Author: coastcontact

I am a somewhat cranky but mostly optimistic 65 plus who refuses to give up on this maddening world. The purpose of this BLOG is to express my feelings, thoughts.

Constitutional Coup d’état

The president refuses to acknowledge Joe Biden’s win, but experts say there is no constitutional path forward for him to remain in the White House. Tomorrow, a group of Republican lawmakers plan to challenge the electoral votes won by President-elect Joe Biden (citing fraud that did not occur), while President Donald Trump is pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to help them (with power he does not have). Noah Feldman writes in Bloomberg Opinion that the 134-year-old law that allows this to happen needs an overhaul. While Biden’s inauguration is almost a foregone conclusion since Democrats control the House, Feldman says that “if the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, they would be in the position to carry out a constitutional coup d’état.” Trump is planning to address supporters who are gathering in Washington to protest his defeat. Biden bested Trump 306 to 232 in the Electoral College, and by more than 7 million in the popular vote. Despite all the assurances that Donald Trump cannot overthrow the will of the people I am very concerned.  He has a legion of supporters who are determined to see him inaugurated for a second term on January 20.  He has even considered the use of the military to retain his office.  It may not be a Constitutional Coup d’état but a Coup d’état by any means is good enough for Donald Trump.

All 10 living former defense secretaries oppose military use by Trump to retain his office

This Time magazine cover was meant to be a joke.  Donald Trump is serious about retaining power forever.

All 10 living former US defense secretaries — both Republicans and Democrats — wrote a Washington Post op-ed article urging President Donald Trump to refrain from using the military to interfere in the 2020 election.

The signatories stressed that involving the military in election disputes could result in criminal charges.

Trump has repeatedly suggested there may not be a peaceful transfer of power and is said to have entertained suggestions that the military step in to help him dispute the election.

The article, titled “Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory,” was signed by all 10 living former US defense secretaries, including two — Mark Esper and James Mattis — who served under President Donald Trump.

The other signees were Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, and Ashton Carter, who served under Barack Obama; Robert Gates, who served under Obama and George W. Bush; William Cohen and William Perry, who served under Bill Clinton; Dick Cheney, who served under George H.W. Bush; and Donald Rumsfeld, who served first under Gerald Ford in 1975 and was later tapped for the role under George W. Bush.

“American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy,” they wrote in The Post, adding that the administration should “refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team.”

“The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived,” the letter continued.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by Congress what, if any, role the military should have in the election. “I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical US military,” Milley said. “In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law, US courts and the US Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the US military. I foresee no role for the US armed forces in this process.”

It appears Donald Trump will not accept that advice. He is more likely to refuse to physically resist leaving the White House. Who will escort him out?

Is this treason?

Trump says, “I just want to find 11,780 votes” in extraordinary phone call with Georgia secretary of state

From the constitution “Before he enters the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—’I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'”

Listen to this phone call and tell me is the treason?

It Won’t be a Military Coup

Inauguration January 20 2020 without an audience thanks to COVID-19

Is it treason for senators and representatives to question the legitimacy of an election? No!  However, you do need provable facts.

No one likes losing an election.  There is always a winner.  All the losers have to accept the results.  That is the way our democracy functions.  If every loser claims fraud and cheating our country will fall into chaos where the ultimate winner is the person with the most power to control the results.

After a judge tossed Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert’s baseless lawsuit that challenged President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, the Trump sycophant responded by suggesting that those who live in a MAGA reality should “go to the streets” and be “violent.”

Gohmert made the dangerous remarks on the Trump-friendly “news” network Newsmax on Saturday morning while discussing his lawsuit against Vice President Mike Pence that U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle dismissed on Friday.

Could Trump use the military to enforce his control? On Friday December 18, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville reiterated in a joint statement that there “is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.”

It appears that the GOP has become a circular firing squad after L. Lin Wood, a conservative attorney and Trump ally, has rejected questions about his sanity after he tweeted that Vice President Mike Pence should face a firing squad.

This Washington article explains why Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20.

Why January 6 Is a Key Date for Trump’s Election Gripes – The Washington Post

If Trump is inaugurated for a second term on January 20 it won’t be a military coup.  It will be a bloodless coup.  That would signify that elections don’t count. That would be the end of the greatest democracy the world has ever known.

I will be holding my breath for the next 17 days.  Won’t you?

Being a Pastor is Big Business

Evangelist Franklin Graham: Net Worth $25 Million

How do you feel about pastors making so much money that some of them have accumulated wealth in the million of dollars?

Pastor Joyce Hutchison, from St. Louis has an estimated net worth of $8 million. Rick Warren of Orange County California Saddle Back Church has an estimated wealth of $25 million. Joel Osteen – Net Worth $40 Million.

Pastor Kenneth Max Copeland hails from Lubbock, Texas. He is the founder and owner of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, located on an estate of more than 1,500 acres, equipped with a church, a private airstrip, and a hangar for the ministry’s $17.5 million jet and other aircraft. A televangelist, he hosts a live television show called Kenneth Copeland and You. Pastor Copeland has seven ministry offices around the world to spread his beliefs through a variety of channels. Those channels include television program Believer’s Voice of Victory, radio broadcasts, a podcast, a magazine, a ton of books and various social media platforms, to name a few. His estimated wealth is $760 million.

Perhaps I am wrong but I always thought men and women of the cloth worked to better mankind.  It appears being a pastor is just a business.  Give me your money and you will be saved is just a sales pitch and millions of Americans and people around the world have bought into that pitch.

U.S. Stocks Notch Records in Final Trading Day of 2020

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended the year set new high records on the last day of trading.  Major indexes finished 2020 solidly. The Dow was up more than 6%  for the year. The S&P 500 was up 15%, the Russell 2000 was up 19%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 43%.

If you had put just $5,000 in a Vanguard 500 Index Fund on January 1, 2020.  Your investment would now be worth $5,748 The expense .04% or $2.  If you had your money in a Bank of America savings account  your earnings are .05%.  CDs (certificate of deposit savings accounts of rates no more than 1.5% or an account worth $5,250 at the end of the year.

I know so many people are fearful of losing their hard earned savings but the S&P 500 has a history of success.  If you had put $10,000 in that account ten years ago it would be of $42,844 today.  You just have to ignore the down swings like this year’s decline due to the corona virus.  This Morningstar graph shows that ten year growth.

 

I am not a broker but have learned the hard way.  It feels good selling my earnings to pay bills or take a trip but leaving my initial investment untouched to earn more money.

A Good News Start to 2021

Two additional vaccines for Covid-19 may be authorized for use in the US in the coming months as the country tries to deal with record hospitalizations and deaths.

The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca wasn’t the first to be OK’d by regulators in the U.K.—health officials authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech jab nearly four weeks earlier. And it’s not the most effective—Stage 3 clinical trials suggest it prevents COVID-19 symptoms about 70% of the time vs. about 95% for the Pfizer vaccine and a similar one from Moderna (which is authorized in the U.S., but not the U.K.).

The first thing to know about the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is that it’s cheap. AstraZeneca has promised it will not make a profit on the vaccine during the pandemic. As a result, it costs $3 to $4 per dose around the world. Compare that to $25 to $37 a dose for the vaccine developed by Moderna and about $20 a dose for Pfizer’s jab, according to figures reported in Europe.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine that the United Kingdom approved for use on Wednesday may be authorized for emergency use in the US in April, according to Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser for Operation Warp Speed.

In addition, Johnson and Johnson’s single-dose vaccine may be authorized for emergency use in February and could be a “game changer” for the US, Slaoui said. Phase 3 trial recruitment for this vaccine has been completed.

Source for this information is CNN and Time magazine.