST ACTIONS BY TRUMP in 2017

In keeping with my pledge made a few postings ago -- to list 4 or 5 negatives by Trump and his administration (backed by his tools in Congress) with every post until Nov. 3^rd --  here is a list from several sources (SF Weekly, Washington Post, TopTens.com and others) that cuts through the tweets, speeches and talk from Trump to some of the worst actions he took in his first year in office.  Do you agree?

Allowing Puerto Rico to Implode
Letting Puerto Rico languish after Hurricane Maria was and is inexcusably evil. While the tossing of the paper towels got lots of attention, the death toll is far higher than estimated, and Puerto Rico might be in a permanent cycle of depopulation and decline.  Electricity is still off in huge swaths of the island with only the next hurricane season already upon us. Puerto Rico is in abysmal shape owing to a toxic combination of political ineptitude and racism, and it came from the top.

Signed a massive tax giveaway for the rich

Taxes are important to society, and without them, we wouldn't have roads, bridges, houses, schools, etc. Rich people have plenty of money to give away as tax, but Trump cut taxes for them permanently while making temporary cuts for lesser income brackets.  The Tax Cut and Jobs Act gave over a trillion dollars in tax cuts to the rich over 10 years. If this bill stays in place, it could eventually either put us in a deep recession/debt crisis, or the government will be forced to dramatically cut programs for the poor. Either way, countless people will suffer, and some will die.

Signed anti-environment policies

He withdrew the US from the Paris agreement, overturned the Clean Power Plan, dramatically cut funding for environmental research, green-lit damaging pipelines, and put in place tariffs on solar panels.

Signed anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies

Most famous is the travel ban, which blocks people from certain Muslim countries from entering the US.  But he also revoked DACA and Temporary Protected Status, which gave legal status to millions of people living here legally. He indefinitely blocked people who are fleeing for their lives from Syria from entering the US and made it harder for other refugees to get asylum. He ordered ICE to arrest more non-criminals and made it harder for legal immigrants to bring over their families. Trump is also ripping thousands of kids from their parents' arms (even though they are legal asylum-seekers).

Downplayed the coronavirus until it was too late to take care of it properly, and

Withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council, and

Banned transgender people from the military

(More next time)

THE DANGER WE FACE

Time to take stock once again of where we stand under this despotic fascist president, Donald J. Trump.  We have addressed this status several times in the past few years and have watched the progress of this president on 14 points that seem to characterize fascist regimes across many countries and cultures.  (See my three Blogs of 11/2015 on “Send in the Storm Troopers”).  I referred to his fascist-type ideology and behaviors before he was even nominated by his Party, and 3.5 years of his term in office have vividly shown how much he mirrors fascist leaders.

To review briefly, those characteristics consist of:

1.      Incessant propaganda – Republican radicals are particularly adept at this with unified themes and memes right down to the synchronized wording used by local operatives. Right now, the biggest Big Lies being told are that protestors in the streets, progressives in government and organizations and Democrats in Congress are all connected, and they are all supporting or are themselves anarchists, socialists, or communists.  His Big Propaganda Lie lately is that these bad people are going to begin taking over the suburbs of this country by building ‘public housing’ (dog whistle: for black and brown people) in your neighborhood!

2.      Keeping detailed records – Trump’s suggestion for a database to track Muslim refugees, plus his kidnapping of hospitalization data related to COVID19 and his attempt to establish a nationwide alert system illustrate this tactic

3.      Adapting message to audience – Pandering to his ultra-conservative base is something Trump does constantly, lately stressing Law and Order against protestors; continuing to say that the USA is being taken to the cleaners on trade agreements, alliances, and international organizations like the World Health Organization; plus, politicizing of masks and social distancing and minimizing the COVID virus itself

4.      Castigating the opposition (see #1 above), and just this past week, this president castigated the Democrats in Congress for going home for a recess without passing the inadequate Republican legislation related to the extension of unemployment insurance (among other provisions). On the contrary, Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, has blocked consideration of Democrat legislation approved by the House that would have addressed the problem quickly, but Republicans, as usual, want to limit bail-out money for the “hungry hoard” and instead enrich the wealthiest among us.  There are many examples of this from Republicans, but none as graphic and hate-filled as their acknowledged excoriation of President Obama at every opportunity. 

5.      Projecting an image of fervent patriotism and avid militarism. Donald Trump may be the epitome of tough talk that spurs nationalistic fervor. His reaction to protests is cast as patriotism rather than the racism it is; and, his outrageously bloated military budgets (one of which just passed in the House) maintain his tough guy image as has the sending of secret federal agents into Portland recently.  He now threatens to send them to several other cities that just happen to be run by democratic mayors!  In addition, the brisk movement of used military equipment to local police forces has also been done under the umbrella of fervent patriotism and support for our local Law & Order providers.  

6.      Sending in the Stormtroopers – demonstrations of strength and violence are intimidating to most, and attractive to some which is why the Storm Troopers attended most Nazi rallies in their brown-shirt uniforms. Not too long ago, Trump’s goons worked over a Black protestor who tried to bring attention to what many consider Trump’s racism. 

An extension of that brutishness has now occurred in Portland, OR that has no rival in American history.  Sending federal agents not usually assigned to riot or crowd-control and untrained in such matters, to grab, kidnap and drive ‘suspects’ to unknown locations for unknown reasons is not democracy at work.  It is one of the essential acts of fascist dictators. 

This secretive police force -- with no identifying insignias or badges, no announcement of their mission, operating outside their usual assignments of protecting borders and federal property – are an existential threat to all of us. 
 

7.      Infiltrating local governments and offices – radical Republican takeover began in earnest with their gains in municipal areas by running for school boards, councils, and legislatures. Donald Trump has overseen one of the largest takeovers of federal departments and offices and branches by loyal de-constructionists and loyal white nationalists – fiercely loyal to the Trump agenda of democratic destruction and fascist aggrandizement -- ever experienced in our history.  He has captured the Republicans in the Senate, the majority of state Governors and legislatures; stacked the federal courts with loyalists dedicated to decisions promoting his agenda rather than the tenets of the law and constitution;  stacked and (almost) captured the Supreme Court; is undoing public education so that private education supported by federal funds can teach Alt Right principles through re-written history. 

He has successfully placed people in departments like State, Treasury, Education, HHS, and Homeland Security who have changed the Mission and Purposes of those offices to comply with the Donald’s wishes and desires.  Meanwhile, he has eliminated professional staffers and leaders from the EPA, the Post Office, DOJ, the White House, and many more in order for “deep state” opposition to his nihilism not to flourish. 

Re-election would assure further destruction of that which remains.  He has even attacked consumer groups such as the Board of Consumer Protection originally initiated by Elizabeth Warren and supported by Barack Obama.  Trump destroyed it.  And that’s not all he has set out to destroy under the heading of inspection and control.  He has cut budgets of several agencies involved in consumer protection, including his egregious moves in the recent past against independent Inspector Generals, the FBI and the CIA.

8.      Picking on an enemy (or scapegoat) – Early on, Trump and fellow Republicans chose to make Syrian refugees the target of their villainous Xenophobia, potentially denying thousands of young families the ability to seek the safety and protection of this land. Since then we have seen him turn against DACA (until the SCOTUS jumped in); professional government employees who chose to criticize or act against him; and more recently against peaceful protesters on the streets of our cities and towns who are calling us all to abandon institutional racism (especially in police agencies) and get on with the business of building one just nation out of a pluralistic culture. 
 

9.      Joining local organizations and movements and then promoting and proclaiming one’s own philosophy and cause(s) at every opportunity, such as a school board meeting or a coalition of churches.

10.  Using religion as a pawn—the Nazis warned the faithful to beware of fundamentally anti-church socialists and communists who were atheists.  Republicans constantly warn their Evangelical friends to be wary of the anti-Christian and socialist leanings of the national government.  A while back, Republican support for the county clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples on religious grounds was the epitome of this kind of manipulation of religion.  Now it is centered around abortion and contraception, religious schools, anti-Islam, and biblical interpretations of various social issues.  The insidious imposition of religious beliefs (father as unquestionable head of family; 10 Commandments and prayers on display at public functions) goes on apace with little opposition. And who of us will ever forget the picture of Trump standing in front of historic St. John's Church holding a borrowed buble so awkwaedly?  He used religion even as he abrogated the right of protestors by forcing them out of his path to that church!

11.  Assisting workers and others down on their luck – This tactic is well known to both Radical Republicans and to Jihadists who have done similar “good works” in their respective areas.  The pandering of some Republicans to the pressing needs of the working classes is another example of this. What they actually do when in office is quite different, as shown by lack of healthcare support, no infrastructure bill; tax cuts that won’t last and get eaten up by other neglected areas like healthcare costs. The COVID fight was a moment to shine and they blew it!
 

12.  Emphasizing youth membership -- giving them very visible things to accomplish – by keeping its activities as much social and adventurous as political.  Republicans are paying special attention to religion-affiliated colleges where more right-wing students can be recruited to join the Young Republicans. 

13.  Destroying trust in government and its leaders – It is clear that radical Republican debasing of the political process and of the leadership of that process (including the President, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate and the former Speaker of the House) has produced a repugnance among the citizenry for the whole process of governing. Here’s another twist on it: often government is not the problem, but lack of good leaders is the problem.

COVID19 – here for all to see is a major failure on Trump’s watch that has already taken over 154,000 lives and is expected, if changes aren’t made in time, to kill perhaps hundreds of thousands more.

 Trump is to blame for all of this because of his inability to use government to accomplish large tasks (such as providing guidelines, equipment, PPEs, testing, tracing, and treatment).  His attempts to blame everybody else – including China, W.H.O., Barack Obama, Governors and Mayors, Dr. Fauci and other scientists, as well as some doctors – are nothing more than political hype to save his job – a job he seems to want to keep because it affords him leisure time to pursue golf (at which he is a known cheater), watch FOX News endlessly (rarely coming to work in the Oval Office before late a.m.) from whom he often takes advice or garners stories of conspiracy.

  Here are a few of his failings in this pandemic that will end up killing a substantial number of his followers:

·      not taking early warnings seriously

·      failure to use a major tool at his disposal (Defense Production Act) that could have enlisted and supported certain companies in the making of masks, PPE, and ventilators.  He chose to ignore it

·      opening businesses too soon; and now hell-bent on wanting to get children into overcrowded, poorly ventilated, highly susceptible virus-containing locations, thus endangering the lives of children and of adult supporters and non-supporters Insisting that the virus will disappear on its own

·      Suggesting treatments that have not been thoroughly tested, others that would have been lethal; and a short-cut vaccine that could have turned out to be toxic for some and lethal for others

·      Putting  a WH Task Force together to help guide national response to the disease and then undermining their efforts by becoming their focus, their spokesperson, their guru – all of which served to emphasize  lack of a national plan and to increase the death toll

·      shutting down the Task Force and going off in other directions to de-empathize and distract from what the virus and Trump’s incompetence are doing to our society

A corrupt and dangerous man like Trump does things that no one else will do simply because he needs to provide both distraction and misdirection, with him as the star of both.  And so, he sends secretive agents to Portland to pit blame for all of his mistakes and miscalculations on our young children and grandchildren, telling us that they are all anarchists and revolutionaries out to destroy our neighborhoods and our way of life.  I beg to differ.  They are our children and grandchildren: well-educated, purposeful in their dissent and positive about their reforms. Most of all, they are dedicated to peaceful protest and non-violent confrontation.  They need to be taken seriously and Donald Trump and his Trumpers are failing to do so because they don’t know how and care little about why anybody should bother. 

14.  Using and abusing the election process to win office(s) and to gain control.  Gerrymandered districts, Super-PACs, attacks on voter registration and the ability to vote, plus attempts to manipulate the actual returns and voting processes, are all ways that Republican radicals have used and abused the election process. 

There can be little doubt left that D.J. Trump has set the November 2020 elections as his priority choice for cheating to win.  He is preparing to do all I said he would (see recent Blog post on this subject). 

His major emphasis so far has been his obsession with undermining any attempt by states to initiate voting by mail-in ballot (only five states already have it). He is scared to death of a mail-in election because he knows that certain states with this already have seen record vote totals, including Oregon and Colorado.   He doesn’t want that everywhere because he knows it spells defeat for him when voter turnout is expanded.  Thus, he has taken measures to slow the Post Office procedures and to change the timing on delivery – mainly by making sure that the new Postmaster General is a Trump loyalist who will do his bidding and join him in this effort to undermine postal services.  All this a very familiar pattern of de-construction of government that will serve his aims and desires, and his alone.

I take no great pleasure in reporting that this administration, led by its authoritarian President, has moved further away from democratic values, ideals, and practices than any former administration.  In my estimation (confirmed in large part by Mary Trump’s incisive book about Donald and his family), the current status of this regime and its “Fuhrer” should not surprise us to any great extent, had we paid closer attention to the words and behaviors of this man before he ever ran for President (see Addendum to today’s Blog – and the two previous ) 

Our reluctance (and outright inability) as a nation to call him out for his past doings and threats; his many unjust business transactions, lawsuits and failures; plus, his ability to manipulate issues, people and organizations to promote himself and his family has brought us, arguably, to the most dangerous moments in our history. 

We are standing on the brink of losing our unique experiment in a democratic Republic that favored right over might, empathizing the inalienable rights of all as equal, proclaiming that justice must be blind to the accoutrements of power and wealth and treat everyone as equal before the law.  It even declared that all persons should have the equal opportunity before the law to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The dismantling of this ideal is apparently not yet perceived (or just plain ignored) by a large portion of the people of this nation.   There is rampant in our society right now, such a lack of critical thinking and bold action that around 33-40% of those eligible to vote still support the de-construction of our central governing system because they agree with Trump and his followers that “government is the problem” in spite of the fact that our central government oversees and operates hundreds of successful programs and services benefitting  millions of people every single day.

Despite the daily demonstration that a strong national government with a strong national plan of attack is exactly what has been lacking under this President in relation to the attack of the COVID19 virus.  Not using government resources and power to fight a pandemic has left us in the precarious and humiliating position of being the nation with the worst record of fighting back against this virulent enemy. 
    

Of course, Trump believes government is the problem because it is filled with Democrats who, he claims, are all Trump-haters who want to block everything that he needs to do to “make America Great Again.”  Strange, isn’t it, that his followers believe such nonsense when Trump and his minions have spawned those measures that tend to harm many in his base right along with the non-Trumpers he says he will target for retribution. 

It is this false narrative that continues in the minds of his uncritical followers who think he is making government work better, for their benefit. That, as he has signaled in many ways, is not on his agenda.  He looks out for himself and his business enterprises, plus, to the extent it enhances his power over others, he works for the benefit of white millionaires and billionaires who, like him, belong to a wealthy class intent on government revolving around them and their needs and projects, not around the “unwashed herd” who they basically despise.

Trump has failed us all.  Trump has helped kill over 154,000 of us.  Trump has decimated our economy by his lack of action and equally as much by his unplanned too-early-opening of businesses. 

Now he wants to slaughter our children and grandchildren (and their families) by getting them back to schools without adequate preparation and any way to prevent a rise in the number who will be infected with this virus.  He is willing to send our children into harm’s way I(the valley of death) in order to prove his assertions that he is right, that he knows more than his scientists,  and that this virus will just disappear. 

HE IS WRONG!  HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT IT!  OUR CHILDREN ARE IN DANGER!

RESIST THIS FASCIST LEADER – DON’T SEND YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL UNLESS LIFE-SAVING PLANS ARE IN PLACE IN YOUR DISTRICT.

VOTE HIM OUT OF OFFICE BEFORE YOU LOSE THE RIGHT TO VOTE!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ADDENDUM:

Five More Things About Trump to Which We Should Have Paid More Attention

Instances of bigotry involving Donald Trump span more than four decades. The Atlantic interviewed a range of people with knowledge of several of those episodes. Their recollections have been edited for concision and clarity and five are as follows.

I. “You Don’t Want to Live With Them Either”

The Justice Department’s 1973 lawsuit against Trump Management Company focused on 39 properties in New York City. The government alleged that employees were directed to tell African American lease applicants that there were no open apartments. Company policy, according to an employee quoted in court documents, was to rent only to “Jews and executives.” Ultimately, they settled—they signed a consent decree. They had to post all their apartments with the Urban League, advertise in the Amsterdam News, many other things. It was pretty strong.

Under the terms of the settlement, reached in 1975, the Trumps did not admit to any wrongdoing. But soon, according to the government, they were back at it. In 1978, the Justice Department alleged that Trump Management was in breach of the agreement. The new case dragged on until 1982, when the original consent decree expired and the case was closed. 

II. “Bring Back the Death Penalty”

The so-called Central Park Five were a group of black and Latino teens who were accused—wrongly—of raping a white woman in Central Park on April 19, 1989. Donald Trump took out full-page ads in all four major New York newspapers to argue that perpetrators of crimes such as this one “should be forced to suffer” and “be executed.” In two trials, in August and December 1990, the youths were convicted of violent offenses including assault, robbery, rape, sodomy, and attempted murder; their sentences ranged from five to 15 years in prison. In 2002, after the discovery of exonerating DNA evidence and the confession by another individual to the crime, the convictions of the Central Park Five were vacated. The men were awarded a settlement of $41 million for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and a racially motivated conspiracy to deprive them of their rights. Trump took to the pages of the New York Daily News, calling the settlement “a disgrace.” During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump would again insist on the guilt of the Central Park Five.
 

III. “They Don’t Look Like Indians to Me”

In the early 1990s, Trump attempted to block the building of new casinos in Connecticut and New York that could cut into his casino operations in Atlantic City. (All of Trump’s casinos eventually went into bankruptcy.) In October 1993, Trump appeared before the House Subcommittee on Native American Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources. The subcommittee was chaired by Bill Richardson, later New Mexico’s governor. Trump was there to support an effort to modify legislation that had given Native American tribes the right to own and operate casinos.

Trump began by noting that he had prepared a “politically correct” statement for the committee, but almost immediately went off script. The hearing became loud and acrimonious.

BILL RICHARDSON: He (Trump) said he didn’t think that Native Americans deserved the legislation, because there was a lot of corruption around Native American casinos. I remember asking him after the hearing, “Well, what’s the evidence?” He said, “The FBI has it.” I said, “You’re making the accusation; why don’t you bring the evidence?” He said, “No, you should ask the FBI.” I said, “You’re making the charge of corruption and you’re not backing it up—that is unacceptable.”

IV. “He Doesn’t Have a Birth Certificate”

“Our current president came out of nowhere, came out of nowhere … The people who went to school with him—they never saw him; they don’t know who he is.” That statement, made at the February 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, marked the launch of Donald Trump’s public efforts to sow doubt about whether President Barack Obama had been born in the United States. “Birtherism” had been festering for several years before Trump embraced it—supplanting other proponents and becoming its most prominent advocate. In March, on ‘The View’, Trump called on Obama to show his birth certificate. In April, he said that he had dispatched a team of investigators to Hawaii to search for Obama’s birth records.

For Trump, the run-up to birtherism had been a controversy that flared when a Manhattan developer proposed building an Islamic cultural center on a site in Lower Manhattan—the so-called Ground Zero mosque.  Anti-Muslim sentiment animated Trump’s birtherism campaign. He said of Obama on The Laura Ingraham Show in March 2011: “He doesn’t have a birth certificate, or if he does, there’s something on that certificate that is very bad for him. Now, somebody told me—and I have no idea whether this is bad for him or not, but perhaps it would be—that where it says ‘religion,’ it might have ‘Muslim’.” 

V.   “On Many Sides”

Roughly six months into Trump’s presidency, on the night of Friday, August 11, 2017, hundreds of neo-Nazis and white supremacists marched onto the University of Virginia’s campus in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us” and “Blood and soil,” a Nazi slogan. The “Unite the Right” rally was protesting the proposed removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Confrontations arose between members of the so-called alt-right and groups of counter-protesters….”  The Alt Right protests became aggressive and dangerous resulting in multiple fights and injuries. A vehicle plowed into multiple pedestrians, resulting in one death.”

On August 12, President Trump said he condemned hatred and bigotry on "many sides" in Charlottesville, Virginia, in remarks from New Jersey, his first since white nationalist group protests turned violent and resulted in that one death and 34 others injured… 

"We're closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia," Mr. Trump said. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides."(emphasis added)

In his remarks, the president failed to mention the displays of white nationalism or Nazi symbols present in Charlottesville Saturday.  The president ignored a reporter's question asking what he had to say to white nationalists who say they support him and commit acts of violence.

Richard Spencer was one of the key figures behind the “Unite the Right” rally, who confirmed Trump’s seminal role:

“There is no question that Charlottesville wouldn’t have occurred without Trump. It really was because of his campaign and this new potential for a nationalist candidate who was resonating with the public in a very intense way. The alt-right found something in Trump. He changed the paradigm and made this kind of public presence of the alt-right possible.”