COVID-GATE AND TRUMP

14 Sep 2020 Dwight

Denying Doesn’t Work Anymore

Why do we apply the term “gate” when naming many American scandals? The handle first appeared when the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate apartment and hotel complex in D.C. were burglarized on June 17, 1972. When the investigation revealed that the burglary was ordered and then covered up by high-level officials in the administration of President Richard Nixon, that scandal became known as Watergate. Nixon later resigned over the matter. In post-Watergate America, when a coverup or corrupt acts by people in high places get exposed, we often add the expression “gate” to the name of the misdeed.

With the releases of more and more Bob Woodward tapes of his interviews with Donald Trump, we now know the President of the United States was complicit in a coverup of the seriousness of COVID-19. We heard Trump telling Woodward the virus was extremely dangerous, while not only keeping that fact from the American public but presenting a deeply positive spin that led many to conclude the virus was not a big deal. After 194,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, it’s not believable that Trump’s cheerleader routine helped anyone.

I can only wonder if Herman Cain would still be alive had he been more careful with the virus. There are many people who refused to wear a mask because that’s what our President told them to do. In a video clip, a young man at a public location was asked why he wasn’t wearing a mask. He replied, “Well, if the President isn’t wearing a mask, why should I?” The lemmings have been following the rotund, orange pumpkin over the ledge. It didn’t have to be like this.

Woodward’s tapes reveal more than the COVID-coverup; they expose Trump’s lack of empathy and the need for him to talk more than listen. When answering the question about how the white privileged class relates to African American fears, Trump accused Woodward of “drinking the Kool-Aid.” What does that mean? Trump was suggesting that caring about equal rights for all Americans, systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement is the result of ingesting a poisonous elixir. Trump has once again shown that his north star is not concerned with helping people of color or focusing on civil rights. He has classified empathy and sympathy for the movement as a liberal conspiracy. The man seeks and feels nothing other than the adulation of others.

It was not funny hearing all the Trumpets on TV last weekend using the phrase “fog of war” as an excuse for the President’s overt lies and misdirection at the beginning of the pandemic. Bob Woodward called Trump the “dynamite,” leading any thoughtful person to believe it’s not the fog we should worry about but rather the explosive ready to detonate in our faces.

The sales pitch that our 45^th President was simply being calm and attempting to avoid a public panic doesn’t hold water. Trump told us that COVID-19 was just like the flu and we would be able to extinguish the “little flareups” and “embers” of the virus. In reality, Trump’s malfeasance was more like pouring gasoline on the embers. Running around the country holding rallies and exposing his own voters to the virus has been more important to him than executing a powerful plan for mitigation.

Trump and his minions cannot admit that he’s a goddamn liar. Sending out campaign surrogates and economic advisers to claim that Trump did the right thing by misinforming the America public is an affront of intense proportions. He and his mouthpieces need to be compelled to testify in a thorough investigation. A price must be paid for harming American citizens.

As for Donald Trump, there are those who have sipped the Kool-Aid and believe that he’s a deity here to save humanity. Funny, but the savior is luring his faithful to the mountain of crosses. For this metaphor, think about Roman soldiers with their cats o’ nine tail as the virus. As I have barked through my rally megaphone, “HE’S GOING TO KILL YOU!”

For more and more people, the leaks, lies and misdirection are no longer working. In Bob Woodward’s new book Rage, the leaker is the President himself. He talked at length to a seasoned and astute reporter and got it all wrong — a display of sheer stupidity. Donald John Trump a fool! I wonder what secrets his loose lips have given to foreign leaders.

Before the Woodward book was released, Trump was tweeting it would be “fake” without knowing its contents. When asked about Woodward, the Donald claimed he knew little about his work. WTF? The singular reason Donald gave Bob access was because he knew his past critical work and wanted to con him into writing a pro-Trump book. He was angry about Woodward’s first Trump book called Fear and, as they say in golf, Donald wanted a “mulligan,” a do-over. Trump has also said he should get a third term because he was treated so poorly in his first. What Kool-Aid has he been drinking?

I ping-pong between thinking the Donald is a daft dupe or a conniving criminal, but maybe I need to think outside of the box. Why can’t he be both? He has no sense of history, an inability to keep facts straight and a lack of courage to do the right thing, especially when it might hurt his image. He’s utterly transactional and cannot be trusted. Everything is a win or lose game for our President. If Americans cannot determine what winning means to the man why should they trust Trump to oversee anything?

Trump said the goal of dealing with North Korea was to get them to denuclearize, but the result was a more powerful nuclear threat. Trump was played by a young, fat tyrant and he lost. All that remains are dozens of embarrassing love letters between Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump. Think of the delusion of a football coach who is speaking with the press after a significant rout, “We did a fabulous job today. What a success!” When a reporter points out that coach’s team lost by a score of 49 to 3, the coach yells, “You should be ashamed for asking that question.” Really?

I am done with this nonsense. Trump is a loser and a con man. Period. Let’s eject him on November the third!

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Great companies hire great people. This short, easy-to-read book will help you recruit, review and refocus your new workers into the style and culture of your company. Motivating people to do great work will manage turnover and keeping good workers at your company will maintain your success. Employee inspiration makes a positive difference in our competitive world. HOW TO HIRE GREAT PEOPLE covers everything, including testing, training, tricks and tips. Follow this guide and you’ll assemble strong teams with smart workers, and you’ll learn some time-tested techniques about how to keep them.

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

12Sep

KILLER PRESIDENT

12 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump’s Horrific Pandemic Failure

When does this end? Why is Donald John Trump putting his own voters in harm’s way? We know that he knows COVID-19 is insidious; we heard the Woodward tapes. He has lured his followers into the dark, dank pit of infection. Why? Because putting people in harm’s way is totally worth it if the result is his reelection. Who is this person? Obviously, all those who said he lacks a moral compass were not exaggerating. He’s a wicked, wrinkled fraud.

Once again, the Donald’s blame game surfaces. His psychological illness drives him to assail and impugn others for his own inappropriate, erroneous and dangerous acts. Trump claims that his downplaying and lying about the coronavirus is Bob Woodward’s fault. Really? The fat, orange clown with the long red ties claims that if Woodward thought those lies were so bad, he would have reported them immediately and saved lives. OMG that’s preposterous!

Woodward’s reasoning that he wasn’t sure Trump was telling the truth is totally valid. It’s not Woodward’s job to fix the President or to prevent the fallout of his irresponsible actions. Yes, one sells books containing flaming facts, flawed characters and salacious stories, and Woodward’s latest effort has all that and more. This author’s responsibility is showing the hypocrisies, lies and malfeasance to bring a person with unchecked power to their knees. Just like Donald Trump’s main product is bullshit, Bob Woodward’s finished work is factual, historical framing.

Most people attribute the phrase “News is only the first rough draft of history” to Washington Post publisher, Philip Graham. I read a thought provoking article on the SLATE website that throws some water on the birth of that phrase. The story claims that a 1943 book review in the New Republic, written by journalist Alan Barth, may contain the first usage of that phrase, but such an argument is unimportant right now.

What is crucial is our 45^th president stands before us saying he was not lying, when he was lying. As we battle a viral pandemic, a crisis, the White House has lost all credibility on the issues of healthcare and sound virus containment practices. If Trump really believes in “AMERICA FIRST,” then why are we leading the world in infection and death with COVID-19? Trump blathers that it’s China’s fault for not stopping the outbreak. Well, did President Trump stop the virus from attacking our citizens and destroying our economy? No, because he constantly does the opposite of what he should.

The president spoke on Thursday night for an hour and 15 minutes before a crowd estimated at 5,000 people. The event occurred in Michigan, after that state had limited outdoor public gatherings to 100 people to stem the spread of COVID-19. However, there are exemptions for First Amendment-protected events in Michigan and Trump and his death squad would rather NOT follow the rules and, instead, expose voters to the virus.

I first get frustrated then fatigued by this scum sucking swamp lizard of a president. Why can this man say to a reporter that he knows exactly how bad the virus is but cannot bring himself to be honest with the American public? How can he sleep at night when the entire country knows that he’s a damn liar?

Trump tramples so many facts that he has become a walking-talking conspiracy theory. He told us that New Jersey Muslims celebrated the death and destruction of 9-11, which was probably motivated by a video of Palestinians demonstrating against America. They were NOT Americans, but Trump doubled and tripled down on his bizarre, xenophobic lie. His misinformation has hurt minorities. The abuse and violence against those groups have increased since Donald Trump has become president.

Tragically, our psychologically impaired president continues to endorse and promote the conspiracy theory that the COVID pandemic is a either hoax or not serious enough to warrant the wearing of masks. He hardly ever wears one because of his vanity or stupidity. Go ahead, pick one.

Make no mistake, Donald Trump is a killer president! He brings death to his own supporters! Trump is incapable of understanding what we face and we must remove him from power. He is not qualified to make any decisions, especially those concerning healthcare. WAKE UP AMERICA. It’s not worth dying for Donald Trump. He’s just a piece of steaming, stinking excrement.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

11Sep

TRUMP: TWO-FACED LYING LIZARD

11 Sep 2020 Dwight

“We have it totally under control”

I hate to be writing this on the anniversary of the deadliest attack on our country, which took place on September 11, 2001, but we are being attacked again. Sadly, the guy in charge does not understand the gravity of the global pandemic. He would rather just ignore it. The American COVID-19 death toll has exceeded 191,000 over the last seven months, which is the numerical equivalent of sixty-four 9-11 attacks. We know that lack of communication and a failed airport security system lead to our vulnerabilities and deaths on that fateful day in 2001. Now we have learned another major piece of the coronavirus story, and it’s not pretty. We can easily apply “the deer in the headlights” metaphor to Donald John Trump. He’s damaged goods.

Most caring Americans have heard the tapes of famed journalist and author Bob Woodward as he interviewed the 45^th President of the United States. Trump comes across much differently in those recorded discussions when compared with what he has been telling us. We now have confirmation that Donald Trump is two-faced, meaning he’s insincere and acts one way in certain situations and in contrary ways in other circumstances. Trump has been lying, distorting and misleading America about the coronavirus from the very beginning. On one hand, it’s been a cover-up, and on another, fraudulent application of public health and safety information.

You should read the transcripts of the interviews. On February 7, 2020, Trump said that he had confidence that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had the disease under control, but added ominously, “It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don’t have to touch things. But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. … And so, that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than your—you know, your, even your strenuous flus. You know, people don’t realize, we lose 25,000, 30,000 people a year here. Pretty amazing. This is more deadly. This is 5 per—you know, this is 5 percent versus 1 percent and less than 1 percent. You know? So, this is deadly stuff.”

On the 27^th of February, Trump said on national TV, “View this the same as the flu and treat this like you treat the flu.” I could ramble on and on about what the Donald has told us about the COVID-19 crisis and how all of them run contrary to facts, but the simple truth is that he lied, and lied, again and again. Trevor Noah of The Daily Show said, “The good news is that he wasn’t being stupid, he did comprehend how dangerous the coronavirus was. But the terrible news, the President of the United States lied about it over and over.” And I will add, killed people.

Trump cannot even control the messaging of his administration about the worst pandemic in 100 years, so how in the hell could his team possibly have a virus under control? I was angry on 9-11 because people in our government had forgotten to consider possibilities. We learned later that agency rivalries and wretched communication lead to that atrocious assault on our nation. How many Pearl Harbors or 9-11s must we suffer before we grasp the importance of paying attention to intelligence and planning? Trump’s malfeasance in the handling of the COVID-19 global pandemic is equal to the deadly tragedies of December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001. This President has the blood of American victims on his hands.

Donald Trump’s main excuse for lying is he wanted to keep people from panicking. Well, that was the same lame reason the government offered for not releasing its research on UFOs. You know, better not scare the kids. However, no one we know about has died from a UFO encounter.

Us Americans want to believe our government will provide support when we need it. Many people in power have complained about the government, even when they ran it. I was amused by Ronald Reagan’s open negativity toward “big government,” when he was mainly responsible for its expansion. Trump wants us to believe in him, not the institutions around him. It’s an out-of-body experience for the guy in the Oval Office to complain about so many things while also saying we should reelect him because he is the only one who can fix them. Huh?

If this so-called Law & Order administration thinks that lying to the American people is good governance and a lawful way to protect the public, then they are harmful and need to be removed from office, ALL OF THEM! It’s easy to ridicule Trump for saying he’s a stable genius, and then learning that he provided 19 on the record interviewers to Bob Woodward, a seasoned and strategic journalist. Trump’s move was not that of a “genius,” it was the miscalculated mistake of a dummy.

Woodward is the consummate professional writer. Think about it. Woodward and his partner Carl Bernstein figured out President Richard Nixon was lying. In the end, Nixon resigned in shame. In that case we had a dishonest president whose tapes proved Woodward’s case against him. Now we have Trump doing and saying whatever he can to impugn the reputation of Mr. Woodward. The orange administration has already dismissed the act of lying by excusing such bad behavior as a position to help the American public feel good about a pandemic, you know, so they don’t panic. They now want us to buy the T-shirt that says, YOU MIGHT DIE, STAY CALM. They are saying Woodward’s new book Rage is nothing but a “political hit job.” That’s fucking nonsensical. Our bumbling President totally cooperated with Woodward, on the record! Who is the true idiot here?

The fact is this. The President of the United States lied, and people died. He lied; people died. Keep repeating that mantra because it is the truth. Donald Trump doesn’t deserve to be the president. He’s shown his true, empathy-empty soul. I am sure now that people know he lied about the severity of the virus, his lack of endorsement of social distancing and mask wearing and his neglect in creating a plan to save lives will be taken to court as soon as he gets out of office. I have a concern that the US Department of Justice will defend him because they no longer work for the taxpayers; they work for Trump. Our great nation is surely in a shitty position.

Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of America. Do you need proof of that? Just count the dead bodies. Don’t expect a memorial every year where all the names of those who have died from COVID-19 to be read out loud on TV. The people in this government just don’t care.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

10Sep

TRUMP’S AMERICAN TALIBAN

10 Sep 2020 Dwight

The Truth About Far-Right & Far-Left Movements

Tomorrow is a sacred date in American history, and I hesitate to write this piece, but I feel compelled to connect some dots, dates and delusions. Can there be any doubt that Donald Trump is promoting and motivating the far-right to rally behind him with their pickup trucks, Trump flags and automatic weapons? If the President of the United States honestly believes that encouraging militias and their half-baked wannabe mercenaries into the streets to mess with protesters and far-left groups is a positive effort, then he’s not only an idiot but unfit for the presidency.

I can’t help seeing Trump’s young male supporters in trucks with their flags and guns and comparing them to troops from other places. Don’t we see the same picture with Taliban and ISIS groups patrolling the towns and territories of Iraq and Afghanistan? Or how about the new pro-Trump, anti-mask militias in places like Washington state, Wisconsin and Oregon? Those troops are not sanctioned to do this work. The have not be deputized and they should not be in our streets with guns because they make things worse, not better.

Trump thinks of these clowns as his army. I remember the remarkable NFL success of the Steelers in my hometown of Pittsburgh. One of the stars of that legendary team was fullback Franco Harris. During World War II, Franco’s father fought in Italy where he met his future wife, an Italian, thus the name Franco. That history produced the lore and fan base known as “Franco’s Italian Army,” whose wild fans wore army helmets displaying his number. It was playful and fun, and no guns were involved.

I believe that Trump visualizes losing the election but calling on these goons to take control of the country so he can stay in office. Donald would resist even if his golfing buddy Lindsey Graham were to visit the White House and cajole his departure. This is not a game, people. This is real. It’s plain that Donald Trump’s ego is tempting him to do dreadful things.

Just like the Taliban and ISIS, Trump’s “LIBERATION” groups are being motivated by dark and unamerican ideals. Yes, the concept of militias is supported by the Second Amendment but only if “well regulated.” It is disheartening to see local police and federal agents lending support and encouragement to these guerrillas. We must stop their lawless, murderous entries into cities, even if it’s their own city. Trump’s not-so-subtle call to action of these thugs can be adjudicated after he leaves office as a blatant form of obstruction of justice overflowing to voter intimidation. If I were a Grand Jury member, I would vote to indict this cretin.

Our society has a problem with how we apply justice. Do you remember when the Ohio National Guard killed four students on the campus of Kent State in 1970? Well, no one was ever charged in that action. There is a thin line between peaceful protesting and crime, and I wonder why members of some far-right groups can roam our streets dressed in camo uniforms, carrying long guns and waving Trump flags and be treated with respect and kid gloves, while peaceful protesters against racial grievances are beaten, pepper sprayed and pushed back.

In 1966, it was legal to openly carry a loaded firearm in California. When the radical Black Panthers figured this out, they marched in the streets with rifles. They even entered San Francisco City Hall while armed, which inspired the state to change the law. You see, there are two standards. Most states with open carry laws do not discriminate against people of color, but their reaction to someone of color holding a gun is vastly more extreme. Black kids with guns get shot by police.

I don’t think those with flags and signs displaying their love for Donald Trump should be arrested. The moment they display a firearm however, they should be seen as a potential problem and dealt with differently than they are now. They are currently intimidating peaceful citizens with their guns.

Most legal experts will tell you not to pull a gun unless you are threatened. If you are not being in danger, raising a weapon is called brandishing. In essentially every US state there is a sharp legal distinction between a person pulling a gun for self-defense or doing so for another purpose. Even under a murky circumstance, all one has to say is that they felt threatened, and judging by the latest events it would be fair to say that either or both sides could feel in danger.

Leadership flows from the top, but our feeble President has placed himself in the middle. He’s rooting for the militias, while the real military is becoming less and less impressed with Trump’s actions and words. Donald John Trump is uncomfortable with the military and oblivious about how the Pentagon works. Military soldiers don’t like militias; they never have. Any notion that citizen groups must take up arms to protect the police and the country is stupid and ill-advised. Local, state and federal police don’t need any help to do their jobs and, contrary to what Trump has said, they are not wanting to go to war and spend lots of money.

The irony of Trump claiming that certain people in the Pentagon are spending money in corrupt ways did not sit well with Central Command. The President’s suggestion that they want to go to war and spend enormous amounts of cash is paradoxical, coming from the guy who brags about how well he funded them. According to Department of Defense records, on February 10, 2020, President Donald J. Trump sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget request of $740.5 billion for national security, $705.4 billion of which is slated for the Department of Defense (DoD). Why would the Donald say anything about how the DoD spends its money? He’s an ignoramus.

One could argue that people riding around in pickup trucks draped in Trump election gear makes them guilty of voter intimidation. Our President is breaking his pledge to uphold the laws and protect the Constitution. We have a criminal in the Oval Office and gangs in the streets. Every action of Donald Trump only makes matters worse.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

9Sep

THE RELEVANCE OF MICHAEL COHEN

9 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump’s Discarded Minions Turn Against Him

There used to be a halo around the heads of most of our Presidents. Newspapers didn’t mention George Washington’s bad teeth. They ignored Woodrow Wilson’s incapacitation during the last year of his final term. Some newspapers might have photographed Eleanor Roosevelt with her mouth open, but they never ran a shot of FDR in his wheelchair. They knew Kennedy was having affairs with Marilyn Monroe and others but gave the guy some space. By the time we got to Bill Clinton, the media went wild reporting Monica Lewinski’s exact words.

We almost expect our presidents to lie about their private lives, but when a leader misleads the American public on domestic policies, public safety and important dealings with other countries, that’s bad, really bad. If this makes you think about Donald Trump, let me drop this in your cup. Lies from his loyalists have only made matters worse.

One could argue the that if John Bolton and Michael Cohen had gone to Capitol Hill and testified truthfully about Trump, he’d be, to quote The Eagles, already gone. But that “coulda, shoulda, woulda” mindset doesn’t solve the current problem. Cohen knew that Trump broke the law. He’s a lawyer and was doing the dirty work. Bolton knew that Trump had committed unethical and possibly illegal acts in his dealings with other countries, but John remained silent. I can hear the justification, “Well, I didn’t want to say anything because the Democrats are also wrong.” Cohen believed that he could get a pardon. He openly admits that when the feds said they were going to indict his wife, he started to help the prosecutors. He’s just another lying, chicken shit, opportunistic fool.

America has a strange way of reconciling justice. Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel which ultimately proved fatal to Hamilton, yet Burr was never convicted of murder. Instead of New York, the duel took place in New Jersey, where killing someone in a duel was less of a crime. In a small measure of justice, there’s a Broadway play about Hamilton, but not one about Burr. Vice President Aaron Burr went behind President Jefferson’s back to buy land in Louisiana and start his own negotiations with Great Britain. The government charged him with treason, but Burr was found not guilty. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the trial and ruled there was no evidence and not one credible piece of testimony strong enough to convict Burr. The star witness for the prosecution admitted that he had doctored a letter implicating Burr. Why does this feel familiar?

Each of Trump’s former appointees fits into one of two buckets. Michael Cohen, Anthony Scaramucci and Omarosa Manigault knew and worked with Trump for years and have seen the light. The other box contains many sycophants who worship Trump, and are nothing but members of a death cult.

The people who have come to their sense, know the dark recesses of this man’s mind. Michael knows the Donald cheated on his taxes, charities and applications for loans. The racism, Cohen adds, is just icing on a shit pie. Scaramucci is a money man and he knows more about economics and trade than Trump ever could. Anthony didn’t get a million-dollar hope chest from his father and I trust him. He knows Trump is a liar and fraud, but he wanted to bask in the power. He thought he could save the country by being in the White House. He actually did help, and we can thank Scaramucci for getting rid of Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus, two useless ideologs.

Omarosa worked with Trump on his TV show and says that Donald John Trump changed from the person she worked with back then. She knows that his ambition, once seen as a good thing, has eaten him up. To use the words of Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Ms. Manigault focuses on Trump’s style and his lack of care for others. Okay, but it was her decision to join the administration and it’s unclear what her job was in the White House. Perhaps it was believed she would provide outreach to the African American community, but mostly she sat in the background at meetings.

Michael Cohen’s book will probably produce a giant yawn from not only the public but also from those who cover and analyze this presidency. Most of what Cohen has written are things we already know. From Cohen’s testimony, we know Trump lied about the worth of his holdings to get a better insurance deal, while he gave the IRS different sets of numbers to pay less tax. We know Trump makes racist statements behind closed doors. Remember, he’s never denied saying that certain African and Caribbean counties are “shithole countries.” Certainly, Trump’s high regard for Russia is not based solely on Trump’s “boy love” of Putin’s power and wealth. I’m willing to wager that money and business deals are factors in that equation.

Michael Cohen, Robert Mueller and the Southern District of New York have not seen Donald Trump’s taxes. What the fuck, people? Watergate’s “deep throat” told Woodward and Bernstein to “follow the money,” so why in the hell are we listening to Michael Cohen? When someone accused of a crime keeps telling you he cannot provide a single piece of evidence that would either acquit him or convict him, it’s probably the later he’s worried about.

Of one thing I’m certain, if retired Generals John Kelly and Jim Mattis held a press conference and verified what Trump allegedly said about our fallen war heroes, they could change the course of history. Why do these men remain loyal to Trump? Could it be that their military madness compels them to be loyal to the concept of the presidency and, thus, seem loyal to America? It’s sad that they feel no loyalty to the American people by revealing Trump’s feelings and essence before a critical election. Or maybe they’re holding back so they will have information to nest in the future books they will write about this space in time.

Over 1200 books have been written about Trump since he took office. I wrote one of them, and it called for Trump’s impeachment after only 200 days in office. I guess that makes me a “never ever Trumper.” Regardless, Trump will remain president for at least, another four months and I do not look forward to what “lame duck” Donald will do in his last hours in the Oval Office. I am sure he will sell pardons and change laws as fast as he can. The incoming president will be challenged by all the things he will have to unravel.

Michael Cohen is not relevant and won’t change any minds. His time has passed and in the end America will make a choice. That choosing should not be based on the damage of one man’s lies over another man’s lies but, as they say, it should be made based on love for the soul of America. Yes, it might sound like a cliché, but if we let Donald J. Trump have four more years, he will become a total dictator. But then if you regularly read this blog you already know how I feel. I have never wobbled or wavered from my convictions.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

8Sep

THE 1619 PROJECT

8 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump’s White Privilege Revealed

There are times when the great, orange hype-master in the White House makes a gigantic stink about something hardly anyone knows about, and by rebuking it he creates not only a viral event but also makes more people aware of that very thing he wants them to ignore. Such goofy thinking!

We have had starts and stops with racial matters in America. There are times when we make some progress, then other times we fall back and trample our “better angels,” the ones President Lincoln turned to at times. One of the things I have learned is the more I study our presidents the less likely I’m inclined to hoist them onto a huge glory pedestal.

When we heard the recorded conversations of Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, their uncensored language about “Jews” and “colored people” was dreadful. I read some of the things Dwight Eisenhower said after he had a few drinks, I was stunned and saddened. It was nothing less than racist language and a continuation of “established” racist views held by many Americans. I’m sorry to burst any bubbles, but racism is the norm in America, not the exception.

When the New York Times launched their 1619 Project in August of 2019, I assumed it was a marketing ploy to increase readership. It commemorated the 400th anniversary of the first arrival of enslaved Africans at the English colonies of mainland North America in August of 1619, thus the name.

If you want to dive more deeply, you can learn more here. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard that these articles have been met with much controversy. The entire undertaking is not riddled with lies, but it is being challenged and maligned by historians of every ilk and political persuasion.

One of the most challenged premises in the 1619 Project is that American independence from Britain was a way for our new country to maintain slavery. In fact, the slave trade wasn’t outlawed in Great Britain by Royal Assent until March 25, 1807, but a man was freed by British Chief Justice Lord Mansfield. That ruling in 1772 stated that that “no master ever was allowed here (England) to take a slave by force to be sold abroad because he deserted from his service… therefore the man must be discharged.” And so James Somerset, a slave, won his freedom. The founding fathers knew that this only applied to England and not the 13 colonies, but they heard the footsteps of freedom. They worried that they would be next.

Remember we debated and concluded that we needed to break away from King George in 1776 over a long list of grievances clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence. You can read that legal document here.

Some people get hung up by certain aspects of our justice system, like the notion that someone who lied once means everything else they say is tainted. Ask Michael Cohen. If you write something, especially if it has the sheen of a scholarly work, someone will challenge you, if not in a letter to the editor then in a court of law.

Some choose to fight the battle based on an adoring viewpoint that our founding fathers were righteous and driven by the Magna Carta, rather than being money-oriented and goaded by wealth and profiteering. Don’t ignore human nature here, folks. Many historical accounts demonstrate that the white planters hyped a revolution because they wanted to make sure they kept their land. For example, a unique 215-foot-high rock formation in Rockbridge County, Virginia, along with 150 surrounding acres, were purchased from King George III of England by Thomas Jefferson on July 5, 1774. Jefferson knew the monument would have significant value (as a tourist trap) and he named it Natural Bridge.

When America was a colony of Britain, the settlers developed their own governments in each state, loosely based on what they knew from their motherland. Our founding fathers were still British citizens who believed their deeds, documents and demands of common law should not be abridged. King George brazenly decreed that none of those documents would be honored. This pissed off the landowners and founding fathers so, yes, it’s true that economics was very much a driver in the liberation of the 13 states.

One of the ways our rich, land-owning white forefathers kept the laborers and non-Blacks in line was taking away land from freed Black slaves or indentured servants and giving that land to white men. A bond that was massaged with Christianity, white privilege and pro-slavery kept everyone on the same page for a revolution. Could our founders have spread the word that if we didn’t break away from the mother country all our slaves would be released to burn down the suburbs? That is hard to know, even for the New York Times, and I hope I’m correct in thinking that stone has already been unearthed by at least one of our many newspapers and writers.

Did the early power brokers and self-proclaimed intellectuals know that Great Britain was going to outlaw the slave trade in 1807? How can one know the future? Maybe they had advice from people like Ben Franklin, who lived primarily in London until 1775. After Franklin completed his role in the Continental Congress, he moved to Paris. The things a man will do to get out of the house! Ben was supposed to keep France on our side and provide loans to keep this country solvent, and it wouldn’t have been beneath Franklin to spread some useful lies. France didn’t declare slavery illegal until 1848 however, so the idea that Uncle Ben could have told us about the future demise of slavery is not credible.

Most Americans don’t realize that the King, or Queen of the United Kingdom is also the head of the Church of England. Back in the late 1770s, King George had the power to declare the slave trade dead, but he didn’t. Now, let’s return to today’s America.

In July 2020, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas proposed the “Saving American History Act of 2020.” It prohibited K-12 schools from using federal funds to teach curriculum related to the 1619 Project. Tom Cotton says, “The 1619 Project is a racially divisive and revisionist account of history that threatens the integrity of the Union by denying the true principles on which it was founded.” While this “cotton-picking” Congressman from Arkansas pisses on the Frist Amendment, I would add that his belief that he, and he alone, can save American history is audacious and laughable.

Mr. Cotton didn’t go it alone. He was able to manipulate one other person to take up the sword against a newspaper. This week, Donald John Trump stated on Twitter that the Department of Education will investigate whether California public schools are using the 1619 Project as part of their school curriculum and, if they are, they will “not be funded!”

It wasn’t just Tom Cotton who pulled the wool over Trump’s eyes, it was also Tucker Carlson, the Joseph Goebbels of American media, who broadcasted a major show on the 1619 Project. Now, the President thinks that words on a paper are more dangerous than Russia, North Korea and the global pandemic all rolled into one. Things Tucker Carlson has said and proposed over the years leave no doubt in my mind that he is a racist. Cotton, on the other hand, should know better.

The real reason Trump is fighting so hard against the 1619 Project is because he sees racism and America’s racist history through the lens that Fred Sr. implanted in his deficient head. Like a bad software update, these prejudices make the Donald unable to understand anything that challenges his white privilege.

According to NPR, “Trump won just 8% of the Black vote in 2016 and current polls show the vast majority of Black voters backing Trump’s Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.” African American women vote more than Black men, but the key question is will Trump’s efforts against the 1619 Project make him look like a white plantation owner, wanting to keep the facts of slavery from the young Black and white voters out in the street protesting? Or maybe he’s just another racist waving his white sheet… yet again.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

7Sep

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

7 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump’s Perversion of Military Might

Like some strange aberration of a publicity hog, Donald J. Trump hyped his way to becoming a fixture in the New York tabloids. He talks a lot about his lifestyle in the 1970s, which included outings at popular places like Studio 54. In the late 1990s, while bragging about his playboy lifestyle during an interview, Citizen Trump made light of military service in Vietnam and compared it to avoiding sexually transmitted diseases in the New York dating scene.

In Trump’s tiny mind, the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS was just as dangerous as defending our nation in a war. Trump has never said that the Vietnam war was a righteous endeavor, and he has criticized both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars as wastes of money. Here’s a quote, “Believe me, Iraq is the biggest disaster ever. It’s making Vietnam look like a good war.” He seems to gloss over the fact that more than 1.3 million people died during the Vietnam War, with more than 58,000 US soldier fatalities. It can certainly be argued that Vietnam was not a “good war,” but making light of it is inappropriate and vulgar.

What keeps coming up with this jerk of a president is a deep-seated belief that war equals sexual risk. In the past, Trump talked about the Vietnam with radio host Howard Stern and joked about his own imaginary “exploits in the war.” In two separate interviews during the 1990s, Trump referred to the avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases on the dating scene as “my personal Vietnam.” He embellished his thinking by saying, “It’s pretty dangerous out there! It’s like Vietnam.” In 1996, the Donald said, “I feel like a very great and very brave soldier.”

Some armchair shrinks claim Donald John Trump feels guilty about his lack of military service and that’s why he is constantly compensating for this perceived weakness. In her recent bombshell book, Mary L. Trump explains how Frederick Crist Trump Jr., Fred Trump Sr.’s first son who was called Freddy by the family, was constantly castigated and put down by his father. Freddy graduated with a B.A. in business and, after completing his ROTC training, entered the Air Force National Guard as a second lieutenant. Enabled by his father, Freddy’s younger brother, Donald Trump, scolded his sibling for wanting to be an aviator, but Freddy eventually became a pilot and flew for TWA.

We know that no member of the German Drumpf family, renamed Trump while living here in the US, has ever served in the military. In early 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower denounced real estate profiteers. The New York Times included Fred Trump and his company on a list of 35 builders accused of profiteering from government contracts. He and others were investigated by a US Senate Banking Committee for windfall gains. While no Trump family member ever served the nation in a uniform, they benefited from not only building housing for returning soldiers and their families but deployed nefarious actors to get huge deals and tremendous profits.

I believe that Donald’s contempt for not only the government but also the military came about because of the government’s investigation of the Trump organization for their many shady deals and their discrimination against African Americans. Donald Trump brags about military budgets, the Veterans Administration and how he got the army a raise, but I believe that deep down inside he fears them.

So, what is the root of all evil. Well, in a rare moment of clarity, I give you this. All wrongdoing can be traced to an excessive attachment to material wealth. This belief comes from the writings of the Apostle Paul and is sometimes shortened to “Money is the root of all evil.” It’s likely that Donald Trump will not release his tax returns because he’s tricked the system and pays extraordinarily little or no taxes. Someone needs to remind President Trump that it’s patriotic to pay taxes because that is the source of funding for a strong military. Trump’s only God and country is the dollar bill.

When the Atlantic magazine/website dropped a story written by Jeffrey Goldberg, the White House and Trump himself went nuclear. The article, drawn from unnamed sources, claims Trump said terrible things about those who have given their lives in the service of their country. Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin confirmed key aspects of the story that stated Trump disparaged veterans, didn’t want to honor the dead at the Aisne-Marne Cemetery and did not want to lower American flags after the death of John McCain. Trump then went ballistic and called for the termination of the reporter. He also said that he knew nothing about the periodical, which has been around since 1875.

Trump does not say why he has such a profound disrespect of the military, but many of his public comments show a pattern of undermining all of our institutions, including the military. Back in 2016, candidate Trump claimed to be more knowledgeable than our military’s leadership, “I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me. They don’t know much because they’re not winning!”

Trump disrespected John McCain and he besmirched the reputation of General Mattis when he resigned because of his disagreement with Trump on Syria. When asked if he appreciated “Mad dog Mattis,” Trump riffed about his nickname and added, “What’s he done for me? How has he done in Afghanistan? Not too good! I’m not happy with what he’s done in Afghanistan, and I shouldn’t be happy.” Now, just this past Friday, Trump maligned General John Kelly.

Despite his belching of a few buzz words, Trump doesn’t understand the role of NATO, the need for containment on the Korean Peninsula or the intelligence of helping Ukraine keep Russia at bay. He’s weakened the standing, and the value of our military might around the world. When we pull troops out of an ally country to save money, we are hurting the foundations of the Monroe Doctrine and Marshall Plan that have both kept the world safer.

Trump can deny and continue to pontificate, but the military will not protect him should he lose the election. That is what it’s all about. Trump can kiss every police department in the country, but the guys who will march to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to remove him from the people’s house after he loses the election will be commanded by those Generals he has undermined. Trump is just a foolish little boy playing on the floor with his rubber soldiers.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

4Sep

BAD PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES

4 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump’s Opinions on Crime are Worthless

You may have heard the term “suicide by cop.” Unfortunately, it can arise as law enforcement apply undue force to control the final act of desperation by a mentally ill person trying to escape the demons and delusions in their head. In the past ten days, we’ve seen more protesting because of further incidents of death at the hands of police officers whose extreme actions were caught on video. At the same time, the President of the United States has stirred up the far-right militias to counteract the disturbing tactics of a small group of violent protesters who claim to be members of Antifa, a loosely defined group whose members illegally destroy property and injure others.

Antifa is a condensed version of the word “anti-fascist,” and the US group is a decentralized movement of far-left radicals or, as we used to call them, anarchists. Just as the far-right uses social media to spread its destructive messaging and plans, anarchists do the same. Both are attempting to either hijack or eliminate the Black Lives Matter movement.

Trump sees everything through a lens that people either are for him or against him. He views QAnon as good only because they support him. He has no interest in learning anything else about them. He sees the pickup trucks filled with Trump flags, long guns and “minuteman” logos as positive… period. He will not say they are bad because he doesn’t have the mental capacity to analyze them any further than what they can do for him. I hate to break the news, but Donald John Trump wants a civil war.

Our President would enjoy a “race war” so that he can keep up the fear while pitching his anti-freedom, law and order rhetoric. Last night, a fool went on VICE News, a progressive cable TV news show, and admitted that he killed the counter-protester in Portland. It didn’t take long to bring the man to justice, I mean, kill him.

The New York Times says it all, “Law enforcement agents killed Michael Forest Reinoehl while trying to arrest him, four officials said. He was being investigated in the fatal shooting of a supporter of a far-right group.” To point out the brazenness of this guy would be understating his actions. He was asking to be caught and may have wanted to be shot.

Not only did Mr. Reinoehl go on the TV news show, but back in June he posted on Instagram, “I am 100% ANTIFA all the way!” and added that, “I am willing to fight for my brothers and sisters! Even if some of them are too ignorant to realize what antifa truly stands for. We do not want violence, but we will not run from it either!” I must conclude that this guy was on the FBI’s radar.

In the Vice interview, Mr. Reinoehl said he had acted in self-defense believing that he and a friend were about to be stabbed. “I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color, but I wasn’t going to do that.” Okay, but going on TV to build a case for self-defense and saying he had to do it was totally stupid. Video of the incident clearly shows he was a safe distance away from his alleged victim. The audacity of asking his friend, Tiffanie Wickwire, to set up a GoFundMe page to help him with his defense is telling. He knew in advance that things would not end well.

The “task force” surrounded the place where Mr. Reinoehl was staying. Ultimately, the US Marshals Service, the Lakewood Police Department and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, along with help from the Washington State Department of Corrections, got their man. This group effort ended when Mr. Reinoehl resisted arrest and allegedly pulled a firearm on the police. They killed him, but we have no information about the number of rounds fired.

If you are wondering why so much force, well, the man killed another human being, just like Kyle Rittenhouse, from Antioch, Illinois, did. He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the killings of two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is in custody in Illinois waiting for an extradition hearing to be completed, but that has been delayed for one month. I’m uncertain about the reason for the deferral, but it could be because Mr. Rittenhouse is a minor and not legally permitted to carry that firearm.

But let’s return to the real problem right now. It’s the White House “leader,” who howls at the moon and decries the radical left, holding up the killing of an antifa guy like it was Seal Team Six’s moment with Osama bin Laden. Trump will do nothing to heal the nation. He will not call for a cease fire or attempt to push back both sides. He just can’t. The lame Donald “Duck” Trump quacks and quacks about how bad things are, while continuing to root for the guys with long guns. He’s enabling them, endorsing them, and engaging in a destructive strategy. He’s become Jefferson Davis. So, if civil war is Trump’s answer to losing his power, then American democracy will be destroyed by this child president.

Here is a strange, perhaps inappropriate, observation but, hey, someone has to present it. All the people involved in these terrible incidents are WHITE. The two protesters in Kenosha who were shot by Kyle Rittenhouse were white, as is Kyle himself. The anti-protester-protester in Portland who lost his life, was white. The guy who allegedly pulled the trigger is white. This is not an African America battle playing out; it’s all about two extreme, evil groups.

Black people in America are used to white people stealing their music and appropriating their culture. It’s been happening for centuries, but the real danger for young black people in this country is an on-going bias when being approached by police officers. I believe that there is some racism in every white person in America. More Black men are killed by the police than white men, 2.8 times as often, and more African Americans than whites are incarcerated in this country. Those are facts.

Movements are always susceptible to being hijacked for ideological or monetary reasons. Yes, people are raking in cash by selling Black Lives Matter T-shirts while pro-police organizations make money through the Thin Blue Lives flag decals and paraphernalia they peddle, but these things are not important. What we all should be asking is how do we resolve this crisis? How do we battle COVID, economic uncertainty and social unrest all at the same time?

We need a father figure to bring us together, to help us understand the evil desires and dark sides of these groups and their issues. There are destructive, mean and violent people on both sides. Perhaps you have discerned my radical views on politics and religion because you’ve read my books on both subjects, but do you really know me? One of my sincere desires is God sending Jesus back down to Earth to straighten us all out. Surely, he would never preach there are good people on both sides. There is only one straight path.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

3Sep

VOTE EARLY & OFTEN

3 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump’s Seditious Chaos Sowing

It’s all just a joke with Donald Trump. Imagine a preacher giving their Sunday sermon at the church pulpit and proclaiming that any woman who had the audacity to wear red is a whore. Not only would that cause much disdain throughout the congregation, but everyone in the sanctuary would be looking around to see what the attendees were wearing. When people in positions of authority say untrue or outrageous things, we sometimes accept them until we think about what they said.

Donald John Trump encouraged people to send in an absentee ballot and then go vote in person on Election Day, “Let them send it in and let them go vote, and if their system’s as good as they say it is, then obviously they won’t be able to vote. If it isn’t tabulated, they’ll be able to vote. That’s the way it is. And that’s what they should do.”

Voting twice in the same election is illegal and both President Trump and Attorney General William Barr know it. During an interview on CNN, Barr didn’t object to President Donald Trump’s statement that voters should cast two ballots this November. Bar expressed no outrage or dissent about Trump’s extreme suggestion. Barr said, “This is playing with fire. We’re a very closely divided country here. People trying to change the rules to this, to this methodology — which, as a matter of logic, is very open to fraud and coercion — is reckless and dangerous and people are playing with fire.”

William Barr is a disgrace to American justice. He doesn’t have the balls to stand up and tell the citizens of this country that VOTING TWICE IN AN ELECTION IS UNLAWFUL! To make matters worse, he’s the source of the Trump screed that mail-in voting is full of fraud. Having a loaded gun in your hand is extremely dangerous, but it’s not a “matter of logic” that merely holding a weapon will always lead to death. It’s wrong to demand that sick and vulnerable people risk their lives to vote. If I had a say in the matter, William Barr would be the first person I would fire in a new administration. His father gave us Jeffrey Epstein, and William gives us baskets of bullshit.

Barr went on to answer the question of what Trump was trying to say, “I don’t know exactly what he was saying, but it seems to me what he’s saying is, he’s trying to make the point that the ability to monitor this system is not good.” I am fed up with these feckless, fat assholes telling us how bad things are, but don’t have the brains or conviction to fix them. Listening to Barr could lead you to believe that his Justice Department is an arm of Trump’s campaign.

Continuing from the Trump playbook, Barr claimed, “I accept that there is some preliminary activity that suggests that they might try again. It wouldn’t surprise me if Russia tries something again of the same general genre before.” After that pronouncement, he added, “I believe it’s China, because I’ve seen the intelligence and that’s what I’ve concluded.” Following that, Barr declined to give more details.

I am sick and tired of William Barr, a non-elected head of the Department of Justice, spewing out his conclusions like he’s a judge. He’s an employee of the Executive Branch, but he acts more like the President’s personal lawyer.

Let me get this off my chest. When asked if Obama and Biden committed “treason” by “spying” on the Trump campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 election, the Attorney General of the United States said, “Well, treason is a legal term. I think he’s using it colloquially. To commit treason, you actually have to have a state of war with a foreign enemy. But I think he feels they were involved in an injustice. And if he feels that, he can say it.” No, No, No! If the top guy in the White House is saying that Biden committed “treason” without any charge or credible evidence, he’s attempting to hurt his opponent and not just riffing on the subject of law. Why can’t Barr just say the President shouldn’t use that term? Why did he give Trump a Get-Out-of-Jail card with the word, “colloquially?”

President Trump has said Barr could, “…go down as the greatest Attorney General in the history of our country, or he can go down as just an average guy. It depends on what’s going to happen.” While Barr wants the legal community to believe he’s doing his job in righteous ways, he uses terms like “spying” instead of surveillance, which is something the FBI does every day to Americans. Barr used the term, “Russia-gate thing” describing a fully functional and sanctioned investigation into Russian interference in our election by Robert Mueller. I concluded early on that William Barr was not a real Attorney General. He’s just another political appointee, operating in ways that clearly demonstrated he doesn’t have the American’s people’s back on the subject of “liberty and justice for all.”

Another conclusion that tumbled from his fat, bull-frog mouth is there is “no systemic racism” in America’s law enforcement agencies and police departments. William Barr admits that racism exists, and there are some police officers who might have racism in their souls, but he’s hung up on his own definition of racism. He’s trying to say there aren’t some built in racist polices, practices or procedures in the training of police officers and the exercising of their duties. He did admit that we have much work to do. What work would that involve? Making sure we know who the “bad cops” are and keeping them off the forces or in the streets with loaded guns. You see, if there isn’t a system to fairly, honestly and completely eradicate racists from law enforcement, then we have a systemic weakness. He admitted that in a roundabout way but did not say anything meaningful regarding those he oversees on the federal level.

Thinking ahead, I would love to have the next Attorney General be Preet Bharara. He was the US Attorney of the Southern District of New York before Trump fired him. Bharara is one of the only US attorneys to land a conviction during the housing and money scandal of the mid-2000s. It would then be great if new A.G. Bharara appointed another former SDNY US Attorney, Geoffrey Berman, to serve as special prosecutor in an investigation of the Trump administration. We the people need to know the depth of the corruption, who was involved and who should never hold any political office ever again. Hey, it may sound like LOCK HIM UP… but lots of Trump guys have already been jailed. Sue me if you like, but make sure you have a good attorney.

Finally, I’ll sew up this post. I voted early by mail in the Florida primary that was held on August 18, 2020. I was curious to know what would happen if I tried to vote again in person. I walked into my polling place and spoke with the folks there, explaining that I had already voted by mail and was curious what would happen if I tried to cast another vote here. They were very friendly and helpful, electronically running my driver’s license (one registers to vote in Florida when you get a license) and showing me that my vote had already been counted. They also directed me to a website where I could see if my vote was in the count for the future. You see, William Barr, you and all others who think Florida is unorganized and fraught with “logic-based” fraud are WRONG!

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

2Sep

AN OPEN LETTER TO NEWS EXECUTIVES

2 Sep 2020 Dwight

Trump Election Night Chaos is Possible

I viewed a disturbing program on HBO’s Axios about the potential of a “red mirage” on election night. If you haven’t seen the story, watch it here. This so-called mirage is based on the projection that more than 40% of Americans will vote by mail because of the pandemic. Josh Mendelsohn, the CEO of a company named Hawkfish, first presented this theory. Hawkfish is funded by Mike Bloomberg to support Democratic candidates, but the company’s precise agenda is unclear. Their website presents a dazzling array of imprecise buzzwords that paint a fuzzy picture, but here’s a quote from Mendelsohn, “We are sounding an alarm and saying that this is a very real possibility, that the data is going to show on election night an incredible victory for Donald Trump.” When every legitimate vote is tallied and we get to that final day, which will be some day after Election Day, it could be that what happened on election night was truly a “red mirage,” I hope the news networks are aware of the potential and have their heads screwed on tightly to prevent such a disaster.

This “red mirage” could happen if news reporters, eager to get and hold their audiences, hype early returns which show Donald Trump and Mike Pence winning in many states. People will go to bed on election night believing the Donald got his four more years but when all legitimate votes are finally counted, perhaps as much as a week after November 3, it might be found those election night predictions were just a “mirage” and the true winners are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

We all know that Donald John Trump is an anxious, impatient child. We know on election night he could possibly make a bizarre pronouncement of victory. He truly will believe if he speaks the words, they will be true. It’s not inconceivable that he would try to declare that any votes counted after he anoints himself the winner will be invalid. That would certainly be scary and create a constitutional crisis. If you think this is bullshit, see how long he’s been able to stonewall his tax returns. He might use his legal goons to keep the results away from us for months.

Dear News Executives:

You have an election night responsibility beyond your standard operating procedures. Just as you wouldn’t purposely create panic due to a virus or natural disaster, you certainly wouldn’t want to force a constitutional crisis by announcing incorrect election results. So, what exactly should you do on election night? I have some suggestions.

First, you must inform your audience that this is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. As much as you would like to have a grand conclusion on election night, that won’t happen. All media outlets should have a “gentleman’s agreement” that they will not call a win until each state’s secretary announces their winner. I know this will take discipline on your part, and should you feel reluctant, remember how foolish you looked with the Gore vs. Bush fiasco All of you need to manage the expectations of the viewers while ignoring any conspiracy minded elephant in the room.

You might want to consider changing the format of the reporting. Instead of a reporter jumping between multiple screens with small bits of data, use the old radio concept of “weather on the tens.” Radio programmers used that concept so their audiences would know they would hear the weather forecast every ten minutes. It kept folks from tuning out before hearing the day’s weather. Your election coverage could be presented as 2020 RETURNS, EVERY TWENTY MINUTES. Give us short updates and promote the fact you’ll stay on the air until the final ballots are counted. No matter how many days that might be.

I know you will be tempted to use exit polls to embellish the coverage because the results will be slow in coming, but I urge that you DON’T. If you predict an outcome while ballots are still being counted, you will not only play into the conspiracy theory that our election is corrupt, fixed or rigged, but you could confuse the voters. Yes, as much as your million-dollar graphics, skillful on-the-fly pundits and experts should be seen and heard, they will not be helpful if they announce that a particular candidate was victorious when they were not.

The “red mirage” being talked about is a real possibility and you have a responsibility of making sure Americans believe you and trust that the election results are real. Your brands have suffered damage by the acts of the President, the Congress and Russians. You can repair your reputations by becoming beacons of truth and accurate information. As I have said to my neighbors, we may never agree on talking points, but we must agree on facts. It’s your job to deliver verified truth so that the word “retraction” is never needed.

Every four years we hear, “This is the most important election in the history of the United States.” The divide between viewpoints ensures that many people will be angry with the results. Perhaps on this one you should avoid the crossfire and ignore the temptation to be sucked into the hyperbole and misdirection of being first with the results. Please, just give us the facts.

TIME TO REPAIR THE ECONOMY!

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here