Month: October 2020

OPINION: Paying Tribute To The Dead

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OPINION:

Paying Tribute To COVID-19 Dead

D. S. Mitchell

Trump Terror Campaign

Total COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 9 million on Friday, October 30, 2020. Close to 235,000 people are dead in America. Most states are experiencing spikes unseen since the pandemic peak back in July. CDC reported that today there were an astounding and record setting 98,580 new cases. The pandemic is rapidly expanding. This is a runaway train. The Trump terror campaign is in full swing. The U.S. has only 4.25% of the world’s population but we have nearly 20% of the worlds deaths from COVID-19.

Incompetent, Ineffective and Unfit

969 Americans have died needlessly since yesterday. Brothers, sisters, mothers, husbands, sons, friends and family who are no longer with us. I said these folks had died needlessly and I meant it. If Donald Trump had taken the virus seriously in January we would not be experiencing these shocking death totals. A study from Columbia University estimates that 210,000 of those American deaths could have been avoided. Donald Trump had the power to change the dynamics. If Donald Trump hadn’t been an incompetent, ineffective, and unfit president a total of  24,000 Americans would have died from COVID-19 instead of nearly 235,000.

“Operation Warp Speed”

Trump is actually out on the campaign stump claiming one of his top achievements during his first term was “ending COVID-19.” I don’t know if Donald is hallucinating, on drugs or just a pathological liar, but I’m shocked and disgusted at his claims.  The fact that his pronouncement came at a new peak of a raging pandemic should be no shock to anyone. While the pandemic gets worse in our country the toxic psychopath masquerading as a president babbles absurdities completely divorced from reality. If the pandemic is over, why is the Trump administration still desperately trying to bring out a vaccine “any day?”

It Could Be Different

Take New Zealand for example. Jacinda Ardern is the Prime Minister of New Zealand. From the beginning of the pandemic she and her government enacted a nationwide lockdown and the widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world. Despite the strict crackdown she earned the respect of her citizens. She has shown care and compassion and her actions have saved thousands of lives. As of today less than 30 of her citizens has died from coronavirus. Adjusted for population, that is the equivalent of 1,650 Americans, which is clearly even better than the Columbia University study mentioned above.

Between Now And January 20th

Out-of-control incompetence. It is anticipated that 150,000 to 250,000 more Americans will needlessly die between now and noon on January 20th. Hopefully that is the same day that we see Joe Biden replace Donald Trump. I think the death toll could be even greater than estimated. I hope not. All we can do is wear our masks, wash our hands religiously, social distance and avoid groups. Even with that, half the population resists these simple measures.

Poor Example

The primary reason for the resistance to masks is named Donald Trump. He is the poorest example of what to do during a public health emergency.  I wonder if we will ever be able to track the deaths directly related to Trump’s rallies. The carnage of fifty more 9/11 deaths will occur between now and January and based on recent rally rhetoric it looks like Trump is going to blame “doctors and the nurses for making money on COVID deaths.”

No More Trump 

We can stop this. We can step up and vote the diseased Orange Menace out of office. I truly believe this country cannot tolerate another four years of Trump and his goons. What we need to do is vote. We must make sure Trump is  removed from the White House as soon as the Constitution provides. There are thousands of reasons why Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States, his response to the virus is one of his worst failures. The best tribute we can give to our lost loved ones is to Dump Trump.

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/06/21/covid-19-is-taking-a-mental-toll-14467/

“Mourning In Michigan”

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“MOURNING IN MICHIGAN”

The Lincoln Project

The Lincoln Project is seriously trying to have defeat Donald Trump.  Trump is floundering and The Lincoln Project is part of the reason. The founders of The Lincoln Project are all former Republican strategists. The ads they are putting together are drawing blood. I intend to share their ads whenever I see them.

Trump is a rude, spoiled tyrant that was born wealthy. He has squandered his fortune and now owes dubious characters around the world. Trump needs to go. We cannot do four more years of his incompetence and cruelty. He’s no populist. He is a con man grifter that fooled us once, but we won’t let him fool us twice. We can do that on November 3rd. Don’t let anything deter you, this is the most important election of our lifetimes.

Thanks to all the folks who are working so hard on The Lincoln Project.

D. S. Mitchell

Demi Lovato “Commander in Chief”

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The Lincoln Project

The Lincoln Project Ad 

Demi Lovato sings “Commander in Chief”

The Lincoln Project gives us another great ad. This one features singer Demi Lovato singing her powerful song, “Commander In Chief.” Please vote. This is the most important election of our times.

OPINION: Look, Here’s The Thing…

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OPINION: Look, Here’s The Thing…

By Anna Hessel

 

A Sick Joke

 When I first heard that Donald Trump was running for the presidency, I knew of course it had to be a joke.  Who in the world would vote for a egotistical bigot with multiple bankruptcies to run our nation?  My friends and spouse all had a good laugh at the very idea of Trump as a presidential candidate.

A Woman’s Nightmare

I have been heavily involved in pageantry.  I knew from witnesses “The Donald” thought nothing of walking in a dressing room during a Miss Teen USA pageant, while underage young ladies were in varying stages of undress.  His obnoxious and racist conduct was viewed by me first  hand at the Miss USA pageants for a two-year period in the nineties in Gary, Indiana.  I knew it was impossible for such a man to be taken seriously, his moral code being so corrupt.  His raunchy locker room talk of, “grab ‘em by the pussy”, was an unbelievably disgraceful comment.  He would never get the nomination.  His claim that he would “Make America Great Again”, was a preposterous campaign slogan.

The Great America We Had

America was great with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the helm.  We had the Affordable Care Act, finally.  Our military had taken out Osama Bin Laden.  The auto industry and the banks had been saved.  The LGBTQ community finally had equal love and marriage, and our President was a decent caring man that cried for gun victims.  He led our nation with dignity, “with God’s grace”; and never even a breath of scandal.

Actual First Families

Barak loved his beautiful wife and his daughters. The Obama’s have been married for 28 years.   They brought an adorable Portuguese Water Dog to the White House and we watched the president play in the snow with his girls. Michelle created a garden. This was a First Family that you could not help but love.  Our first Black President was stellar.  His VP, Joe Biden has known tragedy. He had been a single-parent widower, who put his children first. He found love again and has been married to his second wife ‘Dr. Jill’ for 43 years.  He has never been unfaithful to either of his wives.  Of course this great team was re-elected, and the Democratic party was making strides at keeping America great through inclusion and acceptance.

Breaking The Glass Ceiling

We had Hillary Clinton ready to break the glass ceiling as the first female President of the United States.  Instead of that glass ceiling breaking, our hearts broke.  Donald Trump received the Republican nomination for president.  My mouth dropped nearly to my neck from shock.  Surely, there was no way he could be elected.  Hillary was by far the clear, experienced choice and Trump’s low-down, ridiculous tactics about her emails would not be taken seriously, or would they?   Why, some of her emails were just simplistic messages about her daughter’s shower.  Hillary had nothing to hide in her emails in the least, whereas Mr. Trump continues to hide his debt and blatantly refuses to show his tax returns.  All other United States presidents and candidates had released their tax returns.  Surely, the American people were not foolish enough to fall for this man’s malarkey.

You’ve Got To Be Kidding

I sat on election night at a colleague’s restaurant, wearing my “I voted” sticker with my husband, awaiting Hillary’s brilliant acceptance speech, when the unthinkable happened.  I watched in horror, losing my appetite, as a smug and smirking Donald Trump descended a staircase with his family to make a victory speech.  Our nation had just descended into hell.  Tears streaming down my face, my husband escorted me to our car.  I was literally in a state of shock; I cried for three days.  Hillary wrote a beautiful email to all of her supporters; I used a half of a box of tissue while reading it.

God Help Us

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa were bittersweet because we knew what was to come.  I prayed, I cried, I hoped and I feared; emotions ran high during the holidays.  Anger simmered below the surface at my husband’s Trump-voting brother-in-law’s house.  New Year’s Eve brought tension, not celebration.  Never had a bigger deal been made of a President leaving office.  President and First Lady Obama would be much missed.  I could not watch ”The Donald” take the oath of office.  News photos of Barack and Michelle kindly escorted Melania to her seat, while her husband ignored her completely.  I vowed to never call Donald Trump ‘president’ and I could not bring myself to refer to a woman who has been seen naked in magazines by half the world,  ‘first lady.’  The nightmare had begun.

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Let’s Un-elect The Electoral College

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Let’s Un-elect The Electoral College

By Wes Hessel

 

Thinking Inside The Box

The two highest offices in the land are not directly selected by the voters.  Actually, up until the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified in 1913, U.S. Senators were chosen by their respective state legislatures as well. But that’s old, old news,  or it should be, even though there have been a few people speaking up lately about repealing the 17th – apparently they have been thinking outside the ballot box.  As a certain so-called president has been doing his entire administration.

The Old College Try

The U.S. president and vice-president are actually elected by a group who are newly formed each presidential election year.  Known as the electoral college, their existence is mandated in Section 1, Clause 2 of Article II of our Constitution. The Constitution gives the state legislatures the power to determine the method of electors being chosen.  Since the 1820’s, that method has been indirectly by the votes of the people during a presidential election. While the candidates’ names are on the ballots, the voters are actually choosing electors who are pledged to a certain presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

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Humor: 10 Places We’d Like To Haunt

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HALLOWEEN HUMOR:

10 Places We’d Like To Haunt

By D. S. Mitchell 

I was talking to David Shadrick recently and asked him what he wanted done with his remains after he died. Dave said he wanted to be buried. I volunteered that I wanted to be cremated. Dave asked me if I believed in ghosts. I told him, no. He laughed and said he wondered what it would be like to be able to haunt whatever place or whatever person you wanted. 

We could make this a party game, I thought. The only rule is that participants must say the first thing that comes to mind when asked, “where do you want to haunt?”

The following are some places we decided we wanted to haunt.

#1)  Area 51

#2)  The Nestle’s Chocolate Factory

#3)  Bicycle seats

#4)  Disneyland

#5)  Food Network Studio

#6)  Marvel Studio

#7)  WWE dressing room (Roman Reigns, yes!)

#8)  The VA Help Desk

#9)  The International Space Station

#10) Shower Rooms at the local college

Happy Halloween 2020!

 

“We Didn’t Start The Fire”-Parody

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“We Didn’t Start The Fire”-Parody

Parody by Nathan Margoliash-original music and lyrics by Billy Joel

Our friend T.K. McNeil found this Nathan Margoliash parody of the great Billy Joel hit, “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” while scouring YouTube posts. When he suggested I make it the Calamity Politics jukebox choice of the day, I said, “why not? So here you are. Be sure to check out Nathan’s YouTube channel. Enjoy. D. S. Mitchell

 

Trump’s Tax Cut Failure

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TRUMP’S TAX CUT FAILURE:

Nothing Has Trickled Down

Robert Reich is one of the most respected economists in the United States. Robert is an American economic advisor, teacher, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. He was Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997.  Reich has a lot to say about the stupidity of the Trump Tax Cuts and why those tax cuts are damaging the United States financial well-being. Time to get real about taxes and how they effect the economy.