The Year That Was: Disease, Madness, and Death

 The foul year of 2020 has stretched out for what seems like forever. The truth is it is hard to remember a time when our primary concerns weren't COVID-19 and the insanity of Donald John Trump. It certainly wasn't during the past 12 months, at least not for a most of us. Think not? Let's take a look.

January: Mr. Trump, who had been impeached by the House earlier, is supported by every republican during his Senate trial. Utah's Mitt Romney did vote for removal on one count, but not on the second. After the President got off the hook the wildly famous law professor, Alan Dershowitz put it this way, "If a President does something that he believes will help him get elected, in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.'' In other words, a sitting President can offer a nuclear weapon to Saudi Arabia in exchange for dirt on a political opponent. 

February: Covid was rearing it's ominous head overseas. Chinese manufacturing had been practically shut down in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease. Many Trump supporters dipped their toes into the conspiracy theory pool by stating the media was overplaying the seriousness of it while others began to post on media the virus already had a vaccine, but it was being reserved for the ultra rich. Meanwhile DJT blamed the democrats and media for sowing economic panic in order to hurt his re-election chances. By the end of the month one American had died of COVID-19. The President predicted few others would become infected.

March: The shit hit the fan. Covid began to spread faster than a California wild fire. The nation's governor's began shutting down non-essential businesses. All sporting events were abruptly canceled. People were told to shelter in place. Cities went dark and medical testing kits became more precious than gold. By mid month it was estimated there were only 500 of them available in the entire state of Oklahoma. By the end of March things were so dreadful and weird Trump was having the, "My pillow guy," Mike Lindell speak at COVID briefings and Joe Exotic, "The Tiger King," was a Netflix sensation. In short people had begun to go a tad self isolation buggy.

April: Anti lockdown demonstrations spread across the nation inspired by Trump's rhetoric concerning the effects they were having on the economy. Trump banners, Confederate and Nazi flags were proudly displayed at many of them. So were guns. The prevailing sentiment among the protesters seemed to be  no one could tell a real, by God, American not to drink in bars, or eat out. The COVID death toll for that month was 58,960.

May: George Floyd was murdered by cops in Minneapolis and the match was lit. Demonstrations and draconian police measures followed. In more than a few instances there was video proof it was the authorities who rioted. The President threatened to call out regular U.S. military troops, but instead began to rely on unidentified para police units who were rumored to be federal prison guards and officers from ICE. Far right wing subversives infiltrated some crowds and initiated acts of vandalism and looting. Almost lost in the chaos was the appointment of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General. 

June: Donald Trump reached his limit on the self isolation shit. He announced he'd take his act on the road again. The first stop on his new tour would be Tulsa's 19,000 seat BOK Center on the weekend African Americans celebrate their freedom from slavery--and mere blocks from the site of the city's 1921 race massacre. Governor Kevin Stitt and Trump promised a sell out crowd. So many tickets were doled out on line an overflow stage was set up outside the arena. It was an internet scam pulled by a bunch of clever kids who never intended to go. To Trump's dismay the place wasn't even half full the night of the rally. Among the few there were Stitt and GOP pooh bah, Herman Cain. Within weeks Stitt would have COVID-19 and Cain would be dead of it.

July: Major League Baseball, the NHL, and NBA restarted minus fans in abbreviated fashion. Hockey and Basketball technically finished their interrupted seasons in isolation, while baseball rolled out a 60 game schedule played in empty stadiums.

August: In July 26,164 Americans died of the virus. It was a tiny, but encouraging dip which prompted more people to get out to bars and restaurants which had reopened. By the end of the month the August body count was 30,234. A poll conducted during that time frame found 57% of republicans considered the number of COVID deaths incurred to that point as, "acceptable." 

September: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and reportedly her last wish was not to be replaced until a new president was sworn in. Trump immediately labeled her wish fiction and vowed to fill her seat as quickly as possible. In addition El Donald was ratcheting up his attack on mail in voting, although it seemed to be falling on increasingly deaf ears. His old pal and the very definition of conflict of interest, Louis DeJoy took the hint and began to pull sorting machines out of post offices, primarily in swing states.

October: Early in the month Donald Trump, his wife and a gaggle of GOP bigwigs came down with the virus within days of each other. QAnon wankers began to scream that Trump and the rest had been, "targeted," with a virus they had been claiming didn't exist. The COVID, they said, had been sprayed on one of The Don's microphones. Trump's quick recovery prompted some leftists to claim he faked the whole thing in order to prove it was either no big deal, or that any real man could survive it.

November: As the early returns came in Donald Trump jumped out to a lead. So much so early the next morning he declared victory, as if that would end things. The mail in votes, however were just beginning to be counted. By Friday Joe Biden had taken the lead and The Big Orange Guy was howling a foul, massive, fraud had been perpetrated by his enemies. Nearly two months later he still is.

December: Trump's crack legal team, headed up by Rudy Giuliani hit the courts with increasingly bizarre accusations. According to them everyone from local TV stations to the late Hugo Chavez was in on rigging the election. The Georgia Secretary of State's brother, who doesn't exist, worked with the Chinese to overthrow the government. Millions of mail in ballots should be excluded because, well, they were mailed in. The courts, including that Supreme one, rejected them all.

Yes, the year has been full of disease, madness, and death. As of today, 344,877 Americans, just about one in every thousand of us, have died from a virus, Donald Trump promised would, first, be easily contained, then, second, would disappear by April. Beyond that horror, Mr. Trump has still not publicly accepted his loss in November and in truth, probably never will. 

2020 ends in a scant few hours now. Speaking for tens of millions of Americans, I say, good riddance and for all our sakes, let's not do this again. 

12-31-20  

Donald Trump Rages While Uncle Mitch Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court has been totally incompetent and weak on the massive Election Fraud that took place in the 2020 Presidential Election. We have absolute PROOF, but they don't want to see it.--No "standing" , they say. If we have corrupt elections, we have no country!

Donald John Trump, 45th President of the United States of America writing on Twitter, at 7:51 AM, Saturday, Dec. 26th, 2020.

At least the President didn't whine about what he must consider the shocking disloyalty displayed by the third of the court which he appointed. You know it has to gall him though because Donald Trump's entire life has been one never ending series of quid pro quos. It has been a career straight out of "The Godfather." Only now in Trump's eyes the baker has refused to deliver the cake to Connie's wedding and the funeral director won't touch Sonny's bullet riddled body. And it's just because of some outdated document he has never read called the Constitution.

Even Mitch McConnell recently betrayed El Donald, at least in his mind, by congratulating President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris on their November win and coming inauguration. It was a trip into reality that set Trump off on another Twitter rampage in which he took credit for McConnell's latest re-election and that of seven other GOP senators. He promised he would, "NEVER FORGET," them abandoning him in his hour of need.

Within a week he proved it when he suddenly and unexpectedly went all Bernie Saunders on McConnell's painfully constructed COVID relief bill by demanding $2,000 in relief per person as opposed to McConnell's proposed $600. At the same time Trump put the federal government in jeopardy of shutting down because of a lack of funding. This after he had sat around for all these months as the Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin hammered out the details with McConnell and the House leadership--presumably with the President's explicit approval. 

Hey, let's face it, it's highly doubtful Donald Trump cares if the average citizen gets $600, or two grand. However, he does care about fucking with McConnell, especially after Mitch jumped the ship he was never truly on. 

Yes, upon further review, as they say, it is highly probable that Senator McConnell has reached a place in his career where he doesn't really give a shit who is President. As long as he is the majority leader in the upper chamber he calls the legislative shots. It is a rare pinnacle of power reached by only a select few, J. Edgar Hoover being one. Chief Executives come and go, but like Hoover, McConnell stays on, deciding who will get a seat on the federal bench, determining who will serve in the cabinet, and even who will be the ambassador to Mother Russia, not to mention exotic places like Paraguay. 

Indeed, it is easy now to think the senior Senator from Kentucky ultimately considered Trump a crude clod from the beginning, to be used for a greater purpose--his. That's right, humor Trump and every now and then when he gets too crazy, like right now, step back a bit, talk sanity for a few minutes, then move ahead with the grand McConnell plan. Hell, that plan might even sound half way reasonable after everyone hears the ravings of The Mad Orange King. 

The terrible fact of life here in the U.S. of A. is ever since Mitch McConnell took over as Senate Majority Leader he, not Obama, or Trump has been the most powerful politician in the land. Trump might have nominated those Supreme Court Justices, but the Gentleman from Kentucky is the one who made sure they were seated.

And now, barring a miracle in Georgia, he will wield the same brute power even after Joseph R. Biden becomes President.

Uncle Mitch knows it too--don't think for a moment he isn't reveling in it.

12-26-20 

The Great Trumpista Banzai Charge: Deep State Justices, the Kraken Fails, and a Time to Secede

 The great Trumpista banzai charge flung itself headlong into the Supreme Court yesterday. Texas AG Ken Paxton initially filed the petition and it quickly gained support and emotional momentum over the week when 17 other states and 126 sitting members of the House joined in. Donald Trump tweeted out, "this is the big one," while promising to, "intervene." The enthusiasm reached such a fever pitch right wing politicians began to hallucinate as evidenced when two previously unknown states--New California and New Nevada--signed on. 

The faithful had reason to be confident. Thanks to Trump's perceived ownership of three justices and the arch conservative nature of at least three others the unprecedented coup looked to be within reach. So much so the Reverend Pat Roberson declared the Texas suit a miracle from God, which would save the Trump Presidency and the nation. In addition that astute political analyst and classical actor Kevin Sorbo boldly predicted on social media there was no question Texas would win.

Oops.

It took seven of the nine justices only 126 words to call the suit so utterly misguided and useless the court wouldn't even listen to Paxton's argument, much less consider it. The blow was sudden and devastating, made worse by the knowledge all of Trump's three hand picked judges voted with the majority.

You could almost hear the outgoing President raging in the Oval Office, saying something along the lines of, "It used to be when you bought a judge the son of a bitch stayed bought." Well these things happen in the 21st century. Everyone has their own agenda and sometimes, surprisingly, it includes following Constitutional law.

The Big Orange Guy's anger was surpassed only by that of his cult. The users of the right wing site, "Parler," went all kinds of apoplectic. So much so, some posts drifted into areas of not only civic ignorance and religious hysteria, but also into the darkness of mayhem and treason.

Below is a sample (All typos and spelling are theirs.)

Clay the Free wrote, "I call upon Urump to fire all yjr Supreme Court mrmbers and replace them."

Asian Patriot posted, "That is a bunch of crap, Supreme Court is playing politics. Also if this isn't a constitutional issue what is? Only other remedy states have now is succession.

Thomas declared, "USA is dead to me. Glad I never joined the military to serve such a pathetic land."

Sailing Breeze said, "Keep the faith Patriots! Trump is NOT A QUITTER!! THE KRAKEN WAS NOT YET RELEASED !! Stay tuned!

Timothy warned, "Now the shit will hit the fan. Patriots will not take a knee. There's going to be a civil war on America. The democrats stealing the election will not be tolerated."

S picked up the theme of secession, "It's time to secede. Let's fucking do this."

KAG wasn't subtle, "#SCOTUS just ignite a civil war. Buy more ammo #MAGA it gets ugly from here."

Finally we have this from Allen West. It reads in part,  "This decision will have far reaching ramifications for the future of our constitutional republic. Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution."

Hey, pretty wild ultra right wing stuff, right? Yeah, except Allen West is the chairperson of the Texas Republican Party and what was quoted was part of the alleged mainstream Texas GOP's official response to Trump's Supreme Court defeat. 

The next four years are going to be critical for the future of American democracy. And quite frankly from here it looks like none of us can count on any help from the republicans to preserve it. Just ask Allen West and the the rubes on Parler.

sic vita est

12-12-20 

Biden Wins, Trump Sues, and the Rest of the Field Wanders the Wilderness

 It has now been a month and a day since the 2020 presidential election. According to Bing News former Vice President Joseph Biden received 81,009,468 votes. Donald J. Trump's campaign netted him 74,111.419 ballots. Both are record numbers.

As we all are painfully aware, even at this late date, The Big Orange Guy is screeching the election was corrupted by massive acts of fraud. His logic seems to be no one can get over 74 million votes and still lose. Well, either that, or there is no way 80 plus million people won't buy into his con. He has sent out an army of lawyers to places such as Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. So far judges and election officials, many who are republicans, in all those states have pretty much come to the same conclusion--the President's attorneys are full of shit and Mr. Trump is quite possibly insane.

Lost in the fog of Trump's denial and Biden's quiet confidence is the fact they weren't the only people running for the highest office in the land. That's right, Microsoft lists at least 26 other souls who paid their money and took the ride.

Many weren't listed on ballots in every state, but each and every one of them, including Princess Jacob-Fambro and President R19 Boddie received votes. 

Who says America isn't great?

Lesser known than perhaps Kanye West and Jesse, The Body, Ventura who also ran, libertarian standard bearer, Jo Jorgensen came in third place nationally. She pulled in nearly two million votes, worth 1.18% of the total vote, or not quite a third of Joe Biden's margin of victory. 

Speaking of West and Ventura, they received 66,234 and 2,673 votes respectively. West was listed as an independent while Ventura appeared as a green party candidate. The Body's poor showing might have been due to not only a lack of campaigning, but a schism among the greens. A second green candidate, Howie Hawkins was on ballots and he got 397,666 votes which translated into 0.25 of the popular total.

Although listed as an independent. Phil Collins (no, not the musician) represented the oldest continuously active third party in the United States. He ran on the prohibition party ticket. Just as it always has the prohibition party's main goal is to end the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in America. Their mascot is a red, white, and blue camel. Mr. Collins received 4,834 votes. 

Don Blankenship, a former coal company CEO garnered 59,847 votes as he headed up the constitution party, while, "None of these candidates," pulled in 14,079.

There are others. Brock Pierce, who as a child appeared in Disney's, "Mighty Ducks," franchise, received 48,555 votes while Bill Hammons the proud founder of the unity party ran as its candidate and piled up 6,677.

Coming in dead last in all this was the dynamic ticket of Zachary Scalf and running mate, Matthew Lyda. Information on Mr. Scalf is extremely limited, although one source reports a Facebook campaign site features, "lots of big guns." The Scalf team landed 29 votes. Total.

That would be 466 less than Ms. Jacob-Fambro and 1,096 fewer that Mr. President R19 Boddie. Mr. Boddie was inspired to run when God spoke to him as he lounged on his sofa. His foreign policy included merging the United States and Israel, while, "inheriting," other parts of the globe.

Luckily he never caught the ear of Don Trump.

Yes, that's the final wrap up for the 2020 election, unless, of course, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell release the Kraken they've been promising over the last month.

Luckily we're still waiting on that beast.

12-4-20

The Day the Conspiracy Theory was Born and Why it Seems Sane Now

Something is wrong with us. Something is very, very wrong with us.

Bill Murray as John Winger in the movie, "Stripes."

It is easy to remember what the weather was like in Oklahoma City on Friday, November 22, 1963. Practically everything about that day is. When it comes to November 24th of the same year things are a bit fuzzier.

Despite not remembering how cold, calm, gray, or clear it was, it had to have been pretty decent out, because I do remember walking the block and a half from my parent's house to the Methodist Church I attended without an overcoat. I also remember the gist of the minister's sermon. He said, like everyone else in the nation, his immediate reaction to the murder of President John F. Kennedy was to execute the perpetrator at once. However, he went on to say, no matter how shocked and angry we might be, as Americans, we should remember the accused man, Lee Harvey Oswald had not been convicted of anything yet and was therefore innocent, no matter how damning the evidence. He also told the congregation, that as Christians we should forgive and pray for him.

The church was packed that morning. The silence of the crowd was as stony as their demeanor.

Before I got home, my eight year old brother Ed--who would grow up to be a print journalist--met me half way there and told me Oswald had himself been shot. His eyes were wide, "We saw it on TV," he said.

I didn't know it then, but it was at that moment America jumped into the deep end of the conspiracy pool. It is a body of darkness which has grown to breathtaking proportions. So much so it has become a vital resource for politicians and media outlets, while it has swallowed the common sense of millions like a Grouper does a Sardine.

There were conspiracies before the death of JFK of course. We know at least one was true. John Wilkes Booth really did plot with associates to not only assassinate Abraham Lincoln, but also William Seward, Andrew Johnson, and a couple of others. Lincoln was killed, Seward was severely wounded, and every one else escaped because the remaining members of the cabal either chickened out, or got drunk.

When it came to Kennedy the circumstances and the aftermath were just too tempting to believe something else wasn't going on.. There is no way, many reasoned, a goof like Oswald could pull off the shooting by himself. In fact he was such a loser another thread went, he had to have been framed.

Now, over half a century later, depending on who you read, or what TV special, or movie you see, John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination was carried out by--pick one, or more--disgruntled CIA operatives, the mob, Cubans (either flavor), or, even Lyndon Baines Johnson. 

Little did we know any of those possibilities would seem absolutely sane compared to the shit we've come to deal with in the first two decades of the 21st century.

Indeed, from missing airliners being held at remote naval bases in the Indian Ocean, to vast pedophile rings headquartered in the basements of pizza parlors millions have gone around the proverbial bend.

It would be easy to blame a lot of this insanity on the rise of the internet and social media, so I will.

Let's face it, there has always been be loons who will believe anything, but they were isolated, off in corners jabbering to themselves. Thanks to the internet they're now all connected, feeding off each other, affirming their most cracked assertions among each other. Person A says this. Person B repeats it. Person C not only tells person D, but cites person B as his, or her source, who in turn cites person A.

Along with the internet has come cable TV networks and politicians more than willing to exploit the worst fears and alternate realities out there. Suddenly supporting and intensifying any outlandish nonsense became profitable and politically advantageous.

Just ask the outgoing President of the United States.

Yes, Donald Trump not only plays to the conspiracies, he is more than willing to create his own. A recent poll shows over 75% of republicans believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged. This despite a number of swing states being controlled by fellow republicans. To Trump and his cult that doesn't matter. According to El Don, who has sown these seeds for years, hundreds of thousands of devious individuals participated in a nationwide effort to thwart democracy by hacking voting machines, sending in fake ballots, and forging signatures on others.

In addition none of those involved in the criminal enterprise are talking. Not a single one will break this left wing code of omerta. And they are all aided and abetted by the media, including the treasonously complicit Fox News.

It would be nice to say this national hysteria will end once Trump is gone. We know that won't be the case though. We, as a republic, have reached the conspiracy theory tipping point. 

Think not? As these words are being written there are huge numbers of progressives on social media who claim the only way Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham won their senate races was, you guessed it, the results in their states were rigged.

Yeah, that's what we've become. It makes you wish someone had taped Oswald pulling the trigger. Or at least he lived long enough to either admit, or deny it.

11-24-20

Alina Fitzpatrick Nine Years Later

Nine years ago 17 year old Alina Fitzpatrick had someone drop her off near the intersection of NW 24th and Western Avenue in Oklahoma City. It was nearly 10pm, but it was also a Friday evening so there wasn't any worry about getting to school the next morning. Not that it mattered. Her physical presence wasn't needed at Putnam City North High School. She had stopped attending classes there and had enrolled in the Putnam City School District's, "Virtual High School," program. The reason given the media for the change was that she was being bullied. To this day the district denies it has any record of such a thing occurring.

There were other oddities. It was reported she felt that she was being followed. Friends told investigators and the press she had changed her cell phone number because of a string of anonymous calls which were disturbing. The phone, which was turned off shortly after she got out of the car, has never been found. 

According to a witness young Ms. Fitzpatrick was going to visit somebody in an apartment complex near the intersection, although she was vague about exactly who that person was. That moment was the last time people who weren't involved with her death saw her alive.

Less than a week later, on Wednesday, November 9th her nude body was found dumped in an empty lot on the far northeast side of town. She had been physically abused. Her body was covered with bruises and abrasions which the ME determined happened near her time of death. In addition there was a gag in her mouth. There were also drugs in her system.

The local media noted her discovery and death, but the coverage of her brutal demise was muted by the horror of another murder. 19 year old Carina Saunders' dismembered and beheaded body had been found less than three weeks earlier.  

Indeed, it seemed the metro area simply couldn't handle two gruesome crimes at the same time. Especially when the suburban Bethany police who were in charge of the Saunders' investigation were more than willing tell anyone who would listen exactly who they suspected of the crime, their motive, and the method they used to perpetrate it.

Who knows, perhaps it was for the best. After all, at least the suspects, if there ever were any, in the murder of Alina Fitzpatrick, unlike those in Saunders' case, didn't know exactly what the city cops were doing.

The door slammer was when the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner, Chai S. Choy issued his final autopsy report. It found none of the bodily injuries suffered by Alina Fitzpatrick were severe enough to cause her death. However, the 0.96 micrograms of meth per milliliter of blood in her heart might have been. Choy ruled her death, "suspicious," rather than a homicide. 

A conversation with a print investigative reporter later revealed the police, "had little hope," of solving the mystery of Alina Fitzpatrick's death. He also said their investigation, for all practical purposes, halted as soon as the ME report noted the probability of an overdose.

In other words the obvious foul play didn't matter, The possible OD gave them an easy out to move on to other crimes.

Alina Y. Fitzpatrick was buried on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011. If she was alive today she would be 26 years old. The whole world would still be ahead of her. 

Tragically though sometimes evil wins. Even worse, sometimes it wins because no one wants to be bothered with it.

11-19-20 

The Many Headed Hydra Thwarts Trump, the Organic Maga March, Lawyers Jump Ship, and a Shadow President

If you are Donald Trump, or one of his cult the roller coaster ride of the election has ended badly. The car you were in went off the rails and after a fleeting moment where you kissed the sky on that Tuesday night gravity took over with a terrible vengeance.

Nearly two weeks later, however, reality hasn't set in. Indeed, the attacks on the election system have come in waves. There was mass voter fraud, ballots arriving after election day, despite their postmarks were illegal, republican observers were banned from counting sites, forged ballots were smuggled in by TV crews and catering trucks, dead people voted, the Dominion voting machines changed hundreds of millions of votes from Trump to Biden, or just deleted them, military ballots went missing, but the ones that didn't were invalid.

Indeed the conspiracy to thwart Donald J. Trump and his millions of devotees is a many headed Hydra with roots both in the deep state and media. Even Fox News was complicit, therefore had to be metaphorically stripped of its insignia, put up against a wall, and shot for disloyalty. The proof being the network called a Joe Biden victory in Arizona before anyone else did.

Yesterday Trump promised an, "organic," million Maga march, in Washington D.C. Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany took one look at the crowd and immediately pronounced it a million plus of the, "best political base," the world has ever seen. Official estimates put the gathering at between 10 and 20,000. Proving his loyalty to the faithful, The Big Orange Guy did a brief drive-by on the way to one of his golf courses. There is no word on how his round went.

As always he was emboldened by the sight of a large crowd and after he returned to what can nowadays be best described as Ft. Trump, he hit Twitter with terse messages saying things like, "I won."

Judges from Pennsylvania, to Michigan, and Arizona are disagreeing. Meanwhile a vast array of lawyers hired by the Trump campaign to put a stop to the counting, or to continue the counting, depending on where they are began jumping ship. It remains unclear whether the desertions were because of the sheer hopelessness of the situation, or the realization they were going to get stiffed by their client.

This Trump phantasm would be funny in a theater of the absurd sort of way, except millions of Americans actually believe his bullshit. Indeed, if the presidencies Barack Obama and Donald Trump have taught us anything it's that racism in America is alive, well, and growing. So is brute fascism. In fact the only difference between those thousands in Washington yesterday and Hitler's Brown Shirts is the Brown Shirts had a better sense of fashion.

The cold truth is 72,944,072 Americans voted for Donald Trump. It is the second highest number of votes a presidential candidate has ever received. (And another reason Trump insists he had to have won the election) Delusions, lies, and disinformation aside that means a lot of rubes out there have bought into his vile nativism and consider those who haven't socialist sons of bitches.

Joseph R. Biden will be the next President of the United States whether Trump concedes, or not. His first priority appears to be getting COVID-19 under some semblance of control. However he faces a monster struggle, not just with the virus, but nearly half the electorate who hates his guts and will do everything thing they can to foul up the works.

That includes Donald J. Trump, who looks to be setting himself up as some sort of shadow president, filling social media and television with his cracked politics, outrageous lies, and in the worst case outright sedition.

sic vita est

11-15-20  

Parties in the Streets, Conspiracies in Trumpland, and the Nature of the Beast

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

Lyrics by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer 

Yes, once Pennsylvania was called for Joe Biden Saturday morning making him President Elect, the crowds hit the streets from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. There were impromptu mass block parties in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Philly, and beyond. Refreshingly none of those participating were carrying semi automatic weapons, or wearing military style outfits. 

Not that the Trump people weren't outraged, but they seemed too stunned and cowed by the sheer numbers and the outpouring of joy to challenge the throngs marching and dancing. It wouldn't be until the following day that a smattering of Trump supporters showed up on the steps of a few state capitol buildings to express their displeasure and pledge their support once more to Donald J. Trump. 

They were inspired by their fearless leader who throughout the previous day screamed foul over the results. Trump, who was--where else--on a golf course when the news hit, immediately refused to concede the election. At this moment, on Monday, he and his shameful republican posse are claiming mass voter fraud spread out from Pennsylvania, to Georgia, and west to Nevada.

Of course this inspired the loons on the right fringe to come up with numerous conspiracy theories to explain the President's political demise. One of my favorites contends TV outlets in Pennsylvania smuggled in forged ballots with their camera equipment. Another was some clown howling on social media the results in Georgia were obviously fraudulent because the media was reporting there were more counted votes than people there. In his tirade he had cited the population of Georgia, the former Soviet client state, not the U.S. Georgia.

Indeed, the last 48 hours has begun to resemble an act from some cosmic theater of the absurd. At one point Saturday afternoon Trump wanted the courts to halt the mail in vote tabulation in Pennsylvania while at the same time insisting the mail in vote count should continue in Arizona.

He even sent his ace in the hole, Rudy Giuliani to the greater Philadelphia metroplex to hold a press conference at what he said would be the Four Seasons Hotel. Giuliani and a shady crew held the presser in front of a tiny strip mall which held a Four Seasons Landscaping shop. It was sandwiched in between a crematorium and a porn store. One of the speakers was Daryl Brooks who claimed he was a poll watcher. While it remains unknown if he really was, observers pointed out Mr. Brooks is in fact a convicted sex offender. He did three plus years after exposing himself to a pair of girls in 1998. The victims were eleven and seven years old at the time.

Meanwhile republicans in the house and senate are parroting Trump's line of paranoid bullshit word for word. As always they're terrified the Almighty Base will take its revenge at some future date, not realizing once Trump is gone for good that base will begin to wither.

Worse, the traditional Presidential transition schedule has now been disrupted and may continue to be well into December because of Trump's wounded ego. Biden, however is proceeding as he should, organizing, setting policy, and trying to appeal to the patriotism of all Americans, no matter what their party.

As these words are being typed The Big Orange Guy is soliciting on line for donations to his, "election defense fund." As always it is a con. If you read the fine print on the electronic form you will notice at least 40% of your money won't go to sue those rascally democrats, but to pay off the Trump campaign's current debt.

A lot of us expected this sort of behavior from El Don. After all he has rarely, if ever, been told no and no one has ever held him accountable for any of his actions. Now that 75,649,276 million American voters have done just that he simply can't handle it.

In the end, it is the nature of the beast.

11-9-20

The Democrats Pre-Election: Fear, Hubris, and Despair

 Tomorrow is election day and democrats everywhere in this fair land are careening from the depths of fear, to the hubris of predicting a Biden landslide, then back to absolute despair. It is an ugly tableau reaching the sort of hysteria you usually associate with the QAnon wankers.

Much of that fear revolves around the U.S. Postal Service and their ability, or willingness to deliver mail in ballots to election boards in a timely fashion. It has never been a secret Louis DeJoy, the postmaster general is Donald Trump's boy. It's also no secret that since he was appointed in June this year DeJoy has been doing everything he can to gut the postal service's ability to sort and deliver the mail. 

Now there are tales of scads of mailed ballots laying around on the floors of post offices in places like Miami, FL. In the minds of many democrats every one of those undelivered ballots are votes for Joe Biden. In addition in at least two different cities drop off boxes for ballots have been torched. Then in Texas, republicans went to court in an attempt to invalidate over 100,000 drive through votes in Harris County which is home to the state's largest city Houston.

In this age of COVID and the increased need for people to avoid long exposure to strangers at polling places this sort of chicanery is a real and present threat to the democratic process. Especially since The Big Orange Guy is demanding the count be finished by the end of tomorrow--a feat rarely accomplished in places like Florida under the best of circumstances.

Couple that with a marked increase in pre-election violence perpetrated by both Trump supporters and the police perhaps the democratic paranoia isn't misplaced.

On the other edge the, It isn't even going to be close, crowd is beyond giddy. According to them everything is going to fall Biden's way. Screw those polls that show some swing states within the margin of error, or even Biden behind, Big Joe will win every single one of them they say.

The feeling here is, thanks to the traditional amount of electoral banditry committed by Florida's election board, Trump will win there. In addition, although Texas seems on the verge of turning blue that moment is still four years away. Georgia and North Carolina are also probably out of reach. On the other hand Biden looks solid in both Wisconsin and Michigan. Pennsylvania could be iffy, but odds are it will also fall into the Biden column.

All of which brings us to Arizona and Ohio. It will be a long night in those states for both Biden and Trump, however if the former vice president can at least take one of them--preferably Ohio--he will be the next President of the United States.

That is if Trump's nightmare bullshit about not ceding power is just that, bullshit. 

Of course there is no doubt El Don will run to the courts if at the end of tomorrow he leads in say Pennsylvania, but over the next couple of days loses it due to mail in votes not counted on Tuesday. And it doesn't have to be just the Keystone state. He will be suing anywhere there is such a scenario.

As these words are being typed Donald Trump is reportedly putting up an unscalable wall around the White House where he will hold his election night watch party. Both are unprecedented acts and worthy of his pals Kim Jong Un and Vlad Putin. Yesterday he called the mob driving trucks in Texas who tried to force a Biden campaign bus off the road, "patriots." If the election doesn't go his way, the threat of armed violence by his supporters at least feels real.

That in itself is an American tragedy. The last time it happened was after the election of Abraham Lincoln. 

And, in the end, that is Donald Trump's only real accomplishment as President. He has inflamed and divided us so profoundly it has brought us to the brink of post election violence and perhaps a second civil war.

sic vita est

11-2-20 

Don Trump Jr and a Whole Lot of Nothing

 These people are truly morons. I went through the CDC data because I keep hearing about new infections. But I was like why aren't they talking about deaths? Oh, oh, because the number is almost nothing!

Donald Trump Jr. speaking to Fox News host, Laura Ingraham last night.

Yeah, well, that isn't entirely true, unless you count the little over 1,000 Americans who died from COVID-19 yesterday as nothing. Just for comparisons sake that figure is more than the number of confirmed Union and Confederate dead at the first Battle of Manassas during the Civil War. You know, when two armies were shooting at each other as fast as they could.

Obviously, when your old man has screwed the pooch so horrendously during an election year you tend to down play the severity of the pandemic. However, telling grieving families, all of whom are potential voters, their grand parents, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers are nothing, seems a little counter productive campaign wise.

Of course none of the Trumps are known for either their empathy, or willingness to believe facts and figures. In truth, after nearly four years of observing the clan it is easy to think you could physically parade all those bodies in front of them and collectively they'd come up with some sort of new and profoundly weird conspiracy theory to deny the reality of what they are witnessing.

Unfortunately many of their devotees would buy their nonsense in the blink of an eye. You can count in their number Fox hacks like Ingraham, Hannity, and Lou Dobbs.

Here in Oklahoma, where Governor Kevin Stitt steadfastly refuses to issue a statewide mandate on mask wearing, the health department reported this week there have been 8,647 new cases. It is a 20.2% increase in infections from the previous week. It also reported an additional 78 deaths which is a 34.5% increase over the week before.

At this point the state ranks 14th in the nation when it comes to new cases per 100,000 in population. Yet very few restaurants and bars are paying the slightest attention to social distancing suggestions. This being Oklahoma high school football season is in full swing, While there are supposedly rules when it comes to teams and the virus the consensus among sports talk radio hosts is there isn't a coach in the state who is paying any attention to them.  

The good news is we aren't North, or South Dakota where it is estimated nearly 20% of the population has been infected. They lead the nation in new cases per capita. And yes neither governor will even consider mask mandates.

Nine months into the plague the sitting President of the United State still insists the only reason the number of cases continues to increase is because testing has increased. In other words if we don't test anyone all these terrible statistics will go away. People will still be getting sick, of course, but their illness won't muck up the numbers and make candidate Trump look bad.

I can remember when shit like this used to cause outrage so intense public officials would be run out of whatever office they were holding on a rail. Thanks to people like Don Trump and his kids, hell, this is just another Friday.

sic vita est

10-30-20

Donald Trump Comes Up on the Rail

 We are less than two weeks out now from the 2020 Presidential election and Donald Trump's campaign reeks of panic. In one three day period covering last weekend fact checkers found the Commander in Chief had either lied, or made misleading statements 66 times. It is a prodigious number even for a seasoned pro like our man, Don. 

In fact things have gone so badly for Mr. Trump lately the Biden people have been emailing supporters urging them not to become complacent. Indeed, keep the foot on the gas, so to speak, don't let the bastard sneak back into the race and never forget what happened in 2016.  

Ah, yes. That wretched year the nightmare began--when all the polls were wrong and Hillary Clinton screwed the pooch.

Except for one thing. Those polls that showed she was winning were right, they were just interpreted wrong. 

Thanks to the electoral college national polls don't mean squat in the United States. Just ask the aforementioned Mrs. Clinton. She won the popular vote, as the polls predicted, but because her margin of victory was based largely in only two states, she lost the White House. If the media had gone state by state, where in several instances her lead was within the margin of error, or non existent they would have realized she was in trouble.

And now there are a couple of indicators Donald Trump isn't in as bad of shape as even he thinks. That's right, as the horses turn the corner into the stretch, The Big Orange Guy looks to be coming up on the rail. 

Today the latest Rasmussen poll shows Trump's approval rating has gone from 49% to 52%. No sitting President with an approval rating over 50% has ever lost a reelection bid.. We can only speculate what sort of drugs over half those polled have been taking in order to approve of what El Donald has done this year, but the cold fact is they did.

In addition, with the possible exception of Pennsylvania, Trump is leading, or competitive in each of the swing states he carried four years ago. In other words if things break his way in North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin and one, or two more he can lose Pennsylvania and still come out on top. 

He also has the advantage of being a cult leader with a following so rabid it is, for all practical purposes, a religion. Joe Biden has to constantly urge people to go vote and walk a fine line between different democratic wings. Donald Trump doesn't have to worry about the commitment of his base. He literally could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Ave for no reason and still get their votes. 

The two candidates face off tonight in the second and last debate. It is doubtful either man will move any voters from one side to the other as a result of it. In fact, some of us who have already voted plan on skipping the thing entirely. After all there are many fine shows and movies to be found on basic cable TV so why spend 90 minutes of your life listening to Trump spew his vile nonsense. Especially if a new episode of "Ghost Adventures," is airing.

Yes, the real drama will come November 3rd and the week following. Biden has every right to be concerned, because it is going to be a close run thing. Close enough that the final decision, as Lindsey Graham predicted weeks ago, might fall to Donald Trump's handpicked Supreme Court.

 sic vita est

10-22-20

The Governor, the Plot, The President's Response, and the Old Cartoon Dude

 Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer dodged a bullet a little over 10 days ago--literally. That's when the FBI busted a gang of grotesque clowns who were plotting to kidnap her, then put her on trial in some demented ultra right wing court located deep in a basement of their choice. It isn't entirely clear why they wanted to prosecute Ms. Whitmer, although it most likely had to do with the plotters really not wanting to wear face masks during the middle of the COVID pandemic. 

Yes, the first steps toward a communist state are always small ones. First they fluoridate the water supply, then they make you wear masks. Fuck my own health and others, this is America. 

Of course Donald J. Trump, the President of these United States didn't help set the tone for a loyal and lawful opposition earlier this year when he tweeted out, "Liberate Michigan." At about the same time he applauded armed protestors who invaded the Michigan capitol building and chided the governor for not thanking him personally for all the COVID aid the state had received from the feds.

So after 14 guys got popped, because they attempted to obtain explosives, on at least two occasions cased Whitmer's vacation home, scouted bridges to blow up, and held rehearsals of the planned raid, Don Trump had this reaction at a rally in Muskegon yesterday, "I guess they say she was threatened."

Ah yes, quite presidential.

His somewhat tepid comment came after he had exhorted his fans to pressure their governor into throwing caution to the COVID winds and open up Michigan restriction and mask free. In response the crowd--because Trumpistas really are one note Johnnies--began chanting, "Lock her up, lock her up." The Big Orange Guy responded with a chuckle, then said, "Lock, 'em all up."

Before the rally Trump had said the Governor should appreciate his administration because the FBI broke up the cabal before their plot could be put into motion. That FBI is the same organization Trump's son, Eric, just told the world his father would be disbanding soon.

At the moment 14 so called, "militiamen," are in jail, facing charges which include domestic terrorism. A lawyer for a couple of these merry jokers described the group simply as a, "bunch of guys who like to play guns in the woods." They were never really serious about the nefarious plan she said and their online rants about Whitmer were expressions of free speech. 

Well, you have to say something don't you.

My God, why does 2020 make it seem like the old cartoon dude carrying a sign on a street corner that reads, "The End Is Near," might actually be right? 

10-18-20 

 

   

Carina Saunders and the Last People to Fail Her

 October 13th, 2011 fell on a Thursday. The weather was fair enough a small group of people--at the time described as animal control officers--were moving through an over grown empty lot behind a Homeland grocery store at NW 23rd and Rockwell in the Oklahoma City suburb of Bethany. The lot was large and weedy, situated between the building and a line of trees to the north and west. The animal control crew, later called a rescue group, were looking to gather up feral cats who were prowling behind the store, foraging for meals in the establishment's garbage dumpsters.

During the sweep someone came across two bags lying next to each other. Apparently, other than dumping them in the lot, there had been no real attempt to hide their location. No one was willing to see what was in them because of an awful stench. In fact the stink was so wretched and ominous the cat posse immediately called the police.

What was inside was as bad as could be imagined. The smaller of the two, a laundry bag, contained the head of a young female. The larger, a black duffel bag, held her torso and dismembered legs and arms minus feet and hands.

Thus began the horrific mystery of 19 year old Carina Saunders. Over the next couple of years the names of both witnesses and suspects would be leaked to the media and lurid headlines would appear in the local paper, The Oklahoman. During that time two men would be charged with the gruesome murder, then released, and wild tales of drug and human sex trafficking rings, torture and forced prostitution would swirl. The entire smug assumption that this sort of nightmare happened only in places on the west coast and the bowels of New York City would be obliterated. The reality that true evil was present in Oklahoma City came crashing home.

The first and biggest mistake happened immediately. Because the body was found in their jurisdiction the Bethany police took charge. Only 30 plus strong the department's main claim to fame was the number of traffic tickets it issued and some minor league drug busts of users who were too stupid to keep their habits on the down low.

They were in over their head from the very beginning. To make things worse, for reasons known only to themselves, they were more than willing to keep the press and therefore the perpetrators, advised of their investigation. In fact all you had to do to see where they were at and who they were talking to was either read the paper, or watch the evening TV news.

It turned out the witnesses they were depending on were, almost to a person, willing to say anything in order to cut deals on drug, or prostitution charges. Ultimately when push came to shove they collectively had all the credibility of the wankers who claim Tom Hanks is a pedophile/cannibal. Even the witness who said she saw part of a phone video showing Carina Saunders' torture and murder later admitted she had only heard the story from another person.

In July of 2012, based on what amounted to hearsay, rumors, and outright bullshit, the Bethany cops arrested, Luis Ruiz, Jimmy Massey, and Francisco Gomez for the crime. Gomez was let go almost immediately. After six months of not receiving any solid evidence the Oklahoma County D.A. David Prater let Ruiz walk, while Massey stayed in jail on unrelated drug charges. Ruiz later sued the Bethany Police Department and settled for $50,000.

The case was turned over to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation which had to begin it's investigation from scratch. The rumored video of the killing has never been found. Neither have Carina Saunders' feet and hands. 

Nine years later the murder is still unsolved and Saunders' reputation has been rehabilitated almost to the point of myth. If you see the couple of YouTube videos addressing the killing she is described as a sweet young girl who not only filled everyone with joy, but once aspired to singing opera.

She might have been that person once. However by the time she was killed she was homeless, hungry for the next high, and telling people one of her friends, Kenny Richards, was going to make her a porn star. The only way her family could keep up with her was through her social media account. In the end, that's why they reported her missing just three days before her body was found--she had stopped posting for several days.

If Carina Saunders were alive today she would be 28 years old. That whole being alive thing is problematic though. She was adrift in dark waters long before her murder. It was and is a lifestyle that doesn't lend itself to longevity.

That, however, doesn't mean she didn't deserve better, at least from the people looking for her killers. Tragically they weren't the first to fail her, but they were the last.

10-12-20

The President is Sick, or Not.

 The situation is, as they say, confused. According to Newsweek's time line of events things went this way. Last Tuesday Trump showed up at the first Presidential debate with family and aides in attendance. All of them removed their masks once seated despite the rules set forth which said only the moderator and participants wouldn't be required to wear one.

On Wednesday Trump attended a private fundraiser in Sherwood, MN. Later he held a rally in Duluth. The same night Hope Hicks, a Trump aide, started to feel ill and attempted to quarantine herself on Air Force One. 

Thursday afternoon, Hicks tested positive for COVID. Despite this, El Don went ahead with another fundraiser in Bedminster, NJ. Later in the day he told FOX News talking head, Sean Hannity, Hicks had tested positive and that he and his wife were waiting on the results of their own tests.

Late that same night the tests came back and both Trump and the First Lady were found to have the virus. At One AM on Friday he tweeted out that he had contracted the disease.

Friday the White House claimed Trump's symptoms were mild, but in truth he was running a high fever and his oxygen level had begun to dip at times. It was serious enough he was given, "supplemental," O2 for an hour. Late Friday afternoon he was given the first round of experimental drugs and transported to Walter Reed.

By Saturday Trump's O2 had fluctuated enough he was given a dose of the steroid, dexamethasone. Later he received another dose of remdesivir. 

On Sunday he had been fever free since Friday and as a gift to his fans he took a short spin around Walter Reed in a hermetically sealed SUV along with some of his Secret Service body guards.

In the mean time republican pooh-bahs all over the place started to test positive. Among them Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis. Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien and former advisor Kellyanne Conway also tested positive along with debate rehearsal participant, former NJ Governor Chris Christie. In addition WH Oval Office operations director, Nick Luna reported he had it. Today the President's Pres Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany announced she had tested positive  along with two of her aides.

All this chaos has driven the Twitter Universe completely bats. The QAnon wankers who had been on record as saying COVID either doesn't exist, or is much milder than portrayed did a complete U turn. Now more than a few of them are openly suggesting because only republicans are becoming infected the President and his pals have been, "targeted." Either that, or evil democratic operatives sprayed Trump's microphone--somewhere--with the virus.

The other side of the dirty penny is many on the left believe Trump is actually at death's door and his real condition is being covered up. Either that, or this whole past week has been a crude political stunt--that DJT isn't sick at all. What he wants is to emerge from the hospital claiming everything he's said about the virus being no big deal is true.

There might be something to that second theory. As these words are being typed, Donald Trump has gone on Twitter saying he will leave the hospital this afternoon, just in time to make the evening news broadcasts and interfere with a televised Joe Biden town hall meeting. In his tweet he told Americans not to be afraid of the virus. He feels, he wrote, better than he has in the last 20 years. 

Yeah, well tell that to the 213,056 Americans who have died from COVID. And their families.

10-5-20

  

The Nightmare in Cleveland as the Proud Boys Stand By

 Not that there was much left of civil discourse in this nation anyway, but last night we might have witnessed it's last gasping breath. Actually that isn't true. Civility, decency, and the established rules of debate did not die wheezing away on a hospital bed in Cleveland. They were run over by a mad man at the wheel of a speeding Mack truck.

Yes, it was that gruesome. Donald J. Trump arrived on the stage at Case Western Reserve University, possibly all coked up, raring to prove he is America's alpha male. His main strategy was fairly simple--no matter what rules of engagement his campaign had agreed to he wasn't going to let Joe Biden speak more than two sentences at a time.

Indeed, interrupt the former Vice President as often as possible and if that failed talk over him even if it meant shouting. Never pause, never pay any attention to the efforts of the moderator, Chris Wallace, just bloviate wildly. Even if much of it was out right lies (no, the sheriff in Portland has never endorsed him and never will), or utter gibberish, no matter what don't let the other guy talk--at all.

Mr. Biden, who sometimes smiled when Trump was blasting away did plunge into the melee when things got too much for even him. The most memorable moment was when he said, "Would you just shut up, man." Later Biden told Wallace and Trump, "That was a really productive segment. Keep yappin' man." On other occasions he called Big Don, a "liar," and a, "clown."

All of this chaos led GOP strategist, Michael Steele to tell the NY Times, "I've seen better organized food fights at summer camp." He added, "But Trump needed a clear, 'W,' and he didn't get it."

He certainly didn't. He might have even done himself some real damage with everyone other than his rabid cult when Wallace asked him point blank if  he would repudiate white supremacists. Trump's response was, "I'm willing to do that, but almost every thing I see is from the left wing. Not the right.

After Trump asked Wallace to give him the name of a white nationalist group, Biden jumped in with, "Proud Boys." The President of the United States then answered by saying, "Proud Boys--Stand back and stand by." It didn't take but a few minutes for the Proud Boys to adopt the statement as their new slogan.

In addition The Big Orange Guy doubled down on his threat not to accept the results of the election if he loses. "If I see tens of thousands of ballots, I can't go along with that." He also urged his followers, presumably the Proud Boys among them, to go to the polls and, "watch very carefully."

What they'd be watching went unsaid, but the words disrupt and intimidate were implied. 

There are two more of these nightmares scheduled in the next month. Some Biden supporters are urging him to cancel, the theory being Trump is too belligerent and unwilling to follow civilized rules to believe he will act like anything other than a boorish, two bit, bully. Others are claiming that's exactly the reason Biden should show up--that proving Trump is a monster with no plan for the republic is a good thing.

In the end it probably doesn't matter. The number of voters out there who will be swayed one way, or the other by two old white guys trading insults is bound to be minimal. In addition judging who won last night, or two more just like it depends entirely on who you're supporting in the first place. 

Let's face it we all know by now, without a doubt, Don Trump is counting on the support of people like the Proud Boys. What we won't know until after the 3rd of November is what exactly that support will entail.

9-30-20

 

Don Trump, His Taxes, and the Depths He Will Sink to Starting Tomorrow

 Well now we know why Donald Trump is able to live the lifestyle he has and does. To him everything is a tax write off. From hair cuts to untold and unidentified consultants--from make up to practically the entire Mar-A-Lago resort, he deducts it all.

Besides the deductions the whole line he has spun for years to the public about being incredibly well to do is the exact opposite of what he has been telling the IRS. In fact one year he told them he was so destitute he received a tax refund for $72,9 million. In addition for 10 out of 15 years he didn't pay any federal taxes at all. Not bad for a guy partying with Jeffrey Epstein, living in a Manhattan high rise, while bragging to Howard Stern about all the women he was nailing.

The first two years Brother Don was in the Oval Office he paid $750 per annum in federal taxes. Those same two years the average teacher in the United States paid $7,239 per year. Firefighters and nurses kicked in $5,283 and $10,216 respectively.

Predictably Mr. Trump says the New York Time report which revealed all this accounting chicanery is, "fake news." Today he tweeted--because he always does, "The fake news media, just like election time 2016, is bringing up my Taxes & all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information."

Ah, all this false information was gathered illegally. Which begs the question, why would Times reporters risk jail time to print false facts when they could have just made up the figures? And, if it is so fake why not release your tax return and prove it so? According to Trump he can't because that damn audit has lasted four years now. This despite the inconvenient testimony of former IRS officials that there is nothing which prevents someone from releasing their tax returns during an audit.

Actually the Times report is saying Mr. Trump has a couple of severe problems besides the pitiful amounts he's paid the feds. First, it seems the IRS wants that $70 plus million refund back along with penalties and interest. That is what they are really auditing, not his yearly income. Second, Trump took out hundreds of millions in loans which come due in the next four years.

What the Times didn't report is who he owes the money to. For all we know it could be Deutsche Bank, or Vladimir, by God, Putin, himself. More realistically it is probably the German bank and a few Russian oligarchs who trade shots of vodka with Vlad on a regular basis.

Which, of course, means if re-elected the 45th President of the United States of America will owe boatloads of money to foreign nationals. The word compromised comes to mind, as does the term, conflict of interest.

Unfortunately this sounds, disturbingly, like old news since everyone with half a brain in this republic knows Don Trump is a walking talking, golf playing conflict of interest and the compromised part has been a running rumor for the past four years.

Trump's real problem is now there is a major publication which has documented some damning evidence he is a runaway tax cheat and has debts which amount to more than the national deficit during Bill Clinton's second term. He can howl fake news all he wants, but it is suddenly ringing hollow to all, but his most dedicated cultists.

Ladies and gentlemen by every standard in American politics Donald John Trump should be a dead duck. Our real problem though is all this shit is going to drive him to depths none of us have ever imagined starting tomorrow during the first presidential debate. Not to mention over the last month of this election and more appallingly perhaps beyond.

And given Trump's known track record, that's saying a lot.

sic vita est

9-28-70

 

Trump Worries Even the Republicans and Flat Out Scares Me

 The online header read, "Trump jeered as he pays his respects to Ginsburg."

While normally the crowd's reaction would be considered not only rude, but overwhelmingly inappropriate it comes only one day after the President of the United States refused to promise a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election in November. The rambling disjointed remarks 24 hours earlier were a direct insult to everything Ruth Bader Ginsburg stood for during her life time and a real threat to American democracy as we know it.

Think not? Name another American President who has said a similar thing. You can't, because not one of them ever has and that includes Richard Milhous Nixon. That's right, as wildly criminal as Nixon was he never dreamed he was entitled to bring down two hundred plus years of tradition and the constitution of the United States in one fell swoop. 

Donald Trump on the other hand, not being encumbered with any sort of awe, or respect for the American system of government, has no problem doing it, especially if it profits him personally. To him the people are sheep to be shorn, the congress is a mild, if nagging, impediment, and the judicial branch is to be bought then used as ruthlessly as possible.

Well why not? No one has ever told Donald Trump no before, not even his father and while he might not particularly want a second term, by God, no one is going to tell him he can't have it. 

Trump's words were so bothersome the usual GOP toadies balked if only slightly. While not mentioning Trump by name, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, Steve Stivers, and Mitch McConnell assured constituents there would be a smooth transition of power if Trump loses. Lindsey Graham, allowing a glimpse of what is to come post election day said, if the Supreme Court rules that Biden won republicans will accept the decision.

Thanks a lot Lindsey for telling us our votes might not count, that the entire future of the nation will be left up to a Supreme Court Don Trump and guys like you have packed with unrepentant fascists.

All of which explains the sudden urgency to pick a new justice before November 3rd. You can never have too many votes to steal the White House.

Normally what Trump said could be written off as nothing but more hyperbole from the king of hyperbole. However, as everyone knows, nothing is normal these days. Trump has ham handedly hinted at a life time presidency on more than one occasion. Plus there is all that howling about voter fraud through the mail which even he knows is utter nonsense. Hey just ask him about voting through the mail in Florida. He says it is fine there.

I haven't ever voted for a republican, but I've never been worried about one of them seizing power and destroying the institutions of American democracy. I have always known, no matter how rotten their terms in office, the republic would survive. I cannot say the same thing about Donald John Trump.

And that scares the shit out of me.

9-24-20 

Ignoring the Last Wish of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Unfortunately Justice Ginsburg's last wish is being utterly ignored by nearly every republican residing in the greater Washington D.C. metro area. In fact, Donald J. Trump, proving himself once again to be the conspiracy theorist in chief, has claimed Ms. Ginsburg might not have even uttered those words. According to El Don they were, "probably," concocted by either Chuck Schumer, or Nancy Pelosi. 

Well you can say a lot of things about Mr. Trump, but you'll never be able to accuse him of being at a loss for words, or fantastic fables that satisfy the faithful's lust for dark phantasms. 

If Trump and Mitch McConnell do push through a replacement for Ginsburg it will mean the current President will have named a third of the Supreme Court during his first term. That's in addition to 53 judges of the U.S. courts of appeals, 151 federal district judges, and two judges to the United States Court of International Trade.

No wonder the man loves to sue everybody who sneezes his way. There are a huge number of jurists out there who owe their jobs to him. And don't think he is, or will ever be shy about pointing it out to them before their courts convene.

Trump's need for speed is to be expected. Let's face it, after four years of dealing with the Putin wannabe anything less than a brute power grab would be surprising. Even less shocking is McConnell's 180 degree turn from four years ago when he blocked Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland.

The excuse McConnell used then was it isn't proper for a President to nominate a Supreme Court Justice during an election year--you know--like 2020. He later bragged the proudest moment of his political career was when he told Obama, Garland's nomination would never make it to the floor of the Senate while he was in charge.

All that bullshit is gone now. The GOP's urgency to get someone in that seat, even before Ginsburg is in the ground, is palpable. Mitch and his crew can read polls along with the rest of us. He knows a Trump defeat isn't a sure thing, although right now the odds aren't promising for The Big Orange Guy. Indeed, do it now, because if Trump becomes a lame duck president and--even worse--McConnell loses control of the Senate getting a nominee approved is going to be a nightmare.

Assuming there aren't any democrats who vote to confirm, four additional Senators will be needed to block the impending nominee, whoever it is. Susan Collins, R-ME who promises much, but delivers very little has pledged not to vote for anyone until after the election. So has Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. Mitt Romney, who is the only republican to vote yea on an article of impeachment has denied reports he has made the same decision.

If democrats can stave off a pre election Senate confirmation democrat Mark Kelly has republican Martha McSally in trouble out in Arizona. Since it is a, "special election," if Kelly wins he will be sworn in immediately after November third which will reduce the magic number to three.

There is a kicker in all this though. Collins is in a tight race this year. That means she will probably keep her word about not voting before the election. However, if she loses she might just decide, screw it, then vote for anything, or anyone Trump wants before January third when she is shown the door.

Hey, why not? She is probably too wishy washy to land a job at FOX and she's lied too many times to catch on at either MSNBC, or CNN.

Whatever the case, Donald Trump's ego demands he remake the Supreme Court in his own image. The same image he wants carved onto Mt. Rushmore. The same image that has become a cult icon to millions of Americans.

sic vita est

9-21-20

The New Normal vs The Old

In Oklahoma there was 869 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. That means since January a total of 70,223 Oklahomans have come down with the disease. Of that number 59,007 have recovered and 905 people have died. According to the state health department, as of Friday there have been 5,466 Oklahomans hospitalized because of the virus. Right now 499 people statewide are currently in medical facilities with it.

In comparison, during America's involvement in Vietnam, which historians say ran for 20 years, 988 Oklahomans were killed.

But hey, we are plowing on--straining mightily to recover some semblance of the normalcy we had before the virus caused enough people to become ill, if they all lived in one place it would be the 7th largest town in the state.

The problem being some think the normal of September, 2020, should be like the normal during September of, let's say 2010. In other words they take the current administration's stance--just ignore the bug as if it doesn't exist and pray it will disappear someday.

Indeed, screw caution completely, or like some go another way. As one person told me, "Oh I believe there is a real virus, but it isn't nearly as bad as they make it to be." Pointing out nearly 200,000 Americans have died didn't phase him. His response was. "I don't believe that. Where are all the bodies? No one has seen them and we would have if that many really died."

Not even Mr. Spock could argue with logic like that, so why should we mere humans even try?

Yes, in many quarters COVID-19 has become just another government plot in order to scarf up constitutional rights and destroy The American Way. The media lies they say. They know that because for years this liberal cabal has shown and told them things they don't want to see, or hear. Their guy in the White House knows it too and he is on top of things. Just ask them.

So off these patriots go, barging into establishments without masks, even though the city they're in, or the store they want to patronize requires one to be worn. Some even get a tad sneaky like many at the grocery store we frequent. They'll wear a mask to get through the door, then once inside pull it down past their noses and mouths, or remove it entirely.

That's right, no government in the world is going to require them to wear a mask and if they catch the COVID, to borrow a phrase, "It is what it is." Or, if they spread it unknowingly, hey no skin off them. Herd immunity baby, the fittest will survive.

Besides, if any of them knew the figures, they'd probably point out during the 1918-1919 flu pandemic 7,350 Oklahomans died, so the number of current deaths, as 57% of republicans said in late August, are acceptable. The fact that 1918 and 1919 was over a century ago and the miracle drug of the day was aspirin which had been introduced only 19 years earlier wouldn't phase them.

If anything, Americans including too many Oklahomans have proven themselves creatures of comfort and habit during this year of the new plague. They have tired of the new normal. They desperately want the old one.

And, in the end, that is the real calamity. We have met a potentially apocalyptic disease and despite the widespread sickness and death, for too many, the most profound reaction mustered is COVID-19 has just made things too fucking inconvenient.



9-14-20

Labor Day 2020

So here we are. It is Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer and the weekend we are supposed to celebrate the accomplishments of organized labor and workers nationwide. Unfortunately organized labor is only a pale shadow of its former self and American workers, outside of the fast food and retail industries, are becoming an endangered species.

That doesn't mean organized labor hasn't accomplished anything over the past 150 years, or so. In fact the eight hour day, overtime pay, sick leave, paid vacations and holidays, not to mention restrictions on child labor are just a few of the accomplishments achieved by unions. Unfortunately, since this is America, to reach most of those goals blood had to be shed on far too many occasions.

Even the date of Labor Day was contentious thanks to violence. Oregon was the first state to recognize a day of celebration in 1887. By 1894, 30 states were also doing so. That same year President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making the first Monday in September a federal holiday, although the act only covered federal employees.

The September date was chosen because May 1st, which had come to be known as International Workers Day had links to socialist and anarchist organizations, not to mention a nation wide strike for an eight hour work day in 1886. In addition, on May 4th of that year there was a deadly riot in Chicago's Haymarket Square over the same issue.

Given all that May Day stuff, President Cleveland, the head of a decidedly conservative democratic party, wanted no part of a holiday which could even remotely be connected to a bunch of international socialists/communists/anarchists. After all, he was the guy who authorized the return of all captured Confederate battle flags back to the southern states.

Originally Labor Day featured union members holding parades in cities and towns followed by huge picnics the organizers used as fund raisers. They needed the money too.

It wasn't until 1938 Franklin Roosevelt signed into effect a federal minimum wage. It was 25 cents an hour. Actually it was originally 40 cents an hour, but congressional delegates from those same former Confederate states had thrown a fit, threatening to kill the bill entirely because of the exorbitant amount of wages their business owner constituents would have to fork over.

By 2009 the federal minimum had crept up to $7.25 an hour. 11 years later it still sits at that same figure. 28 states, however, have a minimum wage higher than the federal standard. Puerto Rico's minimum wage is $6.55 per hour.

Any mention of raising the minimum wage causes conservatives, no matter what they're financial status to whirl like dervishes and howl like gut shot wolves. Say the word union and they will go apoplectic. It is a truly ugly sight--veins bulge at the temples, faces flush ruby red, fists clinch, and eyes seem ready to explode out of skulls. 

In my home state of Oklahoma the minimum wage mirrors the federal rate. That means if you work a 40 hour work week at $7.25 an hour in Oklahoma City it comes out to $290 per week. Then you have to deduct taxes and if you are lucky enough, there is another deduction for medical insurance. Try living on that, even without kids, in 21st century America.

No wonder there aren't any parades and picnics on Labor Day any more. There is nothing to celebrate and huge numbers of us can't afford to eat out, no matter what the venue.


sic vita est


9-7-20

Trump and the Civil War Option

See there, you go away for a month, all the while trying to ignore everything around you--hoping and praying things will improve. But they don't. In fact they get worse, much worse. No, you can't wake up from this nightmare known as Trump's America. It is, quite simply, inescapable.

Things haven't particularly gone well for our Don lately, but we do know The Big Orange Guy has come up with a new strategy to win re-election. His plan to run on the, "greatest economy in the history of the world," went out the window when he screwed the pooch on the COVID plague. The deep state postal conspiracy has run into tough opposition from many of his own supporters who would rather not risk catching the disease while trying to vote in person. In addition all these people he knows keep writing books which accuse him of multiple crimes and having the morals of Caligula.

This new tactic, no doubt from the scheming mind of Stephen Miller, is called by the inner circle, "The Civil War Option." If might be a tad radical in nature, but when the going gets dicey you have to kick out all the jams.

It counts on a few things. First you must have a lot of white cops out there who are both scared shitless and blood thirsty. You know, like the ones in Kenosha, WI who shot Jacob Blake. Blake is an African American who was involved in some sort of domestic dispute. He may have made threatening remarks to officers and he might, or might not have been going for a knife in the floor board of his car--the one his kids were sitting in. What is absolutely certain is he took seven rounds in the back as he opened the driver's side door of his vehicle.

For the CWO, as it is known, to work what comes next is the outrage felt by the African American population in Kenosha in particular and nationwide needs to be expressed. They must take to the streets to protest what happened. It doesn't matter if they are peaceful, they just have to be out there marching. As has been proven in the previous few months they will be accompanied by scores of mostly young white leftists. Among this latter group there will be a smattering of anarchists and right wing thugs posing as angry socialists.

Now pit those same cops who started all this insanity against the demonstrators, the vast majority of whom, have no intention of doing anything illegal, then watch all hell break loose.

In the mean time the militia type bozos get all worked up over radical left wing rioting, which was actually started by the police. They flood into town, determined to save America's white owned businesses--which is code for shooting a bunch of punk ass liberals. They are armed with military style weapons but unencumbered by any sort of training. And, if Don is lucky like he was the other night in places like Portland and Kenosha gun fire breaks out.

When it does, if you're Donald John Trump, you take to the microphone, blame this multi site disaster on every democrat from the mayors right on up to Joe Biden. This, he says to every middle aged white couple, is the normal you can expect if Biden is president, hoping they'll ignore, it's now the normal while he is president.

Indeed, my fellow Americans, only I can fix the chaos I've created.

Well, that philosophy certainly works when its chief adherent has never taken any responsibility for a single failure in his life. It also works when about two thirds of your rock solid base are fascist zombies who will believe everything you say, no matter how crazed, or obviously wrong.

Ah yes, in 21st century America, as I have found, you can hide for a while, but you can never run away.


sic vita est



9-1-20

For the Love of the College Game

I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't a fan of college football. I got the bug from my father who had loved the sport early in his life, then became a fanatic about it after attending the University of Oklahoma. In my early years I listened to almost all the games on the radio because in those days television broadcast only one a Saturday and OU was lucky to be featured once a year.

Of course it helped that during the early 1950's Oklahoma didn't ever lose. I mean that literally. OU lost a game in 1953 and didn't lose again until 1957. In other words from the age of three until I was seven my favorite team never came up on the short end of a score. For a little boy that isn't a winning streak, it is a life time.

And that life time isn't over yet.

Now we come to the cursed year of 2020, my 70th on this overheating blue ball. Among other disasters a plague has burned its way across the planet and there is, at this time, no known cure. As these words are being written 772,066 human beings world wide have been killed by COVID-19--163,416 of them are Americans. In this country alone a little over 1,000 persons per day are dying.

Which is another way of saying we're dropping like fucking flies.

Against this background of rampant disease and death there are some--actually many--who want to see the college football season begin in less than three weeks. That's right baby, let's get back to the grand old traditions, marching bands, and young men smashing into each other with wild abandon. Bring us some bloody mary's, beer, and brats as we jam into stadiums by the tens of thousands while we cheer, boo, and sing fight songs.

Does anyone else think this might not be the brightest of ideas right now?

A few do. The University of Connecticut has cancelled its football season. Earlier this year the Ivy League did too. Today the Mid America Conference followed suit. Out on the west coast Pac-12 players are attempting to organize a union of sorts, demanding that their schools provide health guarantees. Some players, on an individual basis, are opting out of the season.

Other schools are saying they will limit the number of fans attending games to ensure proper social distancing, although they are still a little fuzzy on how they're going to accomplish it. The big boy conferences, the ACC, Big-10, SEC, Pac-12 and Big -12 have announced truncated schedules. Most of them have limited play to conference foes only, meaning if you want to take your chances on catching the COVID you'll be limited to places like, Ames, Iowa and Stillwater, Oklahoma to roll the dice.

Other options are still being pursued. There is one which says games will be played without fans at all. Another, the sanest of the bunch, proposes a delay of the season until late February, when a vaccine might be available.

The University of Oklahoma has given me three options for my season tickets. First, take them and do what I will. Second, tell OU I want to apply the cost to next year's tickets. Third, donate the money to the school's athletic department. I'm going with number two, because, as much as I love the Sooners and the game, it isn't worth drowning in my own mucus to see them play Baylor.

Indeed, for me, this season is a wash. I just hope everyone else will wise up in the next few days and see it the same way.



8-8-20

The Most Disastrous Year Imaginable and It Might Get Worse

I wasn't around for the great depression, or WWII so the ever shrinking, "Greatest Generation," will have to forgive me if I consider 2020 the worst year in the last century, or so. There were other bad ones in my life time. 1968 comes to mind, but even with assassinations, race riots, and the conflagration in Southeast Asia, we didn't seem to be teetering on the edge like we are now.

Maybe it's the COVID that has pushed us to the edge of the abyss. The plague has played out like some dreadful slow motion Irwin Allen disaster movie. It has eaten away at our morale, patience, and sanity. In the face of it we have, or at least should have learned some degree of humility, not to mention awe at the mindless, yet sometimes ravenous whims of nature.

In H.G. Wells novel, "War of the Worlds," the Martians were undone by the unseen microbes found on this planet. This year has made it easy to understand how they felt when their triumphant armies began to collapse for no discernable reason. Yet many among us continue to ignore the growing body count.

Of course it doesn't help that in this suddenly shaky republic we have exactly the wrong man in the White House to address, both the virus and the racial crisis which has gripped us.

Let's face it, Donald J. Trump, who at best is a carnival midway barker turned cult leader, doesn't have a clue when it comes to controlling a pandemic. To complicate matters he has, some would say with malice of forethought, done nothing, but exacerbate the anger so many thousands have expressed in the streets.

In fact, looking back at the last seven plus months, it is painfully obvious our man in the White House hasn't made a single correct decision since the shit hit the fan. Not one.

Indeed, many promises about the disease have been made, but none have been fulfilled. Then his administration, so corrupt, it makes Dick Nixon's look like a bunch of cheap men's room graffiti vandals, went out and intentionally increased the level of civil violence for apparent political reasons.

And there is the problem. Donald Trump doesn't consider any natural disaster, or civil crisis in terms other Presidents would. For all his braggadocio about not being a professional politician he views every single thing thing as a political issue. All humanity and sense of national good are removed from the issues and replaced with the cold blooded thought, how can this benefit me.

No other Chief Executive in the history of the United States could survive a year like Donald Trump has had in the Oval Office. However that doesn't mean we will be rid of him in November. His cult--and it is a cult--numbers in the millions and ranges from outer limits conspiracy theorists to the most vile racists imaginable.

His disregard for any and all laws and regulations is well known. By now every man, woman, and child, knows he not only has a taste for cheating, but hell, he likes it. To him it is just another part of politics and life to be used like salt on an order of fries.

Trump and his party, now culled of doubters and principled conservatives, are working as busy as rabid beavers to make voting not only more difficult for minorities and the other usual suspects, but down right life threatening.

His shrill protests about voting by mail, which he routinely does himself, are laying the groundwork for future judicial challenges to the election outcome if he should lose. Then there are his old friends the Russians who have thoroughly infiltrated the nation's social networks and possibly some voting machines.

Normally I would say Donald Trump is done, a dead duck, but given what has happened and what might we can't be too sure.

Yes, 2020 has so far been the most disastrous year imaginable, but that doesn't mean it won't get worse.


8-4-20

Violence in Portland and the New Trump Strategy: Fear Sells

Some violent and insidious things are going on in Portland, Oregon right now. There has been a good deal of vandalism--broken windows, spray painted walls, some bottle and rock throwing. There has also been a large body of evidence the authorities, whoever they might be, are also guilty of committing acts which could be described variously as rioting, mugging, and kidnapping.

In fact, for those of us who are a certain age, the nightly scenes coming out of Portland are eerily similar to what we witnessed in Chicago during August, 1968.

Similar, but not exactly the same. At least during what came to be called, "The Days of Rage," in 1968 we knew it was Mayor Richard Daley's cops and the Illinois National Guard whaling away at protestors whether they be peaceful and not. In Portland we aren't so sure.

That's right, in Portland this summer, thanks to President Trump, the crowds are being gassed and carted off by military style clad troops without badges, or any other type of ID other than an occasional generic patch which reads, "POLICE."

Acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf has described the force as members of a special detail of the U.S. Border Patrol deputized as U.S. Marshals along with others. Their training in street control has been questioned by some and their methods by many. What we do know is they are adept at laying down billowing clouds of tear gas and the use of truncheons in close quarters. We also know they like to pull just about anyone off the streets, dump them in unmarked cars and vans, then whisk them off to parts unknown.

Donald Trump claims they have done a, "fantastic job." The Mayor of Portland and Governor of Oregon aren't so, let's say, enthralled. On Sunday Mayor Ted Wheeler complained the federal, "agents," have been actually leading to more violence in the city and demanded they be removed. The Governor, Kate Brown agreed with him and called for Wolf to pull his enforcers out. The acting head of the department has refused.

The other night, Navy vet, Chris David approached a line of them to, in his words, "ask them why they were using unmarked cars to snatch people off the streets." Mr. David, who used to be a heavy weight wrestler for the Naval Academy, is a big guy. When one of the officers began whacking him with a large billy club he simply stood there and took it with an almost zen passivity. To see the video of it is like watching some two bit garden gnome whacking the Incredible Hulk with a ruler. It was only after a second blast of mace directly to the face that David turned, then walked calmly away, shooting the attackers the finger with both hands. Later it turned out one of the savage blows broke Chris David's left hand, but you'd never know it by watching that video.

The point here isn't a former Midshipman's toughness, but the fact Wolf's boys don't give a shit if a demonstrator is peaceful, or not. The next night a group of women calling themselves, The Portland Wall of Moms, were attacked with flash bombs and also gassed. Their crime was trying to create a human barrier between protesters and Wolf's, "special forces."

Ah yes, your tax dollars at work.

Donald Trump has recently promised to put more of these federal, "agents," to work in other cities to restore peace in the streets everywhere. In addition he told a Rose Garden crowd if Joe Biden is elected, the democrat, who, according to El Don is controlled by radical leftists and anarchists, would wreck havoc with property values by destroying the suburbs.

Indeed, beware my fellow Christians, first they assaulted Confederate statues, next they'll come charging into your cul de sac. Hell, the only thing Trump has left out, so far anyway, is the unspeakable threat to the purity of our wives and daughters.

Well, you have to run on something don't you. And if you're Donald Trump it certainly can't be the cracker jack job he's done controlling the Corona Virus, or the economy. No, it would seem he has settled on trying to scare the living shit out of white people from coast to coast.

Hey, it worked for Nixon. Why not try it again? After all, fear sells.


7-20-20

Kevin Stitt Learns the Definition of Irony the Hard Way

Kevin Stitt was inaugurated as the Governor of Oklahoma on January 14, 2019 despite not even taking the time to vote much of his adult life. He claimed he was too busy running his business, Gateway Mortgage, and raising his family to wait in line at a polling place.

In 2009 Business Insider ranked Gateway as one of the 15 shadiest lenders in the government backed mortgage industry.  According to various media reports the company was fined $10,000 by the state of Illinois. In Georgia Stitt was personally banned for five years from doing any business in the state and his company was exiled for life. After a series of staff firings and another fine Georgia let the company back in. The future Governor claimed he didn't know anything about the wrong doing in both instances.

So let's just say when it comes to business practices he and Don Trump serve in the same band of brothers.

After becoming Governor one of Mr. Stitt's first acts was to sign off on a bill which allows any Oklahoman 21 years and older--18 if you're in the military--to carry a loaded weapon, concealed or openly, without a license, or any sort of training. He named the bill, Constitutional Carry and claimed he didn't want to spoil the fun for huge numbers of paranoid yokels just because a few demented cranks had used firearms for evil purposes. You know, like shooting up classrooms, robbing banks, and such.

All of which brings us to this year and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like Trump, Stitt didn't think much of it. But then he doesn't think much of any disease. In fact, he's is an anti-vaxxer, although not a vocal one, who refuses to let his six kids be vaccinated for anything.

In March, as things were beginning to seriously spin out of control the Governor posted a picture of himself and two of his children in a crowded Oklahoma City restaurant on Twitter. Part of the caption read, "Eating with my kids and all my fellow Oklahomans...It is packed tonight." He also urged everyone in Oklahoma to get out and enjoy themselves.

He quickly deleted the post after local public health officials went ape shit. Three days later the Governor ordered all restaurants, bars, barber shops, gyms, tattoo parlors, and other non essential businesses closed. He would give the okay for them to re-open about 30 days later.

The President praised him for his, swift and responsible re-opening of the state and rewarded him by planning a giant, huge, really huge, rally in Tulsa on June, 20th. (Actually the original date was the 19th, but the campaign ran into a little trouble when it was pointed out that was Black Independence Day.) Trump predicted the 19,000 plus arena would not only be filled, but there would be a huge overflow crowd outside A few days prior Gov. Stitt publicly assured him the crowd would be SRO and everyone would be safe.

The get together took place on a Saturday night. Unfortunately the BOK Center was just barely over a third full and there wasn't any overflow. Afterward Trump stormed out of Tulsa in a huff. The Governor was there however, unmasked like so many, eschewing social distancing, sitting right next to Herman Cain, a prominent member of the GOP.

A little over two weeks later Cain was hospitalized with the Coronavirus. Two days ago, as Oklahoma reels from record numbers of new cases, Kevin Stitt announced he too had tested positive. During the statement he expressed surprise he had become the first U.S. Governor to come down with it.

Irony, thou art a bitch.

Despite all this, Kevin Stitt still refuses to mandate a requirement to wear masks while out and about. He says he won't even consider it until the Oklahoma COVID rate reaches 7,000 people a day. That would be a little more than the entire population of Blackwell becoming infected every 24 hours.

We can only imagine what his thoughts would be if someone comes up with a vaccine somewhere down the road.

Hey, here is hoping the Governor recovers swiftly and completely. And, on behalf of everyone, I'd like to thank him for being, so responsible through out his entire private and public life.


sic vita est


7-17-20