At the beginning of this 2020 campaign for president of the United States much of what I heard, after Joe Biden became the democratic nominee, was the expectation Biden would be committing “gaffes” which would demonstrate his unfitness for the job. Of course, individual 1 has been committing “GAFFES” since the day he LIED his way through the “oath” of office – where he promised to “defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic” – in which he’s FAILED miserably. (Of course, the “domestic enemy” is, well, himself – but, I digress)

So, the other day our IMPEACHED so-called president agreed to do a “town hall” somewhere in Pennsylvania where “undecided voters” were actually allowed to ask questions. And, of course, individual 1 had NO choice but to attempt LYING his way through the entire proceeding – Laura Ingraham of Fox “news” (ie individual 1 TV) said our IMPEACHED so-called president had been “ambushed,” apparently because he was asked FACT based questions and there were some follow up questions after he tried LYING his way out of an ugly reality – but, back to the issue of “gaffes.” When giving an answer to a question about the coronavirus our IMPEACHED so-called president made a comment about “herd mentality.” (And, by the way, he was “fact checked” by the Washington Post on 24 of his LIES. He received a lot of “Pinocchio’s”)

Well, I’m assuming, and actually hoping – for the sake of our country over the next four months – that individual 1 actually meant “herd immunity” – the solution to the coronavirus pandemic of those who are willing to lose a couple MILLION mostly older Americans to the virus. From what I could tell (I was only able to watch excerpts of the “town hall”) he wasn’t pressed on what SHOULD have been an embarrassing “gaffe.” Naturally, the next time Biden says something a bit on the stupid side “we the people” won’t hear the end of it. I felt individual 1 got a “pass” on what SHOULD have been a serious “gaffe” because if he’s thinking in terms of “herd immunity” it should be a focal point of this campaign. I know people who believe in that solution but, my guess is MOST Americans, especially older ones (like me), don’t like it all that much. (Does individual 1 get a “pass” on his “gaffes” because he commits so many of them?)

I still remember the Lt. Governor of Texas saying, “there are worst things than living” (A thought I just had after writing that – that could be true if individual 1 manages to STEAL another election) as he was suggesting us old folks should be willing to sacrifice our “golden years” in order to keep the stock market up. (Of course, since then we’ve seen the Fed can keep the market up with unlimited amounts of funds to funnel in to purchase toxic securities) I’m guessing this may be the reason individual 1 is polling behind Biden with the over 65 “crew” which he won by a large margin against Hillary Clinton. Can you imagine what our “liberal media” would be doing with a “gaffe” like this one – “herd mentality?” had it come from Mr. Biden? Just sayin!!!

With individual 1 there’s always so much to write about which is simply disgusting or worse that it’s hard to keep up. My wife wonders why I keep reading books about someone she thinks I “hate.” The truth is I don’t “hate” anyone – however, I despise individual 1. His personal moral character shortcomings are just too much for me to admire – all the LYING, the willingness to CHEAT under any circumstances, the routine of degrading virtually everyone who comes into contact with him – some, curiously (like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, etc.) just willingly put up with it, the destruction of our traditional institutions and norms, and I could go on. As I’ve said here many times, the DAMAGE he’s causing to this great nation might take a generation to overcome. People around the world have gotten past wondering what is wrong with America to actually be laughing AT us. Repairing relationships with our traditional allies will be difficult. I find it difficult to actually feel anything but despising all of that.

They (Our allies) know we have elections every four years and “we the people” will need to prove to them we’re not going to repeat this FOLLY again in 2024. Trust me, individual 1 and his “team” will NOT go away quietly. Whatever is left of the republican party after this next election will start their attacks on Biden and Harris BEFORE they take the oath of office – and, it won’t be pretty and it will include unending racist and misogynistic attacks against Kamala Harris – as republicans will be gearing up thinking she’ll be the democratic nominee in 2024. Count on it!

When Barack Obama became our 44th president “we the people” sat back thinking we had defeated racism, by and large, and we just waited for democrats to solve all our problems without understanding WE must remain vigilant and participate in the process – so, this time demanding the changes we believe in is paramount – like health care for ALL, (however they can get there) a coherent NATIONAL Covid-19 policy, an economic plan which addresses the deficit and the debt we’re leaving for our children and grandchildren, addressing the issue of Social Justice HEAD ON, putting sanctions on Russia which will cause them to back off their neo-Nazi push around the world – including here, increasing the minimum wage to $15 and increasing support for workers to be able to collectively bargain in unions, changing the attitude across America so people understand our workers are as or MORE important than shareholders and finding ways to minimize the tax laws which encourage CEO’s and corporate executives to think short term as they find ways to push stock prices higher AND taxing the gains corporate executives make by receiving their salaries in the form of stocks.

Of course, those are the ideas of a retired school teacher, but my point is we all need to accept the responsibility of being an informed citizen. The fact MANY of us are old doesn’t mean we can’t still be readers. There’s so much information in books which give one a great view of who individual 1 actually is that, had more of us been readers, this NIGHTMARE would never have happened. I’m presently reading Michael Cohen’s book titled “Disloyal” and I can tell you I’m learning more from this book than, likely, any of the others I’ve read lately (although Bob Woodward’s book just arrived in the mail today). Cohen makes something clear which I’ve been saying since the 2016 campaign.

Individual 1 has a way of mesmerizing people and he’s used this “trait” to gain MILLIONS of free advertising from the various media outlets. I still remember back in 2016 I felt confident MSNBC, the so-called “liberal” version of Fox “news,” was giving individual 1 HOURS of free air time virtually EVERY day! I’m very happy Chris Matthews is no longer on their airwaves – I felt the one hour “sit down” he had with individual 1 was designed to “normalize” a candidate who wasn’t “normal” during the 2016 campaign. MSNBC focused on individual 1 day in and day out while rarely giving Hillary Clinton more than a moment – maybe a short snapshot of one of her rallies while covering individual 1 rallies from start to finish.

Well, I think they’re doing it again. Of course, now “we the people” are more informed about what individual 1 is doing and what he’s “about,” but he’s still getting the BULK of MSNBC’s airtime – and, to him, even if it’s negative, he likes it, he believes it ultimately works to his favor – this according to Michael Cohen (and, of course, me :o). I have to add, I’m finding Cohen’s book very well written – much to my surprise. It appears much, or most, of the book was written while he was sitting in his prison cell so I’m guessing it was via him putting pen to paper. Impressive from the eyes of a former Middle School teacher. Regardless, so far it’s a great read and I’m about 2/3 through the book. Cohen’s book verifies, for those of us who’ve been viewing individual 1 as a “mafia boss,” that we have been correct.

Both Cohen and individual 1 have extended ties to the mafia. That our IMPEACHED so-called president has made it this far without finding himself indicted for one of the – LIKELY – many offenses he’s “allegedly” committed just shows how his BRAZEN, LYING, and BULLYING wherever he goes has worked for him his entire life. Based on what I’ve read in Cohen’s book, that MANY of us consider him a pathological LIAR and CHEATER, is right on. My hope is the investigations into his “stuff” will continue once he’s out of office. There’s a mountain of evidence suggesting potential issues with money laundering and various forms of fraud. As I’ve watched him for almost four years now it’s apparent he believes the laws were written for someone other than him. The typical “law and order” person – thinking he’s “above the law.”

A really interesting part of Cohen’ book relates to how he (Cohen) managed to get individual 1 to be more successful in a couple of polls. Cohen has a friend who was an assistant to Jerry Falwell Jr. (who Cohen introduced to individual 1) who was able to get individual 1 into the “top ten” of a poll which was celebrating the top business people in the 25 years of the Washington Post (I believe – if my memory serves me right). Individual 1 had to pay $15,000 for this guy to purchase fake id’s which he could then turn into “voters.” It worked until, apparently, the pollsters figured something was awry and they, essentially, disqualified individual 1 from the poll. Again, with one of the early polls when there were still 17 candidates for the republican nomination in 2015 Cohen’s friend (he was a key person at Liberty University) was able to purchase a bunch of “bots” which allowed individual 1 to get about a 25% rating in the poll – a number making him seem viable when most thought his candidacy was a joke. (As a Christian my doubts about Liberty University are mounting!)

So the CHEATING is just NORMAL for individual 1 (Also, apparently, the guy from Liberty U.) and, then, it should surprise no one he’s got something going with the Russians – who are STILL funneling misinformation (the real FAKE news) into Facebook and other “Social Media” platforms on his behalf. Of course, those on the receiving end of their posts have no idea where the “info” is coming from and many believe what they’re getting is legit without cross checking it or verifying it’s veracity. Cohen confirms individual 1’s connections to the Russians and his willingness to accept their help. In addition, just as I have proclaimed here many times, individual 1 was FULLY aware of the ILLEGAL meeting between individual 1 Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and a group of Russians claiming they had “incriminating” material on Ms. Clinton. Why Mueller didn’t go there is beyond me – although Mueller sent off something like 12 cases to be followed up by other jurisdictions which, apparently, were “quashed” by William Barr – “The WORST person in the world” – using my memory of Keith Olberman on MSNBC.

So, individual 1 has “flooded the zone” with so much ILLEGAL and incompetent behavior and decisionmaking that it’s difficult to focus on ANY of it. However, I believe individual 1’s “gaffe” with the term “herd mentality” should be a MAJOR “red flag!” What our IMPEACHED so-called president is suggesting is the way to end this pandemic is the so-called “herd immunity” approach I mentioned above in reference to the Lt. Governor of Texas. Dr, Scott Atlas has become individual 1’s “adviser” on the coronavirus task force and he’s been all over the right wing talk shows spewing the idea of “herd immunity” – which is obvious what individual 1 was referring to with his most recent “gaffe.” And, it appears that is the policy of “these United States.”

I’ve done the math here several times in the past – I believe the first time was after my initial “introduction” to the Texas Lt. Governor – who, by the way, from what I’ve read, has a lot of power in the state of Texas – maybe why their hospitals are so full of Covid-19 patients. So, in a country with 330 MILLION people you’d need somewhere in the neighborhood of 215 MILLION to 250 MILLION Americans, depending on which expert you listen to, to become infected with Covid-19 to reach the 65% to 75% of the population necessary to reach that point. Based on the present percentage of people DYING to those who’ve been infected (almost 3%) there would be somewhere between 6 and 8 MILLION Americans dying from the disease to reach “herd mentality” (ie “herd immunity”). Of course, if it’s true that after about 90 days you can be re-infected, well, all “herd” bets are off – but our IMPEACHED so-called president appears to be operating under “herd mentality!” That was a significant “gaffe.” I hope our “liberal media” picks up on it and what it actually means!

Final Thought: Just the thought of MILLIONS more Americans dying from this virus, mostly old people like me, doesn’t come across to me as being that palatable. But, just for the sake of argument, suggest that us old people should be willing to die for the Stock Market – how are we supposed to go about doing it. Just think about how our hospitals have been almost to the breaking point dealing with the virus up to this point and then figure something like 10 to 30 times as many cases – are we simply supposed to die at home with this disease – just be willing to suffocate without even trying to beat the disease? Is this what they’re proposing? Is that what you’d call “herd mentality?” Honestly, I’m not that patriotic! I’ve always considered myself patriotic, I’ve believed in my country, but honestly, this kind of thinking is giving me pause. As we get closer and closer to November 3rd this election seems more significant than I already thought. And, of course, as I read about the intentions of individual 1, William Barr, and others to CHEAT in order to “win” the hair on my back is standing straight up! Yikes!!!