This Pandemic and Male vs Female Leadership

 Compare. What does that tell you?

This is also playing out, statistically and factually, I believe, between Kansas and Missouri just now with Kansas' Governor Kelly vs Missouri's Governor Parson, too.

On Facebook, search and join at More Women Need to Lead the World.

Quote of the Day -- Presidential Election Edition

 86 45

BYEDON

Understanding This President---What He's Done and Is Doing

From Heather Cox Richardson and her Letters from an American, yesterday, August 30, 2020. 

Important writer, important read.

Lots of folks are finally paying attention to the rise of authoritarianism here in the U.S. They are right to be concerned.

Scholars have seen worrisome signs all along. Trump has dismissed nonpartisan career officials and replaced them with loyalists. He has fired the independent inspectors general. He denies Congress’s right and duty to investigate members of the Executive Branch. He has used the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement officers of the Executive Branch as a private army. He has packed the courts. He has used the government to advance the interests of himself and his family, which he has installed into government positions. He has solicited help from foreign governments to get reelected. And he and his cronies are trying to undermine our election by preemptively saying the Democrats are committing fraud and by slowing down mail service when voters need to be able to mail in their ballots.

Now, Trump is clearly trying to change the national narrative from his disastrous response to the coronavirus and the economic crash to the idea that he alone can protect white Americans from their dangerous Black neighbors.

Stoking violence is a key tool in the authoritarian’s toolkit. The idea is to increase civil disorder. As violence increases, people will turn to a leader who promises “LAW & ORDER,” as Trump keeps tweeting. Once firmly in power, an authoritarian can then put down his opponents with the argument that they are dangerous criminals.

Trump is advancing just such a strategy. He and members of his administration refuse to condemn violence, and insist that legitimate protesters are all “Antifa.” They are blaming Democrats and “liberal politicians and their incompetent policies” for violent protests, although most of the injuries at the protests have been caused by police or by rightwing thugs. They are stoking white people’s fear of their Black neighbors, with Trump going so far as to talk of how he will keep low-income housing from the suburbs to protect the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream.”

And they are going on the offensive, demanding that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden condemn the violence that they insist comes from protesters, while Trump is actually inciting it from rioters on the right. It is gaslighting at its finest.

America has seen this pattern before. Secessionist leaders before the Civil War needed badly to distract southern white farmers, who were falling behind in an economic system that concentrated wealth at the top, and they howled that northerners were assaulting white southerners and wanted to stamp out their way of life, based in human enslavement. They refused to permit any alternative information to reach their voters. And in the end, they succeeded in rallying their supporters to war.

But that does not have to happen here, now. We can see exactly what Trump is doing, and refuse to embrace it. Democratic leadership is calling out Trump for “willfully fanning the flames of this violence,” as Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) put it today.

Today Biden released a statement saying “the deadly violence we saw overnight in Portland is unacceptable. Shooting in the streets of a great American city is unacceptable. I condemn this violence unequivocally. I condemn violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right. And I challenge Donald Trump to do the same…. We must not become a country at war with ourselves. A country that accepts the killing of fellow Americans who do not agree with you. A country that vows vengeance toward one another….”

“As a country,” he continued, “we must condemn the incitement of hate and resentment that led to this deadly clash…. What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters? He is recklessly encouraging violence…. The job of a President is to lower the temperature. To bring people who disagree with one another together. To make life better for all Americans, not just those who agree with us, support us, or vote for us.”

In Wisconsin, still reeling from the shooting of Jacob Blake in the back by law enforcement officers, the Lt. Governor cited Trump’s “incendiary remarks” and attempts to create division and said that Trump should not come to Kenosha on Tuesday as he currently plans. Governor Tony Evers (D) agreed, as did Kenosha’s mayor. Evers wrote: "I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state. I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together."

It is important to remember that Trump’s apparent power play is a desperate move.

More than 180,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 on his watch. We have far more deaths per capita than other advanced countries, and we still have no national testing program. The White House is now apparently taking the position that we will all just have to live with the disease and that schools and businesses should simply reopen, but Americans are not happy about Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. Today he tried to help his numbers by retweeting a thread from a far-right website saying that, in fact, only around 9000 people have died in the U.S. of Covid-19, because the rest had co-morbidities and were going to die anyway. The argument is so far off the mark that Twitter flagged it for violating rules.

Polls show Trump continuing to lag behind Biden by significant numbers. Fifty-nine percent of Americans disapproved of the programming at the Republican National Convention, and he saw no bounce from it. Trump’s overall approval rating is a dismal 31%.

And Trump remains dogged by tell-all books and lawsuits that threaten to reveal criminality. Today, the New York Times ran a story by Michael S. Schmidt, a reporter covering national security and federal elections for the paper. Schmidt has a book coming out on Tuesday. It reveals that in 2017 former deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein limited Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Rosenstein kept Mueller from exploring Trump’s own relationship with Russia while he was investigating Russia’s efforts to get Trump elected and Trump’s efforts to stop the inquiry. Rosenstein limited Mueller to conducting a criminal investigation and did not permit him to expand his inquiries.

Rosenstein did not tell the acting Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, that he had taken an investigation of Trump himself off the table, and McCabe did not realize it had happened. McCabe said that he was “surprised and disappointed” to hear this news, and had he known, he would have had the FBI do such an investigation “because we had information that indicated a national security threat might exist, specifically a counterintelligence threat involving the president and Russia. I expected that issue and issues related to it would be fully examined by the special counsel team.” McCabe noted that the issue at hand “was first and foremost a counterintelligence case…. Could the president actually be the point of coordination between the campaign and the Russian government? Could the president actually be maintaining some sort of inappropriate relationship with our most significant adversary in the world?”

Meanwhile, Senator Tammy Duckworth is keeping a tally of how many days it’s been since we learned that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked fighters for killing U.S. or allied soldiers in Afghanistan. Trump has refused to respond to that intelligence.

Russian troops appear to be trying to pick a fight with U.S. soldiers in northeastern Syria, the region from which the U.S. abruptly withdrew last fall. After smaller incidents, on Tuesday, in a Russian convoy sideswiped a U.S. vehicle and a Russian helicopter buzzed the convoy. Seven U.S. soldiers were injured, none seriously. The Pentagon blamed Russian forces for “deliberately provocative and aggressive behavior.” A bipartisan group of lawmakers called on the White House to “clearly communicate to the highest levels of the Russian government and military that actions like this will not be tolerated,” but so far, Trump has said nothing.

—-

Notes:

Schmidt: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-russia-justice-department.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/27/us-russia-syria-troops-403721

https://mitchell.house.gov/media/press-releases/bipartisan-member-statement-condemning-russian-aggression-toward-us-troops

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/world/middleeast/pentagon-russia-syria.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/trump-suburban-voters-will-no-longer-be-bothered-by-low-income-housing.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/30/its-time-challenge-cockeyed-reaction-violence/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/politics/biden-kamala-harris-speech-trump.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/30/biden-condemns-portland-violence-goes-after-trump.html

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/30/politics/mandela-barnes-trump-kenosha-wisconsin-visit/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-convention-covid-testing/2020/08/27/44b53cda-e8c4-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-protests-violence-coronavirus.html

Kansas City's own Charlie "Bird" Parker also hit the Wall Street Journal

 Yes sir and ma'am, Kansas City's own Charlie "Bird" Parker also hit the Wall Street Journal, not a big surprise, this weekend.

Happy 100th to the American Mozart

We talk often about race. Ever listened to the African-American jazz genius Charlie Parker?

Bobby Watson made an excellent point last evening on the Kansas City PBS program on Bird. He pointed out how we have a statue, for pity's sake, honoring Winston Churchill (what?) and his wife on the Country Club Plaza, very prominently, but nearly nothing in town celebrating, again, our very own Charlie Bird Parker.

Wth?

Anyway, if you didn't see the program last evening, here's a link. Make sure you see it.

Official Trailer | Bird: Not Out Of Nowhere

The local history is really pretty incredible.

I'm embarrassed, very, to say my own hometown's own Coleman Hawkins came down and played and worked with Bird. Before this program, I never knew and certainly never assumed.

The things you learn.

Have a great day, y'all.

On the RNC---From Dan Rather

 

Chilling. 

That is the sentiment that sticks with me this morning as I reflect on day 2 of the Republican National Convention. Even to call it a convention is to miss the point. This was propaganda, the pageantry, power, and symbolism of our federal government - OUR government, we the people - exploited by a president who feels unbound by the constitution in his desperate desire to hold on to power.

A secretary of state from foreign soil pledges sycophantic fealty to his boss with hopes of bolstering his own standing in a political party that has become a personality cult. Immigrants are used as props in the White House by a president who has demonized, restricted, and mistreated even legal immigrants and asylum seekers. Uniformed military personnel are employed in this charade. A first lady, who is an unrepentant birther, mouths teleprompter platitudes in front of an unmasked crowd of true believers during a deadly mismanaged pandemic in a re-imagined rose garden and is heralded by some for her tone. 

Meanwhile, in the real America, there is death, desperation, depression, hunger, and heartbreak. Once again a Black family is thrust into the national spotlight by a police shooting. And scenes of violent protests and counterprotests sweep across our national discourse, encouraged by a president who sees personal gain in racial division.

The polls tighten, or do they? What is hitting with the public and what isn't? How are these speeches playing? These are questions for the mechanics of the horse race. They are the comfortable grooves into which campaign reporting usually falls. They are hard to resist. But they do not accurately see the full scope of the moment. 

A line of attack on Joe Biden is that he would be a captive of the far left, that he is somehow a socialist. Nevermind that many of the policies of even the more liberal members of the Democratic Party would be considered mainstream center left in most European democracies. But what one doesn't hear enough in our media coverage is the term "far right." Racist and antisemtic authoritarian conspiracy theories are waved off by Republican politicians who know very well what they are about and how they are fueling support for Donald Trump. The trappings of the state are used for naked power politics. Corruption reigns. Foreign dictators are coddled. The rule of law is undermined. Voting is suppressed. This all isn't theoretical. This is happening now. All of it. And in plain sight. 

With all of this power, it is rather amazing that Donald Trump isn't assured re-election. It is a testimony to the strength and durability of the majority of Americans, across a diverse political spectrum, who see the threat for what it is. Yes, this is a fight for democracy. But do not underestimate the strength and power of those who stand in opposition. Time and again, America has withstood threats - external and internal - in its uneven march to a more perfect union. And time and time again, courageous and energetic mass movements have signed up for service to this nation's higher ideals. This is a moment of testing, to be sure. It is, as I said, chilling. But it cannot be defeated unless it is clearly seen for what it is. 

Know how to get your vote in, and make sure it is counted. See how you can help others have their voices heard at the ballot box. There is so much to despair about, but despair and demoralization is being weaponized by those who seek to cynically hold on to their power. Instead, try to be inspired by a movement of tens of millions across this nation who are determined that this shall not be the definition of America.

--Dan Rather

 

August 26 at 9:35 AM  · 

__________________________________________________________

Vote, folks.

Be sure to vote.

And vote blue.

86 45

BYEDON

This Website Has Donald Trump Down

 The website Crooks and Liars does have Donald Trump down pat today.

Groucho Marx Predicted Night Four Of The Republican Convention 

Groucho was funny, though sadly predictive, about Donald Trump

It was another night of telling people that Joe Biden’s America will be worse that Lord Damp Nut’s America. And I think we are all left wondering, well, what is he doing about any of it?

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uSsUoxlSADk?controls=0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Of all the lines from it, these are my favorites and seem most applicable to this orange buffoon.

The last man nearly ruined this place

He didn't know what to do with it

If you think this country's bad off now

Just wait till I get through with it

I ask you, ladies and gentlemen.... Is that not Donald J "Jenius" Trump?

It's as though the words came straight out of his mouth.

Thanks, Republicans!

86 45

BYEDON

We Have a Dream, America

Martin Luther King, Jr's full "I Have a Dream" Speech, given this day, August 28, 1963. 

Still unfulfilled today, America.

In fact, far, far from realized.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny, and they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating for whites only. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification," one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

America, a Reality Check

So understand where we are.

• California is burning.
• They also experienced their highest, worst summer temperatures in recorded history this year, a few weeks ago.
• Colorado is now burning.
• A derecho went through Iowa a week ago, destroying many buildings and millions of dollars of crops, making it far worse for farmers yet.
• A hurricane just smashed into the Gulf yesterday morning.
• More than 180,000 Americans have now died from this pandemic, more than any other nation.

But Donald Trump wants you to fear someone else's Presidency.

Oh, and also hate that other political party.

Right.
Got it.

86 45

BYEDON

Still more:

U.S. economy plunged an annualized 31.7% in second quarter

Quote of the Day -- BLACK LIVES MATTER

Quote of the day, quote of the moment

"It's just so sad. You know, what stands out to me is, just watching the Republican (National) Convention, and they're spewing this fear, right. Like, all you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. 

We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. We're the ones who are denied to live in certain communities. We've been hung. We've been shot, And all you do is keep hearing about fear. It's amazing. Why do we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back."

--Los Angeles Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Link:

Doc Rivers delivers powerful speech on Jacob Blake shooting, racism in America

Quote of the Day -- Murderous Racist Edition

"When you cross state lines with an AR-15 and end up killing people, you're not defending your home.

It's called hunting."

--Randy Bryce @ironstache

Where We Are Now, America, With Racism, Systemic Racism and Very White Privilege

So get this straight, America.

An innocent Black American was killed.
On the streets.
Unarmed.
By yet another rogue police officer.
Shot 7 times.
In the back.

So naturally, rightly, people were out protesting.

Then a young, very young, 17 year old man, white man, 20 miles away, drove to Kenosha, to the protests.

He crossed a state line to do it, too.
With his assault rifle.

Which is illegal.
And he ended up shooting 3 people.
Killing two.

And he walked away from it.

And now people are defending him, saying he's innocent and should go free.

Right.

Got it.

And some of Americans don't think systemic racism exists.

In fact, Nikki Haley, at the Republican National Convention, says racism doesn't exist in America.

Sure.

This Republican National Convention, In a Nutshell

 Here you go, folks.  Donald J "Jenius" Trump and his request for the nation.    

He, Trump, and the Republicans, are serious, too. 

They mean this.

To them, the US is, on the one hand, a big mess but hey, it's in far better shape now, with Trump "leading" us than it would be if he hadn't made all the sacrifices he has.

And we'll be far, far worse if we hand everything over to that Trotsky-lover Biden.

Right. 

Sure. 

Got it.

Sure we will.

What? We haven't handed out yet enough of the nation's treasure to the already-wealthy and corporations in the nation?

86 45

BYEDON

The Trumpster is Pushing an Ultimatum for the Debates Now?

 This news broke today.

Trump challenges Biden to drug test before debate

This surely surprised me.

How could the Jenius possibly think Joe Biden, taking a drug test, could or possibly would be some kind of an issue?  Does he think Biden does coke or something?  Like his own kids apparently do? At least one of them. (Eric Jr).

So as long as we're throwing out ultimatums here, here's one for you, Mr. President.

No Tax Returns, No Debate

That's right.

No tax returns, no debate.

That is, if you, sir, Mr. President, don't turn in your taxes, your tax returns. AS EVERY OTHER CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY HAS IN RECENT HISTORY--- no debate.

Hey, as long as you're throwing around ultimatums, sir, here's one back at you.

With all due respect, sir---for the office of the President, anyway--put up or shut up.

How about it?

Links:  This idea has come from a few sources, too, before now.

Peter Scotto: No tax returns, no debate

Bill Kristol: "No tax returns, no debates!" 

Joe Lockhart suggestion: No TAX RETURNS? NO DEBATES

No tax returns, no debate - NEWSRUST

Quote of the Day -- On This Convention Edition

 Unsourced quote I saw today on last evening's Republican National Convention nightmare.

“America right now has: deadly pandemic, massive unemployment and recession, schools unable to open, protests over racial injustice, a killer hurricane bearing down on the South… And I am watching Mike Pence talk about how bad things would be in Joe Biden’s America,”

I don't know what's worse.

All these people telling us things will be worse under Joe Biden or Donald Trump telling us he's the "law and order" candidate.

Vote.

And Vote blue.

86 45

BYEDON

An Open Letter to Missouri's Senator Josh Hawley

A note, a request, to our Missouri Senator Josh Hawley--

Make yourself useful, Senator Hawley. Please. Work on this. 

Fear of post office cuts grows in rural Kansas, Missouri towns. ‘It will hurt people’

Instead of TikTok or the NBA, which isn't remotely in MIssouri and which you've railed on for weeks, work on fixing funding for the USPS. 

See to it mail boxes are put back. 

Make certain all the mail sorting machines are back in place and functioning. 

We're not a Third World backwater. We're the United States of America. We shouldn't need to remind you. We're supposed to be the wealthiest nation in the world. Our Postal Service should work and it should be functioning for all of us, all the time. We're not some leader's banana republic for his reelection.

Do your work.

Do this work.

Please.

Then, after that, there's this thing called a pandemic?  You may have heard of it...

Donald Trump This Week at the RNC

After yesterday's opening performance at the Republican National Convention, it's extremely clear this is going to be like a badly failing student going to a class assembly in the auditorium, telling the entire student body he's making straight As.

And the heck of it is, some of his friends on the staff are going along with it.

Thanks, Mr. President.

Thanks, Republicans.

86 45

BYEDON

Quote of the Day -- Fascist/Presidential Edition

From travel expert Rick Steves.

"This week, I'm sharing clips from my public television special, "The Story of Fascism in Europe." I believe that learning from the past is important. History may not repeat itself...but sometimes it rhymes.

Fascists all seem to use the same playbook: Hitler, Mussolini, whoever. They offer simplistic promises in response to complicated problems — repeating lies so loudly and boldly that people begin to believe them. After Hitler became Germany's chancellor in 1933, he consolidated his power by marginalizing his fiercest critics (which frightened others into silence) and suspending democratic procedures. For, you see, once a fascist gets a taste of power, he'll stop at nothing to keep it."

Thanks, Republicans.

Tweets of the Day: RNC Presidential Edition

Bill Kristol  @BillKristol
·Aug 22

"Mr. Trump...now plans to directly address the nation in prime-time on each of the convention’s four nights." It's not a party. It's a cult.

Bill Kristol  @BillKristol

The Republicans, in 2020, for the first time, have no platform. Instead: "RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda." It's no longer the Republican party. It's a Trump cult.

Dan Rather  @DanRather

I am confident that every other president in my lifetime would be speaking forcefully in support of the pro democracy protesters in Belarus. This is a shameful abdication of American leadership.

Dan Rather  @DanRather

I cannot remember a time when political journalists so needed backgrounds in criminal law.

And finally, what I think is probably the social media quote of the day.

Dan Rather  @DanRather

There are times I get online, see the latest news, and wonder how we are living in a world where Kafka writes for the Twilight Zone starring the Marx Brothers.

God help us, folks.

God and the heavens help us get to November 3.

And then January 20.

Vote!

VOTE BLUE!!

#BlueWave2020

At the Start of the RNC, Things are not Going Well for the Trumpster

 Yes, there have been, are some developments this morning and in the last day or two, both, just before the start of this Republican National Convention. And virtually all of them are---darn it---not good for this Republican Party Donald Trump or his group. Here's the first. It's my favorite. Just broke this morning.

27 former Republican members of Congress announce they'll support Joe Biden over Trump

Jeff Flake, 27 Other Ex-GOP Congress Members Endorse Biden

How great is that?

Yet more Republicans bailing on this psychotic President.

Next up is this from a conservative commentator. It came out yesterday.

The Biden administration needs to pursue every Trump appointee accused of perjury: conservative

In a column for the Washington Post, conservative commentator Jennifer Rubin said, should Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden win in November, he should commit to having his Justice Department look into any Donald Trump appointee who has been accused of committing perjury during the past four years.

According to the never-Trumper, the first thing the new administration needs to do is open up to the public “all documents the Trump administration previously withheld from congressional subpoenas.”

Pretty incredible, coming from, as it says, a conservative. Most, very likely a fellow Republican.

Next up and another I especially enjoy. This came out yesterday.

Trump's strategy on mail ballots divides party before GOP convention

What's especially great about this one is that the Trumpster is tearing his own political party apart.

Better still, he has no idea he's doing it.

That is fantastic.  I've said several or many times, what isn't to hate about this President, what he does and says and his administration, is to love.  This is one of the love parts.

The following broke this past Saturday and while we knew it, it's still important to hear and see--and from such an excellent source.

Trump's sister says president 'has no principles,' lies and is cruel

Not done there, God bless her...

Donald Trump’s Own Sister Thinks He’s a Complete Phony

Then it came out this morning that another one exiting the very revolving door of this administration.

Kellyanne Conway To Leave White House At The End Of The Month

Does that not maybe smack of a rat deserting a sinking ship, folks?

This next one is very likely good for destroying the Republican Party but very bad if, God and heavens forbid, this idiot were reelected. I don't think any political party has ever done this in the history of our nation.  If you didn't think or know the Republican Party has been taken over by Donald Trump, perhaps this will convince you. What would you call a party that has no platform and says whatever it’s leader says is the platform?

Republican convention to forgo party platform in favor of Trump's agenda

This one is partially good for tearing down this President's reelection attempt and to likely also tear down his political party but if this man, this buffoon, should, God and heavens forbid, actually be reelected? 

Insane.

• First, I don't think any political party has ever done this in the history of our nation and for good reason.
• Second, this kind of thing happens in Communist countries and dictatorships and banana republics. This doesn't take place in Democracies. It sure as heck doesn't happen here in America. At least, it didn't take place in America until now, with this man, this Donald Trump and his own personal political party. 
• Third, I and a lot of us out here are just personally hoping it helps just destroy his reelection campaign and their political party. Once again, proof positive he can no way be reelected, for the good and betterment of the nation, no exaggeration or overstatement. 
• Finally on this, if this isn't the epitome of a despot and despotism, what is?

Between this and the fact that 6 of the 12 keynote speakers this week at this RNC have the last name Trump, to what other conclusion are we to come but that this is a despot? He's praised other like Kim Jong Un and the Philippines' Duterte, etc.

Trump family make up half of RNC key note speakers

Additionally, Trump is requiring he speak ALL 4 NIGHTS of this convention.

Who does that? In America, what candidate for the presidency does that? Ever did it. I don't think ever. I think it's one more thing unprecedented by this President.

Finally, there is this great, breaking news this morning. I know we've seen this headline before but this just broke an hour ago.  The state of New York just isn't going to let us down.

New York attorney general investigating Trump over financial statements

And so, we go on to their---his--political convention tonight. I think NPR summed it up nicely.

Convention Gives Trump A Chance To Explain How He'll Make America Great Again...Again

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Vote, folks!

And VOTE BLUE!!

#BlueWave2020

This Week's Republican National Convention, In One Picture

This, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what we're going to get/hear for 4 days from this Republican National Convention and this, their President Donald J Trump. Get ready for it. 

He has already said, and he will say again, repeatedly, that if we don't reelect him, it will ruin America, the USA. The opposite is true, of course. If he's reelected... God forbid.

It would only be laughable if it and he weren't so dangerous and tragic, literally, and for the nation and so many Americans.

Vote, folks. Vote.

And VOTE BLUE.

#BlueWave2020

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At What Point, America, Do You Get This on Health Care?

Okay, America. It's 2020. Worst, most killing international pandemic in more than 100 years.

You're the only Western, industrialized nation without universal health care. You're the only nation that tied and ties health care to profit.

The U.S. is the Only Very Highly Developed Country Without Universal HealthCare

You have, far and away, THE MOST EXPENSIVE health care system IN THE WORLD. And it also gives you THE WORST OUTCOMES, for all that money.

U.S. Healthcare: Most 

Expensive and Worst Performing

The U.S. Has the Most Expensive Healthcare System in the World

And we're the only nation--IN THE WORLD--where citizens can and do go bankrupt for health care costs.

Only in America: Bankruptcy Due to Health Care Costs

And not just bankruptcies, which is bad enough, but it's the NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF BANKRUPTCY in the nation.

Health Care Costs Number One Cause of Bankruptcy for American Families

And now? As I said, with this worst, most killing international pandemic in over 100 years? And the job losses? And so, people losing their health insurance?

Millions Have Lost Health Insurance in Pandemic

COVID-19 Job Losses Threaten Insurance Coverage

27M Americans may have lost job-based health insurance

At what point do you get this?

How long are we going to let corporations and profits be more important than people? And their lives?

You didn't used to be clueless. Or heartless.

Or downright stupid.