Time to call in the Democrats

      As the economy slowly implodes during the "3rd wave" of the coronavirus, Congress in the person of Mitch McConnell has decided there will be no stimulus passed before the election.  Furthermore, McConnell has decided to blame Democrats for the inaction, posing himself as looking out for the little guy instead of "coastal elites".

      The epic hypocrisy of this stance would surely be the death knell of any other politician, but McConnell is bullet proof in Kentucky.  If Jesus Christ was running against him, Moscow Mitch would find a way to smear him, or as he did in a recent debate just chuckled as his opponent exposed him for the venal liar he is.

    It looks like the economy will have rolled into a ditch by election day.   Once again, Republicans will leave the smoking wreckage for Democrats to fix.  Meanwhile they will sabotage every attempt, having rediscovered their inner deficit hawks.   Falling back to a position of fixing democracy, Democrats will then be labeled as court packing power hungry monsters by astro-turf groups sponsored by Koch Industries and will probably lose their Senate majority in 2022.  I hope, but wouldn't bet against national amnesia in 2024.  We can then start the cycle over again, praying the Republicans barf up another tRump instead of a really competent demagogue...

Saved by the fair sex

       By the time the 60 Minutes interview featuring the president* and Lesley Stahl is aired this coming Sunday nearly half the electorate will have voted.  Of the remaining half, a vast majority have already made up their minds.  However, judging by the tenor of tRump's criticism of Ms. Stahl, there may be some cause for some voters to rethink the issues, particularly misogyny, before voting.

       As virtually every American knows by now, racism and misogyny are the two character traits on exhibit whenever Cheatolini addresses the public.   Objectification of women, veiled references to sexual assault and outright vilification of strong women is perhaps what defines tRumpism in the public's imagination.   His fans have revived the chant, "lock her up", to now refer to Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who had the audacity to call out the commander in chief for inciting the kind of woman hatred which resulted in a failed plot by a Michigan "militia" to kidnap, try and execute her for the crime of trying to keep her fellow citizens safe during the pandemic.

     As a result of this relentless vilification of women, the gender gap has now become a gender chasm, with Joe Biden now enjoying a 25% lead among women.  I can only imagine what the televised interview will show us this coming Sunday.   tRump's tweetstorm against Ms. Stahl will ensure a massive audience which will probably change at least a few minds.  Thank heavens for the fair sex.  They may indeed save us from ourselves.

North Country Gardening

     For my own sanity, I'm taking a break from politics today and will share the latest news from my garden.   This will be the last week for my mini CSA.  However, this has more to do with my impending knee surgery than a lack of produce.   I am still harvesting cilantro, dill, parsley, broccoli, kale and other greens.  I still have  50-60 cauliflower plants trying to head up.   The weather looks good for the balance of the week and no frost is predicted through the end of next week.   I even have lettuce under cover.

     To those who garden in more southerly climes, the above may  not seem like a big deal, but for those of you who deal with the vicissitudes posed by weather at Latitude 44 or higher, the bounty I am still harvesting is downright amazing.    Despite a couple of frosts which decimated the tomatoes, peppers and summer squash, I could imagine harvesting for another 2-3 weeks.   20 years ago this would not have happened because no one would have planted crops so late in the season.   Climate change, anyone?

Two more weeks

        At least 27 million of my fellow citizens got the memo about voting early.   This, compared to 2016 when only 5.9 million had cast their ballots at this point in the race.   As more states with early voting open, the tsunami will continue.  By election day, fully half the eligible population of voters may have exercised their right, relieving pressure on polling places.  It is estimated by a 2 to 1 margin the early voters are Democrats.

       Virtually every pundit is still claiming there is a path to victory for Republicans, including Cheatolini.  They tell us every poll is suspect and there are millions of secret tRump voters out there, just waiting for the opportunity to vote for a  racist, homophobic misogynist on November 3.   Undoubtedly there are more than a few men and even women who would vote for such a candidate, but fortunately they make up less than 45% of voters and many will not bother to vote anyway.  

      So, at some point, there will be overwhelming evidence of a Biden  victory.   What happens then is the biggest stress test of our democracy since the Civil War.  I hope we are up to it.

A tale of two town halls

       It's too bad we couldn't have had a true split-screen experience last night.  tRump and Joe Biden held dueling town hall meetings and from what I could see in the few minutes I was able to stomach the Cheetolini version it couldn't have been more different from Biden's.   Uncle Joe was respectful of his questioners and offered in at least one case to meet with the undecided voter after the telecast.  Meanwhile, a sweaty and seemingly annoyed president* spewed lies, conspiracy theories and under firm but fair questioning by Samantha Guthrie admitted owing over 400 million dollars to foreign interests, although he would not say who.   Instead he offered to get back to Guthrie and let her know.  Right after he releases his tax returns.

      If any undecided voters did not make up their minds after those performances, their pulses should be checked for signs of life.   Yes, my nephew Robbie will undoubtedly say both candidates are sellouts and our lives will be no different under either man.  Assuming that is his stance, I beg to differ.   While I don't believe for a minute every bit of Biden's plans will be enacted into law,  at least we will be living in a democracy.   Cheeto Jesus will shred the very foundations of our country as he converts the greatest experiment in self rule in history into a 3rd rate banana republic.   

The whole thing is bananas

      Dr. Johnny Bananas and numerous other distinguished physicians want you to know that herd immunity to the coronavirus is possible.   So are the deaths of several million of your fellow Americans.   Potato, potathoe.

      The tRump administration has seemingly gone all in for the recommendations contained in the Great Barrington Declaration, a document written under the sponsorship of a Koch brothers' organization.  The document advocates we protect the elderly from infection while letting everyone else go about life normally.  No masks, no social distancing and no effort to contain Covid 19.   As one pundit pointed out, the president* would love this because it requires him to do nothing.

      The result of letting the virus rampage through the population would be the deaths of up to several million people, plus the long term care of many "long haulers" who would continue to present symptoms of the disease for months and perhaps years after infection.  However, Dr. Bananas and the few actual doctors who put their names and reputations on this farce don't seem to care about the fates of their fellow Americans.   This is the state of our country in October 2020.  Cherish it.

Stressing in the shadows

        An avalanche of bad news for the tRump campaign continues on a daily basis.   The president* is bleeding support from nearly every demographic except evangelicals and old white men.   A Democratic senate now seems within reach.   And yet.   Most media outlets have at least one Cassandra blaring warnings of the coming Biden defeat.   Despite all the news of early voting, the MAGA hordes are coming for your democracy and if they fail, Republicans will use the levers of governmental power to install Cheetolini for at least  4 more years.

       Most of those who read this blog will make sure they vote and are probably contributing to and working for campaigns.   You are aware things can go sideways very easily.   As many people have pointed out, no matter how unpopular the Republican party has become under tRump, at least 37% of the voting age population would vote for GOP candidates no matter what.   The same is true of Democrats.  That leaves 20-25% of voters who can be persuaded.   They may self identify as Dems or Repubs, but their allegiance is fungible.   Witness Landslides for FDR, LBJ and Reagan.   There were many crossovers in each of those elections.   We need this to happen in 21 days.  There can be no doubt of the people's choice in 2020.   As one woman who waited 5 hours to vote in Atlanta said, "We are voting as if our lives depend on it".

Judging Amy

       I'm sure somewhere in America in the last few weeks someone has used the title of the improbable TV show, Judging Amy, when weighing in on the Supreme Court nomination of another Amy.   The TV Amy, played a family court judge who juggled family responsibilities with her judicial duties.  The show ran from 1999 to 2005 and I remember watching a few episodes.   The non-fictional Amy, who is now the subject of Senate confirmation hearings might want to catch a few glimpses of her namesake's struggle with her inner judge.

      Amy Coney Barrett, who I imagine will soon be known by the acronym ACB, is not nearly as introspective as Amy Gray.   Brought up in the hothouse of post Bill Clinton jurisprudence on the GOP side, ACB checked all the boxes in the employment application put out by the Federalist Society.  Add to that her involvement in the Catholic cult called  the "people of praise" and you have the Stepford Wife of the Seventh Circuit.   Introspection  would not be her strong suit.

     Republicans will hijack this nomination in order to expand their margin on the court to a 6-3 chokehold.  They are already crying foul to the suggestion the Democrats may expand the court to 13 judges in order to counteract the anti-majoritarian bent of the Robert's court.   The rank hypocrisy this requires is no  greater than what the GOP has enabled the president* to do in the last four years.  The party has prostituted itself to remake the judiciary in an attempt to legislate from the bench.  As I'm sure Amy Gray would agree, it would be ironic if the first act of a newly elected Democratic president and Congress was to nullify the McConnell strategy  and expand the Federal Court system with newly appointed liberal judges.

Celebrations

       I looked in vain this morning for  any mention of Columbus Day in the NYT.   Surely there would be a footnote somewhere, even if it was more vilification of the Italian mariner who "discovered" America more than 500 years ago.   I may have missed it,  but in America in 2020, there will be no parades honoring Columbus due to Covid 19 and virtually all stories followed by good liberals will venerate indigenous people.

       I wish I could say I am conflicted by Columbus' downfall in popular culture.  As a child of the 60's , I didn't need the Italian connection with him to validate my own standing.  Even then, the Knights of Columbus in my church parish seemed like a pointless organization which allowed a coterie of older Italian men to dress in silly uniforms a couple of times each year.

      Columbus was a monster, but no more so than most Europeans of his time.   Mass slaughter and enslavement of the natives of the New World would have happened whomever made the discovery of new lands to exploit.   Certainly the conquistadors needed no lessons on rapine from him.   Meanwhile, perhaps Italians should press for Congress to replace Columbus Day with a Da Vinci Day to celebrate another famous Italian.   At least until someone  publishes the real dirt on Leonardo.  And so it goes.

 

The Pivot

        I guess the election is over.   David Brooks at the NYT says Wednesday's debate is all the proof he needs.   Remember that scary black woman, Kamala Harris.   The most liberal senator in America, who makes Bernie Sanders look like a John Birch society reject.   Well, according to Brooks, possibly the most self serving twit in the mainstream media, Harris and the head of the ticket, Joe Biden have given up all their left wing dreams in an effort to satisfy his desire for the good ole days when you could barely tell the difference between the parties.

       Brooks lives in a hazy dream where it is easy to pretend one of the major parties in our two party system has given up any pretense of governing and is instead doing its utmost to retain power in the face of overwhelming opposition.   The GOP of tRump and Moscow Mitch don't care if Kamala Harris has  made an about face on income inequality, medicare for all and half a dozen other Republican shibboleths.   But, according to Brooks, now that she has shed her left wing dreams, Harris and the Democrats are now fit to once again bring America back from the brink.   If only it was that easy.

The real winner

        I have to say that as a good Democrat, I listened to the debate last night for a chance to see how Kamala Harris would handle the blizzard of lies Mike Pence was sure to spout with little or no conscience.   As the Q&A wore on, it became apparent Pence was going for a "mansplaining" moment as he interrupted Harris, talked over her and continued to revisit topics after the moderator adjured it was time to move on.  Still, on balance I thought he played a bad hand fairly well.

        However, neither the Divine Mrs. M, who sat next to me for most of the show, nor the women pundits on MSNBC were having none of that.   They were channeling every woman who was ever put down, talked over, mansplained or otherwise ignored by a man with some power over her.   No matter what else Pence was saying, and it was mostly a bunch of self serving lies, his casual assumption he knew more and better than a black woman with far better education and career bona fides was maddening to most women who bothered to listen.   Mea Culpa ladies, I stand corrected.

The Master's voice

        In a bout of probably steroid induced pique, the president* tweeted he was ending talks with Congress regarding Covid 19 relief legislation.   Within minutes, the stock market declined precipitously and within hours, Cheetolini started to walk back his message of intransigence.

       If there is one economic indicator tRump respects and reveres for some reason, it is the stock market.  Despite any president's marginal effect on stock prices, he feels a strong market is proof of his mastery of the economy.   In reality, the market has risen at the same rate during his presidency* as that of his predecessor, so there is little to brag about.  But, having hitched himself to this particular wagon, it would seem to be political suicide to say things which would bring the market down.   Shutting off the spigot of government spending at a time when the Federal Reserve Board Chairman is literally begging for another round of stimulus is a strange play,  to say the least.  

      tRump is down by as many as 16 points in polls released in the aftermath of the first and likely last presidential debate.  Most Americans blame him for his failure to stay coronavirus free.   To blow up his claim to be a master of the economy seems unbelievable on its face, especially 30 days from an election which is shaping up to be a Biden landslide.   Maybe someone should check the dose of steroids the old boy is on.   'Roid rage, indeed.

Gardening in a North Country Fall

       Having pulled out the old chestnut "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times", I'm still going to use it regarding my continuing struggle to garden in the north country during the fall.   

      By relentlessly planting during the driest summer in my experience, I set the table for a bountiful fall harvest.   As mid September approached, my last planting of beans was beginning to blossom.  Late summer squash plants were producing and fall spinach and lettuce looked good.  Then Mom Nature reminded me we live on borrowed time.  A mid month frost put paid the summer vegetables and severely set back the late brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower.   Adding 2 inches of rain which would have been a godsend in July just added salt to the wound.

      Flash forward 2 weeks and the late fall veg is trying to make a comeback in October.  Milder weather this week will help the last 3 plantings of lettuce, bok choy and nappa cabbage.  The late broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower may  or may not head, but they are trying.   Dickens must have known a gardener or three!

Lies and the lying liars who tell them

        Any chance that the president* would inspire any sympathy for his contraction of Covid 19 was firmly put down by his irresponsible behavior and endangerment of his secret service protection detail yesterday so he could soak up some adulation from his fans outside Walter Reade hospital.   Riding around in a hermetically sealed vehicle while still infectious seems like the height of bad judgement and a confirmation of a diagnosis of sociopathy in the case of the commander in chief.

       As many of the over 7 million Americans who have been infected by the virus have found, just surviving the disease is a scary journey.  However, being treated by a phalanx of doctors and nurses who employed every medication which has shown to be effective in treating Covid 19 is something virtually no one of his fellows has experienced.   In his drive to prove his Alpha male status, Cheetolini has put this team and anyone else involved in his care in danger.

      Also, he has once again corrupted the reputation of professionals by coopting  them to lie regarding his medications, course of treatment and prognosis.  November 3rd can't come soon enough.

The national nightmare continues

        Since it is already out there in liberal leaning blogs and the national media, I'm sure in the wake of Cheetolini and Melania testing positive for coronavirus speculation about presidential succession is also happening in wingnuttia.    Since Pence has been in close contact with POTUS, he may very well test positive also.   Should both of these elderly men show heavy duty symptoms and are hospitalized and possibly intubated, we all know who is next in line to assume the duties of the presidency.   

       While I hope the president* and the VP recover in time to be whipped in  the election, I also hope the Speaker is in isolation today and will remain so until there is definitive news regarding tRump.  The old boy is morbidly obese, which is one of the co-morbidities most likely to put you at risk of hospitalization.  However, considering how transparent the White House has been regarding the president's* health, I'm sure we will be getting up to the minute news.   In the meantime, thoughts and prayers...

The media can't quit him

           2 days after the presidential debate in Cleveland, the media still can't get its collective head around the worst performance in this format since it became a thing in the 1960 race between Kennedy and Nixon.   Most commentators have seized on tRump's refusal to denounce white supremacy in general and the Proud Boys in particular and are running with stories on the White House refusal to make a clear call for the far right to stand down or face legal consequences.

        I think the entirety of the debate should be covered, especially from the vantage point of our friends and adversaries around the world.  Most thinking people outside the country were genuinely horrified by Cheetolini's sociopathic performance.  

     What does it mean when one party in a two party system has given up all pretense of following democratic norms?   The only way to bring what is left of the Republican party back from the dark side is an electoral defeat of catastrophic proportions.   Virtually every GOPer who has enabled the sickness needs to be defeated.  I'm looking at you, Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham.   The racism and  misogyny need to be called out and the structural features which allowed minority rule must be changed.  It all starts with our votes on November 3 or sooner.