Saturday, July 25, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 131: 'Where Have All the Sane People Gone. Short Time Passing?

Dear Diary,

I'm waxing poetic because it's a fun thing to do in the middle of the chaos that surrounds us all. 

My apologies to Pete Seeger's song "Where have all the flowers gone?" I don't think he'd mind however, because it's mocking an authoritarian regime.


Where Have All the Sane People Gone?

Where have all the experts gone, short time passing?
Where have all the generals gone, not so long ago?
Where have all the experts gone?
Trump kicked them out everyone
Oh, when will he ever learn?
Oh, when will he ever learn?


Where have all the healthcare experts gone, short time passing?

Where have all of our top healthcare experts gone, short time ago?
Where has Dr. Fauci gone?
hidden with other experts everyone
Oh, when will he ever learn?
Oh. when will he ever learn?


Where have all inspector generals gone, short time passing?
Where have all those honest IG's gone, not so long ago?
fired from their jobs everyone
Oh, when will Trump ever learn?
Oh, when will Trump ever learn?

I hope you enjoyed this little parody as much as I did writing it.

Quote for the Day; "Satire is a lesson, parody is a game." -Vladimir Nabokov 

Friday, July 24, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 130: A Numb Nation Under Siege

Dear Diary,

It's increasingly apparent Americans are numb from witnessing the chaos everywhere around them:


They're numb from hearing Trump's daily lies.

They're numb from hearing the world laugh at our autocratic and pathetic president.

They're numb to shocking news of Trump's corruption on a daily basis.

They're numb watching the Trump's regime's war on science.

They're numb because Trump's response to the coronavirus has resulted in 142,000 (and counting daily) deaths across the nation.

They're numb and divided over wearing face masks to fight COVID-19.


They're numb because Trump treats dictators like Putin and Kim like they're his best friends, and kowtows to our enemies for personal reasons.


They're numb from hearing about foreign powers influencing our elections at the behest of Trump whose invited their help to defeat his political opponent Hillary Clinton in 2016, and who asked China for political dirt against another political opponent; Joe Biden in 2020.


They're numb from witnessing Trump dismantle government agencies and discrediting inspector generals and any other oversight agencies of his foul regime.

The one thing I'm counting on is that Americans will shake their numbness off and vote in record numbers to get rid of a president whose held the nation under siege since he was sworn into office.

Quote for the Day; "Shock is when language and emotion get overwritten by trauma's numbing code." -Stewart Stafford

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 129: GOP Decadency Under Trump - Exhibit A

Dear Diary,

Under Trump's regime, a new breed of elected Republican officials has emerged. They're loud, bombastic, and have a flair for publicity. They lie shamelessly. They also support everything Trumps says and does.
Exhibit A: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz

One of Trump's most loyal subjects, Gaetz has been violating ethics rules since he slunk into office clinging to his master's ridiculously long tie. 

The most recent investigation into the corrupt little creep has revealed he's been using taxpayers money (tens of thousands) to pay a limited liability company linked to a speech-writing consultant - Darren Beattie - who was ousted from the Trump Administration in direct conflict with House rules.

Beattie got kicked out after appearing at a convention known for its racist and white supremacist views. I guess he embarrassed the regime and that's why they had to cut ties.

In another violation of ethics House rules, a private company installed a television studio in his father's home in Niceville, Fla., which Gaetz uses when he appears on television. He refuses to name the private company which is taking in a fee each time he appears on the air.

This arrangement, runs afoul of the House gift rule, which prohibits any lawmaker, aide, and their family members from accepting gifts worth more than $50. And of course, he's illegally using taxpayer money in the scam.

To be clear, Gaetz's spending has already been under review.

The Office of Congressional Ethics recently dropped investigation into Gaetz's office rental agreement after Politico reported in April that he rented his office in Pensacola, Fla., from a longtime friend Collier Merrill whose also a political donor and policy advisor.

In this case Gaetz dodged a bullet by saying the rental deal was hashed out privately(?) and below market value. It's nice having fellow Trumpies to help cover up his crap. 

Instead of cleaning out the so-called swamp in Washington, Trump has dug a deep tar pit that's sucked GOP lawmakers into it, just like Br'er Rabbit did to Br'er Fox in the Song of the South.

Quote for the Day; "The true cause of conflict in humanity is simply; decadence and greed. Both are the elements which motivate people to only think of themselves..." -Husam 
Wafaei

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 128: A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Dear Diary,

The reality that Americans are losing the battle against the coronavirus gets me down. Worse, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Ignorance and ideology has plunged our country into chaos. 

It didn't have to be this way. If we would have had a real leader, and not an egotistical conspiracy clown, there wouldn't be 142,000 (and counting) deaths in the last six months. 

We didn't, and still don't have a leader. Trump is running around like a crazed orangutan telling people that the virus will magically disappear anytime now.  

Fear of not getting re-elected is spreading through the ranks of Republican minions, one of many reasons they're turning to science instead of Trumpian magic less than 100 days from the general election.

Meanwhile Congress is investigating Russian attempts to use members of Congress as unwitting (or corrupt) pawns to attack Democrats on Capital Hill, and Joe Biden. 

It looks like that sneaky bastard, and Trump enabler, Sen. Ron Johnson, is coordinating with ousted Ukrainian officials to come up with fake dirt in a last minute bid to discredit Biden in an October surprise. Among other things.

Amid all of this chaos Trump is planning on invading Democratic states with unmarked goons to arrest and spirit away civilians in unmarked cars. He's threatened to send 150 goons into Chicago. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot made it clear that's not going to happen, and she's going to the courts to fight the unconstitutional move by Trump. "Don't even think about it," Lightfoot warned. We'll see what happens. 

The threat is implicit; Trump is using government agencies not trained to deal with civilians (and not part of their official job description) to "dominate streets" in cities where there's Democratic mayors. His blatant appeal to his hardcore base comes wrapped in the myth of being a "law and order" president. 

The only way to contain the chaos is to remove Trump from the center of the storm by voting on November 3rd. It won't automatically solve everything from the crippled economy to the pandemic, but kicking his corrupt ass out will go a long way towards seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Quote for the Day; "There comes a point where you know longer care if there's a light at the end of the tunnel. You're just sick of the tunnel." -Ranata Suzuki 

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 127: Act II: Coronavirus Task Farce Returns

Dear Diary,

He's back! Take a seat.

In the latest installment of Trump's alternate universe versus science, the orange anus has decided to once again preside over his Coronavirus Task Farce briefings which are being televised today. I suspect this rewind is really going to be a shit show.

Slump told Chris Wallace on Sunday that he's looking forward to great ratings again, like last time. To Stump the biggest reason for restoring the Task Farce is the ratings and a chance to reach a larger audience. Not sharing life saving safety measures.

The showman is desperate to see something positive right now with every poll in the country showing him losing to Biden.

Here's the part I love... ironically his advisors were finally able to lure him away from the briefings before because they were KILLING TRUMP. His national ratings are still plunging over his handling of the pandemic.

This return to battling with healthcare officials on live television is going to be like pouring fuel on the flames as horrified Americans see how far gone Thump is right now.

His claim about COVID-19 just disappearing isn't playing very well right now in states like Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Texas, California, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama.
There's 37 states with rising coronavirus cases as I write this.

If Bump's advisors were right the first time, about slumping ratings tied into his Task Farce performances, then they must be shitting themselves today.

They must be hoping he won't go off script and think he's in a campaign rally attacking Biden. Or, ranting about dishwashers, and low flow toilets.

It remains to be seen how much more damage the egotistical moron can do to himself and his own re-election efforts.

I'll be watching today to see if Lump comes up with any new coronavirus cures, like he did in his last Task Force briefing before waddling away from the stage. Yeah, that Lysol cure was really crazy.

I bet our Cheeto in chief comes up with even more crazy cures and reasons why only he can lead us through this pandemic. Comedians across the country will be crying as they try to find something about Trump that is funny... instead of life-threatening.

Quote for the Day; "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." -Neil deGrasse Tyson

Monday, July 20, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 126: A Good Time To Daydream

Dear Diary,

Daydreams help me get through the twin terrors of a deadly pandemic raging out of control, and a toxic Trump presidency.

There's some things you just can't change. I get that. Making a habit of running from reality isn't a good idea either, unless you're a Trump follower.

No. A daydream, here or there, can invigorant a person by putting them in control even if it is wishful thinking. I get a personal jolt imagining scenarios like the following:
                                   DAY DREAMS
**Trump loses the election and refuses to leave the Oval Office so FBI agents have to put him in a straight jacket and a Hannibal Lecter mask, and wheel him out on a hand cart down the front portico of the White House with every news agency in the world covering the humiliating moment!

**Mitch McConnel and wife Elaine Chao, are exposed as traitors. Moscow Mitch for his criminal collusion with Russian businesses, and Chao for being an agent for Communist China. They're both convicted and sentenced to the harshest prisons in the land. I'm talking Super Max here.

**Matt Gaetz is stopped for a driver violation - let's say DUI...oh! Wait a moment! That's already happened. I got it. Gaetz is caught and sentenced to prison for running his own child porn website featuring alt right creeps molesting children and animals.

**Just before a nationally televised interview someone slips a fast-acting truth serum to Republican senator James Lankford. He's interviewed by Anderson Cooper who asks him revealing questions about Trump, and other GOP goons in Congress and sinks like a canary!

**Trump catches COVID-19 but doesn't die. However, he has to be isolated in a mental institution for the criminally insane/ICU room - without his cell phone, TV, or radio. His daily visits are from liberal Hispanic and Black nurses wearing VOTE BIDEN badges. 

**Mike Pence gets caught cheating on his wife! Oh yeah! This is a fun one. Turn's out that Pence and Bill Barr are secret lovers and get caught exchanging blows in Trump's bunker beneath the White House. The same infamous bunker that Donnie "inspected" a while ago.

**The Ohio State wrestling team sex scandal is still in the courts and the prosecution calls Republican Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan to the stand to give his testimony on what he saw going on between the team doctor and young wrestlers in the showers. The good part comes before his testimony when a dozen credible firsthand witnesses say that not only did Jordan know what was going on... he was also molesting them!

**Fox News team stories like Tucker Carlson's unnatural addiction to being spanked and whipped by Laura Ingraham in a Nazi uniform.
Brian Kilmeade reading poems about Trump and Rudy Giuliani's erotic adventures in the Ukraine to a group of young Republicans in drag.

In summary, daydreams stimulate serotonin in a time when feeling good is at a premium.

Quote for the Day; "I try to maintain a healthy dose of daydreaming to remain sane." -Florence Welch

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 125: TRUMP UNHINGED

Dear Diary,

I'm even more pissed off today than yesterday about Trump's secret police.

It was a move Hitler would have approved of.

Using Custom's and Border Protection agents to harass civilians in Portland, Oregon crossed a red line. It was unconstitutional. It's unforgivable. It's un-American.

It's Trump unhinged with 105 days left until Americans can vote him out of office. 

One of my biggest concerns - other than voter suppression and compromised voting machines - is what Trump will do with these final days before judgement is handed down by a majority of Americans?

He's physically and mentally deteriorating every passing day. Between hawking Goya food products for a supporter (behind the Resolute Desk), and ranting for an hour in the Rose Garden about everything from dishwashers to deregulation, the signs are clear... he's losing control.

Trump's lost the battle with the coronavirus and he knows it. No matter how many lies he's told about the pandemic they keep getting slapped down by reality daily.

His empty rhetoric means little to concerned parents who distrust Trump's eagerness to resume full school classes nationally without proper guidance from health experts.

Trump's niece Mary, whose book about him is currently a Best Seller on Amazon, has been interviewed several times now. Her warning that Trump WILL get worse haunts me. She knows the bastard.

Many others - among them 200 American psychiatrists who published a journal report on his mental health last year - have been sounding the alarm about Trump's mental capacity.

Another troubling aspect about stopping Trump from further depredations on our society is there's no hope of using the 25th Amendment, because his cabinet and Pence wouldn't even consider it.

It's enough to give a person nightmares.

But, I can't give up. I have to believe there's enough good people left to stop Trump from sacking every societal norm, and looting taxpayers money from the Treasury Department. Or, enough patriots still in the Pentagon to stop him from murdering American civilians by using our military forces like Hitler's Gestapo.

Quote for the Day; "The problem with educating stupid people was that they didn't know they were stupid. The same went for the crazy people." -Chuck Palahniuk

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 124: Abuse of Power: Trump's Political Theatre in Portland

Dear Diary,                              
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Washington Post, federal law enforcement officials responding to protests in Portland, have in recent days been unlawfully detaining people in unmarked cars. 

These "officials" - which turned out to be goons working for the Department of Homeland Security's Custom's and Border Protection - are wearing camo outfits with no identifying patches on them and are armed with assault rifles. They've been driving around in unmarked rented minivans and arresting people indiscriminately for several days.

Trump wanted a diversion from his sinking polls by playing Mr. Law and Order by ostensibly protecting federal property (a courthouse). Numerous media and first-hand reports have documented the goons grabbing people off the street who were no where near the courthouse and were not engaged in criminal activity.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Gov. Kate Brown, and Oregon's congressional delegation were pretty clear they did not want Trump's "Help" in dealing with the protestors. In particular they said the feds were not welcome.

Wheeler said that the federal officers had brought only violence and "life-threatening tactics" to Portland streets, and "we do not need or want their help."

Gov. Brown told Trump and his minions that they should remove "all federal officers from our streets" and criticized Trump's "political theatre" and "blatant abuse of power" in Portland.

State Sen. Ron Wyden echoed that critique in a Twitter post yesterday:

"A peaceful protestor in Portland was shot in the head by one of Trump's secret police. Now Trump and HHS Director Chad Wolf are weaponizing the DHS as their own occupying army to provoke violence on the streets of my hometown because they think it plays well with right-wing media."
This is all scary stuff
It's another Trump diversion utilizing federal forces to crack down on lawful protests. We've seen Trump's secret police before in Washington DC when he wanted a photo op. Armed men in camos with no patches.

How terrifying for American citizens who are watching Trump turn federal agencies against them in a blatant assault on their civil liberties.

Trump has turned our republic into a Theatre of the Absurd by catering to authoritarians and alt-right supporters. He doesn't want his reality show presidency to end... ever.

Quote for the Day; "The highest mode of corruption is the abuse of power." - Auliq Ice

Friday, July 17, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 123: Trumpism is an Infection That's Not Going Away Soon

Dear Diary,

The dark day Trump slithered into the White House the infection began spreading. 

Conservativism collapsed and was replaced with Trumpism. Military brass that were once patriots became pawns, as Trump went through "his generals" in search of perfect cronies in the Pentagon.

Trumpism has been a spreader of toxic division and racism among Americans. I find it disturbing that Trump got away with appointing two "Conservative" judges to the Supreme Court, and installing 200 Federalist Society lackeys' to federal court judgeships in districts across the nation.

Those Trumpian infections are going to be around for a long time. The other sores scarring our leadership positions in government can be rooted out and dispensed with. From the entire Trumpian cabinet to the Department of Justice, the need to sanitize all traces of Trump's corrupt minions will be immediate when Biden takes office.

There's no way to tell how long Trumpism will continue to stain our society after he returns to civilian life. Infections like this, when cult followers are willing to give up their safety and lives by not wearing masks to please The Donald, take time to wither away in the trash heap of history.

There's two infections challenging all Americans today;
**A global pandemic with America doing worse than any other country on earth in containing it, and
**Trumpism.
                  On the Homefront, Medford, Oregon
UNMASKED IDIOTS
About 50 of the stupidest residents in Medford gathered to protest the state mandate to wear face masks Wednesday.

Because you can't change stupid, either you are or you're not - the coronavirus will continue to spread throughout the country.

STATE BUDGET
Oregon lawmakers propose closing a prison, and cutting mental health offerings, to balance the state budget amid the coronavirus. 

The idea that these lawmakers want to cut any funding for mental health absolutely blows my mind! Mental health offerings are already far and few between, and now the need has grown exponentially with the pandemic.

I suggest the lawmakers take a cut in their own salary to help balance the budget.

Quote for the Day; "After all, evil was a kind of poison, an infection of the soul." -John Connolly

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 122: Don the Con Picked a Losing Game to Play This Time

Dear Diary,

All con men have signature schemes and Trump is no exception.

Trump thrived in reality world TV by turning facts into fables and controlling the narrative around him about being a great businessman.

With a boost from his "Apprentice" fans, white supremacists, the KKK, militia groups, and alt right conservatives, Trump conned enough people to get elected. It was the biggest con in American history.

With four months to go until the presidential election, Trump is finding that his 2016 campaign tactics no longer work. The game has changed. People know who Trump is now. They see how incompetent his leadership has been during this terrible pandemic.

His desperate "Now you see it, now you don't" attempt at warping people's perception by denying reality is not working anymore. As of this writing, the nation is in coronavirus free fall with record infections and deaths. It's spreading faster right now than when it first appeared in February.

Despite Trump and his minions attempts to stop healthcare experts from telling the truth about the situation, there's no denying reality. From attacking Dr. Fauci to not ordering a national mandate on face masks, team Trump has picked a losing con this time.

                 On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon
There's a relatively small portion of Southern Oregon residents that want to bring all but 14 of Oregon's counties into a breakaway pact to merge with Idaho.

The Greater Idaho project is more a dream than a real possibility. Dissatisfied rural Republicans have been chaffing under a state with a Democratic governor and Democratic majority in the State Legislature.

Getting the necessary signatures to get on a statewide ballot initiative hasn't gone well and the sponsoring group People Not Politicians who are asking for another deadline extension after already having been granted one. 

Even if county voters like the idea of being part of Idaho, both of the states' legislatures, and the U.S. Congress would need to approve the change. I guess it just gives those maroons something to bitch about.

NOT THIS TIME!
Portland protestors attempted to form what they call the Chinook Land Autonomous Territory in downtown Portland parks on Tuesday.

What started out as a normal protest for racial equality and law enforcement reform ended up with a small group of squatters across the street from the Federal Courthouse declaring it occupied.

That small group put up barricades on two streets which the police quickly took down.

After seeing what happening in Seattle Washington, when protestors took over part of the city, the last thing I want to see is some morons trying to pull the same stunt here. 

Protest parades are fine. It's the people's right to stage public protests. Just go home at night.... okay?

Quote for the Day; "The code of the con is to know just enough about everything so you can lie about anything." 
-E. Tancarville

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 121: The Biggest Threat to Public Schools: Betsy DeVos

Dear Diary,

Education Secretary and Trump puppet, Betsy DeVos, doesn't give a damn about children.

Or public schools.

She sees them as an income source for her depraved private for profit religious schools. If she gave a damn about children she wouldn't be pushing for a grand nationwide opening of schools in the height of this pandemic.


What we know about DeVos:
1) NPR reported that the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative, formerly the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, has been a top contributor to the Federalist Society, prompting the nation's largest teacher's union to criticize her for spending time on political events rather than planning for a safe reopening of schools shuttered by the pandemic.

She's currently holding three virtual meetings a week with members of the Federalist Society.

2) Betsy and her family are major Trump donors, which got her the job - despite being unqualified - in the first place.

3) Her father-in-law is a co-founder of Amway (basically a pyramid scheme) and part of a small circle of conservative billionaires who have long funded the Republican Party.

4) She's a major financial backer of legal efforts to overturn campaign-spending limits.

5) She's done everything she can to limit funding for public schools, and to promote private religious schools for profit.

The woman is evil.

She's also the current biggest threat to America's public school system. 

                   On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon
Recent virus transmission models agree with earlier evaluation - we could see anywhere from 1,100 to 7,300 cases per day by the end of this month.

We hit a daily record high of new cases Saturday with 409 reported.

Thus far, the state has reported 12,800 total cases of confirmed coronavirus, and 234 deaths.

Quote for the Day; "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...