Frank G. Splitt is an esteemed engineer who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. He writes from the perspective of many years of experience and knowledge.
By Frank G. Splitt December 3, 2020
The Trump Presidency
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The experience is shattering. How much stupidity! What delusion among such cultured and actually clever people! Just unconditional belief in the Führer, delight that ‘finally our weapons speak’.1 —Erich Ebermayer, September 3, 1939
My September 21, 2020, essay “Trumpism and Its Factions: An Existential Threat to America’s Democracy,” began with the above epigraph and concluded with the following three questions:2
If the president has his way, who would be able to stop him from using all the levers of government to not only contest the results of the upcoming election if he loses, but also who would stop him from realizing his personal and political aims as well as his ambition if he wins either by votes cast or by a SCOTUS decision as in Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000)? Shades of Germany in the 1930s?”
President Trump’s loyal supporters counter such concerns as well as any and all criticism by citing his policies that resulted in ostensibly good if not great accomplishments. It has been claimed that these accomplishments have been negated by the president’s offsetting personality.3 However, these “good” accomplishments, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder—forming only a piece of an ugly story that goes far beyond the president’s personality.
Not mentioned by his supporters have been vast international reputational as well as social and human costs that are still being paid for these accomplishments. Consider first the likely long-lasting impact of President Trump’s assault on America’s democracy and democratic values, as well as his demeaning of the office of the president via cruelty, incompetence, and alleged corruption as well as obstruction of justice.
Also not mentioned are the president’s trade policies that have damaged the U.S. economy and alienated allies. According to Dartmouth economist Douglas Irwin: “the president sought to reduce the trade deficit, increase manufacturing employment, change China’s policies, and reach better deals, but fell short on all accounts”4
Furthermore, consider the cost of the president’s divide-and-conquer strategy that not only tore American’s asunder, but also bolstered America’s slide towards autocracy and the fact that bad behavior and policies have steep costs as well. The list includes: the minority-voter suppression highlighted in a recent Commonweal Magazine editorial,5 blatant lies and gross exaggerations, flagrant self-dealing, the tax evasion, the separation of children from their parents, the encouragement of white supremacists, conspiratorialists, and radical right-wing factions such as neo-Nazis, and, perhaps one of the most egregious of all in terms of lives lost, the downplaying and politicization of COVID-19.
An ugly state of affairs has pervaded the fabric of our nation. Sadly, none of this ugliness has any apparent bearing on the actions of President Trump’s loyal cult-like supporters of their tyrannical leader. For example, it has been reported that half of Republicans say Biden won because of a ‘rigged’ election.6 This belief appears to be a psychological phenomenon akin to the Hitler mania of the German people in the 1930s and the Jim Jones cult’s suicides in 1978.
Seemingly, half of Republicans have unconditional belief in Trump who was prescient when he once boasted: “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” These voters believe the election was rigged not only because that’s what they want to believe, but more likely because Trump keeps baselessly saying it was rigged—insisting in a December 2, 2020, White House speech that he won the election.7
All of this would not be possible if these otherwise intelligent voters did not willfully suspend moral judgement and succumb to their avarice, self-interest, and/or any one of a number of political single-issues. This situation is not without its parallels, for example President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign recalls one of the most disastrous political lies of the 20th century.8
Trump will always have his apologists and his steadfast defenders. They believe he is one of them fighting for what is right against elitist plots and those of the Deep State, as well as any others who may have betrayed them. To abandon their leader now would be to admit they were wrong—deceived or conned by his lies and exaggerations that placated their heart-felt resentment of the socio-political state of affairs in America.8 And, worse yet, admit that it was wrong to have supported him in the first place. It seems that one of the most difficult things for a person to do is admit that they were wrong—sometimes even in the face of incontrovertible evidence.9
What can be said of the president’s sycophantic congressional enablers? This group lives in utter fear of Trump’s base of loyal supporters and seems to believe the president has the right to impede the transition to the Biden presidency to suit his self- centered present and future interests no matter the cost to national security and the health of American citizens. These interests include: raising money, solidifying his base, undermining the Biden administration, deepening and exploiting ethnic, demographic religious, and racial divisions, as well as positioning for a possible 2024 rerun. 10, 11, 12
Finally, in view of the above, what might a post-Trump presidency portend? Although no one can say with any degree of certainty, here is a potential worst-case scenario: President Biden’s efforts to unite the country will fail, undermined beyond bearing by Trump who will be aided and abetted by Senate Republicans unwilling to stand up to him for fear of alienating his base. This will be followed by a further transition from democracy to autocracy while still conforming to the Constitution as interpreted by an unbalanced Supreme Court packed with Trump nominations and backed by a formidable voting block of true believers. This scenario reflects “shades of Germany in the 1930s.”
We will see what we will see
NOTES
- Ebermayer, a German liberal intellectual, made these remarks after a visit with aristocratic neighbors who, as Hitler-loyalists, expressed boundless uncritical faith in their leader. The encounter was on the day Britain and France went to war with Germany after it invaded Poland. See pages 368-69 of Frederick Taylor’s book 1939: A People’s History of the Coming of the Second World War (Norton, 2020).
- Splitt, Frank G., “Trumpism and Its Factions: An Existential Threat to America’s Democracy, FutureVectors, Sept.21, 2020, Afterword Oct. 13, 2020, http://www.futurevectors.com/Odyssey/Splitt%20- %20Trumpism.pdf
- Epstein, Joseph, “Donald Trump, the President His Detractors Loved to Hate,”
The Wall Street Journal, Opinion, Nov.14, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-the-president- his-detractors-loved-to-hate-1160530742143 - Irwin, Douglas A., “Trade Truths Will Outlast Trump,” The Wall Street Journal, Opinion, Nov. 20, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/trade-truths-will-outlast-trump-11605828052
- Editors, “Democracy in America?” Commonweal, Nov. 2020, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/democracy-america
- Kahn, Chris, “Half of Republicans say Biden won because of a ‘rigged’ election.” Reuters, Nov. 18, 2020, https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2020-11-18/half-of-republicans-say-biden-won- because-of-a-rigged-election-reuters-ipsos-poll
- Restuccia, Andrew and Leary, Alex, “In Speech, Trump Reasserts Fraud Claims,” The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News, Dec. 3, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-reasserts-fraud-claims-despite- lack-of-evidence-losses-in-court-11606949718
- Bittner, Jochem, “1918 Germany Has Warning for America,” The New York Times, Opinion,
Nov. 30, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/opinion/trump-conspiracy-germany- 1918.html?smid=em-share - Danner, Mark, “The Con He Rode In On,” The New York Review, Sept. 19, 2020, https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/11/19/the-con-he-rode-in-on/.
- Woodward, Calvin and Swenson, “AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s flailing effort resting on mendacity,”
AP News, Nov. 21, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump- technology/ - Reich, Robert, “How can Biden heal America when Trump doesn’t want it healed?” The Guardian, Nov. 8, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/08/joe-biden-donald-trump-election- healing-robert-reich
- Romano, Andrew and Walker, Hunter, “Trump in exile: How he will remain a force in the GOP, and a threat to Biden’s politics of unity,” Yahoo News, Nov. 18, 2020, . 13. Mazewski, Matt, “Trump Can Run Again,” Commonweal, Nov. 15, 2020, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/trump-can-run-again/
Frank G. Splitt, is a former McCormick Faculty Fellow at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and Vice President Emeritus of Nortel Networks, the author of the book An Odyssey of Reform Initiatives: 1986-2015 and its sequel Reflections: 2016-2019. He is the recipient of The Drake Group’s 2006 Robert Maynard Hutchin’s Award and a 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Optics and Photonics. His books and other writings can be accessed at http://www.futurevectors.com
FutureVectors, Inc.
Mount Prospect, Illinois
Diane Ravitch's blog 
““I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.””
–Donald Trump
“I would vote for Biden if he boiled babies and ate them.”
–Liberal, feminist Nation columnist Katha Pollitt.
You tell me the difference.
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Congrats, Dienne, you found an idiot on the Internet.
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Hey, Katha Pollitt is not “an idiot on the internet.”
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I don’t know her. All I had was the quotation from Dienne, which sounds pretty awful.
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Looked into this. I see that she is an essayist and poet known for her humor. So the line was just a bad joke.
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Bob [insert red-faced emoji]: I don’t know her very well myself. When I called her ‘on the political fringe of intelligentsia (even after reading the essay & her wiki bio) I was still mixing her up mentally with Kate Millett LOL!
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Katha Pollitt? Is she the president of the US? Is she running for office?
Difference.
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Best answer. Pollitt, on the political fringe of the literary intelligentsia, has a comparatively tiny public following, and is by no stretch of the imagination representative of some equal-but-opposite Democrat Party faction. I would quibble though that her remark is on a superior plane: it is Swiftian satire, and the hook to a cogent essay. If it45’s statement has any ‘literary’ or moral equivalent, it would be to Disney’s evil queen gloating in the mirror.
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“Stalin didn’t kill as many people as Hitler.”
You tell me the difference.
“Idi Amin didn’t kill as many people as King Leopold.”
You tell me the difference.
“Scooby Doo didn’t solve as many crimes as the Hardy Boys.”
You tell me the difference.
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As for trade policies, no one who supported Clinton and NAFTA or Obama and TPP has any room to talk about Trump’s policies, however bad they may have been.
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Trump is so ignorant with regard to trade policy that he actually believes that China pays the tariffs he placed on Chinese goods. He likes this claim so much that he has repeated it over a hundred times in a single year. https://sports.yahoo.com/trump-has-made-this-false-claim-about-china-and-tariffs-at-least-100-times-182318319.html
And the toadies around him let him do this, just as Birx sat silent while he talked about injecting disinfectants.
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No one who defends Trump has any room to talk about a democrat’s policies, however bad they may have been.
So given your beliefs, what’s with the double standard?
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I never have seen Dienne as ‘defending Trump.’ I interpret her repeated point as being about “3rd Way” Dems together with neoconservative-Reps leading us to a dangerous and vulnerable political space. From that angle, Trump or some other whackjob was inevitable. I think she worries that Trump-bashing takes our eye off the ball.
Personally I have no issue with Splitt’s piece: it’s a warning.
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And while I’m at it, people accuse me of failing to see the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. No, not exactly. There are differences – the difference between a right cross and a left hook. I’ll freely admit the right cross hurts more. However, both punches come from the same boxer and the whole point of the left jab is to set up the right cross.
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This is a well-crafted analogy, Dienne, and it certainly applies to a lot of DINOs.
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She is talking about the ENTIRE Democratic party, including AOC, not “DINOs”.
Did you see anything about “DINOs”?
There is no distinction between AOC and Matt Gaetz in dienne77’s view. She despises them all.
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Love me some AOC. Just attended an online discussion with her. Wow. Smart. Articulate. Got her facts straight.
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“Well crafted”? Bob, say it ain’t so. Have you lost your sanity clause too?
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LOL. Your attack, on the sanity clause, is an insult to the Pole-ish peoples, Greg! But I know Trump and his supporters for the fascists they are. I am not so far into my dotage as not to see plainly that reality.
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Here’s a good example of the logical conclusion of where humoring the resident idiot (writ very small) will lead: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7gk9j/almost-a-quarter-of-young-americans-think-the-holocaust-is-a-myth-or-exaggerated
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This article is shocking and depressing. But it is no longer surprising in a country that could produce Trump and the Trumpeteers. I was talking, recently, to a neighbor, a young man in his 20s, in school to become a police officer. At some point I mentioned Hitler. He told me that all this stuff about Hitler and the Jews was a myth and directed me to online videos that would explain the “real” history to me so I wouldn’t be so uninformed. So, I then related to him the stories of a couple survivors I’ve known, and he smirked at my “ignorance.” Trump’s cry of “fake news” is a disease now rampant in the country. I tried to explain to this fellow how ludicrous and implausible this denialism was. To no avail. We teachers have quite the job to do.
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We need to explain to kids that there is no opinion whatsoever so ludicrous that one can’t find people who hold it and that ludicrous opinions are quite common. Then we need to talk to them about evidence and reality.
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Re: “Holocaust didn’t happen”
If there was a will, Staten Island appears to be one place where the lie could easily be exposed. SNL’s Pete Davidson skewered his Staten Island neighbors for their Covid-19 protests. He quoted one of the protestors who groused that “not being able to drink inside was like being Jewish during the Holocaust”. Davidson quipped, “That was awkward for the people who suddenly had to pretend they believed the Holocaust.”
While the protesters may not be churchgoers, their families are. (Of the 66% of S.I. residents who are religious, 56.4% are Catholic. There are at least 4 times more white Catholics living in Staten Island than any other borough.) Churches and religious families on Staten Island could teach their young- it’s something the GOP loudly proclaims they have the authority to do.
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What is the official teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the Holocaust and regarding instruction about the Holocaust in Catholic schools? Well, that’s a question definitively answered by the document, “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah,” produced by the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews. Here it is: “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah,” which the Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews. If there are places where individuals, professing to be Catholics, are acting as Holocaust denialists, they are rejecting explicit direction from their own church: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-we-remember-quot-vatican-reflection-on-the-shoah
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In this, from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, goes further in laying out the duty of remembrance and instruction about the Holocaust in schools: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/jewish/upload/Catholic-Teaching-on-the-Shoah-Implementing-the-Holy-See-s-We-Remember-2001.pdf
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Bob-
Your first link (10:48) and your second link (10:58) are dated pre-Trump, 1998 and 1999 respectively. Twenty years ago, the political landscape was different in many ways.
Secondly, will the public be able to exert curricular authority after roll-out of Espinosa? What does privatization across the country as we review it, suggest?
Thirdly, just a curiosity, your comments in the thread (Dec. 8), appear before 5 comments in the chain dated Dec. 7?
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Linda, these documents reflect the current position of the Church. I stand by my comments. Any who oppose the positions or act against them are opposing or acting against the current official position of the Catholic church. Obviously.
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Bob-
I recognized after writing that the false appearance of timing is a function of the formatting when commenting in the reply window.
Napa Institute and Catholic Vote, one, a legal group and, the other, a political influencer were founded after 2000.
Both Mark Rozell of George Mason University and Cathleen Kaveny of Boston College describe the changing landscape -“There’s a well-organized Catholic right wing” and, “It was not the evangelicals…it was Catholic votes in Mich., Wis., and Penn. that won those states for trump in 2016.”
The GOP is currently linked to the white nationalism segment. That wasn’t true in the 1990’s.
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I know our host would rather we avoid these discussions, and I do not speak for Linda, but Bob, when you write, “Any who oppose the positions or act against them are opposing or acting against the current official position of the Catholic church,” it is maddening to me. Especially when it comes from people I respect deeply. Which is it? Rest your case on this, doctrine is the final word and must be followed, or pick and choose to agree or disagree because diversity in views is proof that there is no official doctrine? Taken logically, doctrine would dictate that an act of picking and choosing itself violates doctrine. This is, I think the crux of the argument (again, I do not speak for her, this is how I interpret her arguments) that mystifies me. Those who pick and choose get outraged when these inconsistencies are pointed out. For example, this is also an official position: https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/respect-for-unborn-human-life
So, let’s please not get indignant, pillory, or mischaracterize the arguments of those of us who point this inconsistency. When you and others cite official teaching as a foundation of an argument, you can’t take an other official teaching and then say, but there’s diversity of opinion about that teaching and if we take a contrarian view of the official line, that’s OK. Again, I adore Pope Francis, I respect and admire those who want to reform what they consider to be evils in their administration of their faiths. I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I respect them and wish them more power. But let’s not say that accurately pointing out these inconsistencies is some kind of heresy in and of itself.
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This is not a discussion I want to have in this forum. I’m sorry I mentioned it. I’m not going to engage in an extended defense of the Church. I’m not even a Christian and, in fact, consider many Christian dogmas and doctrines to be childish superstition from the infancy of our species. But even in saying that, I am probably saying too much in this forum.
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cx: from the intellectual infancy of our species
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I do understand the difference between doctrine and dogma, Greg. And I am aware both of the deafening near silence of the Papacy during the Holocaust but also of the many courageous religious who stood against it and lost their lives doing so.
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And I, too, am extremely concerned about the rise of fundamentalist-linked fascism in the United States. That’s why I don’t hide my disbelief in hell, original sin, the sacrificial atonement, etc. I’m with Harvey Milk on this. Where there is such oppression, one must come out.
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Greg-
What you wrote speaks for me.
There’s one exception – I don’t adore Pope Francis. He stands firmly in favor of discrimination against women. And, he backtracked on his comments supporting gay rights.
He is better than prior recent popes. If Francis is choosing his battles, for example, making Bishop Anthony the first black American cardinal, it is still difficult for me to reconcile the advancement of equal opportunity when it includes race but, excludes gender.
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The difference between a rabid mastiff (GOP) and a slightly tipsy chihuahua (Democrats). The difference between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Brett Kavanaugh. The difference between the guy who gives dog whistles (fog horns, actually) to neo-Nazis, white supremacists, racists, bigots, Q-Anon crazies and Biden who does NONE of those things. Not even close. There is a significant difference between the parties.
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There are indeed differences between the parties. Here are three: Neil Gorsuch. Brett Kavanaugh. Amy Coney Barrett.
Here are two more: Clarence Thomas. Samuel Alito.
The other nearly 300 are federal judges who received lifetime appointments by Trump. Some refused to say whether the Brown decision was correctly decided.
The difference appears on decisions about abortion, civil rights, gay marriage, corporate power, environmental regulation—-all of which are apparently of no significance to you.
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Correct. Those right wing judges and justices hate Democrats as much as dienne77 does, so we should assume that the enemies of her enemies are her friends.
I have Republican friends who don’t defend Trump and the far right Republican party as much as dienne77 does!
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Thanks for the post, and this and other well-founded responses response to dienne77. The last paragraph in Frank G. Splitt’s commentary strike me as grim and all too possible. To date, only 27 Congressional Republicans have acknowledged that Trump lost the election. Trump is exploiting the silence of Republicans who are in the process of enabling what Spitt rightly calls the worst case scenario.
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I agree Laura, that last paragraph sums up what’s been nagging me lately. The hate and irrationality encapsulated in such a resinous way by our resident squawker may be too strong and virulent, I fear, to be countered by reason.
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I can only hope that I will be as lucid, brilliant and coherent as Frank G. Splitt is when I am XC anni. There are huge differences between Ds and Rs. #1: the GOP has morphed into a far, far, far, far, right wing/libertarian death cult, no damned comparison to the Democrats, even with all their failings. #2: the courts, the courts and the courts. If Hillary were president, we would not have Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett on the SCOTUS, not to mention all the lower courts.
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Hopefully just like Nixon, get on the helicopter and ride off into the sunset. Or this Hee-Haw skit is over, and the hook behind the curtain to usher him off stage.
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Paying homage to his reality show life, Trump mentioned taking leave in a helicopter at the same time as Biden’s inauguration. And just like that like a miracle one day he’ll be gone. We hope!
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What I saw on the news tonight is that Trump plans to leave Washington on the morning of January 20 on Air Force 1 and fly to Florida, where he will have a MAGA rally as Biden is sworn in. He will be the first president NOT to attend his successor’s inauguration since 1869.
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He won’t be “gone” until he’s dead and buried….and then we will still have to contend with his spawn (Princess, Jr. and Dopey) . If history repeats itself, Melanie will remain in the area with Barron until he finishes school for the year(?). There is also the issue of moving Melania’s parents from the Potomac area. It’s also been stated that Mar A Lago has not been zoned to accommodate ANY residential living. Melania is the key!
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Mar-A-Lago is deemed a private club, not a residence. Trump can visit but can’t live there.
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Thank you to Frank Splitt, who offered such an analytical, insightful piece. I hope to read more from him.
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I’m thankful for Frank B. Splitt’s article. 😁
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Trump Supporters: Putting the Moron in Oxymoron since 2015
We must punish China by putting tariffs on their goods, which we pay when we import stuff from China. Why? Well, for sending us this terrible virus which is no different from the flu or the common cold, and getting Democrats, or Communists, as you prefer, to force us to wear masks, which is the same as slavery, though Trump was a hero for wearing one that one time, and may God bless him for inventing the miraculous vaccine that we’re not going to take and for trying to get big government off our backs by taking away our healthcare, which we don’t need because it’s all a hoax though it’s really terrible what China did, but thankfully, Trump has a big, beautiful healthcare plan he’s going to roll out in two weeks, as he’s been saying for four years now if the Libtards would just listen, the same as he actually WANTS to show everyone his taxes as soon as the IRS is done with audit, which is fake and politically motivated because Trump paid millions, which is the same as $750. Thank the Lord we live in a free country where you can be teargassed for protesting and the voice of the electorate can be overturned by state electors or by the Supreme Court if the president wants them to, as the blacks, who love Trump, showed when 3 percent of them voted for him, the way people showed how they respected Trump by increasing the number of Republicans in the House and hanging onto the Senate in a free and fair election that was rigged with machines from Venezuela.
Make America Grate Again!
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And, of course, Trump is the LEAST RACIST guy, who protects our monuments to slave holders and to the good people, the Nazis and and anti-Nazis, on both sides.
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John Steinbeck — ‘I guess a man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, and then steps in it.’
Now the only question is if that comes to hold true for Trump.
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Oh tell me, Melania,
now that my con-ia
is done, how’s Solvenia?
Paranoid schizophrenia
Is getting the best of me
I’ve a bunker mentality.
Since I bought my first kiss
there’s not been such a narcissist.
Obama, most certainly,
could never compare with me.
At that I’m the best one
but now that Joe Biden’s won,
the courts will come courtin’ me
they’ll soon be escorting me
to prison. There I’ll have to sup,
sans hair dye and makeup,
with dumb white poor people.
Oh, that would be bleepable.
Yes, they are the sort
who gave me support
but you know, don’t you, honeybee,
that I loathe those not rich like me?
Vanity is nice
It is worth the great price.
Paranoia is worse
It’s a terrible curse.
So how is Solvenia?
Would they let me in-ia?
I could build there a great resort
and still keep my Vlad report
and indulge my great vanity
in interviews with Hannity
via Zoom, and forever to cling
and make like the exiled king
usurped by an election hoax
I could posture and then provoke
like a wannabe Adolf
and even play a lotta golf
See, that’s not so bad?
so please talk to Vlad.
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Thanks for this delightful distraction, Bob.
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“So how is Solvenia?
Would they let me in-ia?”
That’s some good humor.
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Have you seen Lydia, that encyclopedia?
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Isn’t that “encyclo-pidia?” I love how that song now evokes both the joy of Groucho and the brutality of Breaking Bad.
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LOL. I was feeling rather Groucho Marxist when I wrote that.
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“We will see what we will see.” Lamentably, the public is only selectively informed.
The Democratic failing (or strategy) evident in the party’s silence about the alliance between wealthy libertarians and Catholic and evangelical leaders, advances the GOP.
An example today of the GOP’s attack against the health of Americans- They’ve scheduled Dr. Jane Orient to testify before Congress. Critics label her anti-Covid vaccine. She is Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, an organization that has Rep. Tom Price (disgraced former HHS Secretary appointed by Trump) as a member. Doctors who belong to larger medical associations have described the AAPS as making claims that are medically and scientifically unsupportable. One of the papers attributed to AAPS has been described as making a false link between abortion and cancer. (On 12-1-2016, Rewire posted AAPS’ positions on HIV/AIDS, vaccines and abortions.)
There’s a page for Dr. Orient at the Heartland Institute. The Institute no longer discloses its donors. However, prior documents show connections between Heartland and the Acton Institute and to Walton heirs.
Dr. Orient’s name and AAPS’ position related to accommodation of transgender students can be found at the website of the Catholic Medical Association which, “…helps uphold the principles of the Catholic faith…”. CMA’s site, The Pulse, summarizes the work of and legal associations that are developing religion cases for court review. (Fall 2016)
One in 6 American hospitals are owned by Catholic organizations. Among other issues of concern, it’s unwise to discount an expansion of impact from the Biel v. St. James Catholic school SCOTUS decision.
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Very, I mean very, good catch on AAPS. As with CMA. These are not professional associations, they are ideological fronts. Much like the American Health Care Association, with has nothing to do with health care, or American, for that matter. It’s a front for the for-profit nursing home industry. Americans, for some reason, let ruses like stay legal. Kind of like the meaninglessness of the use of the term “Foundation.” Here it means nothing but confers a sense of legitimacy. In Europe, if an organization calls itself a “Foundation” it must have a verifiable endowment to support an annual budget to claim the name. Not in the US of A. Any fool who can file legal papers can claim to be a “Foundation,” “Association,” or “American” whatever.
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A list of reasons nations collapse-
(1) Tax advantages for non-profits that are committed to destroying democracy
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538 showing the Dems both leading by a hair in Georgia.
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Fingers crossed!
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So, who’s the next Trump, the one who will pick up his base base for a run in 2024? The competition for that has begun! Will it be Cotton? DeSantis? The utterly shameless Marco Rubio? My best’s on Flor-uh-duh!
I would say that it couldn’t possibly be someone has mind-blowingly stupid as Gaetz or Jordan or as inept as Princess Sparkle or Donny Jr., but hey, I was the guy who said, “Oh, come on, No one will vote for Ronnie Reagan. He’s a racist, McCarthyite nutcase who’s been running around saying that Social Security is a Communist plot.” And then I was the guy who said, “Oh, come on. No one will vote for Bushy Jr. He’s the weasel who evaded the draft, spent years as a drunk and a druggie, and ran a bunch of businesses into bankruptcy.” And then I was the guy who said, “Trump? Forget about it. The birther con man guy with the Toddler English and the bankrupt casinos and Trump University and the shady deals with the Russians? Not a chance, especially after the Access Hollywood tape.”
“No one in this world, so far as I know . . . has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.” –H.L. Mencken, in The Evening Sun (Baltimore), September 18, 1926.
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cx: My bet’s on Flor-uh-duh.
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One more down. Those who follow Trump never learn. Good grief. These people are actually bringing their families to a Christmas party. CDC has been warning people not to meet in large groups.
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From Axios:
West Wing fears COVID spread after Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis attends White House party
President Trump’s lawyer Jenna Ellis has informed associates she has coronavirus, multiple sources tell Axios, stirring West Wing fears after she attended a senior staff Christmas party on Friday.
Driving the news: There are concerns about the potential for another White House superspreader event, though it was unclear whether Ellis posed a risk when she attended. Ellis declined to confirm the diagnosis to Axios.
“People brought their families,” said one senior White House official who attended the party and has since been informed of Ellis’ diagnosis.
The revelation follows Sunday’s news that Ellis’ legal sidekick Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized after testing positive.
Behind the scenes: Ellis showed up to the White House senior staff party in the East Wing on Friday as the guest of Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro and was not seen wearing a mask, according to sources who attended the indoor event…
https://www.axios.com/jenna-ellis-trump-lawyer-covid-2bab2624-0b25-4f47-a532-079fd2c392da.html?utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=email
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“in jest”? It isn’t a bit funny to suggest that someone be drawn and quartered and then shot.
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Ex-Cybersecurity Chief Sues Trump Lawyer Over Insane Death Threat
The U.S.’s former top cybersecurity official is suing one of the president’s lawyers for saying he should be “taken out at dawn and shot” in an insane rant on President Trump’s new favorite news network.
Chris Krebs, who Trump fired in November for debunking false claims of election fraud, is suing Joe DiGenova for defamation and infliction of emotional distress, according to a lawsuit filed in Maryland district court Tuesday. The New York Times first reported on the suit.
DiGenova made the comments on Newsmax in late November. “Anybody who thinks that this election went well, like that idiot Krebs, who used to be the head of cybersecurity,” DiGenova said. “That guy is a Class-A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.”
According to the lawsuit, Krebs had to briefly leave his home due to the threats he and his family were receiving. One of Krebs’ children asked him, “Daddy’s going to get executed?” the suit says. “Plaintiff constantly thinks to himself: ‘Will I have to walk with eyes in the back of my head for the rest of my life?’” the lawsuit adds.
The complaint says that DiGenova and Newsmax “hoped to promote and encourage unlawful threats toward, and actual violence upon [Krebs] and Republicans like him—for speaking truth and performing his constitutional duties without regard to ‘party loyalty.’”
Earlier this month, DiGenova insisted to The Daily Beast that his comments shouldn’t be construed as a death threat or violent call to action.
“Anyone who heard the interview knows that it was obviously sarcasm meant in jest,” he said. “Of course, I wish Mr. Krebs no harm whatsoever.”…
http://a.msn.com/0B/en-us/BB1bK9fv?ocid=se
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Trumpism
IMO, exemplified by, “Ambassadors for Christ in the Marketplace” (from the website explaining Tim Busch’s Legatus). Busch also founded the Napa Institute, a legal organization engaged in the intersection of religion and law.
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Trump is narcissistic toddler who can’t stop screaming. He is an embarrassment. The judges and courts have been making decisions. He’s counting on his Supreme Court nominees to put him back in the WH. Hope they are smarter than the cowards in Congress.
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Trump appeals to legislatures and Supreme Court in attempt to overturn the election he lost
(CNN)President Donald Trump made an explicit appeal to lawmakers and the US Supreme Court on Tuesday to help him overturn the results of an election he lost, his latest and most vocal attempt to cling to power even as his presidency comes to an end.
Speaking at a summit focused on the coronavirus vaccine, Trump was asked why no members of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team were invited to participate, since it is that team who will oversee the bulk of vaccine distribution.
“We’re going to have to see who the next administration is. Because we won in those swing states,” Trump falsely claimed.
“Hopefully the next administration will be the Trump administration … You can’t steal hundreds of thousands of votes,” he claimed.
There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud, according to the federal government and Republican and Democratic election officials.
Nonetheless, Trump baselessly insisted he won the election and made a direct appeal to state officials and members of the Supreme Court to assist him in his efforts to subvert the will of voters.
“Let’s see whether or not somebody has the courage, whether it’s legislators or legislatures or a justice of the Supreme Court or a number of justices of the Supreme Court,” Trump said. “Let’s see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.”
But there is a sense developing within Trump’s legal team and what remains of his campaign staff that their efforts to overturn or delay the results of the election are coming to an end, multiple sources told CNN on Monday, despite what the President has said publicly.
Following the news of Rudy Giuliani’s coronavirus hospitalization, staffers only speculated further that it’s a matter of time before their legal efforts come to a halt completely. Giuliani is currently expected to appear via Zoom in front of a hearing with Georgia House delegates Thursday, though whether he ultimately does will depend on his condition, a source said.
Officials are also aware they are rapidly approaching deadlines that will certify results of the election and final rulings in some of their legal challenges.
“The calendar is dictating that courts and judges will have to come to final decisions soon, but the legal effort continues,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told CNN.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.
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I believe Trump no longer cares about COVID-19. He only is adamant about having won the election. Nothing else matters.
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First signs of Thanksgiving COVID-19 wave emerge
12/08/20 02:12 PM EST
The United States has averaged nearly 200,000 new confirmed cases a day over the last week, according to The Covid Tracking Project, run by a group of independent researchers. More than 2,200 people a day have died on an average during that period. The number of patients being treated in hospitals has crested 102,000, the highest levels of the pandemic.
The country still lacks a national testing strategy that public health experts say is essential to bringing the pandemic under control. President Trump’s remarks about the virus have become few and far between, even as he continues to hold in-person events where attendees are mostly maskless. The White House held a vaccine summit on Tuesday, though representatives from the two companies that have produced the earliest vaccines were not present.
There are some hopeful signs that the third wave is ebbing in parts of the Midwest. The number of newly confirmed cases has declined for two straight weeks in 10 states, including hard-hit Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and New Mexico.
But new data shows other states experiencing substantial increases. In Alabama, where authorities reported about 14,000 new cases a week through middle and late November, case counts jumped to more than 22,000 in the first week of December. Georgia’s case counts rose in early December by about 50 percent from its November figures. Florida cases spiked to 65,000 last week, a substantial increase over its averages last month.
“At this point, we could be just picking up the beginning of the Thanksgiving surge, but surely in the following week we’re going to see it,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention at the University of Minnesota. “We’re slingshotting this surge of cases into the holiday season in a way that is truly dangerous.”
Cases have risen over the last week in 38 states and the District of Columbia…
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/529271-first-signs-of-thanksgiving-covid-19-wave-emerge
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The Good Liars@TheGoodLiars
·21h
We asked these Trump supporters why they don’t wear masks.
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Science rejected in favor of absurdity.
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“Two-thirds of the religious feel the coronavirus is God telling humanity to change the way we are living”. One half thought God would protect them from infection”. The findings come from an AP poll summarized in the Charlotte Observer, 5-16-2020.
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OMG–proudly, “& I taught her that.” The “teacher” would be, unfortunately for her, one who would be very likely to “have the vibrational frequency to get it,” as she appears to have one of the markers: obesity.
& she won’t receive quite the same care that Chris Christie did if she does.
I prefer “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys…
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Some of this thread is just plain ridiculous, and it typifies far too many countless other posts.
Dienne is not the enemy, nor does she support Trump. To suggest so says everything. To put her down just because she critiques the Democrats (and yet does NOT support the GOP) shows how unspeakably non-intellectual some of this thread and much of the blog has become. I’m DONE . . . . I will always support NPE because it would be crazy not to, but at the same time, I will limit my time in these forums . . .
I have been a public school educator for 26 years with two masters degrees and a very successful career, and I know a thing or two about learning, diversity, and intellectualism. I wish others did as well . . . .
There is diversity in a tent, and there is an echo chamber. The two should never be conflated.
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What you said in your second paragraph, first 2 1/2 sentences, Robert.
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What you said in your second paragraph, first 2 1/2 sentences, Robert.
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Just what this country needs…more guns.
Where are people getting the money to purchase guns when so many are going hungry and are in danger of losing their homes? Is it the wealthy or middle class who need guns?
This is just plain crazy.
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Pandemic, civil unrest drive record-shattering increase in firearm permits, gun shopping in Illinois in 2020
By ANNIE SWEENEY and STACY ST. CLAIR
CHICAGO TRIBUNE |
DEC 10, 2020 AT 2:45 PM
With the coronavirus pandemic raging and Chicago at times dealing with civil unrest, Illinois residents shopped for more guns and applied for more firearm permits in 2020 than at any other time in history, state police officials said this week.
There had been more than 500,000 serious inquiries about purchasing guns by this month, according to Illinois State Police statistics, representing a 45% increase over 2019.
The state also had received a record 445,945 applications for firearm owner’s identification cards as of November 2020, a 167% jump from the 166,649 applications in 2017. The Illinois State Police did not release numbers for any other years but said the 2020 applications “blew past” a previous surge in 2013 after concealed carry licenses were first offered.
“It’s a reflection of the great deal of unease and a reflection of the tension we have in this state and across the country,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said. “It’s undeniable.”
There are now more than 2.2 million Illinois residents with FOID cards, a number that has nearly doubled over the past decade, according to state police data. The number of concealed carry licenses has swelled from 90,301 in 2014 to 343,299 in 2020…
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-illinois-increase-firearm-permits-gun-sales-record-covid-protests-20201210-7txsd5nvgndt7e23ttcaruh6aq-story.html
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