Tag: Trump

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At Large Opinion

The Great Debate

Sharks or electrocution? (Photo: Gvision | Dreamstime.com)

“Hello, I’m Jake Tapper, here with Dana Bash to moderate the first presidential debate of 2024 between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Dana?”

“Thank you, Jake. Our first question goes to you, President Biden, and it’s this: Would you rather sink with a battery-powered boat and risk electrocution or be eaten by a shark?”

“Why, what kinda malarkey question is that?”

“It’s an issue that Mr. Trump has raised in several speeches and we’d like your response.”

“Well, it’s a stupid question because I don’t think a boat battery would electrocute you, but I guess I’d choose going down with the boat. A shark attack would be a painful death.”

“Thank you, President Biden. Now, Mr. Trump, your first question: You’ve said you’re in favor of posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?”

“Thou shouldn’t steal! What’s wrong with posting that in schools? They stole an election from me! Stop the steal. The Ten Commandments. Has anyone read this incredible stuff? My uncle taught at MIT, so I’m pretty smart, believe me. That being said, I really can’t pick a favorite commandment. They’re all great.”

“Thank you, Mr. Trump. Back to you, Jake.”

“Thank you, Dana. President Biden, I’d like you to address another issue raised by Mr. Trump: Specifically, what do you think about Hannibal Lecter? Mr. Trump says, ‘The late, great Hannibal Lecter said nice things about me.’ How do you feel about Mr. Lecter and his comments?” 

“What?? Hannibal Lecter is a fictional horror-movie character. He was a cannibal. He never said anything about Donald Trump. That’s crazy.”

“So, President Biden, you have no opinion about Mr. Lecter? You’re silent as a lamb?”

“This is ridiculous! Since I’ve been president, we’ve had the two strongest years of job growth in U.S. history. My administration has created 11 million jobs since 2021. I stood up to OPEC and have brought gas prices down by almost $2 a gallon. And what about a woman’s right to control her own body and make her own healthcare decisions? What about new gun laws? What about climate change? Ukraine and Russia? Israel and Hamas? These are the issues we should be talking about!”

“Be that as it may, Mr. President, we’d like to know where you stand on water pressure. Mr. Trump alleges that in America water just drips from showers and he can’t get his hair wet enough. We’d also like to know how your administration plans to deal with cancer-causing windmills.”

“Windmills don’t cause cancer! That’s nuts! And I don’t care what my predecessor says about faucets. His hair is a joke, anyway.”

“President Biden, we ask that you refrain from personal attacks and stay on the issues. Mr. Trump has recently proposed that the UFC stage a series of bouts between its fighters and ‘migrants.’ If a migrant wins, he gets to stay in the country. Mr. Trump has also proposed that any immigrant who graduates from any college would get an automatic green card. Your response?”

“I would point out that Mr. Trump is also proposing to round up and deport millions of immigrants on his first day in office. Which is it? Green cards or deportation or UFC fights? He has no coherent policy on immigration. Why aren’t you asking him how he plans to do any of this and how much it will cost?”

“President Biden, with all due respect, we need you to stay on topic. Mr. Trump said in a speech last weekend that you plan to name a military base after Al Sharpton. Is this true?”

“What??? No, of course not. What is wrong with you people? We now have a 3.5 percent unemployment rate — the lowest in 50 years. Mr. Trump talked about infrastructure for four years and did nothing. We passed an infrastructure bill that’s creating needed projects in all 50 states. Sixteen million households are now getting low-cost or free high-speed internet. We passed the first significant gun reform legislation in 30 years. These are the issues we need to be discussing, not sharks and windmills and UFC matches and Trump’s faucets.”

“Back to you, Dana.”

“Thanks, Jake. President Biden, one final question: How old are you and can you find your way off this stage?” 

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At Large Opinion

Gettysburg, Wow

Robert E. Lee (Photo: Julian Vannerson | Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

“Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was. It was so much and so interesting and so vicious and horrible and so beautiful in so many different ways, it represented such a big portion of the success of this country. Gettysburg, wow. I go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to look and to watch. And, uh, the statement of Robert E. Lee, who’s no longer in favor, did you ever notice that? He’s no longer in favor. ‘Never fight uphill, me boys, never fight uphill.’ They were fighting uphill. He said, ‘Wow, that was a big mistake.’ He lost his great general. And they were fighting. ‘Never fight uphill, me boys!’ But it was too late.”

You may or may not be familiar with the preceding paragraph. It depends to some extent upon how much of a political junkie (or masochist) you are. But even if you’re not familiar with it, you can probably guess the source. And if you guessed, Donald J. Trump, you win.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee scatted the forgoing brain jazz at a speech in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. It was just one discursive, rambling aside in an oration that consisted of more than 75 minutes of discursive, rambling asides. Some highlights:

“China is sending illegals here to start a little army in our country.”

“I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate.”

“I love women more than I love anything. I looove women.”

“Last night we had 20 people come to our country from the Congo. Welcome to our country. Where do you live in the Congo? We live in prison. They’re bringing them in from Africa!”

“The 2020 election was rigged, pure and simple. It was a disgrace and we can never let it happen again.”

“I’m perhaps the most honest guy in the world.”

Perhaps. And if you believe that, well, you’re an idiot. We’re past the point of pretending any of this is remotely normal, but here’s the worrisome thing: It actually is normal in one sense. It’s “normal” because it happens every day that Trump says something in public. After nine years of listening to this guy, Americans have become inured to it; our politics have literally transformed. Trump has normalized things that would have destroyed the career of any politician before he came along.

Gary Hart was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination when revelations of an extramarital affair emerged and he was finished. In 2004, presidential candidate Howard Dean was deemed unelectable because he screamed “Yeah!” at a rally in Iowa. See ya, Howard. You’re not “presidential” enough.

And Jimmy Carter was so concerned about a possible conflict of interest that he put his little Georgia peanut farm in a blind trust during his presidency, so as not to appear to be in the pocket of Big Peanut.

In contrast, Trump and his family made millions from his businesses while in office, including from a hotel in Washington, D.C., where foreign diplomats and lobbyists stayed in order to curry favor with the American president.

And just imagine the merde-storm that would engulf the mass media if Joe Biden bumbled his way through anything remotely similar to Trump’s lie-filled Schnecksville speech. Think of the outrage from the Confederate-loving MAGA types if Biden invented a Robert E. Lee quote that made the general sound like a surfer-pirate.

Argh, dude.

As this presidential campaign stumbles into summer, and as Trump’s trial in New York takes center stage, it is becoming more and more obvious that the GOP presidential candidate has some real issues with, well, reality. Trump is quite literally making things up — creating stories, statistics, and personal anecdotes out of whole cloth. This is not an opinion; it’s a verifiable fact: He’s a full-service gaffe station.

The question becomes: Is he doing it knowingly — just running a hustle to get elected again — or is he truly losing sentience, unable to tell fact from fiction? Does he truly believe all vaccines are bad, and that he is the most honest person in the world, and Robert E. Lee said “wow.” If it’s the latter, well, that is so interesting and so vicious and horrible and so beautiful in so many different ways. And we are so in trouble.

Categories
At Large Opinion

Werewolf of Oman

Photo: Csaba | Adobe Stock

I’ve been a member of an email chain gang for a year or so. The other emailers are, like me, older guys with a little time on their hands. And, like me, they love to discuss (read: argue about) politics. The basic drill is that someone emails an interesting or provocative link to a story from, say, The Washington Post or Vice or The Daily Beast, and the commenting and kvetching ensues.

Everyone in the group is relatively progressive. Nobody likes Trump, and everyone’s biggest fear is that he’s going to snare the GOP nomination and somehow stumble his way back into the presidency. You wouldn’t think six or seven guys on the same side could find that many things to argue about. You would be wrong. For example, a couple of the gentlemen are dead-certain that Trump will win the nomination. They see no way for anybody else in the GOP to take it away from him and they savor being the no-nonsense, realpolitik adults in the room. “Trump will be the nominee,” they say. Period.

Others in the group aren’t so sure. They speculate that the publicity surrounding Trump’s numerous legal difficulties will grow, and as evidence against him becomes more specific and more damning, it will become increasingly difficult for him to waltz to the nomination. The “maybe not Trump” contingent also likes to point out that Trump’s mental acuity appears to be waning of late and that his 90-minute rambles are losing their zip. How, they ask, do you win the presidency with no policy proposals, and with a campaign based on a platform of “it’s not fair”?

Then there are those who raise the possibility that Trump might encounter a major health issue. He and Biden are both of an age when they should think twice before ordering a multi-year magazine subscription. Or buying green bananas. How, they ask, can anyone state with certainty that these two geezers will be the nominees?

Finally, there’s my old friend, “Kevin,” the Sir Lancelot of the group, who delights in swashing the buckles and tugging the short-hairs of the realpolitikers with ire-provoking predictions. His favorite lately is that Trump will at some point realize the jig is up, that Jack Smith and/or Fani Willis have him dead to rights, and that all his lawyers and supplicants have flipped and will provide detailed evidence of his schemes to subvert the 2020 election and conceal top secret documents. According to Kevin’s theory, Trump will then see no way to bullshit himself out of his self-created mess and, confronting the likelihood of prison time or losing his fortune or both, will decide to fly off in his private jet … to Oman. Or as Kevin likes to write: “Trump will become the Werewolf of Oman.”

No doubt it’s a phrase that has a ring to it, but why Oman? According to Kevin, it’s because of a June 30th New York Times story that centers around a multibillion dollar Trump business deal with the government of Oman. From the Times article: “The Omani government is providing the land for the development, is investing heavily in the infrastructure to support it, and will get a cut of the profits in the long run. …

“Mr. Trump was brought into the deal by a Saudi real estate firm, Dar Al Arkan, which is closely intertwined with the Saudi government. While in office, Mr. Trump developed a tight relationship with Saudi leaders. Since leaving office, he has worked with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to host the LIV golf tour and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner received a $2 billion infusion from the Saudi fund for his investment venture. Under its terms, the Trump Organization will not put up any money for the development, but will help design a Trump-branded hotel, golf course and golf club, and will be paid to manage them for up to 30 years, among other revenue.”

Quite the tempting retirement option, you must admit. Trump spends his final years in Mar-a-Oman, golfing, schmoozing, and sending out social media posts about how he was hounded from the country he loves by “crooked Joe Biden and thug Jack Smith and racist Fani Willis.” No foreign policy decisions or immigration messes or economic headaches. Just mid-day tee-times and endless sunshine. Sing it with me, now … “Ahhh-ooooo, Werewolf of Oman.”

Categories
At Large Opinion

No Ifs, Ands, and Bots

It was not obvious that something could go wrong. (Photo: Devidgrutz | Dreamstime.com)

I was shocked and dismayed recently at the most unlikely of places: a company lunch. I don’t get to the physical office much these days, so a co-worker kindly brought my mail to the get-together. Imagine my horror when four of the letters turned out to be hate mail, each criticizing a different column I’d written in the past few weeks.

The person who wrote the letters didn’t sign them (shocker), but it got me to thinking — maybe I’ve been too harsh lately. Maybe I need to tone down the rhetoric a bit. My wife, who’s much more tuned into the zeitgeist than me, suggested I try one of those new AI bots designed to help writers fine-tune their prose. I thought, why not?

After downloading a popular AI program, I submitted this week’s column to my new digital editor. It bleeped once and told me my options were: Proofread this but only fix grammar; Proofread this strongly; Proofread this lightly, improving clarity and flow; Proofread this significantly, improving clarity and flow. I went for the latter — I mean, why do things halfway? It was a revelation! What follows are samples of the column, followed by the digitally edited version in italics:

Just exactly what level of greed did it take to impel CNN to give twice-impeached, serial philandering, tax-cheating, insurrection-leading, secret-document-stealing, election-tampering, lying douchebag Donald Trump an hour of free television to spew his lies in a “town hall”?

Hello, fellow humans. This week’s column (by me) in the Memphis Flyer newspaper is about the CNN cable television network’s decision to hold an hour-long Town Hall on May 10th with Donald Trump, the former (2016-2020) president of the United States (the country in which we both reside). I think this is a bad idea.

This is the kind of unmitigated media avarice that got us Trump in the first place. From the moment the former president descended on that damned escalator to announce his candidacy in 2015, the television networks swooned, thrilled to learn that letting an orange-colored, poofy-haired, former reality-TV star spout racist, misogynistic garbage and lie his ass off made for stratospheric television ratings. Trump was the golden boy, and the networks gave their viewers wall-to-wall coverage of the candidate from that point forward, raking in unheard of levels of ad revenue all the while. What could go wrong?

When Donald Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, he rode an escalator down two levels. Television networks covered the event — which got excellent ratings — and continued to broadcast coverage of Mr. Trump for many hours a day throughout the campaign for the 2016 presidency. During this period, Mr. Trump made many controversial statements, which raised viewership levels and allowed television networks to earn high profits. It was not obvious that something could go wrong.

CNN says it will have a moderator for the town hall, but that Trump will answer direct questions from the audience, which, according to a network spokesperson, will include “Republicans and other voters.” In other words, Trump will have free rein to continue to lie about the 2020 election, the January 6th insurrection, those missing official documents, his rape trial, President Biden, the “Russia hoax,” and whatever other stream-of-consciousness fantasies erupt from his addled cortex. Awesome stuff, CNN!

CNN has announced that Mr. Trump will answer questions from members of the Republican Party and other voters. There will be a moderator for the discussion, topics for which are expected to include the 2020 election, the January 6th event at the U.S. Capitol, the handling of official government documents, and other possibly controversial subjects. CNN is awesome.

Fact-checking Trump in real-time is like standing under Niagara Falls with a bucket and expecting to keep your shoes dry. It can’t be done. He uses his mouth like an AR-15, and his lies are the bullets. Letting this ass wander around a stage with a microphone and a national television audience will only further normalize this dangerously aberrant behavior. Simply put, it’s journalistic malpractice, CNN. And I have two words for you: “You’re fired!”

No errors detected.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Oxen and the Lion

Letting the lion win (Photo: Maggymeyer | Dreamstime.com)

About 2,700 years ago, a storytelling slave named Aesop told tales of political, religious, and social themes. They have been popularized for their ethical dimensions and utilized as children’s stories for the morals and wisdom they deliver.

In “The Four Oxen and the Lion,” Aesop tells of a powerful lion who prowls a field in search of a hearty meal. The four oxen who live there stand tail to tail and offer the lion horns regardless of the direction of the approach. One day, however, an argument causes the four oxen to go their separate ways. On their own the oxen do not stand a chance against the lion, who picks them off one by one with great ease.

The moral of the story: United we stand, divided we fall.

Issues of collective security are timeless. In the United States, collective security was so important that a Three-fifths Compromise (officially counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of the census and political power), which inflated the power of slave states; a prohibition against the abolition of slavery (Article I Section 9 of the Constitution prevents Congress from banning the importation of slaves before 1808); and the electoral college were established in order to create “unity.”

Sudan is currently in headlines because the military has dissolved the alliance between military and civilian groups, effectively blocking the power-sharing Sovereign Council and agreed-upon transitional government. To be clear, the transition to democratic civilian rule from the brutality of Omar al-Bashir’s three decades of power, which ended in a 2019 nonviolent grassroots insurrection, was on shaky ground because the Sovereign Council was unelected.

The excitement with ousting al-Bashir has faded and conflict over power has increased tensions between both sides; the future of Sudan is uncertain, the coup was not a surprise, but neither is the resistance; the streets are full of peaceful pro-democracy protesters, but while the efficacy of nonviolence is clear, the outcome remains to be seen.

Al-Bashir’s loyalists have initiated the military coup d’etat, which bears some parallels to Trump’s illegitimate power grabs and the criminal efforts of his loyalists. But the similarities are limited; where most of the officers pushing for al-Bashir in Sudan last month were arrested, the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol say they will get justice, yet nine months later no officials, nor Trump himself, have been charged for their efforts intended to overthrow American democracy.

Al-Bashir’s loyalists in Sudan chanted “down with the hunger government,” just as Trump’s scream “Stop the steal!” The former demand reforms to the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition, the replacement of the cabinet in power, and a coup overthrowing the government. As for the latter, a recent poll found that 66 percent of Republicans believe that “the election was rigged and stolen from Trump,” while only 18 percent believe “Joe Biden won fair and square.”

The rule of law is under attack in both countries. And just as Aesop delivers a lesson on standing together, the people of Sudan present reminders on the importance of people’s power and the role of nonviolence safeguarding democratic institutions.

It is easy enough to hope that Trump loyalists will not make a repeat attempt at an insurrection, but the evidence suggests otherwise and the political threats and violence of 2020 and 2021 should be a wake-up call.

There have been too many plots to list and at seemingly every level of government; there have been plans to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, who, in June, said: “Threats continue, I have looked out my windows and seen large groups of heavily armed people within 30 yards of my home. I have seen myself hung in effigy. Days ago at a demonstration there was a sign that called for ‘burning the witch.’”

The National Association of School Boards has asked President Joe Biden for federal assistance to investigate and stop threats in a letter outlining 20 cases of threats, harassment, disruption, and acts of intimidation in California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, and other states. The board argues that: “As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”

The U.S. and Sudan showcase different stages of division. The people of the U.S. are well served to learn and get involved in Sudan through solidarity. People of the world can all push for frozen assets and travel bans on those responsible for the coup and thank President Biden for his swift action in suspending $700 million in aid to Sudan. Nonviolent but coercive measures like these can pressure the military to yield to the people’s demands. We can also make strong condemnations to the use of political violence and the detainment of political prisoners — who should be immediately released.

When we watch what is happening in Sudan we become better global citizens. We learn about other cultures and struggles, and we increase our empathy for others. We live up to the moral demands that we respond to the injustice that others experience and they gain strength through the increases in unity. But we also learn valuable lessons for the protection of our own fragile democracy. As long as there are people who threaten a violent takeover there must also be people prepared to use the power of nonviolent struggle — to amplify the voices of the people — in resisting them.

Trump and al-Bashir may be the lions. But we are the many oxen who can thwart their attacks.

Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Stop the Steal

Senator Turd Ferguson

In a democracy — or, if you prefer, a republic — the government’s actions are supposed to reflect the will of the majority. That’s why we vote: to discover who the majority of the citizenry wants to hold office and what policies they want to have put in place by those they have elected. That’s how it’s supposed to work. But the sad reality is that the United States has for years been ruled by a backward-thinking, repressive, xenophobic minority.

There are many reasons for this, starting with the fact that the nation’s most powerful legislative body — the U.S. Senate — is absurdly undemocratic. Republican senators haven’t represented a real majority of the country’s population since 1996, yet the GOP has managed to delay and obstruct the will of the majority for 25 years.

Currently, the 50 GOP senators represent 43.5 percent of the country’s population, mostly due to the absurdity of states such as Wyoming, which has 578,000 citizens (about half the number of people living in Shelby County) having the same representation in the U.S. Senate as California’s 40 million citizens. California has 80 times the number of people as Wyoming and both states have equal representation in the Senate. It’s ludicrous.

More than 56 percent of the country’s population is represented by 50 Democratic senators, but they can’t pass gun-control measures, election reform, healthcare reform, tax reform, or any number of mildly progressive laws, because Senator Turd Ferguson of South Dakota doesn’t like it.

There’s little likelihood real change will take place in the structure of the Senate, and the GOP knows the only chance of retaining power is to continue to thwart the will of the majority by making it harder for people to vote, especially people of color and people with limited resources, who tend to vote for Democrats.

All across the country in states controlled by the GOP, restrictive voting laws are being proposed and enacted, including reducing the number of polling places and early voting days, restricting voting by mail, purging voter rolls, limiting voter-registration periods, restricting absentee ballots, eliminating Sunday voting, and even banning anyone from providing water to people in long voting lines. It’s Jim Crow all over again. And it’s out in the open.

From last November through January 6th, the former president defamed the American electoral process. But those who went along with Trump’s Big Lie weren’t trying to “stop the steal,” they were trying to stop democracy. And they still are.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed (on a party line vote, naturally) a bill known as H.R. 1 — the For the People Act. It would eliminate the voter suppression tactics that Georgia just enacted, for example, and would codify the voting process to make it equal for all U.S. citizens, no matter what state they live in. The bill requires states to maintain a voter database with universal automatic registration. In other words, if you’re a citizen and can prove it, you’re registered to vote. No more jumping through hoops at the local level. H.R. 1 mandates at least a 15-day early voting period, and institutes independent commissions to set Congressional district boundaries to eliminate gerrymandering.

It’s a big deal, but it has no chance whatsoever to pass the Senate, since it would need at least 10 GOP votes. Which brings Senate Democrats to a crossroads decision: Should they attempt to eliminate the filibuster so that the bill could pass with 50 votes, plus one from the vice-president, or just let the GOP do what it’s done for the last 25 years: undermine the will of the majority?

Eliminating the filibuster means if the GOP gets control of the Senate back at some future date, they could ram through all kinds of racist and corporatist policies (kind of like they’ve done for the last four years). But this is no time to be timid. Democracy is in the balance. It’s time to take back the reins of power and respect the will of the people. It’s time to stop the steal.

Categories
Opinion Viewpoint

The Case for Amending the 20th Amendment

Regardless of personal politics, all of us who have endured this strangest of “lame-duck” presidential transitions can agree that this 2020 changing-of-the-guard has been among the most difficult our country has endured, perhaps ever.

The beaten Republican incumbent president has now cried “fraud!” several thousand times, continuing to demand a whole new election, long after the Supreme Court has dismissed all of his legal complaints. More importantly, Donald Trump’s refusal to provide most of the usual courtesies provided to presidents-elect has assured that this Trump-Biden transition continues to flow like glue.

We’re not finished yet, by any means. Even top White House aides are clueless as regards what exactly Trump might do between now and January 20th. We are just three weeks from Inauguration Day, in the midst of the worst pandemic in our country’s history, alongside a Russian security breach whose dimensions are still largely unknown, and we have no idea whatsoever what our 45th president will do next. This isn’t democracy; this is purgatory.

It’s too late to change things this time around, but the current nightmare must never be repeated. It’s time to shorten the period between Election Day and Inauguration Day. To do so, our elected representatives should take a close look at the 20th Amendment, and to shrink what is now a roughly 12-week transition In no other major democracy, around the world, does the outgoing leader take so long to pass the baton to his successor.

We can either amend the existing 20th Amendment, or simply create a new one, one that would be the 28th Amendment in our nation’s Constitution. I have no idea which approach is best, but that’s why God invented lawyers.

The 20th Amendment is not ancient; it was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1933. It shortened the length of time between outgoing and incoming administrations, moving up the original Inauguration Day set in The Constitution, from March 4th to January 20th, shortening the lame-duck period by roughly five weeks.

In many ways, this 1933 change (passed unanimously by all states) was simply good housekeeping. The original 1789 Constitution dated from an era when long-distance travel usually was measured in weeks. The Founding Fathers knew nothing of trains, let alone how to change planes at airport hubs.

But by 1923, when Senator George Norris of Nebraska first proposed this amendment, a lame-duck period of four months no longer made much sense, given 13 decades of travel improvements. As is customary with constitutional amendments, however, Norris’ proposal of what would become the 20th Amendment took a decade to pass muster among two-thirds of the state legislatures for it to become law. Not much has changed, has it?

Ironically, the 20th Amendment became official in January of 1933, in the middle of Herbert Hoover’s four-month lame-duck term in the White House. The Stanford-educated engineer had been roundly beaten in the November 1932 presidential election by New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a bitter contest resembling our current one. Hoover had the misfortune of being president when Wall Street crashed in 1929, and despite his skills, the economy fell into deep depression over the final three years of his single term in office.

Unfortunately, Herbert Hoover was not a good loser. He never thought the Crash was his fault, and believed that FDR’s economic plans were hogwash. So for four long months, Hoover did next to nothing to prepare for a smooth presidential transition, as The Great Depression got more and more depressed.

Governor Roosevelt finally took office as president on March 4, 1933, and the rest is history. Ironically, by that date, the 20th Amendment had actually been ratified, and so when FDR was re-elected after a 1936 landslide, he took the oath of office, yes, on January 20th, 1937.

Given the snail’s pace at which potential constitutional amendments get ratified, someone needs to start the ball rolling, perhaps by offering up a first draft for a 28th Amendment that will override the existing 20th one. We can’t just sit on our hands, hoping that nothing like this 2020 transition nightmare won’t ever happen again. Prayer can only do so much.

Here, then, is one layman’s first draft of a revised 20th Amendment. You’ll note I’ve worked around the big holidays, of course, presuming Saturdays and Sundays are off-limits, especially during NFL playoff season. As a nation, after all, we do have our priorities:

1) Inauguration Day should be held on the third Thursday of December; the earliest it can be held is on the 11th of that month; the latest this can be done is on the 18th.

2) Members of the outgoing Congress must meet and report to said Congress no later than the first Thursday of December, to certify the Electoral Vote itself. The earliest that date could be is on the 1st of December, and the latest it could be is the 8th of the same month.

3) The newly-elected Congress should gather at the Capitol on the first Thursday of the New Year, no earlier than January 3rd, i.e. it can be as early as January 3rd and as late as January 8th. A State of the Union address should be given by the incoming President as expeditiously as is feasible shortly after that date.

I need not tell anyone how strange the events of this particular post-election period have been. This year’s court fights and Donald Trump’s abandonment of his day job for nearly three months have been not just toxic, but borderline suicidal in places. Our transition process must be tightened up, and shortened by what is essentially a month.

As we watch this year’s bizarre transition take place in real time, it may occasionally seem quaint, entertaining, or just plain different. Future historians will consider it just plain insanity. Flying on automatic pilot, the way we are now, risks national suicide.

Kenneth Neill is the founding publisher of the Flyer. 

Categories
Cover Feature News

It’s On!

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

For Democrats, especially, the memories of four years ago are still very much alive — not just the nerve-crunching countdown of election night but the hopeful dawning of January 21st, just after Donald Trump‘s inauguration, when, on an unseasonably warm day, multi-gendered masses of Memphians gathered for the Women’s March Downtown — not a protest of the new regime so much as an affirmation that a reckoning would come, that the historical moment could be reversed.

It was the first act, enacted simultaneously in virtually every other American city, of what would come to be known as the Resistance, not just by those involved in it but by Trump, the intended target and unexpected winner of the presidency, who, clearly, could boast his own crowds, with a wholly different set of hopes and fears.

Jackson Baker

Roadside stand, 2020-style

The unprecedented rush of early voters to the polls this year, which began, locally, on Wednesday, October 14th, undoubtedly derives from both sources. Records will almost surely be broken by the end of early voting on Friday of next week, October 29th. A big vote is also likely for Election Day itself — Tuesday, November 3rd — and the real unknown quantity, undoubtedly huge and perhaps decisive, is expected to come in a flood of mail-in ballots, a volume made possible in Tennessee only through the tireless legal efforts of local activists.

As was the case under the wholly different circumstances of 2016, the Democratic candidate — in this case former Vice President Joe Biden — is favored by the polls. Nationwide, that is. Here in Tennessee, where the Republican Party still dominates the electorate, it’s considered to be in the bag for Republican Trump.

The U.S. Senate Race

Nowhere has the generational sea-change been more obvious than in races for the state’s major offices. In 2018, Republicans won decisive victories for governor and U.S. senator over name Democratic candidates after competitive Republican primaries in which the winners — Governor Bill Lee and Senator Marsha Blackburn — were actually decided.

The action was similar this year when GOP senatorial candidates Bill Hagerty and Manni Sethi vied in a bitterly fought Republican primary, with Hagerty, the hand-picked candidate of President Trump, emerging triumphant.

Hagerty, a former state industrial development commissioner and Ambassador to Japan, no doubt expected, like most other observers, that his Democratic challenger would be Nashville lawyer James Mackler, a former Iraq war pilot who had basically been running for two years. But Mackler would finish second in the year’s biggest upset, as unsung Memphis environmentalist Marquita Bradshaw pulled off a win in the Democratic primary. 

Jackson Baker

Republican Senate candidate Bill Hagerty with supporters in Millington

Starting the general election with approximately $22,000 in funding, compared to Hagerty’s $12 million, the plucky Bradshaw has advanced her receipts to the level of just under $1 million — still far short of Hagerty’s current $14 million.

The two Senate candidates had been scheduled for a statewide debate on the Nexstar television network, but mostly unexplained circumstances caused a cancellation. 

Other Senate candidates on the ballot as independents are: Aaron James, Yomi “Fapas” Faparusi Sr., Jeffrey Alan Grunau, Ronnie Henley, G. Dean Hill, Steven J. Hooper, Elizabeth McLeod, Kacey Morgan, and Eric William Stansberry.

Jackson Baker

Republican U.S. Representative David Kustoff at the podium

U.S. House Races

Incumbent Congressmen David Kustoff and Steve Cohen are also up for re-election. Eighth District Representative Kustoff, a Republican, is opposed by Democratic nominee Erika Stotts Pearson and by independents Jon Dillard and James Hart. Ninth District incumbent Cohen, a Democrat, is opposed by Republican nominee Charlotte Bergmann and by independents Dennis Clark and Bobby  Lyons. Both incumbents are expected to win handily.

Jackson Baker

at TV taping

Legislative Races

In Shelby County itself, there are several competitive legislative races, and, as is the case with the presidency, most of them involve comeback hopes on the part of Democrats, who over the last several decades have seen their ancestral control, in every place but the inner city, yield to a new breed of buttoned-down Republicans. The competitive races are those along the line where city and suburb meet in a zone of shifting populations.

Jackson Baker

Dems on display

State House District 96, which is focused on Cordova, a sprawling mix of blue- and white-collar ethnicities, reverted to the Democrats four years ago. Democratic State Representative Dwayne Thompson faces a challenge there from Republican regular Patricia Possel, well-known for her efforts in the de-annexation movement.

In House District 83, a somewhat more glam neighboring district to the immediate south, incorporating hunks of East Memphis and Germantown, a largely managerial class of voters will decide between incumbent GOP Representative Mark White, who heads the House education committee, and Jerri Green, a promising new Democratic face who hopes to punish White for his pro-voucher efforts in an area whose public schools are a major source of local pride.

Jackson Baker

House candidate Gabby Salinas

District 87, the third part of this triadic battle zone, lies to the north, stretching from parts of East Memphis through Bartlett to the Gray’s Creek/Eads area. The District 87 seat is open. Incumbent Republican state Representative Jim Coley, a teacher, is retiring. The contestants are the GOP’s John Gillespie, a Republican activist and grant coordinator at Trezevant Episcopal Home, and Gabby Salinas, a scientific researcher and former cancer patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital whose backstory of immigration from Bolivia and survival has gained her abundant publicity and inspirational cachet over the years. Salinas came very close to upsetting GOP mainstay Brian Kelsey in a state Senate race two years ago, and her message of Medicaid expansion and her ample finances give her good chances again.

Jackson Baker

State Rep. John DeBerry speaks to GOP group

State District 90 is where a fourth legislative race has attracted serious interest this year, and the main issue is party loyalty itself. For the last 26 years, minister/businessman John DeBerry has represented the highly diverse district, which connects Frayser and South Memphis with sections of Midtown and Chickasaw Gardens.

An African American (and uncle of the aforesaid Senate candidate Bradshaw), DeBerry has consistently opposed abortion and supported school vouchers, and his stand on those two issues was, along with his affiliation with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), enough to provoke the state Democratic executive committee to remove him from the Democratic ballot this year.

On the strength of his name recognition and with somewhat more than tacit encouragement from the local Republican establishment, DeBerry is campaigning for re-election as an independent. He is opposed by Democratic nominee Torrey Harris, a member of the LGBTQ community who works in human resources and has the declared support of numerous progressive sources to go with the party label.

The other legislative races are either unopposed or pro forma cases. Incumbent Democrat Barbara Cooper is opposed by Republican Rob White in District 86, and Republican incumbent Kevin Vaughan has a Democratic opponent in Lynette Williams. Democrat Julie Byrd Ashworth challenges GOP incumbent Paul Rose in District 32.

Municipal Races

Various local municipalities have elections on November 3rd, as well:

In Bartlett, incumbent Alderwoman Paula Sedgwick in Position 6 is opposed by Kevin Quinn. Brad Ratliff, and Portia Tate are on the ballot for School Board, Position 1.

In Germantown, here are several Alderman races: Sherrie Hicks vs. Terri Johnson for Position 3; John Paul Miles, Roderick Motley, and Brian Ueleke for Position 4; and Jon McCreery and Brandon Musso for Position 5. There is one Germantown School Board race: Brian Curry and Scott Williams for Position 3.

In Lakeland, Jim Atkinson, Scott Carmichael, and Wesley Alan Wright are vying for the two open city commissioner positions.

In Millington, the position of Alderman for Position 7 is sought by Mike Caruthers and Tom Stephens; school board races are between Marlon Evans and Greg Ritter for Position 1, and Mark Coulter and Deanna Speight for Position 3.

In Collierville, Harold Curtis Booker, Thomas J. Swan, and John Worley are competing for Alderman Position 1. Position 3 is sought by William Boone, William Connor Lambert, Missy Marshall, Rick Rout, Scott Rozanski, and Robert Smith. Position 5 is contested by Gregory Frazier and John E. Stamps. For Collierville School Board, Position 3, the contestants are Madan Birla, Paul Childers, Rachelle Maier, and Kristina Kelly White.

REMINDER: The deadline to request a ballot by mail is Tuesday, October 27th, and the completed ballot must be received by Tuesday, November 3rd, by close of polls. However, voters who are at least 60 years old, people with underlying health conditions including conditions arguing for a susceptibility to COVID-19, and those caring for others susceptible to the illness can apply for an absentee ballot. 

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: COVID’s Web and Sexy Treats

COVID’s Web

Citizens of the MEMernet have been sharing photos of the hilarious Halloween decorations at this Central Gardens home.

The scene is an IRL political cartoon. In it, Donald Trump is spider-webbed to a tree surrounded by coronavirus particles. Imaginary polling data shows the homeowner is a front-runner to win Halloween.

Dog whistle?

Memphis Reddit users talked through the seemingly odd price of a propane tank at a West Memphis Tru Value hardware store last week.

The store had the tanks listed at $14.88. Some believed the price referenced the 14/88 white supremacy symbol. The “Fourteen Words” slogan seeks to secure a future for “our people” and “white children.” The “88” is a veiled reference to “H,” the eighth letter of the alphabet, which together is “Heil Hitler.”

Memphis Reddit users thought the price was too arbitrary to be anything other than a dog whistle and that tank prices are usually higher than that.

Sexy treats

Over on the Where Black Memphis Eats Facebook group, someone requested this dessert but with chocolate-covered strawberries.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Justice Ginsburg Succumbs to Pancreatic Cancer

CREDIT: Official Photo

Official Photo

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

As the weekend began, amid what was already a smoldering political landscape, the nation got the sad and long-dreaded news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, aged 87, had died, a victim of recurrent pancreatic cancer.

Justice Ginsburg, who had been the leading liberal light on the Court, leaves behind a tribunal dominated by conservative jurists, and speculation inevitably ensued as to what comes next.

Meanwhile, the immediate reaction, transcending partisan divisions, was simply one of sorrow. Among the early reactions:

“I’m very sad to learn of the passing of Justice Ginsburg. She was a marvelous lady who valued justice and nurtured justice and loved life to the fullest. She made a major difference in the lives of all Americans, but particularly in the lives of the young women who just want a chance to compete on a level playing field and pursue their dreams. Hers was a life well-lived. Thank you, RBG.” — 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen

“Justice Ginsburg brought decency, intelligence, and principle to the Supreme Court. Her life inspired many Americans, especially young women. Her service to our country deserves great respect.” — Senator Lamar. Alexander

“We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering jurist and an empowering figure for the most vulnerable. She was a kind and gentle soul who never shied away from a fight for what’s right. The country was fortunate to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg for as long as we did. Her contributions made the United States a more just and equitable place.

“Today we lost the best of America. But it’s not just the nation that is forever changed by her service and her commitment to uphold our Constitution and the progress it demands. Every day we see women stepping up to stand on her shoulders and continue her fight. We honor her legacy, we are grateful for her work, and we are fortunate to watch the impact her life has had, and will have, on future generations. L’Shana Tovah, Justice Ginsberg, and may God rest your soul.” — Mary Mancini, Chair, Tennessee Democratic Party

“Justice Ginsburg was a smart, talented trailblazer who paved the way for women in the judiciary. She worked hard to achieve prominence on her own merit, and I thank her for her service to our country. My condolences go out to her family and friends in the wake of this loss.” — Senator Marsha Blackburn

“Justice Ginsburg was a pioneer for gender equality and an American hero. There’s so much at stake with the selection of her replacement — the fate of the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights are just two issues among many. We’ve got to vote like our lives depend on it because it’s true.” — Ashley Coffield, Tennessee Planned Parenthood

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Justice Ginsburg’s family and friends during this difficult time.” — 8th District Congressman David Kustoff

Beyond the condolences, there were immediate indications of the political undercurrent to Justice Ginsberg’s passing. The obvious question, crucial to both Democrats and Republicans: Would President Trump attempt to appoint a successor either before the November 3rd election or in the interregnum between then and January, when either he for Joe Biden would begin the next presidential term along with a new Congress?

More, as the story develops.