Update no.976

 Update from the Sunland

No.976

21.9.20 – 27.9.20

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

 

            To all,

 

            In my study of Sir Winston Churchill’s life, politics, oratorical skills, and leadership accomplishments, I learned that he was far from perfect, a flawed man, and human like all the rest of us.  Little known to many, Winston suffered throughout his life from intermittent spats of depression, occasionally deep, debilitating depression, that he referred to as the “Black Dog.”  From the moment I learned of his affliction and his term for those moments in his celebrated life, I have become more aware of and sensitive to the “Black Dog.”  So, it is with humility, I confess to the visit of the “Black Dog” to my life on Tuesday of this week (also reflected in the Comments section below).  I shall attempt to retreat into my writing, work on the words, and immerse myself in the story of my next “To So Few” novel, provisionally titled: Struggle.  No more contemporary news today.  Perhaps, I can avoid the bite.

            I am old, Caucasian, male, educated, retired comfortably, in a very nice home with a beautiful pool that I use many times a day nearly year around, and I am married to a beautiful, humorous, and extraordinarily tolerant woman who takes very good care of me despite my flaws, foibles and idiosyncrasies.  Yes, I am comparatively privileged.  I am not wealthy privileged, but I am sufficiently privileged to enable my withdrawal.  The best I can offer to those who face discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of degradation and marginalization is I felt some of that mindless nonsense during the Vietnam era when many of us serving in uniform felt tinges of that discrimination.  But that is a far cry from living with it everywhere, all of the time.  If this once grand republic degenerates farther into a white supremacist, evangelical Christian theocracy, I can retreat farther into my hermitic, isolated little world, and immerse myself in my writing.  I blend into their world as long as I do not speak, but further, I do not need to suffer the public as other less fortunate people must.  So, in my personal Black Dog days, I say fuck it.  Let them have what is left; we probably ceased to be a republic in 2016 anyway; it just took us a long time to recognize reality.  I will likely continue to speak out until the FBI takes me away in handcuffs to a concentration camp for political dissidents, for my audacity to speak out against King BIC.  For all of my once fellow Americans who enable the Bully-in-Chief (BIC) and anointed him King, I truly hope you are happy with what you have left.  Hope is vanishing far too quickly for the rest of us.

 

            As a comparatively privileged citizen, I do not need abortion rights, the PPACA, welfare, economic assistance, and so many other laws or judgments.  There is a substantial chunk of our citizenry that want to take away all those protections and services for those who need them.  I could easily sit back and say oh well, none of that affects me.  Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., PhD (systematic theology), observed:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

I speak out against the BIC’s actions of regression because they are wrong, not because they affect my life—they are wrong!  Far too many people are less fortunate than me.  Our humanity and compassion justify many of the programs and regulations that the BIC and his administration have sought to negate.  For that (among so many other factors), I regret and often condemn the BIC’s actions as POTUS.

 

            At an afternoon presser, Wednesday, 23.September.2020, in the White House Press Room, a journalist, wearing a face mask that boldly declared ‘America needs journalist,’ asked the BIC:

[reporter]: “Will you commit to ensuring there will be a peaceful transferal of power after the election?”

[BIC]: “We’ll have to see what happens; you know that.  I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.  And . . .”

[reporter]: “I understand that, but the people are rioting.  Do you commit to making sure there is a peaceful transferal of power?”

[BIC]: “We want to have, get rid of the ballots, and you will have transf’, we’ll have a very peaceful, ah, there won’t be a transfer, frankly, there will be a continuation.”

[emphasis mine]

            This is precisely the BIC’s and the Republican position.  You will vote for us, or we will burn the whole house down to the ground.  I know there are good, honest, patriotic, American citizens out there, who call themselves Republicans.  Senator Mitt Romney publicly condemned the BIC’s statement; that evening, Romney tweeted:

Fundamental to democracy is the peaceful transition of power; without that, there is Belarus.  Any suggestion that a president might not respect this Constitutional guarantee is both unthinkable and unacceptable.

5:54 PM · Sep 23, 2020·

Unfortunately, so far, Romney is the only Republican condemning the BIC; I know there are others out there, but no others have spoken up, yet.  If the Republicans do not stop the BIC’s very unpatriotic, un-American nonsense, the BIC might well be successful.  I am voting by mail this year due to the COVID19 pandemic.  The BIC is trying to disregard my ballot.  I say, DAMN HIM to hell for even thinking about negating my vote or anyone else’s vote.  What he is doing is the exact definition of un-American—a clear and present danger.  He is what he is; he has always been this way; and, he is incapable of changing for the better.  And the worst of it all, there are millions of good American citizens who have been rendered blind and deaf (but definitely not mute) by the BIC’s magic snake-oil elixir; they believe, and that was the last reality they have and apparently that is all they now know.

            That despicable man (and I truly hesitate to call him a man as it inherently disparages many good men among us) who I refer to only as the BIC, has offered not one scintilla of evidence to support or even hint at fraudulent mail-in ballots.  He yammers on about some unknown and unspecified state flooding their jurisdictions with unqualified mail-in ballots.  He persists in his wild, substance-less, public claims that some state (as yet unspecified) is sending or going to send out mail-in ballots to every address whether the resident is registered or not, or perhaps just put stacks of blank ballots on every street corner.  I have continued to search for such a state; I cannot find a single one.  My state, Arizona, sent out an application card to all registered voters asking whether we were going to vote in person or needed a mail-in ballot, as a consequence of the COVID19 pandemic.  Both Jeanne and I filled out the form, signed & dated the form, added a contact telephone number, and mailed them in several weeks ago.  We are due to receive our ballots before the 7^thof October, when early voting opens in Arizona.  I know for a fact that Arizona is not the object of the BIC’s wild, mindless accusations, and I suspect every other state in the Union is the same or similar.  The BIC is only trying to sow doubt, confusion, and chaos in the lame hope of suppressing or negating as much of the vote as he possibly can.  This is the man we are supposed to call president.  He has consistently proven and demonstrated himself unworthy.  I will vote as soon as I am able, and I will guaran-damn-tee you it will not be for the BIC.  DAMN HIM to hell, I say.

 

            The Senate of the United States passed by unanimous consent (implying all 100 senators agreed without regard to party) S.Res.718 - A resolution reaffirming the Senate's commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power called for in the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes.  The resolution is noted in the Library of Congress record; however, I have been unable to read the exact words of this resolution; yet, the title alone says enough.

 

            According to information collected by the New York Times, we paid more federal income tax in just one year (any year, pick it) than the BIC paid in fifteen (15) years combined.   Well, I guess, according to the BIC, that reality just makes me a loser and a sucker.  And you know what is worse, if anyone seeking a security clearance carried the level of debt that the BIC apparently has, they would be denied a clearance since they pose a security risk, i.e., the debt can be used against them.  Yes, the BIC is a clear and present danger.

 

            The BIC nominated Appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit (Chicago, Illinois) to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat vacated by the passing of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, AKA the Notorious RBG.  At 48 years of age, Barrett might well sit on the bench for 40 years.

            Barrett calls herself an originalist in the image of Justice Scalia.  The problem I have with that descriptor is that it is a convenient façade to hide behind, to avoid change and adaptation as life and society evolve, i.e., a conservative ideology—to hold things as they are, or in their case, as they were 233 years ago.

            Over two centuries ago, “We, the People” meant only white, male, free, educated, English-speaking, Protestant Christian, landowners—nothing else; no one else was included.  The 13^th Amendment (1865) banished slavery from the United States, but did not alter the assumptions of We, the People.  The 19^th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote but did not alter the status of women as assumed in 1787; women were still considered property by the English common law Doctrine of Coverture until it was finally banished from our society {Kirchberg v. Feenstra [450 U.S. 455 (1981)] [571]}—a Supreme Court interpretation, not an amendment to the original language.  A series of Supreme Court rulings have interpreted the Constitution to include many subgroups—citizens with dark skin pigmentation, females, non-heterosexuals, non-Protestants, and even undocumented aliens.  Such essential and critical factors like choice, privacy, or the social factors [age, gender, race, skin pigmentation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, economic status (money), education, political affiliation, marital status (provided that the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract), or disability] are not explicitly addressed in the Constitution.  The original meaning of We, the People, as used in the Constitution has not changed.  Are we to return to 1787?

            So, when I hear “originalist,” what I see is a desire to return us to a time 233 years ago.  I can find no evidence whatsoever that the Framers intended the words of the Constitution to remain locked in granite until they are explicitly amended by the means established by the Constitution.  Thus, since such an amendment has not been ratified, the original meaning must apply.  Further, anything not written explicitly in the words of the Constitution, as appropriately amended, it does not exist under the authority of the Constitution.

            Most of us, or at least some of us, have evolved the meaning of “We, the People” and “All men are created equal” in the far broader understanding.  To us (or at least most of us),‘We’ is all inclusive regardless of the social factors, and ‘men’ was the generic men, as in all of mankind (all gender variations).  So, when I hear ‘originalist,’ I see a person who wants to take us back 200 plus years.

            No, thank you.  We do not need regression.  All societies evolve within the framework of the principles that establish the nation.  Barrett is a technically qualified jurist; however, I cannot imagine a judge more ideologically opposite from Ginsburg than Barrett.  Her confirmation will dramatically alter the balance on the U.S. Supreme Court and does not bode well for every citizen’s freedom of choice and fundamental right to privacy.  I am not in favor of or supportive of the Barrett nomination.

 

            Lastly, I choose to note that McConnell and his Republican cronies in the Senate are hell bent upon confirming the Barrett nomination less that 30 days before a presidential election.  But the outright hypocrisy of their actions (or rather inaction) [2016-2020] is staggering.  The Republican majority in the Senate literally thumb their nose at We, the People.  Their ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’ action is a direct demonstration of how bloody desperate the Republicans are to impose their minority will upon all of the rest of us.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.975:

Comment to the Blog:

“You must have a cast-iron stomach if you can watch a Chump performance all the way through.

“The Chump’s speech-reading skills still bear a strong resemblance to early machine-generated speech.

“Dipping into one aspect of your dialog from abroad, the Dow will surely fall appropriately when the wealthy realize they, too, are affected by our common fate.

“I mourn Justice Ginsburg, but I also regret that she didn’t resign during the Obama Administration when she was urged to do so under a Democratic President.”

My response to the Blog:

            Yes, it was not easy, but I felt a duty to be a witness.

            Oh, I would say it is worse than that.  Machine-speech makes no pretense of being human.  The BIC wants us to believe he is human.

            You may well be correct.  I suspect the retreat of the DJA will come with other factors as well.

            I join you in mourning the passing of Justice Ginsburg.  I do not join you in regretting she did not resign during the Obama administration.  If the Senate Republican majority leader could justify not complying with the U.S. Constitution 269 days before an election in 2016, he would have found some convoluted rationale for not complying 300, 400, or 500 days before the election.  He would have claimed two is enough; Obama should not have three no matter how many days before the election the vacancy occurred.  Oh wait, the BIC has his third vacancy (one stolen, one legitimate) . . . ah yes, let us not forget, the rules, the law, the Constitution do not apply to Republicans—everyone else, yes, of course, but not for Republicans.  In 2016, they wanted the voters to decide, but in 2020, screw the voters, we’re jamming this through no matter who the BIC nominates.

            I will confess that I came from a staunchly Republican extended family, and here I mean, John Birch, Orange County, hardcore, conservative Republican.  I was an outspoken advocate for Barry Goldwater before I was old enough to vote.  And yet, the last Republican I voted for was John McCain—how fitting; and, he will quite likely remain the last for the remainder of my life.  I cannot imagine how the Republican Party, as I once knew it, will ever recover from the BIC’s absurdity.

            I am truly and genuinely afraid that our degeneration will increase in pace if Republicans are allowed in any public office from dog catcher to president.  They have become the party of white supremacist Christian-right autocracy.  This election will likely decide if we are to exist in any form even remotely resembling the republic envisioned by our Founders.  Just imagine another four years of the BIC, but then without any restraint whatsoever and a sense of sovereign immunity (royal prerogative).  My long held, unwavering belief in the resiliency of this once grand republic has evaporated in less than a handful of years.  While the BIC is the face of that evaporation, it is the minority legions of his supporters that are the real source of the vanishment.

            My apologies for such a downer response but that is my mood as my fingers tap away on the keyboard this morning.  If the BIC is allowed to continue, we will likely cease to exist as Americans; we will complete our disintegration to parochial insulated tribes until some other dictator decides he has had enough of our drivel.  In whatever years I have left, I just want to live out in peace.  I feel a profound sense of regret that my generation failed so miserably.  I have failed my children and grandchildren in that I have not enabled them to have a better life than I had.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“It seems to me that the purpose of this blog is to discuss reality.  Given the current situation, I'd be astounded if you didn't have a certain level of apprehension and/or depression.  No apology is necessary.

“I have a kind of relative optimism.  This nation's best moments typically come after the most terrible times.”

 . . . my follow-up comment:

            Thank you for your generous words.  I still feel compelled to apologize even though it may not be necessary.  I am usually an optimistic, or at least guardedly optimistic, citizen who takes the long view.  These troubled times and the fomenter of chaos in chief has ruined my usual positive nature.

            I agree; that is a valid observation of the history of this once grand republic.  I thought the turmoil of the 60s was bad, but our current calamity pales the 60s, and we are rudderless.

 

Another contribution:

“I trust all is good for you.  This damned virus will not recede, we are entering another lockdown over here with panic stations implemented.”

My reply:

            As Sir Winston endured, I am having a "Black Dog" day, and it is only hours old.

            I would say we are headed in the same direction, but the BIC is determined to stick with his laissez-faire, it-is-what-it-is stance.  No lockdown for us; old folks are going to die anyway, so let’s get on with it; let the virus do what the virus does.  The United States has 4% of the world’s population and 22% of the world’s COVID19 fatalities; what is wrong with that picture?  I am sorry; I have got to stop here; this is just too depressing.

 . . . Round two:

“Cap, this evening our PM made a ministerial TV statement to the nation on Covid 19 and the way the nation will behave and fight this threat. Various new guidance and rules that will be followed have been issued and could continue for six months.

“Our hospital admissions have accelerated along with the death rate. But not as bad as some other nations.

“I can mostly certainly understand your anguish over the situation at home.  One day the tide will turn and the truth will be known.  Until then we must wake up in the morning to a rising sun and happier contented days.”

 . . . my reply to round two:

            Prime Minister Johnson is orders of magnitude more of a national leader than our BIC.  I am not keen on another shutdown for you or for us, but at least he is trying to get ahead of the virus.  Your countrymen are certainly doing better than mine; we passed 200,000 COVID19 fatalities yesterday.  It is very sad; the BIC is using our sense of freedom for his personal gain and against us; the data are crystal clear.  We cannot be rid of this malevolent fool soon enough.  The election is just over a month away, and the BIC has stepped up his attacks on our very election system & process (except if he wins).  He is perfectly content with burning the house down rather that lose.

            As I suspected and hoped, turning off the news and focusing solely on my evolving TSF Book 9 story helped substantially.  I will do the same today.  Yes, this too shall pass . . . none too soon.

            Cooling off here a smidge.  Some rain passed through the area yesterday, but we got none at the house.  It did clear the air of the California fire smoke—a really welcome relief.

            Jumped in the pool four times yesterday.  If I ignore the world around me, life is very good.

            The Russians are at it again, and the BIC is not just in full denial, he is actively assisting and encouraging them. He is a miserable human being.

 . . . Round three:

“Your words resound with encouragement to all who wish him as history.

“This came to me today as part of an astronomical ‘blog’ I receive daily. Now it’s fairly lengthy but I suggest you chill out and have a cool drink by the pool.”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-endorses-joe-biden/?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=76b808896e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-76b808896e-394689513

 . . . my reply to round three:

            These are the times in which we live.

            Just yesterday, the BIC took the next step in declaring himself dictator for life, i.e., king of medieval days.  I say that not to disparage your Queen or her ancestors.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.975

 Update from the Sunland

No.975

14.9.20 – 20.9.20

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

 

            To all,

 

            I do not need to wrap myself in the flag to show my patriotism.  Those who do so generally feel they have something to prove, like a braggadocio pilot who lacks the skills.  I do not!

 

            Tuesday, 15.September.2020, the 80^th day of remembrance; this is the day known as Battle of Britain Day.  While many of us may not be British, we owe an extraordinary debt that can never be repaid to The Few (the RAF fighter pilots including seven American volunteers) and all of the British people who stood alone against Hitler’s Germans that summer.  The war would have been fundamentally different if they had not been successful.  The war was a long way from being won, but on this day 80 years ago, they stopped the inexorable and undaunted German advance across Europe at the English Channel.  Let us never forget what The Few and the British people did for their freedom and ours during that summer of 1940.

 

            I watched and listened to every second of the Town Hall with the Bully-in-Chief (BIC) at Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, 15.September.2020.  “The President and the People” – a 20/20 Special Edition was hosted by ABC News and moderated by George Stephanopoulos.  Unfortunately, the whole event was just more of the same ol’ shtick from the world’s greatest snake-oil salesman.

 

            Attorney General Barr spoke at Hillsdale College on Wednesday and publicly stated, “Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this [the COVID19 mandates] is the greatest intrusion on civil liberty in American history.”  Until this moment, I thought William Barr was an educated, knowledgeable man.  Now, we know he is quite like his master; he does not know or understand history.  Justice Brandeis so eloquently observed that “the Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact” – Terminiello v. City of Chicago [337 U.S. 1 (1949)].  Freedom and civil liberty do NOT entitle any citizen to injure or endanger another citizen or property.  I am an outspoken advocate for every citizen’s inherent freedom of choice and resistance to government intrusion into our private lives and choices.  However, when it comes to the public domain, the government has an obligation to regulate conduct and behavior in the public domain for a host of reasons, not least of which is public safety.  Intoxication by alcohol or any other psychotropic substances in private should be protected, while the same intoxication can and should be restricted in the public domain.  The wearing of a face mask in public where a minimum of a six-foot separation cannot be maintained can be thought of like intoxication—necessary for public safety.  So, for Barr to say what he did was absolutely, categorically, and I will say maliciously false.  Wearing a mask is NOT some statement of individual freedom of choice; it is an essential action to break the chain of infection. There is only one reason we are having this debate, the BIC’s malignant narcissism, egocentricity, and paucity of even a scintilla of caring or compassion for anyone except himself.

 

            Compare the BIC’s speech when he is off-the-cuff with impromptu remarks with those moments when he must read a teleprompter or written text.  The difference is stark and dramatic. In my 72 years on God’s little green planet, I cannot recall any politician or public figure being so droll, boring, and outright dull, or rather devoid of inflection, color, or even a sliver of passion.  What is the antonym for inspirational?  On top of that, the bastard lies about everything from irrelevant to essential.  I am not talking about spinning the truth, or the BIC’s favorite “get out of jail” free card, “truthful hyperbole.”  He says things that are outright lies; he knows they are wrong; he refuses to speak the truth because the truth does not serve his malignant narcissistic, egocentric needs.  His behavior is par for the course for snake-oil salesmen, con-artists, and other nefarious individuals; it is absolutely not acceptable for any president of the United States regardless of mental illness, the paucity of experience, or lack of knowledge.  He does NOT get a pass because he has all of those traits.

 

            An extract from a separate communications thread seemed appropriate for this forum.

“I take it you are safe from hurricane Sally?

“What a mess this world of ours is in, what with your main man and this damned virus we couldn’t ask for more distractions to normality.  What is normality, will it ever return?

“And now you in particular are being bombarded by un-wanted storms allegedly produced by global warming which we are all experiencing including our wet side of the pond.

“We still have friends and family which over here we cannot meet in numbers greater than six.  Of course, like you, we do have the deniers who have caused northern towns to be placed into ‘lock down’.  I believe legal actions are being sought and rightly so.

“We’ve had several incredible TV programmes on the Battle of Britain 80^th anniversary. I don’t know if you have access to our TV channels?”

My response:

            Yep, no effect from Sally on us.  I can’t say that for Southeast U.S.

            Yeah, the BIC continues to make things worse.  He has no clue what leadership means.  Further, I truly believe he thinks leadership means never taking responsibility . . . well, we have to give him some credit; he loves taking full and sole credit for things he feels make him appear strong and omnipotent.  The United States today is an orchestra of millions without a conductor.  All we have is cacophonic noise and chaos—very sad.  If this is what he means by “Make America Great Again,” I want nothing of it.  The irrational exuberance of the stock market is not worth spit given the chaos induced by the BIC.  I still contend that he is a clear and present danger to this once grand republic.

            We could use some wet.  We had no monsoon this year, and even the cactus are dying from lack of moisture.

            Exactly!  Thanks to the BIC negative example, we have far too many people who refuse to recognize or respect their obligations to society and the common good.  Like the BIC, it is all ME, ME, ME.  That is not a republic.

 

            I also watched Joe Biden’s Town Hall hosted by CNN at a drive-in theater (for social distancing) in Moosic, Pennsylvania.  Anderson Cooper moderated the event.  The content was not much better.  However, the difference in compassion and sensitivity between the two leading candidates is dramatic; if those factors were the deciders, then the vote is clear.  Biden is not particularly inspiring either, but he is a damn sight better human being.  None of the field are the inspirational, uniting leader we need in these troubled times; so, it will come down to who is the best of the bunch?

 

            On Friday, 18.September.2020, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—the Notorious RBG—passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer that she fought for years.  Chief Justice Roberts declared that Justice Ginsburg was a “jurist of historic stature.”  Having read many of her opinions, I think the chief justice is spot on correct.  She will be sorely missed.  Regrettably, her service to this once grand republic will likely be pushed aside and overlooked in the struggle to fill her seat on the bench before the election.

            From her passing, so began a political conflagration that will undoubtedly become quite messy, ugly, and one of epic proportion.  Four years ago, Antonin Scalia passed away not quite one year before the inauguration of a new president.  That was 269 days from Scalia’s death and the presidential election.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky publicly stated, "The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so let's give them a voice.  Let's let the American people decide.  The Senate will appropriately revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the nominee the next president nominates, whoever that might be."  Then, four years later, after Ginsburg’s passing just 46 days before the election, McConnell publicly stated, “[The BIC’s] nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”  The hypocrisy is jaw dropping.  McConnell loves to tell us his actions are not hypocrisy, just politics. He points to history and the last time the Senate approved a Supreme Court nomination in an election year when the White House and Senate were controlled by different parties was 1890.  According to him, the happenstance of history has established the right and proper process.  The reality is, he is doing what is convenient for his tribe, and as such, should be resoundingly condemned.

            My gut tells me, turnabout is fair play; however, my brain says, two wrongs do not make a right.  What McConnell did in 2016 was unconstitutional and wrong in every possible way.  What he conveniently failed to acknowledge or recognize is the Constitution of the United States of America makes no mention of such criterion, or even the existence or influence of political parties in any constitutional authority or action.  The rules never apply to Republicans, only to everyone else.  Turning the Republican grotesque hypocrisy back on them would be equally unconstitutional.  Therefore, I say follow the law.  I must suppress my gut inclinations.

            Lastly, I hope the people of Kentucky can find the courage to reject their senior senator and get rid of the penultimate hypocrite in this once grand republic.  He has long ago exceeded his usefulness to this once grand republic.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.974:

Comment to the Blog:

“Hearing The Resident’s self-incriminating words on audio reminds me very much of Nixon’s Watergate tapes.  The difference is that Nixon wasn’t crazy enough to tell a reporter his failings.

“We know that Chump sees the United States as his private property.  Using the ‘Justice’ Department as his private attorney is only the latest example of that.

“I will remind the name-issue critics that ‘trumpery’ already had a definition prior to the advent of our all-time example of that quality.

“Good luck convincing entitled white men that others are mistreated.  They deeply fear losing their advantages.”

My response to the Blog:

            Yeah, I agree.  Nixon was not an idiot; he was just paranoid and needed treatment.  There is no fixing stupid. They’re both still criminals.

            Yes, exactly . . . as dictators and kings do.  The king can do no wrong; he is immune from prosecution and can do whatever the hell he wants for whatever reason strikes him.  And worse, we have enabled the bastard.  I held Barr in higher regard than that at his confirmation; not so now; he has sacrificed all of whatever integrity he had at the altar of the BIC.  I am also disappointingly surprised that more DoJ lawyers have not resigned rather than contribute to the BIC’s abuse of power.

            BIC-ery indeed!

            I am convinced that white supremacy is a significant portion of his support.  The evidence continues to grow, e.g., the BIC & Charlottesville, I don’t know David Duke but hey he supports me, et al ad infinitum ad nauseum.  We see the BIC and his supporters becoming progressively more desperate to hold onto the power they have.  I just hope the rest of us take this election very seriously.  They vote, and they hold the advantage in the Electoral College.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.974

 Update from the Sunland

No.974

7.9.20 – 13.9.20

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

 

            To all,

 

            The follow-up news items:

-- On 19.March.2020, two and a half months into the COVID19 pandemic [946], the Bully-in-Chief (BIC) told journalist Bob Woodward, “I wanted to always play it down.  I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic.”  This exposé is physical, evidentiary proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the BIC outright lied in his public statements.  Then, he stated, “I did not lie.”  That statement alone defined the fact that he does lie, or he has no concept—NONE—of what a lie is.  Which is more dangerous to this once grand republic or to We, the People.  Then, as he always does, he has tried and continues to try to blame journalist Bob Woodward for not making public the BIC’s March contradictory statement.  Since the BIC refuses to be president, perhaps Bob Woodward should.  Let us just be clear: Bob Woodward was doing research for a book he was writing.  The BIC was elected to be president, not Woodward.  Woodward accomplished his task.  The BIC is not even close to doing his job.  The worst part of it is, We, the People, hired him to be our leader.  What this latest episode shows in graphic detail is he has no freakin’ clue what leadership means, what it entails, or what his obligations to all of us are by his employment.

            Then, he had the audacity to cite Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, which means he also has no clue about history either.  He has not studied that era or those leaders.  Neither Roosevelt nor Churchill said anything even remotely similar to the BIC’s statement with the White House sign behind him, “I didn’t lie.  What I said was you have to be calm, and you can’t be panicked.  I don’t want to jump up and down, and start screaming death, death!”

            And his constant hand gestures that say, “No, no, it’s really this big.”  He is a joke.  Unfortunately, he is a joke that kills innocent people.

 

            The BIC is digging his own grave, and we are compelled to watch him, shovel load by shovel load.  And, he keeps digging the hole deeper.  During a U.S. Labor Day news conference on Monday with the White House as his backdrop, the BIC said, “I'm not saying the military's in love with me.  The soldiers are.  The top people in the Pentagon probably aren't because they want to do nothing but fight wars so all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.  But, ah, we're getting out of the endless wars.  You know how we're doing.”  I suppose the BIC was attempting to invoke Eisenhower’s “military-industrial complex” admonition, but instead, the idiot just insults people.  The BIC literally has no clue what the Defense Department does for national security or the republic, and of all people, he is the commander-in-chief, or at least he was hired to be serving us in that capacity.  Oh well, we do not get it right every time, but at least we have the opportunity to correct our mistake this coming November.

 

            The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an intriguing ruling on Wednesday, 2.September.2020, in four parallel cases—United States v. Moalin [9CCA No. 13-50572 (2020); D.C. No. 3:10-cr-04246-JM-1].  Four ethnic Somali men, residing in San Diego, California, were convicted on 22.February.2013, of providing material support to a designated terrorist organization— al-Shabaab [The Youth].  The four men involved were:

-- Basaaly Saeed Moalin – naturalized U.S. citizen, taxicab driver

-- Issa Doreh – naturalized U.S. citizen, worked at Shidaal Express, a hawala

-- Mohamed Mohamed Mohamud – legal refugee, imam at a mosque frequented by San Diego’s immigrant Somali community

-- Ahmed Nasir Taalil Mohamud – legal visa, taxicab driver.

The three-judge panel unanimously confirmed their convictions.

            The four men were convicted in part by warranted wiretap surveillance recordings and wire transfers of funds.  The foundation of their appeal was the disqualification of the wiretap recordings as “fruit of the poisonous tree” in that investigators were tipped off by the illegal, overly broad, NSA surveillance disclosed by Edward Joseph Snowden (a Booz Allen contractor and fugitive from justice, exiled in Russia) of the highly classified, TS SCI-PRISM surveillance program data on 20.May.2013 [599, 610]—three months after their convictions.  The Appeals Court judges did not buy the argument.

            What is a point of curiosity for me is the amount of time between the presentation of arguments before the three-judge panel [10.November.2016] and the rendering of their opinion [2.September.2020]—four years later.  The judges did not offer an explanation for the delay, although I suspect they had homework to perform.  The Snowden disclosures certainly complicated the appeal and judicial proceedings.  However, based on the evidence presented and discussed, I believe the judges made the correct assessment.  Whether this case goes any farther is yet to be determined.

 

            “Holy smokes, Batman!”  What we have all suspected since Attorney General Barr’s confirmation by the Republican Senate, we now have in public, black & wide, documents in a Department of Justice (DoJ) court filing.  The case at hand was filed by Elizabeth Jean ‘Jeanie’ Carroll, stemming from the BIC’s typical antics when he is accused of a crime.  Carroll accused the BIC of raping and sexually assaulting her in 1996.  She described the rape at the hands of the BIC in her complaint filing and in her book “What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal,” published by St. Martin's Press (July 2, 2019).  Carroll filed the original complaint as Carroll v. Trump [Index No. 160694/2019 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty.)] on 4.November.2019.  In §§22 through 42 of her complaint, Carroll described the details of the rape incident; in that description, she alleges that the BIC penetrated her with his fingers and penis.  The whole incident lasted two to three minutes.  Unfortunately, the statute of limitations expired long ago on the original rape case, so he will escape justice.  Carroll also cites the accusations of 12 other named women and one similar court case: Zervos v. Trump [Index No. 150522/2017 (Sup. Ct., N.Y.Cty.)].  But it was the BIC’s runaway mouth that precipitated the legal action, a civil libel and defamation case.

            E. Jean Carroll wrote the advice column “Ask E. Jean” that was published in Elle magazine for 26 years, until abruptly, the magazine declined to renew her contract in December 2019 [coincidence?], ending her primary source of income.  Whether the BIC had any influence in her termination has not been established, but I would not be surprised, taken in the light of similar nefarious actions documented in the Special Counsel’s report.

            After a series of legal actions over 10 months to delay or dismiss the case failed, and the case appeared to be headed toward the deposition stage before a trial by jury, the BIC convinced the DoJ attorneys to file the Notice of Removal and take over his defense.  U.S. Attorney General Barr approved the removal of the case from state court and transferred to federal court under a new case number: Carroll v. Trump [USDC SDNY Case 1:20-cv-07311 (2020)], filed on 8.September.2020.  Barr is not, and apparently never was, the People’s attorney; he is the BIC’s personal attorney with all of the trappings of government around him.  The DoJ argument this week, 10 months after the legal proceedings began, the Carroll complaint was filed in November 2019, while the BIC was serving as POTUS, and thus the DoJ declared that it is obligated to defend the president in this civil case.

            I do not know whether this filing by the Department of Justice automatically supersedes the existing case, or the trial judge must render judgment in favor of the removal notice?  Perhaps, the plaintiff must challenge the removal before a judge engages, and if so, I have no idea what the plaintiff will choose or be able to do in this situation.  Any lawyers in the audience are welcome to share their opinion (anonymously, of course).  If this is allowed to proceed for whatever reason, what it does is further delay the process because the whole case must restart in federal court.  Far more serious if approved to proceed, the Department of Justice will likely declare the case must be dismissed because the president has absolute or at least qualified immunity from civil action while in office.  This is not a move to defend the BIC in a civil action of libel and defamation stemming from a sexual assault by the BIC.  I believe the purpose of the change is solely to dismiss the case on immunity grounds.

            If anyone wants or needs to read, learn, and appreciate what the BIC does to bury adversaries in court, I offer this compilation document as Exhibit Number One—294 pages of legal machinations intended to deny justice.  The BIC and his army of attorneys do NOT want this case to go to trial.  They do not want the BIC deposed under oath and subject to perjury charges, and most of all they do not want the court to order the BIC to provide a DNA sample for comparative analysis.

 

            And, far too many people condemn me for refusing to use the familial name of the president of the United States.  I have read his name so many damn times in the plethora of legal documents from state court to the U.S. Supreme Court, and various investigatory reports.  His name alone is disgusting; I refuse to add even one more utterance.  If that is disrespect for the office of the president, I say so be it.  I believe and have multitudinous evidence that the BIC has been infinitely more disrespectful to the Office of the President of the United States than I have ever been to the BIC.  And, contrary to other accusations, I do not hate the man.  I simply recognize him for the man he is.

 

            In these days of racial reckoning, I found the following article:

“How ‘Prerequisite Cases’ Tried to Define Whiteness – A law of 1790 said that only ‘free white persons’ were eligible to be naturalized.  But courts struggled for years afterward to tell who was white at all.”

By: Matthew Wills 

JSTOR

Published: September 4, 2020

https://daily.jstor.org/how-prerequisite-cases-tried-to-define-whiteness/?utm_term=How %5Cu201CPrerequisite Cases%5Cu201D Tried to Define Whiteness&utm_campaign=jstordaily_09102020&utm_content=email&utm_source=Act-On+Software&utm_medium=email

Despite the noble words of the Declaration of Independence, our ancestors were not racially blind as “. . . all men are created equal . . .” suggests.  Laws and judicial interpretations fill the history books that document the institutional racism that is our inheritance.  Mathew Wills illuminates two of the myriad laws to confirm his premise.  The Naturalization Act of 1790 [PL 1-II-003; 1 Stat. 103; 26.3.1790] [556], § 1 [1 Stat. 103] states, “That any alien, being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years . . .”  While the author cites the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) [AKA McCarran-Walter Act] [PL 82-414; 66 Stat. 163; 27.6.1952] [450] as the end of that question or debate, I think we are still in that process.  One of these days, we will grow up and mature to a sufficient level that we will expunge the social factors from our laws and especially from the interpretation and enforcement of the laws.  The law and our public conduct should be blind to the social factors.

            Just a reminder for clarity, I define the social factors as: age, gender, race, skin pigmentation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, economic status (money), education, political affiliation, marital status (provided that the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract), or disability.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.973:

“I’m still waiting for a bottle of this ‘Snake Oil’.  I‘ve tried our local chemist without luck.

“My God-how does your wonderful country tolerate this dreadful attitude to government and leadership?  Over here we would have sent him on his way months ago.”

My reply:

            Oh no!  No legitimate, ethical chemist (pharmacist in U.S.) would ever provide the toxic BIC’s magic snake-oil elixir.  Best steer clear, my friend.

            I understand and appreciate the sentiment.  However, our form of governance has been and remains different from yours.  The only way for us to remove a sitting president, no matter how incompetent, unethical, immoral, criminal, or the posterchild for the Ugly American syndrome, is via impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by trial in the Senate.  Earlier this year, the House did its part, but the Senate failed to stand up for the nation and rather chose to defend their tribe.  That is our system, however flawed.

            A footnote perhaps: our system of governance assumes the goodness of people who make it through the electoral process to achieve office.  Our system never considered the current confluence of an unethical, criminal, malignant narcissist ever becoming president, and further, that the Senate would intentionally fail to perform its moral duty.  These are the times in which we live.  We had multitudinous signs, clues, indicators, and evidence of the BIC’s paucity of positive character traits, and yet, 62M citizens voted for the man.  I can only conclude that gross negative character flaws are of no concern to a major portion of our voting citizenry.  To me, character matters; I did not vote for that man, and I certainly will not be doing so in the upcoming election.  We can only hope a majority of citizens come to their senses and overcome the toxic effects of the BIC’s magic snake-oil elixir.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Love the expression ‘snake oil elixir’ we did discuss this some years ago probably when I first contacted yourself about Abilene, a city that has strong connections with WW2 and where I as a non-American based much of my second book and enjoyed writing it. (still non published but that’s my fault.)

“How correct you are about our two governmental systems.  I do find that somewhat surprising, but we live and learn.  When things go wrong I believe that the U/K would work to the good of the nation where as in your case it may work for the good of the ruling party only.

“We live in times that history will record. Our great grandchildren and beyond will talk of their long gone relatives who survived or otherwise this damned virus. Regrettably Cap we are making history and we do not need sycophantic and apple-polishing leaders to guide us to the next dawn in our lives.”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

            The legacy of worthless substances, or worst toxic materials, is more than a century old.  Yet, I am not aware of things being quite so bad as the BIC’s magic snake-oil elixir.  Unfortunately, far too many American citizen have bought, consumed, and now are addicted to the worthless stuff.  I do not know if we will ever break the grip this foul junk has on so many people, so we can only hope.  We will get a good indication after Election Day.

            Yes, exactly.  I called it tribalism.  Others call it factionalism.  They have developed a greater affinity to their tribe than to this once grand republic.  We are degenerating into a third-rate banana republic—make American great again, indeed!  These are the consequences of the BIC and his worthless junk.

            History, indeed!  This era will not be recorded as a high point for the history of this once grand republic.  We can only hope that following generations are better and more successful that we have been.  My generation has lowered the bar.  I shall hold onto the hope that my descendants will help raise the bar.  We are better than this!

 

Comment to the Blog:

“The Chump’s Elixir, like all of those before it, has a ‘magical’ (addictive) ingredient.  The old medicine show compounds included plenty of alcohol.  The Chump’s brand excuses and supports the prejudices and irrational fears of the buyers.

“Attorney General Barr must be utterly corrupt, inexcusably ignorant, or both.  I expect it’s both.

“We already knew that the Chump’s words are mostly the unfiltered output of a sick mind.

“Biden shows lesser character flaws than the Chump.  He’s a party hack rather than an Orwellian villain.  Senator Harris probably has relatively more integrity than either of them, although her policy history worries me.  There are ‘technically viable’ (ballot access to 270 electoral votes) Libertarian and Green Party USA candidates:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_party_and_independent_candidates_for_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election”

 . . . my response to the Blog:

            Your first paragraph brought a broad smile to my face and in my heart.  I had not considered an addictive aspect to the BIC’s magic snake-oil elixir, but I do believe you are spot on correct—irrational fears indeed.

            I am beginning to see Barr in exactly that light—not good.

            Yes, we did. I would add the qualifier . . . a very sick mind.  The BIC spewed more just yesterday afternoon.

            With all due respect, a third-party ticket cannot be viable if it does not appear on the ballot in all 50 states and territories.  Tickets that fail to appear on all ballots can only be considered spoilers.  Thank you for adding the link; the associated information is interesting and valuable.

 . . . Round two:

“I referred to the Green and Libertarian tickets as ‘technically viable’ because they have access to enough ballots that they could theoretically win.  They won't but they could, and they're an alternative to voting for greater or lesser evil.”

 . . . my response to round two:

            From the URL you provided, I would agree with the viability of the Libertarian Party; they are missing only one state—Rhode Island.  However, the Green Party is missing 20 states.  They would have to win virtually every state in which they are on the ballot—highly unlikely, verging upon impossible; however, theoretically and mathematically possible.  I don’t know why the Greens aren’t on all ballots, but I suspect that is a metric of their organization; thus, my spoiler comment.  At least the Greens will appear on the Ohio ballot.  You have more choices than we do in Arizona.

            I have confidence you will vote for the best candidate on your ballot.  I can assure you, I will do the same.

 . . . Round three:

“There are underlying issues about ballot access nationwide.  Laws about the electoral process pass quietly because the dominant parties share an interest in not facing other competitors.  I still refuse to vote for evil.”

 . . . my response to round three:

            Yes; it is an aspect of what we generally call gerrymandering—the majority party in a state using the law to enhance or amplify their domination.  I call it tribalism.  I do not know if we can overcome the phenomenon.  The Republican Party, or rather the BIC Party, appears to have taken the position that it is their way, or they will burn the house down.  Very sad!  And all if this pessimism from a normally optimistic citizen.

            I remain baffled by your insistence that evil is the metric of decision.

            I suppose it is wise to prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally for an even more grotesque additional four years with the BIC occupying the Oval Office.  As a collateral consequence, perhaps we should also prepare ourselves for the BIC finding a way to circumvent the 22^nd Amendment to the Constitution, if he lives that long.

            Ah yes, these are the times in which we live.

 . . . Round four:

“The current corporate tool, Biden, is being presented to progressives as a lesser evil than the Chump.  Plenty at the DNC aren't trying to present him to us as beneficial to the country but merely less harmful.  Senator Clinton was sold the same way.  Same offer, same answer.”

 . . . my response to round four:

            That seems like a rather cynical and broad overstatement.  I do not and cannot endorse that generalization; I know you do not need my endorsement—I’m just sayin’.

 . . . Round five:

“Cynical, maybe.  Overbroad, I think not, based on his and the DNC's history.  Good luck getting real change out of them.”

 . . . my response to round five:

            I think our differences here are based in expectations.  I just finished yet one more legal action by the BIC to deny justice to anyone who would dare challenge him (see Update no.974).  I am far beyond exhausted by the tumultuous chaos induced by and surrounding the BIC.  At this stage, I just want stability.  I am not seeking and do not expect any administration to implement dramatic social change.  I just want stability.  Once we achieve that state and let the dust settle from the cataclysm that has been the BIC’s administration, we can consider further social change on our journey to achieving the ideals upon which this republic was founded.  Long journeys begin with small steps—stop the pain.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)