This Election is not in the Bag for Joe Biden

In my neighborhood the same back bench Democrat has been sent back to congress for 12 terms. People tend to re-elect incumbents. That is the reason that Donald Trump is likely to win in the November 3 election.

There is little doubt among most of us that Donald Trump is a loose cannon. Given that his doctors refuse to provide the public with his medical condition it is reasonable to conclude that the news is not good.

Despite recent election polling we should not conclude that he will lose the election as a consequence of his recent behavior or his mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic or the economy.

Most RED states are still red. Look at the states that voted for Trump. How many of the voters in those states are likely to vote for Joe Biden? Most people have already made up their minds on who they support.

This article appearing in the Los Angeles Times gives you a birds eye view of the thought of working class people in midwestern states.

Donald Trump won the Electoral College with 306 votes. A win of 36 votes over the 270 to needed to win. Where can Joe Biden obtain enough of those needed votes to reach 270? Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania together would give Biden 278 votes.

Hillary Clinton was predicted by most polls to win in 2016. Two exceptions were LA Times USC Tracking and Gravis. Today Real Clear Politics data collection shows 226 Biden, 125 Trump. With 187 in the Toss Up category there are plenty of opportunities for Biden but don’t most people give the incumbent a break unless the nation is in serious trouble?

Is the United States in serious trouble? We have just over 4 percent of the world’s population but has nearly 20 percent of the virus outbreaks and deaths. If that isn’t a serious situation then what is it?

Biden needs to keep hammering these facts to election day.

Under the influence of Medication or Losing His Mind

Biden says cancel next debate if Trump remains sick with COVID-19. Trump is likely to say you need a president who is brave. Biden isn’t brave enough for the presidency and he is too frail.

My theory is if Trump continues to have the virus and cannot campaign, remaining debates are canceled and if the polls continue to indicate he is likely to lose on November 3 he will use the virus for his path to resign the presidency.

Mere moments after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the next face-off between Donald Trump and Joe Biden would be held virtually rather than in person, the president on Thursday rejected the plan and called it a “waste” of his time.

“I’m not gonna do a virtual debate,” Trump said during a phone-in appearance on Fox Business. “No, I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about. You sit behind a computer and do a debate, it’s ridiculous.”

He went on to complain that the whole concept of a virtual debate was inherently unfair to him, “They cut you off whenever they want,” he claimed. Moreover, the moderator, Steve Scully of C-SPAN, was a “never Trumper.” Trump also accused the Commission, without evidence, of “trying to protect Biden.”

Trump’s interview with FBN’s Maria Bartiromo was alarming. The lines you need to see are below in bold. No wonder House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing a new bill to determine whether Trump is capable of serving as President.

1. “I beat him easily in the first debate, according to the polls that I’ve seen, but I beat him easily in the — I felt I beat him easily. I think he felt it too.”
Every reputable post-debate poll showed that viewers believed former Vice President Joe Biden won the first presidential debate. And away we go!

2. “No, I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about. You sit behind a computer and do a debate. It’s ridiculous. And then they cut you off whenever they want.”
“Debate” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a regulated discussion of a proposition between two matched sides.”

3. “And they tried to protect Biden. Everybody is. “
Trump believes every agency involved in the debate is opposed to him.

4. “(Biden) was raising his — his very thin hand and he was fracking. And now all of a sudden he’s not fracking.”
What? Was Biden drilling for oil? This line is a complete non-sequiter.

5. “They’re lying to everybody. They’re lying about so many different things.”
Donald Trump once said four false things. In one sentence.

6. “Yes, well, first of all, I think I’m better. I — when — when — to a point where I — I’d love to do a rally tonight. I wanted to do one last night.”
It may be worthwhile to note here that Donald Trump is not, in fact, a medical doctor.

7. “You know, no matter how good the security, you’re not going to protect yourselves from this thing with just your standard anything unless you just literally don’t come out.”
This is patently false. Doctors and infectious disease experts — not to mention scads of data — have made clear that wearing a mask, social distancing and avoiding large crowds all can greatly reduce the spread of Covid-19. That Trump often didn’t take any of those precautions likely played a significant role in him getting the virus.

8. “No, I don’t think I’m contagious, but we still have to wait — I don’t think I’m contagious at all.”
… said someone who is not a doctor.

9. “You catch this thing. It’s, you know, it’s — it’s particles of dust. It’s tiny stuff.”
The scientist has spoken.

10. “And, remember this, when you catch it, you get better. And then you’re immune, you know? I — as soon as everything goes away for me, you’re immune.”
Well, 211,000 Americans who caught Covid-19 didn’t get better. They died from it. As to whether Trump, or anyone else who has had Covid-19, is immune from getting it again, the science is still very unclear.

11. “I’m back because I’m a perfect physical specimen and I’m extremely young. And so I’m lucky in that way.”
Oh, you are not really 74 years old and obese.

12. “Perhaps a couple of pounds we could lose here and there, but, you know, because a lot of people in that category.”
According to his 2020 physical, Trump has a Body Mass Index of 30.5, which puts him in the “obese” category.

13. “Now, what happens is you get better. That’s what happens, you get better.”
Again, 211,000 Americans did not get better.

14. “I think I would have done it fine without drugs. It — you know, you don’t really need drugs.”
Not. A. Doctor. (Also: This sends a very dangerous message to Trump backers who may get Covid-19 and insist, like the President, that they don’t need drugs to treat it.)

15. “I’m — I’m glad because I’m the leader. And I can’t be like Biden where I hang out in a basement every day. Sure, he — if I wanted to hang out in a basement, I wouldn’t catch it, but I meet a lot of people and I have to.”

16. “Sometimes I’d be with — in groups of — for instance Gold Star families. I met with Gold Star families. I didn’t want to cancel that. But they all came in and they all talked about their son and daughter and father.”
In which the President of the United States suggests, with zero proof, that he contracted the coronavirus by meeting with Gold Star families.

17. “They want to hug me and they want to kiss me. And they do. And frankly, I’m not telling them to back up. I’m not doing it. But I did say it’s like — it’s obviously dangerous. It’s a dangerous thing I guess if you go by the Covid thing.”

“The Covid thing?”

18. “I figured that you probably — that probably at some point I’d catch it and I’ll get better. That’s what happened. I’ve caught it. I could’ve been out of the hospital in one day.”
Actual doctors decided to keep Trump in the hospital for four days.

19. “Look, I sit next to Joe and I looked at Joe. Joe’s not lasting two months as president, OK, that’s my opinion. He’s not going to be lasting two months.”
Then there was the argument the Biden couldn’t put two sentences together.

20. “And, you know, to be honest, Bill Barr’s going to go down either as the greatest attorney general in the history of the country or he’s going to go down as a very sad — sad situation. I mean, I’ll be honest with you, he’s got all the information he needs.”
Just the President running a pressure campaign against his own attorney general. This is fine!

Harris Versus Pence – The VP Debate

A disappointing debate that was poorly managed with speakers who chose to ignore the questions repeatedly.

Each candidate had their wins and losses. Neither was a major success. Susan Page, like Chris Wallace, could not control the debate. Both Harris and Pence went over allotted time repeatedly.

Harris wins were her words on corona virus when she accurately pointed out that they knew about the virus in January or early February and covered it up. Pence, whom Trump named to head the White House coronavirus task force, did his best to portray Trump as a president who resolutely responded to a public health threat, exaggerating the importance of Trump’s decision to shut off some travel from China in January. The Associated Press has reported that more than 8,000 Chinese and foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and Macao entered the U.S. in the three months after those restrictions were imposed.

Harris accurately pointed out that Trump wants the Affordable Care Act nullified but has no replacement health care plan. Her failure to deny the threat to pack the Supreme court was a disappointment.

Pence accurately pointed out tax increases, stopping fracking, and implementing the green new deal are on the Biden agenda. Pence would not answer the question of a smooth transition if Biden were to win, refused to explain why unmasked people were at the Amy Coney Barrett nomination ceremony, and brushed aside Donald Trump’s remarks about soldiers were suckers and losers.

Both candidates were guilty of not answering Susan Page’s questions. Rather they used their allotted time to either speak on the previous subject or spoke about something that was not on the agenda.

Melt Down

The coronavirus is now pulsing through the capital: Three Senate Republicans — MIKE LEE of Utah, RON JOHNSON of Wisconsin and THOM TILLIS of North Carolina — all have tested positive. This reduces Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL’S majority to 50-47 for the time being. This situation will impact upcoming interviews of Amy Coney Barrett nominated for the Supreme Court. The Dems have one more arrow to shoot at this nomination. Can approval of her be stopped? Doubtful unless the virus brings the senate to a standstill.

Donald Trump’s words and behavior are impossible to understand. Some have suggested that the meds he received at Walter Reed Hospital may have effected his judgement.

First he arrives back at the White House from Walter Reed Hospital and he tears of his mask. Oh, wait a minute. I don’t like how that video came out, we have to do a re-do of my arrival.

Today Trump is reported to have said, “I Got the Coronavirus to Prove I Could Beat It Because That’s What Leaders Do!” Really? After all the effort you made to keep ill people away from you, you suddenly decided to get the infection. Is anyone going to believe this claim?

President Donald Trump has ordered his negotiators to halt talks over a new stimulus package, after the two sides have struggled for months to reach a deal, a stunning move that puts an end to last-ditch efforts for a major economic relief package as millions are reeling from the coronavirus crisis.

“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets Tuesday afternoon.

This would be a give away to Democrats who will say Trump doesn’t care about you.

Instructions to sycophant Mike Pence is no plexiglass shield at tomorrow’s debate. We need to show strength.

I cannot offer any reasonable explanation for Trump’s behavior. If this mad man is re-elected I fear what the next four years will do to this country.

Walking Off The Job

Allen Rizzi is correct but but without Social Security and Medicare many people would be homeless. The United States provides only limited social services. Rizzi is an expatriate living in Italy.

allenrizzi

Over the past couple of years, I’ve heard a lot in the news about people walking off the job to demand higher wages. Awhile ago there was a national protest by fast food workers who demanded that their wages be doubled. It seemed on the surface an admirable idea; very American in fact. All of this sounds great in a touchy feely way; great that is unless you are a retired person. We “seniors” usually don’t have a job to walk off of and if we demanded that our social security benefits be doubled, you would hear a laugh from Washington that could be heard around the world.

In fact, “seniors” are one of the largest demographic groups in America. Although we outspend all other groups, we are the single group in our country that is chronically ignored, taken advantage of and generally screwed, all without the benefit of any…

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We Don’t Want to Tell the Truth

Does this make any sense?

The security of the United States is at risk.

President Donald Trump’s physician, Navy Cmdr Dr. Sean Conley, held a second medical briefing that again raised more questions than answers about the President’s condition.

Conley failed to answer basic questions about the President’s condition and admitted that he had omitted those alarming drops in the President’s oxygen levels during a news conference Saturday because he wanted to “reflect the upbeat attitude” that the team and the President had about his condition and didn’t want “to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction.”

Conley acknowledged that his evasive answers “came off that we were trying to hide something” but said that “wasn’t necessarily true,” adding that the President is “doing really well” and is responding to treatment.

In other words the president’s condition could be impacted by giving the press information about his health.

Here are some facts itemized in the Los Angeles Times about how long it can take for COVID-19 symptoms to worsen among patients who develop severe illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After onset of illness or symptoms, the median time it can take to start feeling shortness of breath is five to eight days.
After onset of illness or symptoms, the median time it can take to start to experience acute respiratory distress syndrome is eight to 12 days.
After onset of illness or symptoms, the median time it can take to be admitted to the intensive care unit is 10 to 12 days.

“Clinicians should be aware of the potential for some patients to rapidly deteriorate one week after illness onset,” the CDC said on its website.

Among patients who do become hospitalized, about 26% to 32% have been admitted to the intensive care unit, according to the CDC.

Among those who entered the intensive care unit, the mortality rate among those patients ranged from 39% to 72%.

The median length of hospitalization among those who survived was 10 to 13 days.

Donald Trump’s philosophy of showing strength denies both people in government and the public the truth. He is not the first president to keep secrets about his health.

White House History on Presidential Health

Sean Conley, the president’s physician:

“I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

“This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

“The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.”

The White House says President Donald Trump is being treated for COVID-19 with an experimental drug cocktail. The president’s physician, Sean P. Conley, released a memo Friday afternoon saying the president has received a single 8 gram dose of Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail, “as a precautionary measure.”

Trump has now been given a “cocktail” experimental drug for the virus. Does this sound like a mild case of the flu? The fact that Trump had to be taken by helicopter for a five minute flight rather than a twenty minute car trip speaks emergency to me.

The White House has lied about the health of the presidents all the way back to 1881 and possibly earlier.

President James A. Garfield in Washington was shot on July 2, 1881. He died Sept. 19. During those intervening weeks Garfield’s doctors fed the public ‘fraudulently optimistic’ reports.

The Washington Post provides a lengthy detailed report on the positive reports that were all lies.

“The president has passed an excellent night, sleeping sweetly the greater part of the time without the aid of morphia” or other painkillers, according to the official morning bulletin from White House physicians published in the New York Tribune on Aug. 7, 1881. Garfield’s improvement over the last three days was notable, according to the Tribune. “His eyes have regained their old-time sparkle; his voice and complexion are more nearly what they were in health, and he is stronger.” Recovery seemed likely — and the worried public could relax, the newspaper assured readers.

FDR had polio. He contracted the disease in 1921 while on a vacation trip. He kept his partial paralysis a secret from the public – even when he was on the campaign trail.

John F. Kennedy had Addison’s disease. It was diagnosed when he was 30 years old. Patients with this condition have adrenal glands that fail to produce cortisol and aldosterone and can experience fatigue, dizziness, muscle weakness, weight loss, difficulty standing up, nausea and sweating as well as changes in mood and personality. How many people knew he had that illness?

Donald Trump has CORONA-19. He has now been transferred to Walter Reed Hospital. Does this sound like a mild case? Neither his wife nor others in the White House with the virus have been moved to the hospital.

Trump has had a fever since Friday morning, a person familiar with the matter said, though the fever remains consistent with the White House’s description of “mild symptoms.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Trump’s physician wrote in a memo he “remains fatigued but in good spirits.”

“He’s being evaluated by a team of experts, and together we’ll be making recommendations to the President and First Lady in regards to next best steps,” Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley wrote.

Trump’s age, sex and weight status increase his risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. According to a report in June from Trump’s physician, the president is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 244 pounds. That means his body mass index, or BMI, is 30.5, just over the threshold for obesity.

Why Did Trump Suddenly Visit Walter Reed Medical Center Last November? Pence was readied to assume the powers of the presidency, but we still don’t know what was ailing Trump.

Of course the doctors are not going to give an honest report.