17 Things we didn't hear about in 2020 because they weren't connected to COVID-19 or Trump:

1. We almost started World War III

2. Mr. Peanut was killed off, then reincarnated as Baby Nut

3. The weather went wild

4. A man named Deval Patrick ran for president

5. Bob Dylan released a 17-minute song about the JFK assassination

6. The Defense Department shared bona fide UFO videos

7. Murder hornets invaded the U.S.

by Jeva Lange

8. Grimes and Elon Musk named their baby X Æ A-12

9. NASA detected a parallel universe in Antarctica where time runs backward, or something?

10. SpaceX launched astronauts into space, sadly left all of us behind

11. A gigantic star 2 million times brighter than the sun just up and … disappeared

12. Kanye West announced he was running for president

13. A bunch of people planted mystery seeds from China, despite that obviously being a bad idea

14. We may have discovered the first proof of extraterrestrial life

15. Wormholes might not kill you!

16. Kellyanne Conway's 15-year-old daughter broke a major news story by telling on her mom

17. Please do not feed the monoliths

from: 17 things you've already forgotten happened in 2020
by Jeva Lange

SUNDAY MEMES:

A day late.

SUNDAY MEMES:

meme= an image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users.

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Even when the facts are in his favor he cannot bring himself to speak the truth. He proves himself to be a chronic liar every day.

(This is a rant, my rant. I have tried to be fact-based in my posts, which are reflective of my opinions. I've not attacked Trump's followers, have even on occasion defended him to some extent. But I have arrived at the point that I spoke of the morning after the 2016 election. I have to vent my anger and disgust. If you don't want to hear my opinion, the facts I present, you have always been free to ignore me. And as always, I encourage response... favorable or not. So read on or don't.)

All the present-day public fact-checking sites sprang up in response to the constant bombardment from Conservative Republicans that Obama was lying in 2009. But today those same conservative republicans embrace the deception and self-congratulation of this bloviating con man who is our current president. The rate of lies and deceit from Trump is astronomical in comparison to Obama and any other politician in the fact-checking era.

• Those same conservative republicans called Obama a tyrant for using Executive Orders but praise Trump for doing the same. He has issued 151 in less than four years and is on pace to exceed Obama's EIGHT YEAR TOTAL soon!
• Those same conservative Republicans have stood by while Trump has dismantled long-standing water protections, environment guidelines, conservation guidelines. 
• The same Republicans have surrendered their oversite responsibilities to Trump. 
• Trump and his sycophants have eroded nearly every accomplishment of Obama's administration with no regard to any principle other than revenge. Trump disrupted the offices that were responsible for rolling out pandemic response protocols. Yet, Trump still wants to blame Obama for everything that goes wrong. THREE YEARS LATER!

He hasn't done anything to make America Great Again.

• All Trump has done is to undermine every one of our National Institutions from NASA to our Intelligence Organization. Trump has lowered taxes for the most wealthy while threatening Social Security and Medicare funding with the deceptive call for cuts in payroll taxes. Payroll Tax Cut Scheme is a Severe Threat to Social Security
• For years he demanded that Obama produce a birth certificate while smearing Obama with accusations of hiding something. But four years later Trump still has not produced his Tax Returns.
• He has ridiculed, insulted, and attacked nearly every ethnicity, institution, and former employee, and conservative Republicans want to call him an uniter? Has any past president been such a divider? NO!
• He has phrased violent right-wing protesters, gun-toting protesters in America, as well as dictators and former KGB agents overseas. While vilifying an American Hero (for being a POW) and another American for kneeling in silent protest.

He came out under false pretenses.

• Right-Wing Conservative Republicans attacked the long-standing and practiced Christianity of President Obama. Yet overlook the recent and convenient come to Jesus emergence of the womanizing, golden spooned playboy Donald Trump.
• When Trumped first announced he was running as a Republican for President, most Americans and Political leaders, up until then, were only speculating about whether he was a Republican or Democrat. Most money was on the close friend of the Clintons being a Democrat. No one imagined he was suddenly going to switch from being a pro-choice non-ideologue to being a conservative.
• Initially, he was bombarded and rebuked by the Republican leadership as being the conman and opportunist he has always been. But, then, the right-wing extremist came out of the woodwork to vote for him in the primaries, causing a crisis amongst the Republican party. Then the failed primary candidates and the less extreme right-wing conservatives saw his divisive rhetoric, xenophobia, and bullying as their best option for defeating Hilary.
• Yes, the 'family values' conservatives set their principles and 'values' aside, selling their soul to defeat Hillary.

COVID-19   

Trumps inability to focus, analyze and delegate
has cost us dearly in regards to COVID-19.

South Korea had its first known case of COVID-19 on the same day as the US. Yet they got it under control a lot sooner. (see chart below/at the bottom)

Why?

• There were daily briefings, written and oral, on the COVID-19 virus and the potential pandemic in the weeks leading up to the first known American case. Yet, those warnings were ignored by President Trump, who is known for not reading the briefs or attending the security meetings. (the same mistake contributed to the 9-11 attacks in 2001.)
• The Military has stated for years that the biggest threat to our country was not a nuclear attack or foreign terrorist, but biochemical. Humanmade or natural. We have had agencies and teams in place for such emergencies, despite Trump's claims, but they were dismantled or repurposed by him. His initial statement that the existing five COVID-19 cases would be down to zero in a few days was wishful thinking. That misstatement may turn out to be the most significant presidential error of our history.
• The 2001 Anthrax attacks were a lesson learned "..it was a disturbing realization that there was a new wave of challenges to American security. In early 2002, President George W. Bush announced $11 billion worth of funding to tackle bioterrorism, initiating a decade-long program to establish action plans for how major cities like New York and Boston would cope in the event of a mass attack." But little did they know that nearly 20 years later, their plans for combating such a hypothetical attack would be utilized on the other side of the globe in South Korea but not soon enough in the United States*

How South Korea Successfully Battled
COVID-19 While the U.S. Didn’t

All that was bad enough.

Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day

• But when he encourages armed protesters to storm state capitals because their governor, duly elected, is of a different political party... 
• When he openly mulls the idea that states that didn't vote for him should get less aide than states that did vote for him...
• When he suggests that governors should praise him to get more federal aid... 
• When he openly suggest unproven medical methods or contradicts medical experts during a pandemic. False Comparisons Promote Apathy and Complacency
• When he lies about his inadequate reaction to the pandemic...

After all this**, he refuses to take any responsibility for his slow response by blaming everyone else. Well, for at least a moment, I have to stop trying to be nice about it... thus my rant.

Yes, this is a rant, but it's my rant. It's long overdue because I can't get past what this man is doing to our country. His philosophy that if you repeat a lie often enough, some people will start believing those lies are paying off. I have tried to produce fact-based arguments. We have seen the long-standing hypocrisy of Trump and his cronies being ignored by many. I have hoped that the religious beliefs of some would lead them to a realization. The realization that there is a fraudulent course to this man and the leadership of the Republican party.

I do not condemn his followers for believing in him, but I will condemn some for WHY they support him and what they represent. But many support him for innocent reasons. At most, I will only consider them to be misled or misinformed, but it does scare me how much and easily they will endure before they start to question what is going on.

GlennDL

*The Baltimore Bioterrorism Expert Who Inspired South Korea’s COVID-19 Response

** Reminiscent of his 'asking' a favor of a foreign leader while dangling delayed aid as an incentive to investigate a political rival.

Sunday Memes:

So far, the Trump Administration has put ideology ahead of common sense

Dear Friend,
20 million Americans have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak. And nearly half of them have also lost the health insurance they got through their employer, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The middle of a deadly pandemic is NOT the time to be without health insurance and access to affordable medical care.

An easy solution is staring us in the face. The Trump Administration can open up the federal marketplace, which 38 states belong to, and REQUIRE that ALL state Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces reopen now, so people can sign-up for the health insurance they need.

So far, the Trump Administration has put ideology ahead of common sense and refused to open the exchanges. 11 states and the District of Columbia did it on their own, allowing people to apply for coverage right away. But that leaves millions with no coverage -- and no access to affordable coverage.

Please sign today.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Richard Fiesta
Executive Director
Alliance for Retired Americans

Sign the petition: EVERY ACA exchange must reopen ACA enrollment to ensure everyone has access to healthcare amid the coronavirus pandemic

SUNDAY MEMES:

False Comparisons Promote Apathy and Complacency

Several attempts have been made to downplay and poo-poo the seriousness of the COVID-19 virus from the President's claim that it would be no worse than the flu to Dr. Phil comparing it to the number of annual drownings:

"So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu…" Trump March 9, 2020

“360,000 (deaths) a year from swimming pools. But we don’t shut the country down for that.”  Dr. Phil April 20, 2020

Dr. Phil misstated the number of deaths from drowning in pools by over 10 times the number of drownings. The actual number of deaths from drowning is about 3700 people and this is not limited to pool drownings. It includes lakes, rivers, suicides, boating accidents, and floods.

• The first problem with these comparisons is that it is not even the end of April and COVID-19 has already surpassed the number of deaths annually from the flu and drownings in the US.
• The second problem is that we go to great lengths to keep those numbers down research, awareness campaigns, education, etc., and in the case of the common flu vaccines, but we have nothing in place for COVID-19. The common flu comparison shouldn't be to today's death rates but to the 1957 (70,000 deaths) and 1918 (675,000 deaths) flu epidemics because the major contributing factor back then was, like today, the lack of a vaccine
• The third problem is false comparisons. Comparing a contagious disease to drownings, suicides and traffic accidents, shark and bear attack deaths is ridiculous. Drowning isn't contagious. But for the record, COVID-19 has already passed those numbers too. The country is shut down because COVID-19 is contagious and we have no vaccine, tracking, or widespread testing.
  We have also surpassed the annual number for  The 1921-1925 Diphtheria epidemic, the 1906 Typhoid fever epidemic, and at this rate, COVID-19 will also surpass Kidney Disease and Diabetes annual deaths.

These comparisons are as counter-productive as the apathy, scapegoating, self-promotion,  and indecisiveness displayed by our presidential leadership. Our response at the national level is woefully lacking in comparison to the rest of the world.

Only 4 months passed and we are already at 45,000 deaths.

by GlennDL

To review weekly FactCheck updates on the COVID-19 virus see the "COVID-19 FACTCHECK ARCHIVE FEED" at the top of the left-hand column on this page.

Sources:

• The Most Dangerous Epidemics in U.S. History
• Deaths and Mortality Data are for the U.S.
• ROAD SAFETY FACTS
• Like the flu? Trump's coronavirus messaging confuses public, pandemic researchers say

Some States Still Putting Seniors at Risk by Failing to Issue Stay-at-Home Orders

The current patchwork of state social distancing policies continues to threaten vulnerable populations, including older Americans. States that were late or continue to avoid enacting social distancing policies are more likely to be home to populations older than the national average, according to public health experts.
The idea of risking the health of older people and those working on the front lines to boost the overall economy has been endorsed by several conservative elected officials, including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and this week, Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (IN).
“Besides the moral issues, this idea is dangerous,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “More infections and casualties will again grind the economy to a halt.”
Americans over the age of 50 years and older account for 40% of U.S. gross domestic product despite being 35% of the population.

U.S. Postal Service Threatened by Coronavirus Pandemic

Millions of Americans, especially retirees, rely on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for daily home delivery of mail, medicines and important goods and services no matter where they live. Like many institutions, the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Postal Service hard as business activity has slowed.

The federal government has approved hundreds of billions of dollars to help individuals, small businesses and big corporations. The House of Representatives sought to include relief for the Postal Service but it was not included in any of the stimulus bills passed so far. In March, the president personally rejected Postal Service funding and his administration even suggested it would block the Congressional stimulus package if it included help for the USPS, according to the Washington Post.

The Postal Service was given a loan, but it won’t be enough. Without more funding, the Postmaster General told Congress it will run out of money in September, just before a vote by mail and absentee voting for the 2020 presidential election gets underway.
“Our Postal Service is a vital American institution that has served our nation for more than
200 years,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Congress can’t let it
fail.”

White House rejects bailout for U.S. Postal Service battered by coronavirus

SUNDAY MEMES: