28 December 2020

Update no.989

 Update from the Sunland

No.989

21.12.20 – 27.12.20

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

            To all,

 

Jeanne and I had a crystal clear night sky and a good view of the Great Conjunction (Jupiter and Saturn) on the winter solstice.  Binoculars helped, but they were no match for a good telescope.  The astronomers tell us the last time this occurred was 400 years ago.  I was not around then.  I’m just sayin’.

 

The Bully-in-Chief (BIC) suffered yet another judicial defeat.  This one was pointed at his administration as POTUS and was softened about as much as a court can soften against the POTUS and his administration.  On 21.July.2020, the BIC issued a memorandum to the secretary of Commerce titled: “Excluding Illegal Aliens From the Apportionment Base Following the 2020 Census.”  The notion seems like a reasonable idea prima facie, except for one itsy-witsy tiny little thing—the U.S. Constitution.

Article I, §2, clause 3

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.

Amendment 14, Section 2

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.

Since 1787 and the Framers very words, they chose to use the word “persons,” not citizens or legal residents, or any other word, just persons.  As an intellectual discussion, we could argue either way—why it should be or why it is not?  But, the words are the words.  Now, you would think the strict constructionists on the SCOTUS would settle this debate in very short order, but surprise, surprise, they did not.

The Per Curiam ruling in Trump v. New York [592 U. S. ____ (2020); No. 20–366] took the soft path.  The Court decided the case was not ripe, or perhaps ripe enough, for their judgment, so they vacated the district court decision and remanded for dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.  While three justices (Breyer, Sotomayer & Kagan) were part of the unanimous judgment, they agreed upon Justice Breyer’s dissenting opinion that the Court did not go far enough and would have affirmed the lower court findings.

 

After Congress finally passed a COVID19 relief bill with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both chambers, the BIC decided it was not enough.  [At this point, I would normally cite the relevant legislative data here, but alas, as this edition of the Update draws to a close, I do not have access to the information through my normal sources.]  The bill included a US$600 direct distribution, the BIC decided that was not enough.  He publicly stated he wants US$2,000 per person.  Just to put that in perspective, we have roughly 260M adult (>18 years old) people.  At US$600, that translated into US$156B, while US2K equates to US$0.520T.  Don’t misinterpret my words, many in this country desperately need that money and much more, actually.  The real question is not how much more money do we borrow from the future?  No, the salient question is, where was the BIC, the self-proclaimed master of the deal, during the months of negotiations between Congress and his faithful minions for the last six months?  He has been an AWOL president since the election last month.  Why now?  What on earth inspired him to get his fat butt off his golf cart seat and put his thumb on the scale now?

P.S.: late Sunday evening, before this edition of the Update could hit the wire, the BIC reportedly signed the bill into law [not yet confirmed].  I have no clue why the BIC chose his antics and caused so much distress to citizens in need during these difficult times; but, there you have it.

 

I watched and listened to President-elect Biden’s speech and news conference on Tuesday, 22.December.2020.  I liked the tone and content of his message.  He is trying hard to convey a message of unity.  He repeatedly refused to condemn Republicans, and in fact, he reached out to Republicans to reject the divisions of the BIC.  So far, Biden is saying and doing all the correct things to move us back together.  He also handled questions from the Press in admirable form, refusing to take the bait.  This is a refreshing change from what we had to deal with for the last four years.  There is hope, but we are not out of the tunnel, just yet.

 

For a political party that claims to be staunch supporters of the Constitution, I illuminate with disturbing alarm the words of Vice President Pence at a political rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, 22.December.2020:

As our election contest continues, I’ll make you a promise.  We’re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted.  We’re going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out.  We're going to win Georgia.  We're going to save America and we'll never stop fighting to make America great again.  You watch.

What is shocking in the vice president’s words is not his choice of words but the timing.  All 50 states certified their election vote counts by the 8th of December.  In accordance with the Constitution of the United States of America, the Electoral College met in their respective states and cast their votes—the votes are done and certified in each state.  A joint session of Congress will officially count the Electoral College votes on the 6th of January.  I suspect the BIC is depending upon Stalin’s philosophy, i.e., it is not who votes that counts; it is who counts the votes that matters.  My guess is, the BIC and the BICP believers intend to count the votes in their own little secret way.  Further, I guess Pence has decided to be the BIC-mini-me—sad but that is how it appears.  The Constitution says the election is done, so why is Pence defying the Constitution.  Oh wait, he is in the same party as McConnell who already set the standard for defying the Constitution. So, when any BICP (former GOP) member talks about defending the Constitution, we should all stand up and shout as loud as we can—BULLSHIT!  They are not defending the Constitution; they are only defending their tenuous grip on power—Constitution be damned!  Let us call a spade a spade here.  The BICP stands for the Constitution when it suits their needs to retain power, and they clearly and demonstrably have absolutely no problem ignoring the Constitution when it suits their need to retain power.

 

I could easily rant on for quite some time or unleash another of my infamous tirades about the BIC’s outrageous pardons this week, but I am very, very tired of this man and his irrational behavior.  I thought Clinton’s Mark Rich pardon was bad, but the BIC has lowered the bar so bloody low we can no longer see the bar.  At least when he is no longer in office, we can be rid of a portion of his terrible conduct.  Be gone you rat!

 

ALSO, with large, bipartisan majorities in both chambers, Congress passed the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 [H.R.6395; Senate: 84-13-0-3(0); House: 335-78-1-16(5)] and sent the bill to the president on the 11th of December.  On the 23rd of December, the BIC vetoed the legislation for a host of reasons that were in fact in his budget proposal to Congress, i.e., Congress gave him what he asked for, and now he rejected that congressional action.  He specifically cited two items that he now says he must have are: 1.) the repeal Section 230, and 2.) removal of the provision renaming of U.S. military bases currently and historically named for Confederate generals, e.g., Bragg, Hill, Hood, et cetera. The “Section 230” he refers to is Title V, Subtitle A, §509 [110 Stat. 137] of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 [PL 104-104] that protects Internet service providers from content liability for subscriber postings.   [The provision has repeatedly angered the BIC for social media providers intervening against his false information and propaganda].  The second item is in the current legislation as Title III, Subtitle E, §370 of the bill.  The BIC’s action will now force Congress to override his veto.

 

As the BIC sits on the COVID relief bill, a good chunk of the American citizens suffer, and he forces Congress to override his veto in the Defense appropriations bill, he goes to his Florida resort and goes golfing every day.  I do not fault any president (including the current version) from enjoying his/her form of relaxation.  However, the BIC has taken his pleasure in to a rather excessive extent.  Further, more so than any of his predecessors, the BIC has his relaxation to the extreme and without the slightest twit of concern for the timing or optics.  Today, he is the contemporary version of Emperor Nero fiddling as Rome burns, or Queen Consort Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake.”  Perhaps we should look upon his latest shenanigans as a blessing in that we only have to endure another three weeks of his abuse and nonsense.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.988:

“Thanks Cap-do you know I must have lost track of the date-these came in something of a surprise!  Will read of course.  Ghastly weather here-the country is beginning to flood. The virus is rampant, we are banned from visiting many other countries and many of the nation is in lock down-not us, as yet.”

My reply:

Hey, happens to all of us.  No more Saturday, or Wednesday; now, it’s just Day.  Today is Day.  They are all the same now.

Yes, indeed, we see news of a new strain in the motherland.

We are not in lockdown yet either.  Hopefully, it does not come to that, but we are dreadfully close.  Growing numbers of hospitals are reporting full-up, saturation, no-room-at-the-inn.  Now, we must hope and pray none of us needs critical care medical services.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“I was only a moment ago reading about your BICs inclination to introduce martial law in five states, I thought ‘I wonder if Cap knows about this?’  Glad I didn’t raise the point!  Unbelievable.  He has no ‘fans’ this side-let’s move on, we have enough to worry about currently.”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

No worries.  You are welcome to raise any point you wish for any reason you wish.

I suspect we are living the quiet before the storm.  I also suspect that the first week of January we might witness the full ferocity of the storm as we get the Georgia senatorial runoff election results on the 5th, and the Electoral College official results in a joint session of Congress on the 6th.  The martial law chat is real.  Fortunately, the military is pushing back on such a ludicrous notion, but the BIC is a cornered and wounded cat that might do just about anything to retain office and stay ahead of the law.

The majority this side are not fans of the BIC either.  But alas, he remains the duly elected POTUS until noon on the 20th of January.  I do not underestimate his desperation, and his paucity of any sliver of morality, conscience, or honor.  We must brace ourselves for the storm to come.  70M American citizens still believe they have been cured of their ills by the BIC’s magic snake-oil elixir; we cannot fix that.

 

Comment to the Blog:

“The Chump will continue to rant.  I applaud the Federal judiciary’s decisions to date on the Chump’s attempts to overturn the election.  Our ‘government of laws, not of men’ (John Adams) appears to be holding.  Meanwhile, we have much work ahead to take our country back from the oligarchs.

“I’m doing my bit for the medical system by avoiding my providers’ entire corporation until they change their mask requirement.  I can’t breathe at all with the one they allow, and they have no sympathy for my nasal structure problem.  I’ll take care of myself and do a better job than they are doing now.

“The third vaccine that’s in the pipeline requires only refrigeration rather than freezing and is cheaper than the first two.  That should help.

“I’m much closer to that ‘democratic socialist’ set of positions than the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is.  Both they and I object to your other correspondent’s characterization of the DNC as any kind of socialist.  The DNC serves Wall Street and corporate America, just as they have since Clinton.

“I learned information and source assessment by being trained in journalism during Watergate and again in college.  I studied distortion and misuse of information in a marketing-department major that supported those techniques.  (That includes buzzwords such as ‘socialist’ and ‘leftstream’.)  Your statement about the right misusing information is spot on.

“As I type this, the moment of the Solstice has passed, marking a new beginning in my particular spiritual path.  I’m feeling it.”

 . . . my response to the Blog:

Yes, he is, although he is spending more time than usual for him on the golf course.  He has been comparatively quiet by BIC standards.  My suspicion is that this moment is simply the quiet before the storm.  As the events of the first week of January loom larger, I suspect we shall witness the storm.

The strength of this republic has been sorely tested during these last four years and most of all in this last year (2020) from hell.  We have an incredibly great amount of work ahead to heal the deep wounds exacerbated by the BIC’s politics of division.

Thank you for doing your part.  We are doing our part as well.  Despite the me-me-me bent of the BIC and his believers, we continue to do our part to protect them.  Unfortunately, the virus does not care; it only looks for hosts to infect and multiply.  The BICP has provided ample hosts; the anti-vaxxers will add more.  The virus will continue to do what it does best, and we shall continue to do our part to defeat the virus.  Please continue to take care of yourself.

Yes, the third vaccine and others are still in work.  The first two used the new mRNA technology.  The others are using more traditional methods as I understand such things.  You noted a big plus for the traditional vaccines.  With so many variants, I wonder whether we will have a choice?

Yeah, the right loves to bandy about the ‘socialist’ term like it is some curse word.  The reality is, we have embraced forms of socialism for nearly a century.  What is worse is the hypocrisy of the BICP and former GOP; they have embraced corporate socialism for a longer period, and we see more evidence of that fact in the latest pandemic relief legislation passed by Congress yesterday.  I believe in strong corporations and vibrant commerce, but not at the expense of people.  If my choice is the BICP or socialism, I’ll take the latter.  Thank you.

I must acknowledge that the right, the former GOP, and now the BICP are far more effective at using the various elements of propaganda.  They have no conscience, which makes it very easy to embrace conspiracy theories and attack everything not to their liking.  The Clintons loved to scream about the “vast right-wing conspiracy.”  I used to discount such statements as political whining.  I do not think that way today.  Perhaps they were far more prophetic than we thought.  The BIC’s “Fake News” attacks on the Press is a very important element of that campaign.  We must resist.

 . . . Round two:

“Oddly enough, you might have missed the sarcastic tone for my avoiding medical treatment.  I find it ironic that corporate medicine gave me a medical reason to stop using their medical services.

“I wasn’t concerned with the Republicans’ use of ‘socialism’ but with the Republican Lites’ (aka ‘mainstream’ Democrats’) adopting of the term.  The Republicans have always talked like that, but the Democratic National Committee keeps moving further and further right.

“I find spiritual rewards in connecting to eternal things, such as the cycles of the years and the days. Among other things, they remind me that ‘all this’ (stress) is temporary.  The conjunction wasn’t visible in rainy Ohio, but I’m glad it rewarded many others.”

“PS: I hesitate to bring this up publicly, but what influence could the Russian hacking have had on the news cycle, directly or indirectly?  We’ve been hearing some unlikely notions from the far right.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Yep; didn’t detect the sarcasm.  Sorry.  Ironic . . . perhaps.  The word I would choose is sad, or maybe tragic.

You persist in that demonstration.  I do not see it as a right shift.  I believe it is more like seeking the middle.  The DNC is definitely to the right of the hard progressives like Sanders & AOC, but that does not make the DNC on the right side of the spectrum.  Collaterally, the BICP is hard set upon the fascist end of the right extreme of the spectrum.  So for me, the choice is simple.

I’ve seen articles, memes and such that are pretty far out there.  Some of them stink of Russian stirring-the-pot operations.  Sadly, a significant chunk of our citizenry believes the stuff; they send it to me as if its evidence, which is exactly what the FSB & NKVD want.  They seek the BICP believers including the BIC himself.  I believe the Russians are trying very hard to poke the BIC into declaring martial law and the election null & void.  I suspect we shall see the ferocity of the storm the first week of January, or the week after.  I so want to be wrong, but I fear I’m not.

I’m sorry you missed the peak of the conjunction, but it will still be in the evening sky for a few days.  Rain = green.  We need the rain.  Enjoy your spiritual rewards.

 . . . Round three:

“If we ignore the noise and look at national policy back to the Reagan Administration, a general rightward shift appears in war-making, foreign affairs more generally, taxation, corporate regulation, and tax policies.  The DNC reflects that.  The only exception is a limited range of social policies that don’t concern the money people much one way or the other.

“I’ll be glad if you get rain there. Any precipitation is valuable in the desert.”

 . . . my response to round three:

I think you may be excessively discounting accomplishments in previous administrations.  For example:

-- McCain–Feingold Act [PL 107-155; 116 Stat. 81] [322] {Bush 43 admin.} – a valiant attempt at campaign finance reform (although largely gutted by SCOTUS).
-- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 [PL 107-204; 116 Stat. 745] [455] {Bush 43 admin.} – major corporate accounting reform to gain greater uniformity and insight into public company finances.

-- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) [PL 111-148; 124 Stat. 119] [432] {Obama admin.} – the most comprehensive effort at health care reform yet accomplished; we can rightfully argue the PPACA did not go far enough and the BICP has worked tirelessly to emasculate the PPACA (on-going to this very day), but it was a helluva effort.
-- Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 [PL 111-321; 124 Stat. 3515] [471] {Obama admin.} – a major step forward with non-heterosexual equal rights.

I could go on, but these were all major pieces of legislation and laws that improved the social policies in previous administrations.

 . . . Round four:

“Neither McCain-Feingold nor Sarbanes-Oxley was enough, and both were promptly watered down.

“PPACA was and is a gift to insurance companies.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and its follow-up address one of those social issues I mentioned that the money people don’t care about.  You seem to be focused on social policies that don’t matter to the oligarchs.  Even there, we’ve made more progress in the courts than the Congress, and that’s likely to stop soon.”

 . . . my response to round four:

“Perfect is the enemy of good.” [Voltaire]  Of course, none of the cited laws and in fact most laws are not enough.  That is the very nature of compromise.  Something is better than nothing.  They were all worthy efforts to correct long-standing wrongs.  And with the direct efforts of the BICP and assistance of the SCOTUS, we are headed back to the bad ol’ days, e.g., Citizens United [424].  So let’s give them their due credit for trying to fix things.  The BIC is pissing on the Constitution because he can.  We must standby and watch.

 . . . Round five:

“‘Something’ is only better than nothing if it means change and if it holds up over time.  That hasn't occurred with the financial-industry laws or with PPACA.  The centrist Democrats are not an improvement over the Republicans other than the Chump, and the Chump wields less actual power than McConnell and Pelosi.”

 . . . my response to round five:

Thank you for sharing your opinion.  Respectfully, I do not agree.

 

Another contribution:

“Enjoy your weekly narrative, trying to be objective about politicians of both parties kind of winds up I don’t trust many of them, their arrogance and self-interest.

“I tell my wife they are all like pet rattlesnakes never turn your back on them plus don’t get too close and pet them with a long stick.

“Hope 2021 is a better year for the Grand Republic and its worthy citizens.

“Keep up the good work.”

My reply:

Very well said.

 

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

21 December 2020

Update no.988

 Update from the Sunland

No.988

14.12.20 – 20.12.20

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

            To all,

 

After nearly four years of abuse, I note with some pleasure the comparative lull in the nonsense from the Bully-in-Chief (BIC).  I never thought I would be grateful for an absentee president who is spending the majority of his remaining time in office on the golf course, but I say golf on.  We do not need to hear from you ever again.  I like peace.

I knew the peace was just too good to be true.

Then, at the end of the week, we begin to hear seditious talk from the felon Flynn about declaring martial law in the five contested states and also declaring the election in those states null and void; thus, such an action would require new elections to resolve, and of course, the BIC would have to remain president until the situation is remedied.  This is exactly the kind of stuff dictators do to retain power.  The BIC has unilaterally destroyed any credibility we once had regarding the value and benefit of democracy.

To the freedom-loving people of the world, what you bear witness to in the United States of America now and for the last four years is NOT democracy.  It is a wannabe dictator doing his damnedest to destroy whatever was left of this once grand republic.  I never believed I would witness the degeneration of the republic.  I always believed in the resiliency of the republic.  Unfortunately, my confidence has been sorely shaken, if not eradicated by the BIC.  I have always said, we shall overcome; but now, I am not so sure.

 

            The follow-up news items:

-- After the Pfizer COVID19 [946] vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA [987], vaccinations began on Monday across 50 states and territories.  The ModernaTX, Inc. vaccine received its FDA EUA on Friday.  Distribution of the Moderna vaccine began on the weekend with initial vaccinations expected to begin this coming Monday.  Perhaps, this is the beginning of the end of COVID19 pandemic.  Yet, as long as there are sufficient anti-vaxxers among us, the virus will continue to find ready hosts to multiply, spread, and saturate our medical treatment capacity.  While the vaccine, once administered and effective, may protect the majority of people in this country, we cannot force anyone to take the vaccine, which in turn means the anti-vaxxers will retain the capacity to saturate our critical care facilities and deny treatment for other illnesses to the rest of us.  Individual freedom of choice does not exceed the common good.

-- The Electoral College completed its constitutionally mandated casting of votes for president and vice president.  Through the miracle of modern communications, the Press counted the votes for all of us.  The Electoral College votes will be officially tallied by a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, 6.January.2021, which will end the 2020 election process [982].  President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be sworn into office two weeks later, on Wednesday, 20.January.2021.  Our long dark nightmare will soon be over.

-- Minutes after the Electoral College completed their constitutionally mandated voting in the presidential election process [982], Attorney General Barr resigned on 14.December, effective 23.December.2021, after threats by the BIC, following Barr’s public statement that the Justice Department found NO evidence of widespread fraud that might have even remotely affected the election results.  Yet, the BICP conspiracy theorists continue to spin wild accusations.  I suspect we are going to be asked de facto to endure the BIC and the BICP niggling away as a shadow government for the next few years, at least until (if ever) what is left of the Republicans gather their cojones to be rid of the bastard, or he is charged, tried, convicted, and sent to prison where he will not have access to Twitter.

 

Just a related side note: I suspect the motivation behind the BIC’s relentless antics to remain in office despite his overwhelming defeat in the election and his embarrassing, three-dozen-plus failures in court, is the man is scared to death of not being protected by the qualified immunity associated with the office he holds for another month.  So we do not forget, the BIC is a dangerous, cornered cat likely to do any outrageous thing to preserve his limited protection from the law.  I suspect and expect his days are numbered.

 

            Continuation from Update no.986:

“Same goes for any infectious disease .. seems combined with pneumonia or heart ailments it can kill .. it’s also how people die from the flu.”

My reply:

Yes, absolutely, but not all viruses are equally infectious, i.e., the ability of the virus to spread.  Isn’t it at all troubling that we are saturating our medical treatment capacity with COVID19 hospitalizations?  We are burning out our doctors and nurses.  I do not recall any other infectious disease saturating our medical capacity.  This virus is NOT the same as common influenza.  Who will treat you when you have a heart attack?

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.987:

Comment to the Blog:

“I’m glad you finally got rain.  That matters a great deal.

“We’ve reached a point where sedition is almost a position of the Republican Party.  Certainly, those who filed and supported the Texas suit to overturn other states’ laws give the appearance of supporting the dimwit militias that are, in fact, making seditious statements.

“Aside from the concerns about anti-vaccination people, the vaccination process should be interesting.  The logistical factor of the vaccine requiring transportation and storage at -94 degrees Fahrenheit makes a demand for dry ice and special containers, which has ripple effects.  Our government refused to buy enough units of the vaccine, so that makes a potential for shortages.  The priorities for vaccinations are controversial, too.  Most of all, the decision-makers are ignoring the hot-spots in prisons.  That’s irrational.  Also, medical people and hot-spots ought to be first, but others with high public contact should be prioritized immediately after hot-spots.  Retail workers, for example, should come ahead of the general public, old or not.

“There are also other vaccines in the pipeline, some of which may have better bottom-line factors (cost, logistics, etc.) than the Pfizer product.  Thus, the refusal to buy enough of the first vaccine for the need could become an advantage if one of the others works better or reduces the time and trouble of distribution.

“On the anti-vaccine people: given that they know as much about this as we do, why don’t we let them take their chances?  There’s not enough vaccine to go around yet anyhow.”

My response to the Blog:

Yes, indeed, which is exactly why I wrote what I did and meant what I said.  The Texas suit [592 U.S. 22O155 (2020)] [987] will go down as a very low point in the history of this once grand republic.  That suit also graphically displays the enormous distance we must travel to recover from the debacle of the last four years.  This episode may be a greater challenge to representative democracy than anything in our past including the Civil War.  I hope not, but I can see the potential.  We shall overcome.

Agreed as well.  The vaccination phase is going to take months to play out and is a monumental logistics effort.  I do not agree that the USG “refused to buy enough” vaccine.  Last spring, when these orders were placed, the USG fronted extraordinary amounts of money across a half dozen or more developers to prime the pump and hedge their bets.  They had absolutely no way to predict which vaccine would be the first or the best, most successful variant, and they were also faced with what they recognized would be enormous demand worldwide.  I cannot find fault with the objective and execution of Operation WARP SPEED, and the administration deserves appropriate credit for front-loading the vaccine development process.  It will be interesting to see what dynamics evolve with multiple effective vaccines available.  There are undoubtedly rough patches ahead before we are done with this virus.  Yes, prisons are problematic.  But, if we think of this early phase of vaccine deployment as a triage process, I think the USG is making the correct choices, i.e., I think health care frontliners and first responders should be ahead of us.  Priority for retail workers does make sense to help get the economy running on all eight-cylinders as soon as possible.

True.  You cite some of the dynamic factors that may well play out in this phase of the pandemic.  There are other factors as well.

Re: the anti-vaxxers.  I don’t think we have a choice.  They are going to do what they are going to do regardless of what is logical or reasonable.  That is one of the other factors mentioned above.  I would be perfectly accepting of their freedom of choice (to decline the vaccine) if their choice was not a threat to the rest of us.  If the demographic assessments are correct, 40% of our population (132M people) are anti-vaxxers.  If we assume only 20% of those get infected; that’s 26M people.  With the current rate of hospitalizations among infected individuals, that yields almost 3M people demanding intense medical treatment; that saturation of the medical capacity would deny treatment for other reasons to the rest of us who did get vaccinated.  To me, the choice that results in denial of medical treatment to others is a public threat and thus not acceptable.  If the choice of rejecting vaccination had an associated confirmation of rejecting medical treatment for COVID19 symptoms, like a DNR, then I’m good with their freedom of choice.  Unfortunately, such filtering criterion is not workable.  So we must tolerate the freedom of choice of others threatening our lives.  I see this question in very stark terms.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Your point about spreading R & D money across multiple developers is valid and could be very important given that the Pfizer vaccine has a major logistical issue.  Well stated.

“One of the responses the United States didn't make to this virus was to increase and re-direct hospital capacity.  That may or may not be needed in the future.  Surely, those anti-vaxxers wouldn't equal the peak numbers we're seeing now.  Nevertheless, a company here has provided equipment to the city's space at our Convention Center.  While that's primarily a way for Ohio Health to make a little money on outdated equipment from its storage facility (so says an inside source I won't name), it could certainly handle overflow patients if they ever show up.  So far, it's been sitting unused since April or May.  Similar situations may apply in other places.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

Thank you.  I try to be balanced when I am able.

I agree with your assessment as far as it goes.  However, I believe you missed a vital element in the medical capacity observation—knowledgeable personnel.  The hardware and supplies are one aspect as you note.  They can be increased in fairly short order by mobilizing U.S. industry by invocation of the Defense Production Act of 1950 [PL 81-774; 64 Stat. 798; 8.9.1950] [949].  It is not so easy to produce and deploy doctors and nurses.  Further, those we have are being burned out at an alarming rate.  Perhaps we can deploy IBM’s Watson AI platform to assist; that would be quicker.

 

Another contribution:

“Cap, I’ve been silently following your well written tirades and enjoying your occasional fair acknowledgment of some folk’s good faith admiration for those several very important positive actions of our POTUS over four years.

“I’ve always agreed with your observations critical of his personality and careless tongue, and for various reasons I voted and rooted for the Libertarian candidates.  I do, however, continue to regret that you and most liberal and centrist observers will not place and express sufficient blame for our divided nation upon whom it primarily lies: the leftstream press, the Democratic socialist party including the previous POTUS and left wing educators and economists, the gutless robotic Repandercrats of the obsolete GOP, and the poorly educated and apathetic American electorate, in descending order of course, IMHO.”

 . . . to which the contributor added:

Here’s another observation of a positive Trump legacy, which might bear discussion in any unbiased blog: the remarkable record of Trump appointees to the federal bench who have ruled according to their interpretations of the constitution rather than to favor Trump’s positions as cynics night have predicted, just one of many positives that bear mention occasionally among the boring tirades.

My reply:

Wow!  Tirade = a prolonged outburst of bitter, outspoken denunciation.  I suppose that accusation is reasonable in that the BIC has been quite persistent in his outrageous, unpresidential behavior; there has always been plenty of material to criticize his conduct.  He deserves no slack.

Quite a bit of Red baiting in your words.  Respectfully, I shall pass on comment.  Let it suffice to say I do not share such a hardened view of the opposition.

I do not know whether you have stood duty within the intelligence branch.  I have . . . several times.  It was very valuable service for a variety of reasons.  Foremost among those reasons was the technique of assessing information. Intelligence always involves a wide array of information sources that demand careful examination regarding reliability and accuracy.  We often have to add in misinformation, propaganda, false flag, deception, and a spectrum of adversarial techniques to confuse or misdirect the assessment process.  I listen, read, watch, and try to understand a range of information sources to assess the truth.  Just a related FYI, my friend, your words imply that only the left are fake news; the right never does such things.  That may not be the meaning you intend, but that is the image I am left with in this discussion.

I criticize and praise judges / justices by criteria I believe are most meaningful in my understanding of the genesis and evolution of the Constitution and the law.  Case in point, Roe v. Wade [410 U.S. 113 (1973)] [319].  The strict constructionists see the ruling as an abortion case.  The interpretative branch sees it as a decision affirming a citizen’s fundamental right to privacy and freedom of choice.  The justices of the day sought some balance in those opposing forces.  I worry about justices who want us to maintain society as it was 230 years ago.  Such a rigid view of the Constitution is NOT supported in the related founding documents, in my humble opinion.  None of the Founders / Framers saw themselves as omniscient or omnipotent; they all recognized that they were flawed human beings like all the rest of us; and, I believe they recognized that interpretation had to be done in the context of contemporary society within the guidelines and principles as they evolved under the aegis of the Constitution.

Just a FYI: I believe I have been giving plenty of credit to the BIC’s SCOTUS nominees.  In this context, I have been far more critical of McConnell’s reprehensible conduct in defying the Constitution than I have any aberrant interpretation by any justice.

The BIC offered up so bloody much to be critical of in our politics.  The conduct of the BICP (the GOP is no more) in the light of the BIC’s outrageous behavior has left me no choice but to be critical.  I am sorry you feel my criticism is excessive or misapplied.  I do not know if you read the Texas v. Pennsylvania [Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin] [592 U.S. 22O155 (2020)] [987] filing, amicus, and SCOTUS decision, but that one case alone speaks volumes.  I have also noted the contributions of the three BIC nominees in this instance and others.  What do you expect from me?

 

A different contribution:

“Did you catch this 2018 Executive Order ?  It was a great warning that the robbers did not heed ... rather than catch the robbers as they leave the bank, he’s letting the whole world watch the attempts at coverup.” [Emojis removed]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-imposing-certain-sanctions-event-foreign-interference-united-states-election/

My response:

I am quite familiar with the BIC’s EO 13848, but I’m not sure of your point.  Would you be so kind to give me a little more information about what you are trying to say in your citation?

 

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

14 December 2020

Update no.987

 Update from the Sunland

No.987

7.12.20 – 13.12.20

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

            To all,

 

I watched the test flight of the SpaceX Starship SN8 on Wednesday, 9.December.2020.  After an aborted launch at engine start the previous day, the vehicle lifted off at 16:46 [S] CST.  I understood the flight profile in general; however, it quickly became apparent that I did not know the engine sequences to achieve the profile.  The plan called for the vehicle to climb to roughly 45,000 feet, pitch over for a maximum drag descent back to the launch pad, and use its main engines to arrest its descent and land like SpaceX uses for the first stage return of its Falcon 9 booster.  The vehicle had three Raptor engines.  One engine shut down about halfway into the powered flight, then the second engine.  The last engine was used to pitch the craft over to its descent attitude.  Assuming the engine shutdowns were as planned, the flight appeared to be nominal up to the landing.  All three engines restarted and gimbaled to erect the vehicle to its landing attitude.  One shut down or failed, then another one, and it was hard to tell but it appeared the last engine trust was not sufficient to arrest the descent rate.  The craft broke up upon impact, and the remaining fuel exploded.  If you recall the early flights of the Falcon 9 1st stage booster, they experienced a number of failures.  They learned and improved.  Now, they stick those landings regularly.  They'll learn from this and do better next time.  To me, it appears to have been a very successful flight that did not end as intended, but they will learn.  The engineering and physics of what they accomplished were impressive, nonetheless.

 

On Thursday, 10.December.2020, United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched their Delta IV Heavy rocket with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) NROL-44 satellite, finally.  An attempted launch last August aborted after engine start but before the explosive tie down bolts initiated liftoff.  From my perspective, it was a nominal, successful launch. These launches are always awesome to witness.

 

Also, on Thursday this week, we had cause to celebrate.  For the first time in nine months or so, we had a day of rain, the nice, slow, soaking kind, after 110 days of no precipitation and nine months of anything beyond mist.

 

The annual Army-Navy football game was played at West Point, New York on Saturday, in rather dense fog due to COVID19 exposure concerns.  The Bully-in-Chief (BIC) showed up for the coin toss; we were so honored.  Congratulations go to the Army cadets who commanded the game from start to finish.  Navy lost to Army 0-15.   Navy made far too many mistakes that were exacerbated by a mounting sense of desperation in the 4th quarter.  Army has won four of the last five games.  And so the wheels turn.  We shall look forward with eager anticipation to next years episode.  Go Navy, Beat Army!

 

Wow!  To say the least possible, I am gobsmacked!  When I thought we had reached the bottom for the degeneration of this once grand republic, the BIC Party (BICP) digs very hard and feverishly fast to go deeper and lower than anyone imagined possible.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit along with 18 other BICP state attorneys general against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin to negate the election results in the defendant states—Texas v. Pennsylvania [Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin] [592 U.S. 22O155 (2020)].  The suit claimed the elections in the defendant states were unconstitutional.  Just for thoroughness here, Pennsylvania has a Democrat governor, and Republican Senate and House; Georgia has total Republican control—governor, Senate and House; Michigan has a Democrat governor and Senate with Republican controlled House; and, Wisconsin has a Democrat governor and Republican Senate and House. No one in the executive or legislative of the four defendant states joined the plaintiffs’ suit.  The 19 state attorneys general led by Texas sought to disallow 20 million votes in four other states.  For the record, all 50 secretaries of state including the 19 states that are plaintiffs in the Texas suit certified the results of the 2020 election.  Is this the right hand not talking to the left hand?  Or perhaps, the suit was just window dressing for one person—the BIC.  Then, we had 106 initially and now 126 BICP representatives of the House signed onto support an amicus briefing in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania.  Among those BICP representatives supporting the Texas suit were Representatives:

Joyce, Keller, Kelly, Meuser, Perry, Reschenthaler, and Thompson of Pennsylvania,

Allen, Carter, Ferguson, and Scott of Georgia,

Bergman, Huizenga, Moolenaar, and Walberg of Michigan, and

Tiffany of Wisconsin,

Also among the signatories were Representatives Biggs and Lesko of Arizona (two QAnon believers in our state).

The plaintiffs cited the Constitution, the law and even Federalist no. 68 – “The Mode of Electing the President” (Hamilton) [783 (14.3.1788)]; all of which were correct and spot on the money.  A unanimous Supreme Court, including Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, summarily dismissed the suit for lack of standing on Friday, 11.December.2020, without hearing arguments.  Justices Alito and Thomas felt compelled to note that they wanted to hear the plaintiffs’ arguments, but would not have granted any other relief.  It was a ridiculous suit from the get-go.  The Supremes put a fork in it.  Of course, the BIC was not pleased.  Unfortunately, since the BIC has no connection with the facts or reality, he will continue his antics.

 

TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2020 is President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris.  That fact alone has to grate deeply on the BIC.  Remember, the BIC is infamous for commissioning and conspicuously displaying a fake TIME Magazine cover with him on it before he ran for president.

 

            Continuing comments from Update no.985:

“Why listen to me ?? There’s tens of millions who say the same thing I do .. most fraudulent election in the history of America !  Proof is everywhere in hearings etc if you bother to listen.”

My reply:

“Why listen to me ??”  Because you are a friend.  Your opinion matters.  I may not agree with you for one or more reasons, but it is important for me to listen and try to understand.

Yes, indeed, I cannot agree that all 74M who voted for the BIC think as you do, but I suspect you are correct; there are probably 10s of millions who do.  That likelihood is significant and must be listened to in our discussions.  I’ve been listening to the BIC and his minions.  I have also read some (I cannot claim many) of the lawsuits.  I’ll repeat my previous statement.  I’ve not seen one scintilla of evidence.  I’ve seen scads of accusations, but not one fact that would stand up under scrutiny in a court of law.  Every single judge in multiple jurisdictions has agreed that there is not even probable cause, set aside beyond a reasonable doubt.  Eventually, the believers will have to face reality—the vaunted BIC lost to an old man.  I believe AG Barr, Chris Krebs, the FBI, and all 50 state secretaries of state (Republican & Democrat).  Let’s get real.  He lost!  It’s time to move on with life.

 . . . follow-up comment:

Sorry but the evidence is being put together.. has to do with Dominion algorithms giving Biden 1.1 for each vote and Trump .8 (don’t have the right ratios in front of me ) thus they kept Biden ahead by 26%.  They have found this in many sample counties. 26%.  This is enough fraud to not only delegitimize the election but send a lot of people to prison .. the mask goes over your nose and mouth, not your eyes Cap.  And there weren’t just a few people voting twice .. try many voting numerous times .. one county had a tremendous amount of votes way higher in numbers even than registered voters .. sloppy, sloppy.

 . . . my follow-up reply:

“mask goes over your nose and mouth, not your eyes Cap.”  Good one.  I didn’t know that, he said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

Everything you said is hearsay.  Nonetheless, I shall give your opinion the benefit of the doubt.  I eagerly await the hard evidence.  I do agree, if proven in a court of law, then the perpetrators should be and I trust will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

I find it passingly curious how so many judges have rejected these anecdotal claims.  I also acknowledge that true believers, as you apparently are in this one, are undeterred by the facts, court judgments, and public statements by experts.  QAnon is correct; everyone else is wrong.

Until I see hard evidence tested in a court of law, I shall watch and listen (with my mask below my eyes & ears), and I shall trust the experts until I have reason(s) not to do so.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.986:

Comment to the Blog:

“When Bill Barr turned on the Chump, all I could think of was Pinocchio wanting to be a real boy.  Sometimes even the best puppet doesn’t work anymore.

“Perhaps those insisting that others get the vaccine should get it themselves so they don’t have to worry about whether others are carriers.  That’s my plan.”

My response to the Blog:

LOL  Interesting observation.  Thx.  I do not give Barr credit with seeing the light.  I will only say I give him credit for some degree of integrity unlike the fellow he works for in the government.  He should be working for We, the People, but we have witnessed far too much of his bowing to the BIC.

“Insisting” is perhaps too strong of a word.  Encourage is a better word it seems to me.  I am against a vaccine mandate for the most part.  Just an FYI: I advised and encouraged our youngest son to take the anthrax vaccine as a Marine because it was required for the job.  I would not insist that a citizen take the anthrax vaccine; I might encourage a citizen to do so, depending upon circumstances.  I am waiting to see the efficacy and side effects of the COVID19 vaccine before I take it, but I expect to do so as soon as it becomes available to my risk group.  As I wrote, I will defend any citizen’s right to reject a vaccine, but I will also defend governmental restrictions to minimize the threat of any citizen being a carrier-spreader.  Every citizen has a right to decline vaccination, but no citizen has a right to infect other citizens.

 . . . Round two:

“I think you missed the point.  If someone is a carrier but those around them are vaccinated, the carrier still can't spread the virus.”

 . . . my response to round two:

I did not miss the point.  With 40% of our population reportedly being anti-vaxxers, there is a high likelihood 4 in 10 around you will not be vaccinated.  Further, how do you propose we determine whether any particular person has been successfully vaccinated?

 . . . Round three:

“I don't see why I should be concerned about those who refuse the vaccine if I'm protected.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Decent query, actually.  My answer: because they are human beings.  The anti-vaxxers may not have the capacity to protect themselves, but they will remain potential carriers (contagious) to other anti-vaxxers and those not yet vaccinated.  There is little we can do about the anti-vaxxers, but I remain concerned about their health.  Further, infected anti-vaxxers will expect medical treatment and thus take up valuable hospital acute care capacity that may be denied to the rest of us who develop non-COVID19 serious symptoms.

 

Another contribution:

“Cap, your item on Covid is staggeringly worrying.  You live in a modern civilised county, I’m shocked at your article on the deaths and cases of Covid.  Are you progressing with an inoculation as we are?  Worrying, well I have a cousin in Oregon and a damned good writer friend and lady living in the Sunland-stay safe you guys-I’m looking forward to that beer or giving you a sample or two of good Suffolk English beer.”

My reply:

Yes, I know, my friend.  Imagine having to live this.  We have discussed gun violence, race riots, the BIC, and now COVID19 response.  These are the ugly sides of freedom.  People enjoy the right to be stupid . . . as long as their choices do not harm or injury another living creature or property.

No, inoculations have not yet begun here, but they are close (they tell us).  I have not yet seen the priority listing the government will recommend the states utilize, but it is my understanding that frontline health care workers and first responders (EMT, fire, & police) are first, and then over 80yo, elder care, and assisted living residents.  I have no idea how far down the list we will show up.  There may be multiple different vaccines, so I’m not sure what choices we will have.  I suspect the availability will reach us by late winter or early spring.  I have no clear view of when it will be available for our children and grandchildren.  We shall remain vigilant and inquisitive.  I think y’all will be ahead of us.

I hope your cousin remains safe until the vaccine is available.

We’ll get those beers eventually.  We are certainly eager to travel again, but we are not there yet.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Inoculations started at 0630 GMT here this morning with a 90-year-old plus lady in N. Ireland receiving the first.  Our priority list is much as yours-what the hell, we can all wait can’t we.

“This morning we hear that cases in the London area are rising somewhat rapidly, what can I say?  Do they think because we now have a drug to fight this bug they are protected even before they are jabbed up.  If so then this is a brain dead attitude.”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

Yeah, that event has been on the news over here as well.

Yes, we can and will wait our turn.  After all, we have survived 10 months of this so far.  We can endure for another month or two.

Indeed, but I’m not so sure it’s the brain-dead variant, but rather the arrogantly defiant variety.

 

A different contribution:

“As I’ve always stated about vaccines, if you are vaccinated what are you worried about if you feel the vaccine protects you ?  Don’t bully others into taking it who don’t want to .. if you are vaccinated they are no danger to you or anyone who’s vaccinated.  Only those unvaccinated will supposedly be a threat to each other so stay out of our business of personal choice !!”

My response:

Because I care about my fellow citizens, my friend.  40% of our citizens are anti-vaxxers; that means they will continue to be potential spreaders and many of the anti-vaxxers are in the macho-anti-mask group too.  I still care about them; no one deserves to be infected by this virus, and no one has a right to infect others.

 . . . follow-up contribution:

“And there’s a 99% chance you will survive .. I’ll pass on the vaccine .. will wear the mask as long as they require it.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

As I have accurately stated many times, the issue we face is NOT the mortality rate of the virus.  Your citation is correct; the virus has a very low mortality rate, i.e., an infected person is not likely to perish from COVID19 infection.  Experience tells us the majority of infected people suffer little to no symptoms.  But unfortunately, the morality of the virus is NOT the issue.  The infectiousness or contagiousness of the virus is the factor that is most worrisome, not that it will kill any individual, but that that infected person will unknowingly infect 100s of others, and of those infected, some will develop serious complications requiring ICU treatment.  It is and has always been the saturation of the medical treatment capacity.  As a further FYI: we are literally consuming our doctors and nurses, some of whom have worked 250+ extended hour days straight without a break; we do not allow soldiers to be on the line for that long.  The mortality rate may be comparatively low and yet nearly 300,000 Americans have died from acute respiratory failure.  Let’s focus on the relevant parameters, not the less relevant ones.

 

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)