Update no.968

Update from the Sunland

No.968

27.7.20 – 2.8.20

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

            To all,

            On Sunday, 2.August.2020, we watched the return and recovery of the NASA/Space X Crew Dragon capsule, after what appeared to be a flawless undocking 19 hours earlier, reentry into the atmosphere, and splashdown at 14:48 [R] EDT in the almost calm Gulf of Mexico, near Pensacola, Florida.  Astronauts Hurley and Behnken arrived safe and sound aboard the Space X recovery ship MV Go Navigator.  They launched Saturday, 30.May.2020 [959] and spent 63 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).  Congratulations to NASA, Space X, and the entire team for a successful Demo-2 mission.  Bravo Zulu!  Well done.

            The next four-person crew is scheduled to launch in late September for what is expected to be a full mission aboard the ISS before their return to Earth.  The Demo-2 mission beginning to end proved the commercial launch system NASA has put in place.  The Boeing and Amazon systems are not far behind.  We have entered a brave new world.

            The follow-up news items:

-- A friend and former colleague read last week’s paragraph about the Fox News interview with the Bully-in-Chief (BIC) [967] and sent along the following URL link:

https://youtu.be/j8oaaP68i4s

Comedian Sarah Cooper has found her niche doing parody pantomimes of the BIC’s direct spoken words.  She is brilliant, I tell you, brilliant!  Her facial expressions alone add notable descriptive dimensions to the BIC’s words.

            The U.S. Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy collapsed in 2Q2020 with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinking by -32.9%.  For comparison, the worst of the Great Recession, 4Q2008, shrank by -8.2%.  This is a historic and deepest contraction in our history, even more than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

            As of Sunday, the COVID19 death toll surpassed 157,000 precious American lives and shown no signs of abating.  The USG suggested and the states decided to lockdown their communities in a desperate attempt to break the chain of infection, having missed the opportunity to contain the infection.

            To me, there is one person responsible for this catastrophe—the BIC.  He did not create the COVID19 virus.  He did not bring it to this country from the PRC.  He did not directly cause the economy to collapse.  Yet, there is one primary reason I hold him ultimately accountable—his obscenely slow tepid response.  By the time he stopped denying the viral threat and took action, the virus was already here and spreading fast without our knowledge.  The BIC focused his wrath on the PRC while infected individuals entered the United States from Europe and Italy specifically.  But better late than never!  Then, the BIC announced to the country and the world that he was not responsible and chose to take a laissez-faire approach to the pandemic, i.e., let the states figure it out for themselves.  He literally pitted the states against each other to acquire Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ventilators, medical personnel, and other elements of intensive care medical treatment for acute respiratory failure usually associated with serious infections.  That reality meant each of the states was competing against all the others for the necessary supplies to deal with the pandemic.  The federal government was relegated to a distant supporting role.  All of that is bad, but the worst of it is, the BIC has purposefully, intentionally, and with maliciousness defied the USG guidelines instead of setting a good, positive example for the nation.  As a consequence, we have millions of his staunchly loyal believers and followers doing as he does.  The BIC’s actions have made protective measures a political statement, i.e., Republicans and BIC believers don’t need to stinkin’ masks.  Now, masks have become some vast, left wing, deep state conspiracy to defeat the BIC.  This is insanity, plain and simple!  And I am certain he truly wonders why so many people despise him.  Then his believers point their accusatory fingers at the rest of us that we simply do not understand the genius of the BIC.  At the bottom line, yes, I hold the BIC solely accountable for the deaths of 157,000 precious American lives lost so far.  It did not have to be this bad.  Thank you for the death and destruction, BIC; history shall record what you have done!

            Well, wonder of wonders, the BIC finally exposed his nakedness with one of his many tweets on Thursday morning.  He sent out to the world this little gem:

With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

5:46 AM · Jul 30, 2020·

With the terrible economic data and still rampant viral infection ravaging the country, it is not surprising that the BIC chose this day and this message for We, the People, to absorb.  We must credit the BIC, despite the tragedy boiling around us, he remains rock hard consistent—lie, deny, and defy.  And I truly believe he is baffled as to why so many of us do not like him and do not believe a word he says.  The BIC’s demand for incessant adulation from his devoted sycophants prevents him from seeing reality. We, the People, see exactly what he is doing as well as the consequences of his ineptitude.  We will vote this coming November.  The results will be what they will be.

            Later on Thursday, the memorial service for Representative John Robert Lewis of Georgia was broadcast from the famous Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  Among the many guests speaking at the ceremony were:

-- President George W. Bush (43)

-- President Bill Clinton (42)

-- President Barack Obama (44)

-- Speaker of the House Representative Nancy Pelosi of California

-- among other dignitaries.

I must say, the most impressive speaker was W, since our threshold of expectation is so low.  He delivered a fitting and laudable tribute to the civil rights icon and longtime civil servant.  Clinton was not on form, leaving the image that age has not been kind to amicable Bill.  Yet, I must say the most notable among the tributes must do to Barack Obama.  Of all the political orators I have listened to in my lifetime, Obama comes the closest to the excellence of Winston Churchill—his meter, his tone, and inspirational choice of words.  The celebration was a noteworthy tribute.  God rest your immortal soul, John Lewis.

            Yet, for the glorious words spoken at the memorial service, the truly inspirational and elegant words belong to John Lewis himself in this written last message to We, the People.  The closing paragraph of Brother John’s message published in the New York Times on the day of his service memorial will live for eternity.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21^st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war.  So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

            The BIC was notably absent in any form, just as he was for Senator McCain’s memorial service.  Whether he was uninvited or simply chose to ignore the celebration of Lewis’s extraordinary life is irrelevant.  The BIC is absolutely devoid of any sense of decency, which makes him a rather despicable man.

            And then, I had to listen to the BIC in his daily briefing that he started doing again after public pressure got to be just too great.  I listen to his words with faint hope that we might find some sliver of inspiration and sense of direction.  I tried to find something—anything—redeeming or encouraging, but I could not.  I persistently hold up the standard I use to judge the words of presidents and prime ministers to measure contemporary specimens.  Eighty years ago, Great Britain was in the darkest days in the nation’s long history.  Much of the BEF had been successfully evacuated from Dunkirk.  The remainder were struggling to reach other ports for rescue before the Germans arrived.  France was rapidly collapsing.  And the threat of invasion and subjugation by the Germans darkened hope.  On Thursday, 6.June.1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood before the House of Commons and broadcast to the world stark words of reality along with rousing words of inspiration and focus—that is the standard.  He did not lie about o deny the reality of the nation’s predicament.  He told everyone, including their threatening enemy, what the situation was and what he was going to do in dealing with their state of affairs.  I could select other speeches from historic leaders, but that particular Churchill speech stands above all others to me.  Still to this very day, seven months after the pandemic began, the BIC cannot bring himself to lead the nation, to inspire us to pull together for the common good.  If you have not heard Churchill’s words in June 1940, I strongly urge everyone to do so, or at least read his words from that day.

            For all of those who see the COVID19 pandemic as some vast left-wing conspiracy to undermine the president and the United States of America, or the wearing of a face mask is some insult to their machismo, let’s have a discussion or debate.  Let’s assume you are precisely correct that COVID19 is fictitious and the 150,000 fatalities attributed to COVID19 infection were falsified by thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of doctors across the nation in every state of the union.  How did such a vast cabal happen?  How did they get so many independent doctors from Maine to Hawaii, from Alaska to Florida and Puerto Rico, to come together to carry out this flawless conspiracy?  If masks are so bad for us, why does every doctor in the country wear a mask for extended hours without a break during complex surgeries?  Oh wait . . . doctors . . . they are part of the massive conspiracy against the president.  Concede me this for our debate: let’s now assume the viral infection is real; it is killing our citizens.  If masks are not the correct path because the scientists and doctors are lying to us about the efficacy of masks and a lockdown is not the correct path because it trashes the economy, how do you propose we break the chain of infection?  Let’s assume all of the experts are flat-assed wrong.  How would you deal with the infection?  How would you break the chain of infection?  Or, are you proposing to just allow the Grim Reaper to do his will?

            With all this nonsense drivel being bandied about by the BIC’s loyal minions—COVID19 is a hoax; Russia-gate was another hoax perpetrated by the disloyal deep state; mail-in ballots are corrupt; et al ad finitum ad nauseum—I thought the following quote was quite apropos (author unknown):

Just wait till conspiracy theorists discover they’re part of a conspiracy theory to use conspiracy theorists to spread disinformation via conspiracy theories

When that discovery comes, a new conspiracy of conspiracy theories will sprout and grow.  There is a boogey man behind every bush and a troll under every bridge.  Paranoia seems to be spreading among We, the People.  But this too shall pass.

            The BIC won one of sorts.  On Friday, by a narrow 5-4 majority split ideologically, the Supremes denied a motion to lift the Court’s stay issued a year ago— Trump v. Sierra Club [591 U. S. ____ (2020); No. 19A60].  The decision negates the Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit ruling in Sierra Club v. Trump [9CCA Nos. 19-16102 19-16300 (2020); D.C. No. 4:19-cv-00892- HSG] [964].  The Court’s action essentially means the BIC can continue to divert Department of Defense allocated (not discretionary) funds to build his wall.  Associate Justice Breyer wrote a very short, two paragraph dissenting opinion that does not give me much insight into the judicial reasoning for allowing the diversion of Treasury funds from their intended purpose.  As I wrote [964] in my review of the 9CCA decision, I thought the argument against the diversion of funds was cogent and reasoned.  For strict constructionist justices, I am struggling to understand or appreciate the abandonment of their usually staunch enforcement of the separation of powers.  Further, while the Court chose not to provide further guidance, I suspect this latest shot allows the USG to continue building the wall while the appeal of the 9CCA ruling may be addressed in the next session for the Court.  The issue may well turn out to be moot by the time the Court decides to decide.  This latest action is disappointing to say the least.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.967:

Comment to the Blog:

“I expect to read Mary Trump’s book Too Much and Not Enough as soon as I can do so for free. I like reading that type of experience-of-history writing.  I’ve read Stormy Daniels’s book, for example.  It’s a good autobiography as well as touching on how the Chump gets his way.  I understand more about history from studying the people involved than I ever have from collections of names, dates, and numbers.

“People often brag the loudest about things they feel the most insecure about.  Surely the Chump’s cognitive abilities fit that category.

“We’re in complete agreement about the futility of and the damage caused by prohibitions of addictive substances.  How society can reduce the harm caused by addiction is an open question, but prohibition doesn’t work.  In fact, marijuana specifically grows on its own in my part of the country.  It’s even easier to produce than alcohol, so it’s even more pointless to ban.  Let us know when your book is available.”

My response to the Blog:

            I eagerly await your review of Mary’s book.  My reasoning is undoubtedly flawed in that I am not attracted to one person’s rendition of her family experience other than her familial name, and I already know scads more about the BIC than I ever EVER wanted to know; I do not need more evidence of the BIC’s grotesque character flaws.  Understanding the genesis of the BIC’s incapacity would be beneficial from a humanistic perspective, but I do not feel a compelling motivation.  I read Story Daniels’ book [879] more to measure the author than one of the chapters.  I do not feel the same need with Mary Trump.

            Exactly!  In the aviation biz, we always noted the quiet ones were the folks you needed to watch; they did not need to tell everyone how good they were.  Their actions spoke for them.

            I will let you know when the book is available.  I would strongly encourage your feedback.  More to follow.

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)