2020 In Hindsight

 It was a year that began with the impeachment of a President accused of high crimes and misdemeanors by the House of Representatives, yet was acquitted by a Senate whose party was held in thrall by the same man whose careers they depended on, so they let him skate.  It ends with this same President defeated at the polls, yet as his term nears its conclusion continues to cling to the notion that Democratic voter fraud made him the real winner. And President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are waiting in the wings.

It was a year that began with a viral outbreak in China that spread to the rest of the world with devastating consequences.  The President, when told about it, chose to sit tight and refer to it as a hoax.  As casualties across the United States mounted and life as we knew it went undercover, he held "superspreader" campaign events with masks optional before getting sick himself.  By the end of the year, with over 300,000 dead and millions infected, the President no longer seems to care about the virus that came to be known as COVID-19 ruining his chances of re-election.  If he ever did.

It was a year when George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black individuals were murdered by police officers who thought they were breaking the law--just because they were Black.  This led to demonstrations and rioting in the streets of major cities, Black Lives Matter becoming more than just a slogan, athletes and entertainers picking up the mantle for social justice, and much soul searching no matter who you were.  The President's response?  He sent National Guard and other troops to quell demonstrators in such cities as Washington and Portland, OR while posing with an upside-down Bible and yelling "LAW AND ORDER!", representing neither.  Cha-chung.  By year's end, we still don't know what really happened to Floyd, Taylor and the others.

It was a year when, because of coronavirus, everything was closed or went underground.  Events were postponed or canceled.  Zoom meetings became one of the safer ways to communicate.  Unlikely products such as toilet paper and household cleaning products became scarce.  Streaming services such as Disney+ and Netflix had big years as people didn't have much to do but watch TV, and theaters were forced to close.

It was a year when someone like Sarah Cooper could do dead-on impressions of the President and the First Lady and be a hit on social media, leading to a Netflix TV special.  Or when Taylor Swift recorded three albums in a year's time ("Lover", "Folklore", "Evermore"), two of them during the pandemic.

It was a year when sports continued against all logic while the pandemic raged.  The NBA, NHL and WNBA conducted their regular season and playoffs inside tightly-controlled bubbles.  Major League Baseball, the NFL and college football played their seasons in empty stadiums under open skies.  There were some postponements due to players either becoming ill or testing positive for the virus.  It was clear this was all done for the benefit of TV networks, whose lucrative contracts with the leagues may have possibly kept them from going under, never mind the health and safety of the players.

Most of all, though, it was a year of death. Herewith, an extensive list of those you might have heard of who passed away during 2020, whether it was due to COVID-19 or not.  Cue Sarah McLachlan's "Angel".

Don Larsen, Sam Wyche, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Edd Byrnes, Buck Henry, Jim Lehrer, Kobe Bryant, Jack Burns, Marj Dusay, Fred Silverman, Mary Higgins Clark, Gene Reynolds, Willie Wood, Kirk Douglas, Roger Kahn, Orson Bean, Paula Kelly, Zoe Caldwell, Ja'Net DuBois, Mickey Wright, Pop Smoke, Jeanne Evert, AP Indy, B.Smith, Ahmaud Arbery, Clive Cussler, Lee Phillip Bell, Bobbie Battista, Ruth Born, Mal Sharpe, Roger Mayweather, Lyle Waggoner, Kenny Rogers, Jimmy Wynn, Orlando McDaniel. Joe Diffie, KT Oslin, Pierre Cardin, David Stern, Jacob Blake, Ed Farmer, James Drury, Al Kaline, Herb Stempel, Carl Dobkins Jr., Linda Tripp, Mort Drucker, Saul Turteltaub, Pete Retzlaff, Jim Frey, Stirling Moss, Hank Steinbrenner, Milt Sunde, Bobby Lewis, Matt Keough, Don Shula, Barry Farber, Brian Howe, Roy Horn, Little Richard, Betty Wright, Jerry Stiller, Pepper Rodgers, Phyllis George, Fred Willard, Ken Osmond, Chuck Graham, Jerry Sloan, Eddie Sutton, Larry Kramer, Randy Staten, Pat Dye, Lee Grosscup, Wes Unseld, Johnny Majors, Dick Garmaker, Mike McCormick, Jean Kennedy Smith, Lester Crystal, Benny Mardones, Carl Reiner, Sean Connery, Regis Philbin, Chadwick Boseman, Phil Niekro, Ann Reinking, John LeCarre, Charley Pride, David Lander, David Prowse. Diego Maradona, Alex Trebek, Nikki McKibbin, Leanza Cornett, Conchata Ferrell, Whitey Ford, Johnny Nash, Eddie Van Halen, Helen Reddy, Mac Davis, Gale Sayers, Pamela Hutchinson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Diana Rigg, Lou Brock, Cliff Robinson, Reni Santoni, Wilford Brimley, Alan Parker, Herman Cain, Olivia de Haviland, Grant Imchara, Naya Rivera, Kelly Preston, Charlie Daniels, Nick Cordero, Hugh Downs, Ian Holm, Chuck Yeager, Ken Hansley, John Prine, Joe Morgan, Bob Gibson, Tommy DeVito, Winston Groom, Stanley Crouch, Shere Hite, Tom Seaver, John Thompson, Gail Sheehy, Ben Cross, Trini Lopez, Sumner Redstone, Brent Scowcroft, Pete Hamill, John Saxon, John Lewis, Christo, Lynn Shelton, Peter Beard, Brian Dennehy, Honor Blackman, Bobby Mitchell, Tom Dempsey, Bill Withers, Curly Neal, Stuart Whitman, Max von Sydow, McCoy Tyner, James Lipton, Robert Conrad, Terry Jones, Jim Ramstad, Sid Hartman, Tom Hanneman, Chris Doleman, Tarvaris Jackson, Bob McDonald, John Hankinson, Henri Richard, Tom Heinsohn, Paul Hornung, Rafer Johnson, Dick Allen, Kevin Greene, KC Jones, Ron Perranoski, Nancy Dorsch, Dawn Wells

Everybody, it seems, is looking forward to 2021.  Let's see where it leads to.

The Man Who Came to the White House--And Stayed

It's been three weeks since the election, and only now has President Donald Trump gotten over himself long enough to allow his successor. President-elect Joe Biden, to begin the transition in earnest prior to his inauguration on January 20.  The General Services Administration gave the go-ahead on Monday.  Biden and his transition team can finally look over all the correspondence and briefings he needs to know about.

But don't think for one moment Trump has abandoned his increasingly quixotic quest to regain the Presidency, in spite of evidence to the contrary.  He has yet to concede the election to Biden, even though the former vice-president has amassed 80 million votes to Trump's 73 million--more than any other candidate in history.  Biden also leads in the Electoral College vote 306 to 232.

Claiming voter fraud and other irregularities, Trump and his gang of fools (also known as his attorneys) have been striking out in the courtrooms of battleground states, leaving behind hollow reassurances to the President's base at every parking lot and strip mall they could find. They haven't looked good doing so, not even with Rudy Giuliani's hair dye.

It's not as though Trump is all that eager to do his job these days.  There's a pandemic going on with 12 million cases of Covid-19, a quarter of a million dead, and people ignoring pleas to mask up and stay home this Thanksgiving--even with vaccines on the horizon.  You've heard of the phrase "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"?  With this President, when the going gets tough, the tough tweets, watches Fox News, then goes golfing.

Meanwhile, Biden has been busy putting together his new staff during the delay, while at the same time reassuring the country that help is on its way.  The President-elect announced his national security cabinet, which includes familiar names such as Janet Yellin for Secretary of the Treasury and former Senator and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry as climate advisor.  Most of the rest of the nominees (pending Senate approval) are diverse and experienced in government affairs, unlike the revolving door of unqualified yes-people and family members who served during Trump's administration.

It looks like the Democratic "blue wave" in Congress never materialized, which makes Biden's efforts to get things done a lot more complicated.  The Democrats still have the House of Representatives by a 220-208 margin.  But the GOP is still holding on to the Senate 50-46, pending the outcomes of two runoff races in Georgia, meaning Biden might still have Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to deal with.

One reason Trump is taking desperate measures to keep his job is that once he leaves office, he faces numerous federal and state charges against him for everything from financial fraud to sexual assault.  It is more likely, however, that Trump will be filing for bankruptcy rather than see a day behind bars.  He's already on his way to letting his cronies go scot-free, having pardoned Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.  Maybe he'll do the same thing for himself and his family.

So whether Trump finally throws in the towel and concedes, or waits for the Electoral College to to decide his fate, his spectre for the next few weeks will be hanging over the White House like an unwanted house guest who's stayed too long.  Because if he can't move on, neither can the country.

 

Biden Wins. Trump Pouts.

After four agonizing days and nights of needing just one or two more states to make it past the Electoral College-mandated 270 mark, former Vice President Joe Biden finally passed that hurdle when the TV networks declared him the winner in Pennsylvania Saturday morning. He will become the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021.  Senator Kamala Harris of California becomes the first woman and person of color to be Vice President.

The votes are still being counted as of November 7 in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia with Biden in the lead.  But Pennsylvania was the big prize with 20 electoral votes.  Biden won more popular votes than anyone in history with more than 74 million.

Donald Trump becomes the first President since 1992 to be defeated for a second term.  For a man who's used to "so much winning", as he might have put it, he's not handling losing very well.  His nationally-televised rants about Democrats committing voter fraud and threats of suing his way to a second term, possibly all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, did nothing but paint him as a desperate old man clinging to the spotlight.  And what was he doing when Biden was announced as the winner?  Playing golf, which is a typical move whenever the President wants to get away from reality. Conceding?  Are you kidding?

But Trump won over 70 million votes, and if that doesn't tell you how divided the United States is right now, I don't know what will.  Seems there are a lot more folks outside his political base who liked how he's handled the coronavirus pandemic (which is currently near ten million cases and over 236,000 dead, with the worst still to come), the pre-Covid economy and other kinds of behavior unbecoming a President.  If Trump had so much as taken the pandemic seriously, not only would he have saved a lot of lives, but he would have won a second term too.  

As it stands, Biden won because people got sick of all the lies, all the racism, all the tweeting, all the corruption, all the nepotism, all the spinelessness of the GOP, all the ignoring of his Western allies and coddling of dictators, and, most importantly, ALL TRUMP ALL THE TIME. By contrast, Biden has been in and out of public office for nearly 50 years and seems to know how to deal with the world.  He may be older than Trump (78 by inauguration), but he's exactly what America needs right now.  Boring but competent.

Now that it's all over but the pouting, the next three months should be interesting.  As President-elect Biden and his transition team hit the ground running, what will President Trump be doing in the days before his TV show of an administration goes off the air?  Will he cooperate with Biden's team?  Will he fire everyone right and left?  Will he find a way to stay out of prison?  Or will he simply fade into America's collective rear view mirror?

"Rounding The Turn" to Election Day(s)

 In a few days (or so) will come the event we've waited four years for.  Will President Donald Trump win another four year term in the White House?  Or will defeat at the polls to former vice president Joe Biden finally do what scandal, impeachment, Covid-19 and just plain buffoonery could not--remove him from office?  If that's the case, will Trump do so gracefully?

Most of the polls nationally and in battleground states indicate that Biden has a sizable lead over Trump.  But no one, not even Biden, is convinced that the Democrats have this one in the bag yet.  Remember 2016?  Or even 1948, if you've done your research?  Those elections taught us that polls and the popular vote doesn't matter.  Only the Electoral College matters, and a few votes in the right places is Trump's best hope for defying the experts once again.

Trump's (mis)handling of the coronavirus crisis has led to (as of 10/29) nearly nine million cases and over 227,000 deaths, including himself and most of the White House staff.  And the worst is yet to come as winter approaches. Yet he insists on jetting around the country to rallies attended by thousands of supporters who don't mask up, spreading disease wherever he goes.

Lacking a real plan to control the virus without hurting the economy, the President tells anyone who'd listen that we're "rounding the turn" in developing a vaccine that won't be available to everyone until next summer.  Trouble is, it sounds like what President Herbert Hoover kept saying as the Great Depression got worse:  "Prosperity is just around the corner".

It also doesn't help that the Trump administration has all but surrendered to the virus, offering scant suggestions that don't involve mask wearing and social distancing while muzzling the experts, who have a better idea of what's going on than the politicians do.

The U.S. Senate's confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as the newest Supreme Court justice, so soon after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Americans are voting early, is a clear indication that Trump and Senate Republicans are imposing their will on the country long after they're gone, leaving hot-button issues like abortion and the Affordable Care Act at the mercy of a conservative-majority court.  The Democrats, if not Biden, are screaming about the GOP's "court packing" and vow revenge.  But any attempt to do some of that themselves, including adding two more seats, will likely result in leaving the Court's conservative majority intact.

In spite of the millions of people who waited in line for several hours to vote in a shrinking number of polling places across the country, and in spite of all those who wanted to avoid getting sick on Election Day by voting early by absentee ballot (your Postal Service mail delivery might vary), the winner might be determined by six conservative justices and three liberals if the totals between Trump and Biden are close enough, and Trump demands a recount  If there's interference by a foreign government, that's another story altogether.

So yes, we're "rounding the turn" all right.  Do we really want to know what's around the corner?

Debates and Consequences

 For someone who loathes wearing masks and thinks a deadly virus that has so far killed over 210,000 people in the United States alone is no big deal, it came as a shock when President Donald Trump was forced to spend last weekend fighting COVID-19 symptoms in a military hospital.  He has also infected nearly everyone in his path, which includes White House staffers, key associates and wife Melania.  Not to mention those he met along the campaign trail, and in his first presidential debate with former vice-president Joe Biden (who tested negative), all with nary a mask in sight. 

If you thought getting the virus would somehow humble the President into understanding the devastation around the country he helped create, you'd be wrong.  Trump made a dramatic, made-for-TV return to the White House, declared victory even though he's still contagious and should really be in quarantine, and claimed that if he beat the virus, we can too.  That is, if we had the superior medical care Presidents usually get (and even if he weren't President, Trump would still be able to get the best docs available) and experimental drugs that are more powerful than, say, Tylenol.

The first debate with Biden was such a disaster that it was suggested none ever be held again,  But the committee handling the debates insisted on another one, so they scheduled one for October 15.  Because the President got sick, what was supposed to be a town hall setup has been changed to a glorified Zoom meeting.  But Trump said he didn't want to waste his time on a virtual debate, so unless he's persuaded otherwise, there's not going to be one.  Biden will use the time to do his own town hall for ABC News.

The debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic challenger Senator Kamala Harris in Utah did come off Wednesday, plexiglass and all.  Neither candidate answered critical questions from moderator Susan Page of USA Today about whether Trump would accept the results of the election, or whether there would be a peaceful transfer of power if he lost.  Harris won the debate because Pence was too busy talking over both women and going past his allotted time to notice that there was a fly on his head.

Whether you think President Trump is hopped up on drugs and can't think straight as he's recovering, or if he's just being himself, you have to wonder how much longer America and the world can put up with his antics.  Whatever happens on or around November 3, we'll have to live with the consequences.

Random Thougts: Breonna Taylor, RBG, COVID and All That "Schitt's"

 No Justice, No Peace in Louisville

You can say Breonna Taylor's name as much you want, but it doesn't mean she's going to get any justice.  A grand jury in Louisville, KY charged only one of the four police officers accused of her murder, and that was for shooting someone else in the next room.  Taylor's family had already settled with the city for $12 million in a civil trial.  The Feds have yet to complete its investigation into the incident, but they'll be under enormous pressure to satisfy Taylor's supporters, who took to the streets of Louisville and other cities as soon as the verdict was announced.  This does not bode well for what will happen in Minneapolis when the police officers allegedly responsible for George Floyd's death will come to trial.

Change Over RBG's Dead Body

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death at age 87 on September 18 is a win-win for President Donald Trump.  With a few weeks remaining before the Presidential election, Trump and his Republican pals in the Senate can ignore Ginsburg's dying wish that her replacement wouldn't be approved and seated before the people elect a new leader.  Not only would Trump have an insurance policy in his favor in case of a tight election, but should he lose to Joe Biden (a fact the President has been known to dismiss as his way of staying in power no matter what), the Democratic candidate (and future Presidents) would be stuck with a 6-3 conservative majority for the foreseeable future unless his plan to "pack the Court" (ala FDR) gets past Congress

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has rightfully been recognized as a role model and trail blazer for women and others who believe in social justice, deserved better than to be a cold body stepped over by those who couldn't wait for a more conservative future for the Supreme Court.  Everything she ever championed on the bench might not survive her death.

A Grim Milestone--And Counting

The death toll in the United States in the six months since a health emergency was declared over COVID-19 has risen (as of 9/24/2020) to over 201,000, with nearly seven million confirmed cases.  This is a tribute to the confusion, denial and mismanagement of the pandemic caused by our elected leaders, choosing fear over the advice of scientists and doctors that they themselves had hired, resulting in untold misery for those who are working from home--or not, kids who are learning from computer screens instead of in classrooms, and for those who could not see their loved ones.  According to those scientists, the pandemic might actually run its course by mid-2021--if all goes well, a safe vaccine can be found, and enough people take precautions.  The politicians and business leaders run the risk of prolonging things unnecessarily if they continue to believe the bottom line is being affected, and if they continue to believe the rising death toll from COVID amounts to, well, nothing.

The Emmys Go Up a "Creek"

The Canadian sitcom "Schitt's Creek", in its final season, swept the comedy category at the 72nd Emmy Awards September 20.  No other show has ever done that.  Awards went to its stars Catherine O'Hara (actress in a comedy), Eugene Levy (actor in a comedy), Daniel Levy (supporting actor), Annie Murphy (supporting actress), and "Creek" itself (best comedy).

Elsewhere, two shows from HBO dominated the Limited Series and Drama categories.  "Watchmen" won for Best Limited Series?Movie, along with stars Regina King (best actress) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen (supporting actor).  "Succession" won for best drama, and Jeremy Strong won for best actor in a drama.

The Emmy telecast was staged virtually from Staples Center in Los Angeles, was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and shown on ABC.  It was, as Kimmel predicted, the lowest-rated Emmy ever.  You can't just blame competition from sports for the low numbers.  Many of the shows that were nominated were ones that weren't familiar to most viewers, and the few that were depended on where they got their TV.  Or are people just tired of awards shows where Hollywood stars preach at them to vote and to end racism and sexism?

Trump vs. "Not Trump"

Well, here it is.  The presidential election season (such as it is) has begun after a summer full of virtual conventions, clashes in the street. possible mail-in voter fraud and arguments over wearing masks and how to open school as the COVID-19 pandemic is on its way to killing almost 200,000 Americans in just a few months. 

President Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, may not have helped start the outbreak.  But he's certainly responsible for his mismanagement of it, having said as much on tape about downplaying the seriousness as prime fodder for Bob Woodward's new book.  Trump faces former Democratic vice president Joe Biden, who made headlines for making Kamala Harris his running mate.  The current Senator from California, who would be the first of Asian and Jamaican descent to serve in the office if they win, ran against Biden in the primaries.

The President promises to "keep America great" as cities burn, businesses shut down, millions lose their jobs due to COVID, and there's a trade war with China.  Biden wants to "build back better", as if he's a Detroit auto executive trying to sell his fading lineup of cars.  He also wants to do a better job of handling the virus by mandating masks and relying on scientists and doctors instead of promoting questionable miracle cures and "wishing" the virus away.  But mainly what Biden, Harris and the Democrats have to sell is that they're not Trump, and that may be enough for them to win in November.

Nearly two decades have passed since the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, and America's national security is in danger of being compromised--if it isn't already.  Trump's disdain for climate change and for the "suckers" and "losers" who populated the military he commands past and present are matched only by his unyielding friendship and support of the authoritarian dictators he wants to emulate, if the Constitution would only let him.

We know that race relations is not Trump's strong suit, having long ago sided with white nationalists in his quest for "law and order" instead of immigrants and African-Americans, for whom he has often whined about how much he has done for them than any other President.  Now, to go along with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Blacks who have been victims of overzealous police, we add Jacob Blake Jr.  He was shot in the back seven times by Kenosha, WI police for trying to escape capture on a charge of domestic abuse.  Protests on the streets of Kenosha led to a 17-year old white teenage boy accused of shooting two men to death, earning the tacit approval of the President.  Which is not much different than sending armed militias into the streets of Portland and Washington,D.C. because of real or perceived threats by extremists right and left, making things worse.

This is Trump's race to lose, and he's losing it.  Most of the major polls in the battleground states show him trailing Biden, as well as in fundraising for the million or so campaign ads you'll be seeing until November 3.  But Trump is scaring the heck out of those who want to avoid the polls and mail in their votes instead due to the virus by slowing down the U.S. Postal Service, which is now run by one of his campaign contributors. Which means we may not know who won on Election Night, with the voters risking illness to cast their ballots and the tidal wave of mail order ballots to be counted.  And even then, we won't know if Trump will go away peacefully if he loses.

We're still waiting for the "October Surprise".  If it isn't Trump disparaging the troops, downplaying the virus or promising a vaccine by November, then what is it?  Do we really want to know?

"Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV."=Bad Trouble

As the nation mourns the passing of John Lewis, a Civil Rights icon who risked his life for better treatment of African Americans marching on an Alabama bridge named for a white supremacist, then served in the U.S. Congress making "good trouble" for over three decades, President Donald Trump is doing his best to undo Lewis' legacy by threatening to delay the presidential election that is scheduled for November 3.

His main complaint is that too many people plan on voting by mail beforehand, and that is oh-so-ripe for fraud--never mind that he's done it himself a few times.  So he's named one of his political benefactors to head the Postal Service, an organization not exactly known for speediness or for keeping up with the times without having to raise postage rates.  You might say this is a case of "do as I say, not as I do".

It doesn't matter that the Constitution says any change to Election Day must go through Congress, not through presidential fiat.  But Trump, who is getting thumped in most of the polls by his Democratic rival Joe Biden, is not what you'd call a Constitutional scholar, and seems to be making it up as he goes along.

It also doesn't seem to matter that coronavirus has so far killed more than 150,000 Americans and sickened millions more.  The economy has been tanking because of all the restrictions and business closings, which has left millions unemployed.  The President's response so far has been (A) favoring quack doctors and remedies while shunting aside more learned physicians and scientists from his own staff that the public trusts more, (B) magically thinking the virus will one day go poof, then (C) lamenting things are going to get worse than better because the virus didn't go poof.

In spite of Covid-19 cases spiking across America and some states having to walk back loosening restrictions on commerce and social distancing, Trump insists on starting schools on time and in the classroom lest he takes away their federal funding.  This is freaking out parents, students and educators who would rather be learning online at home than risk getting the virus and passing it along to family and friends.  All you need to do is to look at Major League Baseball for a primer on how not to restart in a pandemic.

One of Trump's mantras in his reelection bid (besides tweeting "MAGA!!") is "Law and Order", which has been demonstrated forcefully in Portland, Oregon and other cities the past couple of weeks by unidentified Federal agents who tried to quell otherwise peaceful protestors marching against police treatment of Black citizens.  Another example is the commutation of Trump crony Roger Stone's prison sentence.  These and others are left to be explained away before a House subcomittee by Attorney General William Barr, another Trump crony.  You do know "Law and Order" is just a TV show, right?

The President seems to be less concerned with Russian president Vladimir Putin's signing off on putting bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan than in getting rid of popular social media site Tik Tok, a Chinese-based company that allegedly shares its privacy data with the government.  Does Sarah Cooper's one-note mimicking of Trump bother him that much?

Covid-19 has ended the President's plans for a hastily put together public shindig in Jacksonville, Florida to celebrate his Republican renomination.  Instead, the GOP will be going virtual at their original convention site of Charlotte, NC.  Much of it will be closed to the press and public, so presumably any delegate who chooses to renominate Trump can do so without anyone finding out.

Far from the eloquence and leadership John Lewis has shown over the decades, President Donald Trump over the past four years has been doing better as a would-be authoritarian with a penchant for bragging and threatening people than for leaving this country in a better place than he found it. If his legacy is acing a cognitive skills test that determines whether or not his mind is going south, then we are in bad trouble indeed.

A Presidency And A Country Unmasked

As the United States commemorates 244 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there's not much to celebrate.  Cases and deaths from the coronavirus outbreak continue to spike, causing several states and cities to rethink easing restrictions, which had been originally done due to political pressure.  There is also a national conversation of sorts over the way certain members of law enforcement treat Black people.  Presiding over all this is President Donald Trump, who just told us that this is what we have to live with.

To date (7/3/20), the U.S. leads the world in the number of people getting sick and dying from COVID-19, and it is likely to spike further if people don't start wearing masks.  But Trump wishes it would all go away, because it puts a crimp in his re-election plans.  He doesn't wear a mask, claims to have been checked for the virus every day (which is easy for him to say since we don't know his medical history), and undercuts his coronavirus task force whenever possible (need a reason why Dr. Anthony Fauci isn't on TV much any more?).

Recently, the President went to Tulsa, Oklahoma to relive the good old days of his barnstorming political tour, only to go home with new cases of covid among his staff and a half-empty arena full of people with no masks and hardly any social distancing.

Elsewhere, loyalty is still a big deal to the President.  It's why Attorney General William Barr runs interference for him, sacking those who get too close to the truth about Trump's alleged misdeeds.  It's also why former aide John Bolton and niece Mary Trump were threatened with lawsuits on national security grounds over unflattering books they wrote, but are being published anyway.

Befriending dictators has always been a priority for Trump.  In spite of reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin offered bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan, Trump--who's also been roasted by critics for watching Fox News instead of reading classified briefings--brushes them off as a "hoax".  He can't afford to offend Putin if he wants to be re-elected.

Even the Supreme Court has been turning on Trump, despite its conservative majority.  They ruled against the President on LGTBQs losing their jobs because of their sexual orientation, and for eliminating protections for "Dreamers" threatened with deportation.  How the justices really feel about Trump will be determined when they eventually rule on releasing his tax returns.

Trump likes to be the star of the show, and no amount of racial insensitivity or killer virus is going to stop him from being in the limelight.  It's why the Republican party bent over backwards (as they have so many times in the past few years) to accomodate the President by moving portions of its convention from Charlotte, NC to Jacksonville, FL, so he can accept his party's nomination in a sold-out arena without bothering with masks or social distancing.

Unfortunately, the GOP convention in late August also coincides with the anniversary of a racial incident in Jacksonville 60 years ago, in which Blacks protesting segregation were attacked by whites with ax handles.  Not that Trump cares about any of that local historical stuff, mind you.

We know Trump wants to keep America safe, so he issues executive orders to protect statues and names of military bases that had something to do with the side that lost the Civil War.  Or turn a blind eye to those in law enforcement who don't believe Black lives matter, and that the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Elijah McClain in Colorado and others were a means to an end.

Much of 2020 so far has been a complete blur, from the President's failed removal from office to the millions infected with a virus that he took too long to deal with.  Donald Trump's leadership (or lack thereof) is driving this country into the ground, and most Americans can't wait until November to vote him out.  Oh, he'll eventually wear a mask.  But it will be used to commit highway robbery at the polls, ensuring himself of another four years (or so) in the White House.  Just like he did in 2016.

Happy Fourth of July.

George Floyd: The Aftermath

It's been more than a week since a Minneapolis police officer was recorded kneeing the life out of George Lloyd, an African American man who was charged with trying to pass a fake $20 bill to pay for groceries, as three of his fellow officers stood by.

What has happened since--the nationwide uprisings of peaceful demonstrations, the agitators who clashed with police and burned down neighborhoods, and the curfews that have resulted from them--have been the reaction to Lloyd's death and to police brutality in general..  Even places where you wouldn't expect this sort of thing:  Fargo, North Dakota and Salt Lake City, Utah are among those that have had disturbances of their own.

There have been two different autopsies of Floyd's death that have been made public, both of which have ruled the matter a homicide.  Hennepin County's medical examiner reported "cardiopulmonary arrest" as one account of what happened to Floyd, while his family"s independent autopsy said he was asphyxiated.

Minnesota's attorney general Keith Ellison has taken over prosecution of the case, in which he has immediately made headlines.  The arresting officer who was seen in the video, Derek Chauvin, had his charges upgraded from third to second degree murder.  The three who were with him were all charged with aiding and abetting.  The Minneapolis Police Department has fired them all. Usually, charges like these are not made so quickly.

As peaceful demonstrations under the banner of Black Lives Matter descended into clashes with police and National Guard troops and looting in major cities, people started wondering where was President Donald Trump and what kind of leadership (if any) he was going to provide.  The answer was yes and no.  On the night of June 7, as demonstrators stood at the doorstep of the White House, the President went into a secure location and the lights were turned off.  The next evening, fifteen minutes before a citywide curfew in Washington went into effect, Trump announced that as the "law and order" President he would sic the military on the protestors and other radical groups (whom he called "thugs") if the states didn't do it themselves.

Then, as demonstrators and others were being cleared by force, Trump made his way to a nearby church to pose for a photo with a Bible in his hand.  Authoritarian as his actions were, it shouldn't surprise anyone who have always believed religion equals politics.

Journalists have also become targets of those police who actually believe that they're the "enemy of the people".  Those who are trying their damndest to cover the protests at great personal risk have been arrested and/or accosted by authorities who took their cues from Tiananmen Square.  The Chinese couldn't be prouder.

How this turns out will depend on whether Chauvin and his fellow officers are convicted or not by a jury.  If past history serves, there's a good chance they might be let go on a technicality.  If that's true, then all hell will break loose.  There will also be efforts to weed out the bad cops by dismantling the system in which they now work.  While it's true not every police officer or soldier is a "bad actor", they are also not your friends.  We do not thank them for their service at this time.

Whether we are affected by the actions of authorities of authorities, we seem to be caught in the middle about how to react.  On the one hand, we are told to speak up because "silence is acceptance".  But if we do speak up, we risk being branded as anti-American traitors or worse.  So what do you want from us?  Whatever happened to just listening?  We want to understand why, after 400-odd years of American history, it's still hard out there for an African American.  And we want to know what we can do about it.

We can't assume that George Floyd, Philandro Castile, Breonna Taylor and others whose lives once and continue to matter would have wanted any of this happening in their name.  We do know that we need to change so that history doesn't keep repeating itself.

COVID-19 and George Floyd: Is This The New Normal, Or Just The Same Old One?

In only a few weeks, more than 102,000 people in the United States have died due to COVID-19, also known as coronavirus.  It is a grim milestone made worse by White House indifference, disagreement over how to handle treatment, and state-mandated stay-at-home orders being eased under political pressure to open up a locked-down economy that's thrown millions out of work.

This rush to get back to what is considered normal got sidetracked on Memorial Day in a Minneapolis neighborhood.  An African-American man named George Floyd was arrested by police for allegedly trying to pay for groceries with a counterfeit $20 bill.  He was also unarmed. Instead of simply taking Floyd into custody, arresting officer Derek Chauvin (who is white) was seen on video taking a knee to the back of Floyd's neck.  He was heard complaining that he couldn't breathe.  After nine minutes of this, Floyd died.  Chauvin and the three other officers with him were all fired.  On May 29, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter.

Viruses may have changed the way we live, but not how African-Americans have been treated through the centuries by those who have felt threatened by their presence.  In the past few weeks alone:

• Ahmoud Arbery was shot and killed as he was jogging through a Georgia neighborhood in February.  It took until May to charge two white men with his murder. 
• Christian Cooper, who was bird-watching in New York's Central Park, confronted a white woman named Amy Cooper about letting her dog run loose.  She responded by calling 911 on him.  She has since apologized, but not before losing her job and her dog due to the negative publicity surrounding this.

Meanwhile, back in Minneapolis, the death of Floyd sent shock waves throughout Minnesota and the world.  This isn't the first time the Twin Cities have gotten up in arms about tragic incidents between unarmed citizens and cops who should have known better.  Remember what happened to Jamar Clark, Philandro Castile and Justine Ruszczyk?  And all the others who got similar treatment, but without the benefit of cameras rolling?

This time, in addition to the peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter and others, they were joined on the streets and highways of Minneapolis and St. Paul by those who saw an opportunity to plunder and destroy all they saw.  Big box stores were looted.  Neighborhood businesses, many of them minority-owned, were in flames.  Dozens of other stores and public transportation suspended their operations. It all culminated with demonstrators setting fire to the Minneapolis police department's Third Precinct building, a symbol of cops who have gone rogue.

Contrast that to state capitals (Lansing, MI and St. Paul, MN come to mind) being overrun by flag-waving, gun-toting, overwhelmingly white (and maskless) individuals heeding President Donald Trump's call to "liberate" their states from stay-at-home restrictions.  With police presence friendly and at a minimum, they demanded the right to get haircuts and having beers with friends inside their favorite watering hole.

Health experts tell us that the number of COVID-19 patients will likely spike because of all this protesting. Despite pleas from local officials to mask up and stay six feet apart, it's unlikely anyone cares about social distancing right now.

Of course, President Trump felt the need to weigh in on Twitter like he does on just about every other issue.  Taking a break from threatening social media for checking up on him and accusing MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough of murder, he called the protestors "thugs" (which is now considered a racial slur) and implied that looters could be shot.

After a slow start, state and local leaders are starting to wake up to the situation and called for peace.  Before the Chauvin arrest was announced, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called out the National Guard to patrol the streets, then apologized to CNN for having arrested an African-American reporter and his crew as they were on TV covering the disturbance.

The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and surrounding areas have imposed curfews lasting from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and possibly beyond.

This is 2020.  Everyone's lives are in danger because of a virus that has become more unpredictable and deadly as time goes along.  There is another virus that has been going around for centuries, and that's racism.  No matter how many strides African Americans and other nonwhite citizens have made, the dominant culture has continued to treat them like second-class citizens or worse.  There are no vaccines for either of them.  We have to do what we can with what we've got to survive.

"We're All In This Together". Really?

In these challenging (difficult, unprecedented, uncertain, trying, etc.) times, we decided it's time for some random thoughts on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  Remember, this can't last forever, right?

• First, the numbers as of May 1.  Around the world, there have been 3.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, 234 thousand are dead, and more than one million have recovered.  In the United States, there have been more than one million confirmed cases, 64 thousand have died, and 134 thousand have recovered.
• Despite predictions from people who should know these things that the virus could last for another year or two, state and federal leaders are making plans to reopen their economies in an attempt to get back to some form of "normalcy".  Millions of jobs have been lost due to the "stay at home" mandates, forcing most to work from home, and there's no guarantee of returning to their place of employment once they're allowed to. Some people are rebelling against these closures, whether or not they've been egged on by President Donald Trump as a way to gain political advantage in an election year, or jamming public places when they're not supposed to.
• Speaking of Trump, the GOP seems to be worried that the antics of the President during this crisis might cost them the Senate and the White House come November. Whether it's turning your daily press briefings into an unwatchable version of your traveling road show, not taking coronavirus seriously in the weeks leading up to the pandemic, defunding the World Health Organization because you think they're covering up for China, or suggesting that drinking bleach and disinfectants might kill the virus (which does nothing but provide employment for poison control hotlines), the Republicans have a right to be concerned.  But it's been four years, and there's not much they can do about it now.
• Now that Bernie Sanders is out of the picture, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden can bask in the warmth of belated endorsements from party heavyweights like Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, his former boss Barack Obama and Sanders himself while sitting in exile watching Trump stumble.  But there is the small problem of refuting claims from former staff assistant Tara Reade that she was sexually assaulted when Biden was a U.S. Senator back in 1993.  It won't affect his nomination, but this does leave the voters making a choice between two men who need to social distance themselves from the nearest female they don't personally know.
• Voters are growing more leery of standing in line at their polling places, waiting for their chance to pull the lever.  Especially if the person in front of or behind them shouldn't be there if they're sick.  That's why there's a move to make voting by mail more accessible to everybody in time for this fall's elections. It's a great idea for Democrats.  Not so much for Republicans, who are more interested in restricting the vote to keep their kind in.  There has to be a better way to vote, right?
• In Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz' "stay at home" mandate (which has been extended to May 18) has been mostly successful in keeping the COVID-19 spread and the death rate down compared to other states--it has been mostly confined to senior living facilities.  But cases are bound to spike once testing ramps up as the Governor is under political pressure to open the state's economy.
• The Class of 2020 is becoming a lost generation with schools closed for the duration, except for learning online at home under the watchful eye of parents.  That means no graduation, no proms, no more hanging out with friends, etc. What, pray tell, are you going to say to your future kids and grandkids (should you have any) about this time in your lives?
• As for the rest of us, we should all get used to (A) washing our hands a lot, (B) staying the hell away from each other, and (C) wearing masks in public, if you don't mind looking like a bank robber or a gang member.  Think of the doctors, nurses, so-called "first responders", grocery store attendants, delivery people, pizza drivers and others who bust their butts on the front lines while you sit at home binge-watching Netflix.  It's like the days after 9/11 when soldiers and firefighters were getting all the applause while Muslims, through no fault of their own, were being villified for the actions of a few.

Because we're all in this together.  Right?

In Sickness and In Politics, Part 2

This is how the 2020s begin.  A rampant worldwide plague called coronavirus aka COVID-19, begun in China, has been taking a deadly tool for the past few weeks.  The approximate numbers as of March 26:

Worldwide (from worldmeters.info)                         U.S. (from worldmeters.info)

530,000 cases                                                                83,000 cases
23,000 deaths                                                               1209 deaths
123,000 recoveries                                                       1800 recoveries

Life as we used to know it has shut down in many places.  Businesses, except for the most essential ones, are closed.  Sports, entertainment and other events have either been postponed or canceled.  "Social distancing" and "community spread" have become part of the language.  The economy has cratered, leaving thousands out of work and many others working from home.

Some city and state officials have adopted "stay at home" mandates as a way of maybe keeping the spread of the virus at bay.  They have become far more trustworthy so far than the federal government, who seemed to have been asleep at the switch in the weeks since the crisis began.  There has been little to no planning when it came to getting tests ready, providing enough masks and ventilators to hospitals, quarantining already sick patients, etc.  Reportedly, some U.S. Senators have been taking advantage of the situation by dumping their stocks in certain firms.

Much of the blame has fallen on President Donald Trump.  He's cut the budget and the research of federal health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control.  He's blamed the virus as a hoax perpetrated by China and the Democratic Party, refers to himself as the "wartime president", and claims he can get America back to work by Easter.

Trump has also pretty much muzzled his staff when it comes to the seriousness of the pandemic, with the notable exception of Dr. Anthony Faudi.  As director of the National Institute of Allergy and as a member of the President's coronavirus task force, he is one of the few officials willing to give people  credible, straightforward information that lacks it.

Unfortunately, Trump is having a star turn right now with his daily news briefings.  Bereft of his bloviating political rallies, the President has been using valuable network air time to (A) misinform and downplay the nature of the situation, (B) making snide comments about his opponents, and (C) ripping into an NBC reporter who dared to ask if had any encouraging words for the American people.  This is what he's been doing for years, so why stop now?  Faced with the dilemma of having to cover a president with an attitude at the worst possible time in history, the networks now just cover Trump's opening remarks before returning us to regular programming.

While America and most of the world stays at home for however long it takes for COVID-19 to pass, we know this:  the number of cases and the death toll WILL rise.  Hospitals WILL be overwhelmed.  Governments, in spite of themselves, WILL come up with some kind of solution.  For now, we can all hope for the best and expect the worst.

In Sickness and In Politics

There's a health crisis going on that's been killing more than three thousand people worldwide (11 in the United States) as of March 4, and changing the way we live.  It's called coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.  Every day brings another death, another crackdown, and another run on hand sanitizer and face masks.  The times demand someone who will lead us through this emergency that experts believe will get worse before it gets better.  Someone who will handle this crisis in a calm and reassuring manner, and not turn this into a power play.

Enter President Donald Trump, a man who disdains science and much of reality.  His approach to crisis management is to downplay the situation, then blame it on Democrats and the "fake news media", which is what he does with most everything else.  Instead of having experts front and center on his task force, he names Vice President Mike Pence to micromanage what information on the virus needs to be released.

Trump has already gutted the resources of federal health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control during his administration, thereby weakening their effectiveness in getting a handle on coronavirus and other diseases.  The result is confusion about what to do other than washing your hands like a surgeon and not touching you face.

Meanwhile, the race to see which Democrat gets the honor of trying to compete against the fire-breathing dragon named Trump continues.  Through the first couple of primaries and caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont led a gaggle of candidates in the polls with his fiery brand of socialism that appealed to mostly younger voters who weren't much interested in the moderate influences of the others.  But there was a problem.  The Democratic party seemed uncomfortable with the idea of an aging socialist at the top of their ticket, one who thought Fidel Castro wasn't such a bad leader because he introduced a reading program shortly after taking control of Cuba.  To most Americans, three decades after the Cold War ended, socialism still equaled communism.

Then something incredible happened.  Joe Biden, Barack Obama's former vice president and front-runner who had been lost in the shuffle of Ukraine-gate accusations and so-so debate performances, won the South Carolina primary through the support of African-American voters and others who didn't care much for Sanders.  The waters parted.  Fellow moderates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg had exited the race and threw their support toward Biden.  Super Tuesday was just that for him, taking more states who had primaries that day than Sanders did.  A day later, Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who spent millions of his own money on TV ads and had only American Samoa to show for it, gave up and endorsed Biden.  Elizabeth Warren is still in the race as we speak.

The delegate count as of March 4 (according to CNN) reads like this:  Biden with 509, Sanders with 449, and Warren with 37.  1,991 delegates are needed before the Democratic presidential nomination can be claimed at their convention in Milwaukee.

Meanwhile, Trump is preening toward a second term, crisis or not.  And possibly a third, if he and Senator Mitch McConnell can find a loophole to a law that's been in place since Republicans passed it to prevent another Franklin Roosevelt wannabe from making the White House his permanent home.

The race for president goes on. The race to survive a possible killer virus goes on too.  President Trump has a chance to show what kind of leader he can be in a crisis situation, just in time for him to make his case to the voters in November, or else he will be replaced.  That is, those voters who survive the virus by then.

UPDATE (3/6/2020):  It is now a race between three old men in their 70s.  Elizabeth Warren, the last remaining Democratic candidate who is a woman (unless you count Tulsi Gabbard, a congresswoman from Hawaii), has dropped out.  Which means that either America still isn't ready for a female president, or the presence of That Man In The White House required Democrats to get someone who's at least as well known and can be counted on to garner more male support than Hillary Clinton ever did.  Stupid reasons, yes, but understandable given the circumstances.

"Parasite" Makes Oscar History, And Other Weirdness

In a year when people complained about the lack of women directors and actors of color nominated for the Academy Awards, the 92nd edition Sunday bestowed four of its Oscars to a South Korean film called "Parasite".

"Parasite", a dramatic study of class discrimination between a rich and poor family that critics went nuts over, won Oscars for Best International film, original screenplay, and a directing nod for Bong Joon Ho.  Most importantly, it was the first non-English speaking film to win for Best Picture.

Of the other major categories, Joaquin Phoenix took home the Best Actor Oscar for "Joker".  He was much more interested in talking about animal rights, his late brother River, and other things than his role in yet another R-rated comic book movie in his acceptance speech.

Renee Zellweger won her Best Actress Oscar for channeling Judy Garland in a film depicting the last year of her life, then told the audience that maybe Garland deserved more from the Academy than an honorary statue as a teenager for playing Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz"?

Brad Pitt won a Supporting Actor Oscar for "Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood", remarked that the Academy gave him 45 seconds to say his thank-yous, which is more than John Bolton got during the Senate impeachment trial.  Then Pitt used more than his 45 seconds because he's Brad Pitt.

Like Zellweger, Laura Dern waited a long time to earn an Oscar after years in the business.  She won a Supporting Actress honor for her role in the Netflix movie "Marriage Story".

The second consecutive hostless Oscarcast ran three and a half hours on ABC, which drew 23.6 million viewers, the lowest total ever.  They should have known that following the Golden Globes, Grammys and the Super Bowl on consecutive Sunday nights must have contributed to all that viewer fatigue.  Other insights:

• There must have been a good reason why Eminem was brought out to perform "Lose Yourself", a 2003 song that was included in the film "8 Mile".  ABC bleeped out half the lyrics.  Some audience members were confused, but got into it.  Maybe it's because the nominees for Best Original Song weren't exactly memorable?  Bernie Taupin, Elton John's longtime lyricist, won for "I'm Gonna Love Me Again".  It came from "Rocketman", John's biopic, which he performed on the show.
• The Oscars and other awards shows seem to have contracted the disease of presenters presenting other presenters, which is another outgrowth of not having a host.
• Former President Barack Obama and wife Michelle are also Oscar winners.  Their production company was responsible for "American Factory", which won for best feature-length documentary.

A "Perfect" Acquittal.

The United States Senate has acquitted President Donald Trump on two counts of impeachment, both on party-line votes (if you don't count Mitt Romney).  On Article 1, which is Abuse of Power, the verdict was 52-48 not guilty.  On Article 2, which is Obstruction of Congress, it was a 53-47 not guilty vote.

It was all a foregone conclusion.  When you have a Senate trial presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, you should have expected better than a glorified mock debate between Democratic House managers (led by Rep. Adam Schiff) who argued Trump's guilt and White House attorneys who, not unlike Don Draper, tried to sell the Senate (and TV viewers) on the idea that the President did nothing wrong in convincing Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son's alleged involvement in an oil company there.

Of all the scandals Trump had allegedly been involved with before and during his presidency, the Democrats decided to try him on Ukraine.  That's like trying to nail Al Capone for tax evasion, or O.J. Simpson for robbing a Nevada casino instead of murder.

As it turned out, Trump shut it all down.  No testifying from witnesses who worked for him.  No incriminating documents, even if all that was illegal or constitutionally questionable.  Even John Bolton, the former National Security Adviser whom everyone wanted to hear from, would rather be cashing checks from a book deal than testifying.  So no witnesses and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell keeping his fellow Republicans in line (again, if you don't count Romney) saved Trump from being the first President to get thrown out of office without the voters' help.

Now Trump stands alone.  Impeachment (which he has long considered a hoax) may have earned him nothing more than a slap on the wrist.  He got the benefit of Republicans who behaved like clueless, yet protective, parents trying to discipline a rebellious child who thumbs his nose at society.  Not for nothing was Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday turned into a partisan reality show farce, which made House Speaker Nancy Pelosi so disgusted that she tore up her copy of the speech.

Now that the impeachment drama (of sorts) is over, it's time to turn our attention to the 2020 elections.  Trump is enjoying the best poll numbers of his presidency (which isn't saying much).  The Democrats aren't having much luck in deciding who their front runner is, especially after a monumental screwup in tallying the Iowa caucus votes.  As of 2/5, with 97% of the precincts finally rolling in, CNN reports that Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are running neck and neck for the lead in the state's delegates.

Trump is the 800 lb. gorilla in American politics.  He thinks he can do no wrong, because his enablers and supporters have made sure nothing ever will.  But even King Kong has to come down from the Empire State Building sometime. We'll have a better idea come November.

The Grammys: In The House of Kobe, The Show Must Go On

The 62nd Grammy Awards went on Sunday night, hours after former basketball star Kobe Bryant and nine others went to their deaths in a helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles.  The event was held at the Staples Center, where Bryant had long starred for the NBA Lakers.  His presence was felt by the two uniforms numbered 8 and 24 hanging in the rafters.

Alicia Keys, who did her best to host the proceedings on the CBS telecast, did so in a manner that resembled a new age life coach trying to make sense to viewers in the wake of tragedy and Kobe shout-outs.  Oh yes, she sang and played the piano too.

Billie Eilish was the big winner, taking home the top four prizes:  Best New Artist, Album of the Year ("When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"), and Song and Record of the Year for "Bad Guy".  Nobody has done that since Christopher Cross four decades ago. (Anyone here remember "Arthur" and "Ride Like The Wind"?)  Eilish is 18.

Lizzo, the ubiquitous presence from TV commercials who spent enough time in Minnesota to qualify as an honorary citizen, didn't get as many Grammys as some had thought.  But she did get three, including Best Pop Solo Performance for "Truth Hurts".  Maybe it's that Minnesota Vikings reference . . .

Not a word was uttered during the telecast about Deborah Dugan, who was briefly Recording Academy president before being let go for allegedly being a "toxic" influence in the work environment there.  She fired back with an EEOC complaint, alleging conflict of interest, racial discrimination and sexual harassment within the Academy.

But there was plenty of room in the three-and-a-half-hour telecast for a lengthy musical tribute to outgoing TV director Ken Ehrlich, an all-star cast performing a number from "Fame" that served as a plug for the Academy's music education program.  Yes, it was one of those "only at the Grammys" moments Ehrlich helped put together over the past 40 years.

As the first month of 2020 comes to a close, the future of music according to the Grammys appears to be a green-haired teenage girl honing her talent in the bedroom with her brother, turning out songs of depression and climate change.  Which, when you think about it, is a reflection of the world we live in now.  Losing Kobe Bryant on a day of celebrating music is another.

We Interrupt This Impeachment. . .

Stung from the reality of being only the third President of the United States to be impeached by the House of Representatives,  Donald Trump reacted like he has at any other time in his unconventional administration when confronted with shots to his ego.  Only instead of ranting on Twitter, he came close to starting a war.

As the new year of 2020 dawned, U.S. airstrikes succeeded in killing Qasem Soleiman, who was major general in the Iraqi armed forces, in a missile attack. 

As soon as Iranians finished mourning their assassinated general while shouting "Death to America", which is what they have been doing since becoming an Islamic republic 40 years ago, the world waited to see what they would do next. The response came on Tuesday when they bombed American military bases in Iraq, leaving behind--amazingly enough--no casualties. 

It was then that the Iranians decided to close the matter if the Americans were willing to do the same.  Trump, content to claim victory by killing who he thought was a danger to U.S. security, agreed. 

It's no secret that Trump doesn't get along with the mullahs of Tehran.  The President has pulled out of a nuclear treaty because of Iran's alleged cheating, then sought to keep its citizens from emigrating to this country. If that wasn't enough, Trump could always issue more economic sanctions. 

For now, the United States and Iran are not at war. Not when there are still American troops "advising" in Afghanistan. But that could change, so we're told, if Iran starts kidnapping U.S. citizens still living in Tehran, makes cyber attacks, or uses other forms of terrorism. 

Of course, Trump has other fish to fry. He's got a possible trial going in the Senate that could help determine whether he keeps his job or not, but majority leader Mitch McConnell wants this over with without so much as hearing from witnesses. So the question is what kind of distraction will the president try to spring next?