Who should get COVID 19 vaccine last!

 

Since during the last four years our country has embraced and seemed to embellish societal divisiveness, which in many cases has culminated in violence and unrest, I would suggest that we continue in that vein with the distribution plan for the COVID 19 vaccine. 

Obviously, there is not going to be enough vaccine to initially vaccinate many in our society.  So decisions need to be made about whom should get it first. This is tough decision.  However, I would like to help in this process by proposing a list of those individuals who should get it last by utilizing the latest schisms in our society. 

Lowest on the vaccine receiving list should be all those individuals who refuse to wear a mask that could potentially slow the spread of COVID 19 and impact the economic lockdown that is occurring nationwide.   And let’s not forget those individuals that hosted and continue to host large gatherings in defiance of federal and state guidelines.  Obviously these individuals must think COVID 19 is no worse than the seasonal flu and certainly doesn’t even deserve the label of ‘pandemic’ when discussing it.  Therefore in keeping with their thought processes, if they’re not concerned, likewise, we shouldn’t be concerned about putting them in the beginning of the vaccine line, no matter what their age or medical condition. 

Others deserving a place at the end of the line should be any congressional or state legislator or official who filed a court case against, or refused to enforce, CDC or state-mandated COVID 19 mandates, or publicly flaunted such guidelines.  This includes Louisiana heavy weights Attorney General Jeff Landry, state House Republicans, and members of Congress like John Kennedy, Steve Scalise, Garret Graves, Mike Johnson, Ralph Abram, and Clay Higgins.  All must be at the end of the vaccine line. 

While I realize that my tongue in cheek suggestion will not fly, one needs to consider  the merits of my case.  Many don’t want to assist others by restricting the spread of COVID 19 and yet are scared enough of COVID 19 to want to be one of the first to be protected from it. Am I missing something?

Trump's Failed Re-election Bid

 

The election is over and I was hoping that the divisive atmosphere that it created in our nation would simply evaporate.  However, I don’t think that Donald Trump is going to allow that to occur.

Throughout Trump’s reign he has consistently demonstrated the personality flaw of never taking responsibility for his actions if the outcomes make him look like he has failed to accomplish his goal.

Whether it was some of his failed attempts to control the national debt, the trade deficit, implement a national health care plan, successfully negotiate reducing the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and Iran, complete his border wall, implement a consistent, structured foreign policy, effectively help alleviate societal unrest, and other missteps, he never internalized or uttered the words, “My approach was wrong and I take responsibility for the poor outcome.”  Read his book, it is very evident this is not acceptable behavior for him. 

In his four years of governing, according to Trump, if some of his endeavors failed, it was always due to nefarious outside causes.  The stage was set for this pattern of behavior from the very beginning as evidenced in an  interview following Donald’s 2016 election when he had begun his “Fake News” campaign.  The newscaster asked him why he was trying to disparage the press.  Trump, without hesitation, answered with a smile that he was doing it so in case “They publish something negative about me, no one will believe them.” 

He never relented in his non-responsibility approach, and has now culminated it in his re-election loss.  Donald Trump has masterfully turned his supporters into enablers to take up the cause that he never really “lost” re-election, but that there was a well organized, state-wide, systematic plot to rig the election that led to his defeat; coupled with individuals' willingness to commit felony, risk federal prosecution and jail time, to accomplish this.  Donald Trump promises his supporters endless law suits to prove his case, knowing that he will not win any to change the election outcome. 

But this is where the genius of Donald Trump’s convoluted behavior really shines.   He will leave office on January 20^th as the president who never really “lost” his re-election bid, because by his account, it was fraudulent.  Evidence will bear this ploy out, because he will continue to Tweet, hold press conferences, and rallies, all focused on keeping the “fraud” notion front and center in the media.  And his minions such as Attorney General Barr, Rudy Giuliani, and several Republican legislators will assist in his endeavor.  Added to this will be the fact that he will never publicly concede, or congratulate the Biden/Harris team. 

All this will serve as the battle cry of “fraud” for his supporters, and sadly, they will take the bait.  They have even gravitated in droves to the new social media app, Parler, where supporters will no longer be restricted in posting non-factual information or all sorts of conspiracy and fraud theories. 

President Trump will leave office on January 20^th no matter what his enablers hope he can do to prevent it, with the irrational resolve among them that their hero never really “lost,” as indicated by popular vote and electoral vote numbers, except for the fact of “systemic fraud.”  To them he is not a “loser,” which in Trump’s mantra is the lowest form of existence there is, but instead an “innocent victim” bearing no responsibility for this election outcome.  With this attitude there really is little hope of “Making America Great Again” for the deep fissures in our society that festered and boiled over during the last four years will continue to erode its very core; this will be Donald Trump’s real legacy.

U.S. Lost Cause

 

“Sisters stab security guard 27 times after being asked to wear face mask;" “Riders push security officer from transit train after he requests they wear masks;” “Fast food employee punched after he refuses to serve customer not donning a mask;” “Walmart employee kicked in groin by customer when told to leave store for failure to wear a mask;” “Store customer is assaulted in store parking lot after he asks fellow customer why he doesn’t wear a mask;” “Woman assaulted and knocked to the ground for asking another Staple’s customer to put on mask;” “Two Trader Joe’s customers attacked employees when asked to put on masks;” etc., etc.  Sadly, these are actual media headlines. 

The list goes on and on as we as a nation have turned a simple request into a justifiable reason to violently, physically, attack others.  And regrettably, I suspect that some reading these headlines will applaud these actions and espouse, “Good, they got what they deserved!”

What an affront to our personal freedom, requesting that we wear a mask to possibly prevent us from infecting someone else; for that’s really what this is all about.   However, many don’t understand this because they operate from a self-centered point of view.   It’s the  me, me, me approach. 

Those who don’t mask and say things like, “I’m young, so I won’t get sick,” or “I am willing to take the risk and I have the right to do so,” completely, selfishly miss the point.  It’s the people who they come in contact with that just might need the virus  protection because of high risks such as their age, or pre-existing conditions.  Unless you can guarantee that before you start your journeys each day without a mask, that you tested negative for COVID-19, you are a potential contributor to the spreading of this disease, and the reason why we have, and will continue to have, economic shutdowns in our country.   Just because you have no overt symptoms, and are categorized as asymptomatic, doesn’t mean you can’t infect others. 

To address this mask issue I was thinking about getting some business cards printed that stated, “Thank you for helping spread COVID-19 and contributing to our economic shutdown by not wearing a mask.”  I was going to give them to everyone not donning a mask, but, then again, I came to the realization that I might get killed. 

Congratulations U.S.A, we have now added yet another divisive wedge to our society, Maskers vs Non-Maskers.  Don’t we have enough societal dissensions already?  What have we become as a nation?  Is this how we “Make America Great Again?”  Think about it the next time you choose not to wear a mask.

Time for Old Folks to Go

 

In full disclosure, I am a 75 year old male.  I state that so that readers won’t think I’m anti old folks.  As I watched the Senate hearings on the latest nominee for the Supreme Court,  I couldn’t help but wonder if I was watching an episode of “The Living Dead.”  Why were there so many old folks?  Heck, Dianne Feinstein, one of the leading interrogators, and senator from California, is 86 years, 10 months old.  I was curious.  Just how many others in their upper senior silver years are calling the shots for a country where the median age of its residents is 38.2? 

After some research I discovered, to my horror, 58 out of a total of 100 senators presently serving in Congress are over the age of 65, 38 are over the age 70, and 12 exceed the age of 80.  In fact, the average age of half of our senators is 73.5.  And none of these elderly folks are bound by the same obstacles as the general public when it comes to societal needs, particularly as related to health care.

They all have a unique health insurance plan, funded by taxpayers’ money which is exclusive to them.  Those 65 and older don’t have to rely on Medicare, Obamacare, or any other Medicare Advantage Plan, and no- out- of- pocket drug plan. They are chauffeured around in tax payer funded automobiles while in Washington, D.C., and on top of that get paid big bucks.  Their salary being $174,000 per  year plus the ability to earn an additional 15% of their annual salary on other “outside” work.  They are also allowed an additional tax deduction of up to $3,000 for living expenses.

Additionally, many hold this job for a long time, some as long as a whopping 45 years. 

Does this sound like someone who identifies with you? 

And let’s not forget about the ages of the current individuals vying for the office of President.   Trump is 74 and Biden is 77.  Just where have all the young folks gone?  And with all this commotion about the mental acuity of Joe Biden, what about all those old folks in the Senate? 

Sadly, there is not enough space to discuss our esteemed members of the House of Representatives, but the oldest champion there is Rep. Don Young, from Alaska, 86 years, 11 months old.   He has been in Congress for 53 years. 

Now I’m not in any way implying that old folks can’t continue to make productive contributions to society, but there is an element of being “in tune” with the society that exists today if you are to serve as a representative for addressing its needs. 

It’s time to step back and let our kids take over even though we might be at odds with them.   This can never occur with the present election system we have, age limits and true term limits need to be implemented.

We already have term limits for the President of the U.S.  He/she can’t serve for more than 8 consecutive years.  So why are our legislators, that supposedly represent our current society, exempt?

We need to stop re-electing folks that truly are not representative of our populace and are for the most part “out of tune.”  Stop relying on name recognition as the major factor influencing your vote.  The younger generation in this country needs to wake up.  It’s time to put the old folks out to pasture.

 

Smart Use of the Tax System? Or a Crook?

 

This headline pretty much sums up what the media buzz will be leading up to the election, “Donald Trump, a bad businessman or a tax cheat-probably both”

Some of the more interesting facts surrounding this statement include the surprise that in the 10 years leading up to his presidency Donald Trump paid no income tax, and only $750 in federal taxes the year he was elected.  Sadly, people working in supermarkets earning $25,000 a year would pay more. 

Now others would claim that this does not indicate any wrong doing, but simply a smart use of our present tax system; and they might be correct.  For Trump simply claimed chronic business losses and wrote off business expenses for years to avoid tax payments.  Heck, he even wrote off $70,000 as a business expense for hair dressing charges while serving on The Apprentice TV show.  Additionally, he received a $72.9 million tax refund which is presently under audit by the IRS. 

However, while all this might be perfectly legal, it does indicate that the persona that Trump puts forth as a successful businessman is a total fabrication, a lie.   He even wrote a best seller book about his success as a businessman, and started a university for students to attend to learn the Trump business model for success.   By the way, the university turned out to be a fraud and cost him over $25 million to settle the case. 

Additionally, it now appears many of Trump’s best known and highly touted businesses are really money losers. These include his golf courses, hotels, and resorts.  And let’s not forget his failed casinos like the one in Atlantic City.  No wonder he continually tries to hold presidential events at and steers visiting foreign diplomates to these places.  Our government has already spent over $1.2 million, since Trump has taken office, in helping to stem his losses by utilizing his facilities. 

But, here’s the real possible fraudulent aspect of President Trump’s finances.  While he continually claimed poverty when it came to paying federal income taxes, he presented a totally different picture during the same timeframe when he was seeking loans from banks totally over $421 million.  To them he provided financial documentation showing successful money making ventures in order to secure these funds. 

And if Trump is losing so much money out the door as he claims, he is going to have to sell some of these money losers to pay off these loans which are now coming due.

There are more tax revelations, but as usual all these are labeled “Fake News” by President Trump and his supporters.  If so, there is a simple solution.  He could release his tax returns and put all this to rest. That is, if he truly has nothing to hide.  Strangely, he has refused to do that, reinforcing justifiable suspicions. 

I always thought that President Donald Trump was a fraud regarding his successes as a businessman considering his ‘daddy’ actually gave him most of his fortune, but what I never knew was how he gamed our tax system and our banking system at the same time by divergent themes.   Someday maybe others will come to realize how difficult it is to determine the truth from the fiction about President Donald Trump, the former TV reality star.  Perhaps he’s not the shinning knight on the big white horse that can save us all, as he would like us to believe; for self-promotion is Donald’s forte. 

“Fraud:  a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.” Oxford Dictionary

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Deserves More

 

The world lost a true person of character this week when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away.  Few people probably realize the personal obstacles she faced early in her life as she tried to enter the exclusive “boys’ club,” known as the law profession. 

The stage set for what Ginsburg would face during her law career was clearly evident when she entered the prestigious Harvard Law School in 1956 and was asked by the dean to justify why she was taking a seat that would otherwise go to a man.  A Harvard law school employee once told her that women were not permitted to enter a room in the library in which she needed to do research. 

Ginsburg graduated tied for first in her class at Columbia Law School, to which she had transferred when her husband took a job in New York City.  But that wasn’t good enough for Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter who refused to interview her for a clerkship because, as he so arrogantly stated, he was “not ready to hire a woman.”  This belief constantly followed her throughout her law career where she had to over-excel her male counterparts. 

In 1993, she was elevated to icon status by being only the second female Supreme Court justice in American history.  In that role she consistently advocated for the equal rights of women.  Early on she wrote the majority opinion in a case striking down the Virginia Military Institute's men-only admissions policy, and in her career delved into areas where no other Supreme Court justice had ever gone. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was relentless in her mission as a Supreme Court justice.  This devotion to serve could not have been more evident than her continued service in spite of monumental health issues. 

In 1999, she had surgery for early-stage colon cancer; ten years later, it was surgery for pancreatic cancer, and in 2018 she had surgery to remove cancerous growths from her left lung.  Sadly, these were only a partial list of the health struggles she endured. 

However, through them all she continued the demanding work of a Supreme Court justice without relenting or complaining.  She did not miss an oral argument until her 2018 surgery and even then worked from her hospital bed while recovering.  She seemed unbreakable despite her medical issues. 

But sadly, Friday, her health issues finally broke her and she passed away at her home at age 87. 

However, what followed her death was absolutely shameful behavior by our esteemed legislators in Washington, D.C. 

Forty-nine minutes to the second, after the announcement of Justice Ginsburg’s death, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, with prodding from the press, began espousing how a replacement for her would be immediately proposed by the President and voted upon by the Senate. 

Likewise, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, started advocating how that would never be allowed to happen. And the public jumped on the bandwagon; social media lit up. 

And the games began, with both party members rallying around their respective leaders. 

Couldn’t all of us, and especially members of Congress, at least have given Justice Ginsburg the weekend to think about her as someone who literally gave her life devoted to serving the country.  Didn’t she deserve that respect? 

How sad we have become as a nation over this thing called ‘politics.’  We have not only elevated it to be more important than family and friends, but now it even supersedes paying respect to those who have earned it. 

Kind of makes one disgusted if one of the reasons this occurred was the very thing that Ruth Ginsburg spent her entire career fighting for, equal respect for women. 

Maybe the “boys’ club” is still very much alive and well, or perhaps maybe it was because she was not only a “female” judge, but also a “liberal” one, and considered of less value as an individual by those presently in power. 

Just think about how the immediate aftermath of her death compared to that of Justice Antonin Scalia and maybe you’ll know the answer; conservative male vs liberal female. 

Just where are we heading as a society when we are no longer capable of showing respect for individuals no matter what their sex, party, or political leanings they hold dear? 

So pathetically sad!

Broken Promises

One of the most dreaded aspects of being a politician is being held accountable for what you espoused you were going to accomplish during your time serving the public.  As November 3^rd approaches its time to examine just how many of President Trump’s major political promises have actually become realities. 

Building a wall on the Mexican/US border:  Trump claimed he would build a NEW border wall that would cost about $22 million, Mexico would pay for it, and as of August 18, 2020, reported that the wall was nearly complete. 

Fact: The latest cost is closer to $70 million, Mexico is not paying for it, and as of May, 2020, only 5 miles of a NEW 30 foot high wall have been built where none existed before.  Most construction has been of patch work design to simply reinforce the existing barriers and fencing. 

Replacement of Obamacare:  In 2016, President Trump promised to replace Obamacare with a new, improved health care plan. 

Fact: Four years later no such health care plan exists as a replacement for Obamacare. 

Reducing drug prices:  During that same year, Trump was passionate about drug prices.  He swore to stand up to the pharmaceutical companies, long revered as among Washington’s most powerful interests. He even told Time magazine in his Person of the Year interview in December, 2016, “I’m going to bring down drug prices. I don’t like what has happened with drug prices.  One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs.  In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my Administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities.  Prices will come down.” 

Fact:  President Trump has done little to nothing to fulfill this promise.  In fact, drug prices are still increasing.  While growth in spending on drugs has slowed in recent years, the total national spending continues to grow.  Americans spend more than anyone else in the world.  Trump’s latest excuse for failing to reign in prices is that he wants to give the drug companies more time to act on their own so that he can broker a deal.  He has had four years to broker that deal. 

Lowering the national debt:  Trump has repeatedly complained about the endless spending of his democratic rivals, and in 2016 he promised to eliminate the national debt. 

Fact:  When Trump took office the national debt was approximately $19.9 trillion; as of July, 2020, it was approximately $26.5 trillion, an increase of approximately $5.6 trillion in four years.  And contrary to what his supporters believe, most of that increase was due to his reduction in taxes plan which was claimed to pay for itself and NOT increase the debt. 

Balance the U.S. trade deficit:  In 2016 Trump bragged about how he would bring the U.S. trade deficit into alignment, eliminating it.  He continually talk about how we should be exporting more than we import and how the Democrats were responsible for the deficient that existed at that time. 

Fact: The US trade deficit jumped to $63.6 billion in July of 2020. It is the highest trade gap since July of 2008.  It is 6.3% higher than Obama’s last year in office, and the U.S. presently has the highest trade deficit in the world.  While President Trump continually brags about the reduction in the trade deficit with China, which is down 22%, his other economic blunders have increased the deficit with other countries; thus leading to the new overall increase. 

Deportation of undocumented immigrants:  President Trump repeatedly told his supporters that every single undocumented immigrant, of which there are estimated to be more than 11.3 million, "has to go."

Fact:  So far, under Trump, a record high of 340,500 were deported in 2019,  a slight rise over the year before, although not as high as during the same length of time for the Obama administration, which deported approximately 410,000.  Sadly for Trump supporters, Obama actually deported more during the same time frame. 

Repairing the nation’s infrastructures:  At the beginning of President Trump’s term he declared that the country's infrastructure "will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it." 

Fact:  Although he has repeatedly vowed to spend $1.5 trillion to improve our country's roads, rail and airports, he has only spent $21 billion so far, during his four years in office, and most still remain untouched. 

So even though President Trump has actually delivered on only a paltry few of his promises, he still enjoys enamored support from his followers because of a robust stock market, his appointment of conservation Supreme Court and federal judges, and his deregulation of government oversite of big businesses, particularly the oil, gas, chemical and coal industries, some of the biggest donors to his election campaign. 

Accordingly, if one objectively judges President Trump based upon his fulfilled promises during his first four years, he probably deserves a ‘C-‘   and not the ‘A’ delusionally bestowed upon him by his supporters and Fox News.  He is not the miracle worker they would like all of us to believe. 

Words are cheap, and President Trump is at no loss for words, but accomplishments are the bottom line and all that really matter.