As the coronavirus crisis continues to unfold I continue to be amazed at all of our “conservatives” in America not even blinking as we start to look like an almost totally socialist nation. As I usually do, today I logged into the Yahoo finance website and one of the main headlines was the “Fed” pumping ANOTHER $2.3 TRILLION into the stock market in their seemingly unlimited ability to BAIL OUT America’s business community to the point where investors are suggesting “it’s time to buy” again. If you’ve been around this site you know I’m a fan of “Main Street” and, not so much Wall Street. However, it’s never been more apparent how important Wall Street is to the moneyed interests in this nation.

I’m not sure if this $2.3 TRILLION is something which has to be approved by Congress – just a week or so ago they approved the so-called “Cares Act” which called for $2.2 TRILLION of which most was supposed to go to workers, but individual 1 has already FIRED the inspector general who was tasked with overseeing the proper dispersal of these funds. Now, another $2.3 TRILLION? I can say this, if this is money which needs congressional approval I certainly hope the democrats put even more stringent oversight on the dispersal of the money. I actually predicted individual 1 would be trying to get his “greedy paws” on part of the so-called $500 BILLION “slush fund” which specifically stated that would be a “no no.”

In other words, if individual 1 manages to dip into that “slush fund” he’ll be violating yet another law. Clearly, Congress doesn’t have the appetite to IMPEACH him once again, but if it was up to me I’d say if he violates the “rules” put on this funding it would be time for IMPEACHMENT #2. Of course, they’re not going to listen to me, but democrats had better show some backbone as Moscow Mitch and individual 1 are NOT going to let up on their assault on America. Just in one week, individual 1 FIRED three key inspector generals, not to mention the captain of one of America’s great Air Craft Carriers. We’re seeing no letup in autocracy 101 coming from individual 1. And, he’s got more misery for “we the people” up his sleeve.

If you saw the lines of people lined up to vote in Wisconsin this past week with masks on their faces while they endured rain and hail showers during their 2+ hours waiting to vote you understand to what degree republicans will go in order to “win” again. (In Milwaukee there were only 5 polling places instead of the usual 180) The reports in 2016 were that Wisconsin succeeded in disenfranchising 300,000 (likely democratic) voters while individual 1 “won” the state by about 50,000 votes. Clearly, that “plan” worked for them back then so do you actually think they’ll try to make sure anyone who wants to vote can in 2020? There’s a battle brewing over “vote by mail” and we’ll see how determined democrats are to make sure there won’t be any more “Wisconsin’s” this November by providing the resources for vote by mail in EVERY state. Of course, individual 1 believes it’s OK for him to “vote by mail” but the rest of us would “cheat.” When I heard that, all I could think was “Are you kidding me?” Coming from the mouth of the ultimate CHEATER!

Our IMPEACHED so-called president continues to lobby for the repealing of the payroll tax which is the life blood of the Social Security system that he pledged NOT to attack when he originally was running for office. Of course, like everything else which comes out of his mouth, you can’t believe ANY of it. And, you have to wonder what’s going through his head – does he even understand what a LIAR he is. I’ve pointed out here pathological LIARS actually believe their LIES as the words trickle off their tongues. Just the other day I chose to watch individual 1 in one of his press briefings (at the request of my friend who somehow continues to support him) and in the space of 16 minutes he said he was going to freeze America’s investment in the World Health Organization – which, by the way, is his latest bogeyman as he’s deflecting responsibility for his own shortcomings in this pandemic – and then, shortly thereafter, say he “never said that.” That’s correct, in 16 minutes time he CONTRADICTED himself.

Just the FACT he was attempting to deflect blame to the WHO was almost too much for me – I watched so I could tell my friend my “info” was coming direct from the source, and it was all I could do to stay tuned, because it was pure LYING. I vividly remember the head of the WHO increasing their alarm to this crisis specifically because countries like the U.S. and countries in Western Europe – like the U.K., Spain, and Italy, weren’t taking this seriously enough. This was about the time individual 1 was claiming there was nothing to worry about and we had no cases in America and “we’ve got it under control.” Well, again, after he contradicted himself about blocking funding to the WHO in just a matter of minutes, that was too much for me and, as I usually do when he begins his pandemic campaign rallies I turned off the TV.

Look, the people who support him are going to continue to support him – they’ve been brainwashed to believe if it’s not coming from Fox or people like Limbaugh it’s not “news.” They believe this virus is just another “liberal” attack on their IMPEACHED so-called president. They call themselves “conservatives” but I’ve yet to hear one of them complaining about the reality “we the people” will be coughing up about (up until right now) $8 TRILLION more in debt and, in essence, this is what liberals have said for years that “conservatives” only believe in Socialism when it’s required to bail out their “capitalist” businesses’ losses.

Of course I’m personally in favor of the money headed to all those who’ve lost their jobs during this pandemic and I believe supporting the small businesses which are closed deserve the support which would amount to grants if they keep their employees on the payroll and start up again once this is over – which very well could be next year. But, as I said the other day, I’m getting the impression those on Wall Street simply want a “V” curve to the apparent recession in order to get business back to “normal” ASAP. Personally, I believe if this crisis doesn’t get the attention of “we the people” to understand what Bernie Sanders has been talking about for years, well, it’s “on us.” I hope we NEVER go back to “business as usual.” Many of the people who are dying from this pandemic in America are people who weren’t healthy to begin with likely because they can’t afford health care – because almost 100 MILLION Americans are either uninsured or under-insured. Not surprisingly, African Americans make up a disproportionate number of the deaths due to Covid-19.

And, as I’ve said here numerously of late, if we can come up with almost $7 TRILLION to bail out Wall Street in the space of a few weeks we SHOULD be able to afford the things which would transform this nation for the better. We’re falling so far behind other countries – like, especially China – that recovery becomes more daunting by the day. We SHOULD have been rebuilding our infrastructure – to 21st century standards – years ago – but, republicans said it was too expensive (as they were complaining about the national debt during President Obama’s administration and working to block virtually every Obama initiative) but can they continue with that argument? College debt on our young people? Tuition free college as an investment in our young people? a $15 minimum wage? Providing food for the “least among us?” I could go on, but I have no doubt those who support individual 1 would see all this as something nefarious.

Even the HUGE reduction in the demand for oil due to all the cars which aren’t driving on our highways has made many of the largest cities around the world show significantly reduced levels of pollution in the air which is clearly noticeable even from satellites orbiting the earth. The lack of cars on the roads has caused a reduction in the movement of the “plates” under the surface of the earth (I’m sure I’m not explaining this correctly, I didn’t do well in geology class) so there will be a lot of data on things we COULD do as we build a NEW economy in the immediate future – what some in the democratic party (and Bernie) call the “Green New Deal.” Let’s just hope we don’t go back to “business as usual” – which is what those on Wall Street are eager for.

The latest book I’m reading addresses this issue: “WINNERS TAKE ALL The ELITE CHARADE of CHANGING the WORLD” by Anand Giridharadas. I’ve just started the book, but it appears the thesis of the book is that the “elite” members of our society, even when they’re pushing for “change,” it would amount to, basically, no change at all. That any “change” would be simply as part of the system we have in a way which simply perpetuates what has created their elitist place in society, to me, is NO change at all. I just finished Robert Reich’s book “The Common Good” and he writes about, to a degree, the same thing – that the corporate interests in America are focused on shareholders and executives – not on workers and the communities which have made their existence possible in the first place. If we’re going to actually change, now is the time to do it!

I’ve been in a running discussion with my son (who’s a “millennial”) about how this nation was when I was young versus what he’s dealing with today. He’s so cynical I don’t know if it’s possible to “fix” his thinking, even if somehow people in Washington DC would listen to Bernie (I wanted to say me :o). Bernie makes total sense to my son, but he believes what Bernie is proposing isn’t possible in America because the corporatocracy won’t let it happen. I tell him, during the 1950’s through 1970’s this was a much different country and, despite her obvious shortcomings, was much “healthier.” And, for some reason the wealthy elite who continue to spend BILLIONS in order to prevent America from becoming healthy again – from the bottom up – don’t understand things would be better even for them if it was better for “the least of these.” America has lost her moral compass and, as I watch this more closely I understand why many would suggest that “compass” has been MIA from the beginning.

While for my entire life America has been called a “nation of immigrants” it’s become apparent there’s a significant segment of our country which, despite being “immigrants,” seems to despise immigration. It’s as if it was OK for “us” to immigrate to America but it’s not OK for “them.” Our IMPEACHED so-called president is a second generation immigrant and he’s married to an immigrant whose parents came here via a program individual 1 wants to eliminate – hypocrisy? – and he can find creative ways to deflect blame for his shortcomings onto immigrants. So, I find it interesting that the Covid-19 crisis is exposing the issues in this nation with the African American community, the Latino community, and the Native American communities. This gets back to my wish that we DON’T go back to business as usual once this pandemic is in the history books (which is likely next year).

I certainly don’t want to suggest African Americans are “immigrants” because their “community” has been here longer than all but a few of the “European” immigrant families – which came here and then chose to “own” slaves. America has been a challenging place (to say the least) for those of African descent, for women, for anyone who falls into the “other” category – yet, as all these “categories” evolve America becomes better for it – because of “them.” Yet, Covid-19 is exposing how we’ve allowed our Middle Class to erode, how defacto segregation is reality, how the “poor” are vulnerable to virtually any “blip” on the “radar” let alone a pandemic of this magnitude. Yet, republicans CONTINUE their push to funnel the “bailout” money in these incredible “tranches” of funding they’re miraculously coming up with to their favored business interests. Moscow Mitch attempted to pull off an “I know best” charade last week where he would simply pile $250 BILLION onto a program which already has major issues. Yikes!!!

So, we all know Congress put restrictions on the money allocated to fight the coronavirus and individual 1 is doing everything he can to circumvent those restrictions. He’s fired the inspector general overseeing the funds, he wrote a “signing statement” suggesting he won’t follow the guidelines and, already, there are reports that Secretary Mnuchin is violating the “rules” in regards to the provisions for unemployment insurance in the legislation. I wrote previously about how several republicans objected right up until the bill was passed about how the unemployment provisions were “too friendly” for the workers – keep in mind, these are people who are near the bottom of America’s work force in regard to compensation – and Mnuchin is preventing money going to people for whom it was intended to provide temporary financial relief. We’ll find out if there really is an oversight committee???

Additionally, Mnuchin is “cheating” in regard to money going to the airline industry. It was specifically negotiated into the “Cares Act” that the airline industry would get “loans” designed to keep them “afloat” until they’re back operating and the “loans” would provide the money necessary for them to pay their employees and cover their basic expenses. What they couldn’t do if they took the money was buy back stock, provide bonuses to executives, etc. for a period of time. Once they were operating again, if they retained their workforce, the loans become grants. Well, apparently Mnuchin – and, of course, by extension individual 1 – and, maybe, the airlines themselves, decided to do things differently and the money going to the airlines will be in the form of the government buying an equity position in the carriers – and, the workers then get screwed out of the original agreement which was part of the bill. To me, just another individual 1 outrage. And, I know his cult members could care less – unless, of course, some of them work for the airline industry. Personally, I say let the airline industry go through bankruptcy if they don’t want to take care of their workforce as provided in the bill.

If democrats want a chance to win this November the FIGHT starts right now. There should be no more funding for this crisis until they get individual 1, Mnuchin, and anyone else with authority over the disbursement of the funds already allocated to be following the “letter of the law.” If our IMPEACHED so-called president is NOT going to follow the laws which are enacted “we the people” should not continue enacting them. If the “rescue” bills aren’t going to eliminate the long lines at the food banks then why pass the laws in the first place? I really have to wonder what is going on with all that money? Democrats MUST not allow the payroll tax to be repealed, even “for the rest of this year” – money “borrowed” from Social Security NEVER gets paid back – everyone knows that – and, additionally, democrats should agree to NOTHING unless there’s a provision funding “vote by mail” across the nation so we don’t see another “Wisconsin.” (Apparently, not only were voters forced to stand in long lines in the rain, but many absentee ballots were not being counted. Wisconsin republicans are, well, deplorable. Remember, Wisconsin was the home of the John Birch Society)

Final Thought: There was a saying which came out of what happened in Germany during the “Great Depression” back in the early 1930’s by Martin Niemoller, who spent 7 years in a concentration camp, which went as follows: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” As I observe individual 1 acting as if he can “do whatever I want” – with, of course, the backing of Moscow Mitch and republicans in Congress – I’m often reminded of that saying. Americans don’t believe it can happen here, but individual 1’s cult really reminds me of the cult which was created back then. And, we’re seeing in real time how competence is not a requirement of a demagogue. (I heard him say, again, how important “this holiday” – I still haven’t heard him call it Easter – but, of course, I’m tuning out his campaign press briefings – is to him. I’m still waiting to see how many times he’s been to church on Easter Sunday. I’m guessing it’s close to ZERO, unless, he’s in the “Christmas and Easter” sect of “Christianity”)

I “Googled” – although I’ve switched search engines to “DuckDuckGo” (it doesn’t bombard me with advertisements) “How many times has Trump gone to church?” (I had to use his surname) and, after reading the top 15 posts there was one example of someone seeing him in church over 30 years ago. There were three examples of people saying they’ve heard him say he hasn’t “asked for forgiveness” because he hasn’t done anything wrong. I’ve never heard him say that but I did hear him claim “2 Corinthians 3:17 as one of his favorite verses” when he was at Liberty University trying to convince a bunch of Christian students he’s “religious.” Most of the posts answered my question with the same answer: NEVER! (I actually think that’s not correct, but I’m guessing it’s CLOSE to correct)

Yesterday was “Good Friday” and in our home we did church “remotely.” It was, as Good Friday services usually are, a very moving service. Personally, in my Christian “walk” my focus is always on Jesus. He always gives me good advice – of course, I often have trouble following it because, well, I’m saddled with those troublesome human tendencies. I even question why I seem so focused on keeping up the “fight” against individual 1. I’m often reminded (by Him ie Jesus) “Judge not lest you be judged” and, I guess, I’m saying I’m willing to be judged. Clearly, I don’t understand how anyone who calls themselves a Christian could support individual 1. That’s what motivated me to write the previous paragraph about Niemoller – the similarities to what is going on with individual 1’s cult and 1930’s Germany are eerily similar. To me, “we the people” are simply adding another dark mark on America’s history – and, I hope and pray we “fix” this sooner rather than later. Suggested Reading: “BONHOEFFER Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas! It’s an eye opener!