YES!! It Was An Insurrection.

I don't know what you saw, but I saw:

Protestors flinging projectiles at police.

Protestors beating, shoving, and insulting police.

Protestors breaking windows and vandalizing property.

I heard threats of violence, death, and anarchy.

Protesters dragging the American flag across the floor of congress.*

Protesters wearing the flag like a blanket.*

Protesters using the flag and its staff as a weapon.*

The American flag heaped on someone's desk.*

American flags defaced with slogans, pictures, and discoloration.*

Few arrests.

Violence should always face consequences.

I never heard anyone explain any reasoning for the violent attack on our government other than those based on unproven lies and conspiracy. 

All references to the protestors' object or goal were expressed as destruction, injury, and overthrow.

To paraphrase critiques of attempts over the summer to raise awareness of rampant social injustices: "What sense does it make to vandalize their own neighborhood," substitute the word government for the word neighborhood. 

Did any of the speakers at the protest discourage violence, did they discuss how to proceed peacefully and legally? 

Where was the militarized law enforcement that was present at the June 1, 2020, Lafayette Park protest that saw peaceful protestors run over and gassed so that the President could have a photo op?

How many of those protestors (and their defenders) that stormed the Capitol were harsh critics of peaceful protestors over the summer? Where is the outrage from the so-called 'family values' law and order conservatives? They were outraged by a passive protest at football games and the disruption of traffic patterns at other peaceful protests but silent on armed attacks on the government and our constitutional principles.

The hypocrisy of the right-wing/conservative Republican'ts is never more obvious than when they express their self-serving views on patriotism and, in particular, when they claim their views on the American flag. They condemn protestors who do not follow their rigid view of the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem. Failure to stand or recite the pledge is vilified by them, but they're OK with improper display of the flag when they are doing so. They cringe and nash their teeth at any criticism of the anthem's words but don't even know the second and third verses. They condemn people who don't wave the flag and beat their chest in echoing their brand of patriotism but consider it OK to deface the flag with images, colors, and slogans that support their political views. Yet they condemn a man who chooses to kneel (a historical sign of respect) instead of stand during the anthem.

Flag desecration and proper protocols are laid out in the 4 U.S. Code § 8.Respect for the flag but it is not law; it is not enforceable by any degree other than society's level of acceptance. We are all free to accept it as protocol or reject it, but if you reject it, then what are the rules concerning 'respect' for the flag? 

That, obviously, is where the right-wing nationalist are: they feel they have the right to decide what patriotism is, what the proper respect for the flag is, what is right for the country. It is what they say it is. They are like the bully on the playground... his rules. 

The Bully in Chief 

Incited by the Bully in Chief and with the limited attitude of a mob, that is what they chose to do on January 6, 2021; takeover with no real objective other than violence, destruction, and bodily harm.

The June 1, 2020, Lafayette Park protest and the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol graphically demonstrate the divisive, illegitimate, and chaotic nature of Donald Trump's presidency and aspirations. 

GlennDL

Opinion: Political extremes hijack national symbols

POLITIFACT

*All of the items followed by the "*" are listed as disrespectful and desecration of the flag under the US Flag Code, but the so-called patriots" have little understanding of either our constitution or the flag code. The irony is that these same "patriots" probably are among those who skewered a black athlete who chose to kneel, a gesture which has never been viewed as a sign of disrespect in history, instead of standing.

Picture: By The White House from Washington, DC - President Trump Visits St. John's Episcopal Church, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90897698

FB-13 TW-

Spree of federal executions during Trump's lame-duck period and pandemic is unprecedented

If you're OK with Capital Punishment then please don't tell me how Christian you are, how All Lives Matter, how you're against a women's right to choose because all life is sacred...

I'm not listening.

Click here to leave comments on Facebook Post

Four of the five coming executions by the federal government involve Black men, while the first woman in 70 years will be executed in January.

READ MORE.

When Sycophants Disagree:

 

https://apnews.com/article/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b5809f588690776fcbb1dfc8c6e7308b?fbclid=IwAR1NvSa7AVmnPr_S-2lkkJdCVXBy2uKsbZlxJ0JUQ9o9HsAQM6ikJK-N8_o

SUNDAY MEMES:

It's not enough that we are "not-racist,' it's time we were "anti-racist."

Our colonial forefathers tried non-violent forms of protest, such as negotiations, appeals to reason, and justice.

When this produced no results, they tried more aggressive forms like boycotts, demonstrations, and the Boston Tea party.

When they were further abused and oppressed, they tried revolution: The Declaration of Independence, Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and Valley Forge. 

They formed an army.

• When Martin Luther King peacefully marched for equal rights, he was jailed, spied on by the FBI, and eventually assassinated…
• When African-Americans marched for the right to vote, the right to eat at a diner, the right to quality education, they were spat on, had dogs put on them, were arrested, beaten, and killed...
• When a black President suggested he might sit down and share a beer with a white police officer and a black Professor that the officer had arrested for breaking into an upscale home, the professors home, the President was called a racist and criticized for interfering in a local matter. Yet a white President denigrates minorities, peaceful protesters, praises white supremacists, and then encourages armed protesters to march on State Troopers and political rivals during a pandemic. He is praised by the same people...

You want to know why Black people are angry...

We can’t be handcuffed and put in the police car unless we are dead (#GeorgeFloyd)

We can’t go bird watching in Central Park (#ChristianCooper)

We can’t go jogging (#AmaudArbery).

We can’t relax in the comfort of our own homes (#BothemSean and #AtatianaJefferson). 

We can't ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride). 

We can't have a cellphone (#StephonClark). 

We can't leave a party to get to safety (#JordanEdwards). 

We can't play loud music (#JordanDavis).

We can’t sell CD's (#AltonSterling).

We can’t sleep (#AiyanaJones)

We can’t walk from the corner store (#MikeBrown).

We can’t play cops and robbers (#TamirRice).

We can’t go to church (#Charleston9).

We can’t walk home with Skittles (#TrayvonMartin).

We can’t hold a hair brush while leaving our own bachelor party (#SeanBell).

We can’t party on New Years (#OscarGrant).

We can’t get a normal traffic ticket (#SandraBland).

We can’t lawfully carry a weapon (#PhilandoCastile).

We can't break down on a public road with car problems (#CoreyJones).

We can’t shop at Walmart (#JohnCrawford) .

We can’t have a disabled vehicle (#TerrenceCrutcher).

We can’t read a book in our own car (#KeithScott).

We can’t be a 10yr old walking with our grandfather (#CliffordGlover).

We can’t decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese).

We can’t ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans).

We can’t cash our check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood).

We can’t take out our wallet (#AmadouDiallo).

We can’t run (#WalterScott).

We can’t breathe (#EricGarner).

We can’t live (#FreddieGray).

We’re tired. 

Tired of making hashtags.

Tired of trying to convince you that our #BlackLivesMatter too. 

Tired of dying.

(Author Unknown. Copy and paste)  #TiredAndAngry

Google any of the above names! 

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.

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

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

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:

Payroll Tax Cut Scheme is a Severe Threat to Social Security

On Wednesday President Trump said he supported a permanent cut in the payroll tax which funds Social Security and Medicare, stating that even without the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis he would call for this cut. Senate Republicans have also suggested a payroll tax cut be part of any future economic stimulus package.

With record levels of unemployment, cutting Social Security and Medicare’s funding would extend the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic on these vital social insurance programs for decades.

“Advocating for a payroll tax is the latest evidence that the president has no intention of keeping his 2016 campaign promise of 'no cuts' to Social Security and Medicare,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance, in a statement. “The pandemic has disrupted all our lives and put the health of millions at risk. We will fight tooth and nail any attempt to use this crisis as a way to dismantle the retirement security of our earned benefits.”
                                                                                          source: Alliance for Retired Americans

COMMOMDREAMS.ORG

note:
Social Security Advisory Board Urges Action Amid Pandemic
On Monday, the Social Security Advisory Board sent a letter to Andrew Saul, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), urging the agency to make sure Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries receive their stimulus payments quickly and automatically, rather than having to fill out special forms.

The Board’s mission is to provide the President, Congress, and the Commissioner with bipartisan guidance on how these programs can best provide economic security.

The Board is also asking the Commissioner to continue new representative payee reviews and other operational capabilities. Representative payees are appointed when a beneficiary cannot manage his or her benefits. SSA has decided to suspend these reviews, even though they are required by law.

“The Social Security Advisory Board is looking out for the millions of Americans who receive SSI benefits, to ensure they do not have to jump through unnecessary hoops to collect the money they need to survive,” said President Roach. “The SSA should follow its recommendations to help as many people as possible as quickly as possible.”

source: Alliance for Retired Americans

Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day

Claims that Trump stands to profit from the promotion of the malaria/lupus drug Hydroxychloroquine as treatment of COVID-19 are mostly false.
The problem, in this case, isn't that he is motivated by potential profit but that his motivation is his Ego. He is desperate for a talking point victory that gives him the high ground on the COVID-19 issue that he has continually mishandled. His Ego has him grasping for anything that promotes his powerful intelligence and his incredibly perceptive level of commonsense. His need for attention and affirmation is compounded by his lack of focus and concentration. This leads him to obsess on the first thing that 'might' be a winner for him. Instead of becoming more informed and embracing the data and facts, he seeks out a tidbit that if correct, would distinguish him from the experts, thus making him the smartest person all along.
He is gambling on his gut feeling, wishful thinking, and the confidence that he is such a good liar that can turn a lie into the truth just by repeating it enough. It has worked for him in the past as a businessman and President. After all, he has misspoken so often and when questioned on it ten minutes later blatantly denied it, then doubled down with another lie, and another lie, and so on and so on…
Eventually, he gets something right, by chance more than anything, and thus he will emerge with that one truth, or half-truth that he and his supporters will grasp, enshrine, and promote as prophetic wisdom.

from PolitiFact:
"...randomized tests — the gold standard of medical evidence — have not been completed, and lack of rigorous testing of the drug as a treatment against coronavirus has led many medical experts to be more cautious than the president. Chloroquine has significant side effects, including damage to the heart and nervous system and suicidal thoughts.
• Already, an Arizona man died and his wife was hospitalized after self-administering a variant of chloroquine, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send out a warning.
• Some people have health conditions that mean they shouldn’t take chloroquine because of potential side effects.
• A run on chloroquine could harm patients who are prescribed the drug to treat lupus and other diseases.
• Putting too much focus on one specific treatment could make Americans lax about following social distancing guidelines."

NOTES:

• Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day
  Meaning: A person who is considered to be unreliable can still be right about something every once in a while, even if it is by accident. This phrase is also said as ‘even a stopped clock is right twice a day.’ (The word ‘broken’ is sometimes substituted for the word ‘stopped.’)
  From knowyourphrase.com   /even-a-broken-clock-is-right-twice> 
• "Trump’s financial stake in these companies is virtually negligible — contained indirectly via mutual funds — and administered through three family trusts he does not control. As a generic drug, hydroxychloroquine is unlikely to provide any one company with significant profits compared to other proprietary drugs."
  From Snopes.com 

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

FactCheck update/correction in blue/yellow (4-26-2020) GDL

The Trump administration* sent 18 tons of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to China In February 2020.

It is the nature of our national character for our country to reach out and help poorer countries when they are in a crisis and need help. That is why we would send PPE's at the outbreak of that crisis... and no one is actually criticizing the Trump administration for what our nation did in the face of this crisis in China.

The criticism is for what Trump did in the face of a crisis in America. He downplayed the coming crisis for weeks while poo-pooing the coming dangers. As the crisis worsened he deflected blame to everyone else and constantly contradicted, misled, and lied about the situation.

1. South Korea had its first case of Covid19 on the same day as the United States. 
2. By February South Korea had more cases than the US. 
3. But South Korea managed to flatten its curve by March. 
4. As of March 28th, the number of cases skyrocketed in the US but not South Korea. 

The total number of cases is relative to the size of the population and other factors but the size of a population does not affect the shape of the curve.

The South Koreans moved swiftly with decisive measures but the Trump administration did not.

Today, after all his blustering and self-congratulations, he is now grandstanding with claims that he really knew all along and didn't say the things he did say, and was acting behind the scenes as he tried to give a positive spin for the sake of morale. All evidence to the contrary his grandstanding has become an embarrassment.

The PPE shipment is more evidence that he didn't take the coming crisis seriously... if he or Secretary of State Pompeo were taking the threat seriously back in January, or February 1, why would they ship these PPEs on February 7? This would have been a valid time for "America First". This would have been the time to start getting PPEs to the states, not China, instead of saying the states are on their own, he should have been supplying them.

What he's being criticized for is his early casual attitude, his downplaying the potential crisis, his attacks on other's who saw it as a real crisis saying they made it up, fake news, political hoax, his constant self-congratulation in a crisis, and his flip-flopping from one minute to the next.

The fact is if he had any clue, was reading his daily briefings instead of twittering, or truly realized the coming nightmare he would have been criticizing the impeachment hearings for distracting from the crisis THEN, not now. He would have been criticizing the Dems for still campaigning, NOT still going out on the campaign trail himself. He would have stopped that shipment then, NOT letting it go through.

 It's Nero fiddling while Rome burned all over again'

"Like many other populist leaders around the world—including Donald Trump in

the The United States, Jair Bolsanaro in Brazil, and Imran Khan in Pakistan—Mexican 

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has mostly taken a dangerously

dismissive and outright irresponsible attitude toward the coronavirus…" ***

*by the Trump administration we mean Trump. Correction. While the State Department did facilitate the delivery of the 17 tons it was not 'our' supplies that were being sent. These were donated supplies. This added distinction does not take away or negate the point of this article.

** From <https://www.facebook.com/GlennDL>

*** https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/03/30/amlos-feeble-response-to-covid-19-in-mexico/?preview_id=792597&utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=85551925 

see also:

• Trump attacks media and hospitals, extends social distancing in hostile Sunday virus presser
• Trump threatens Democrats not to investigate him for the response to the outbreak
• Did the Trump Administration Send 18 Tons of PPE to China in Early 2020?
• “We inherited a broken test” for COVID-19. PANTS ON FIRE
• Jared Kushner Ripped For Saying ‘Our Stockpile’ Isn’t Meant For States To Use
• Fact-checking COVID-19 prevention, treatment myths
• Fact Checking Scorecard for Social Media Post on COVID-19
• COVID-19 World, State, and County Map of outbreak
• All COVID-19 post at glennlittrell.org 

COVID-19 Post/information April 3, 2020

MOST POST ARE CLICKABLE

COVID-19 Post/information March 30/31, 2020

MOST POST ARE CLICKABLE

COVID-19 Post/information March 27, 2020

MOST POST ARE CLICKABLE

Shelter in place: Biblical?

It seems ironic that such a divisive and contradictory President would advise violating his own advice to 'shelter in place' by encouraging large church gatherings on easter. Especially for the stated goals of saving and enhancing the well being of the money changers at the temple (Bankers and Wall Streeters): Weren't the Israelites told to 'shelter in place' that night?

"during the tenth and final plague, God passes through the land of Egypt and strikes down the firstborn of every household. But the Jews have been told to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb they've sacrificed — the Passover offering — and so God “passes over” their homes."

In the Torah, the blood of this sacrifice sprinkled on the door-posts of the Israelites was to be a sign to God, when passing through the land to slay the first-born of the Egyptians that night, that he should pass by the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:1-28)

Even Israel's health ministry is advising limiting prayer and religious ceremonies to groups of ten or less. They also recommend 'home isolation'.

New Cases Daily: Declines in China & South Korea

Trumps Middle-east Policy: All just a matter of real estate buy-offs...

 ...what comes in the next 4 years? flipping countries like flipping houses:

• 'America is not the whole world'
  One impeached, the other indicted, they posed as honest brokers with a common vision of a mythical Middle East peace.
  
• Israel's Netanyahu indicted in corruption cases. 
  
  "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally indicted on corruption charges Tuesday, just hours before he was set to meet President Donald Trump for the unveiling of the US administration's long-anticipated Middle East plan."
• Trump unveils Middle East plan that caters to Israel and was swiftly rejected by Palestinians
  "But the economic proposal was met with a thud in the Palestinian territories, where mistrust in the Trump administration reigns following a steady stream of policy moves that have bolstered Israel and undermined the Palestinian position: from US recognition of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory to cutting off all US support for aid projects aimed at helping Palestinians."
• Brookings experts on the Middle East react to the White House’s peace plan.
  "On January 28 at the White House, President Trump unveiled his plan for Middle East peace alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjanim Netanyahu. Below, Brookings experts on the peace process and the region more broadly offer their initial takes on the announcement."

Related:

• Have Trump and Kim Jong Un fallen out of 'love'?
  North Korea is celebrating a "very important test" at a launch site that US President Donald Trump declared would be dismantled earlier this year -- the real-life culmination of a recent exchange of verbal projectiles across the Pacific.
• Oslo Accords Fast Facts:
  (CNN)Here's a look at what you need to know about the Oslo Accords, a series of agreements between Israel and the Palestinians signed in the 1990s.

Global Warming vs. Pollution: Can any sane person deny the reality of both?

by GlennDL

Denying global warming has gotten to be a cottage industry as prolific and profit-generating as any that preceded it.* 

As a result of the growth of this industry, it is difficult to find a 'denier' who isn't well equipped with an abundance of talking points masquerading as science. Whatever is their motivation these talking points embolden them to offer endless and often meaningless rebuttals of facts making civil debate tenuous if not impossible.

A collision of 'cherry-picked' facts and talking points will not produce a conversion of deniers, either uninformed or well-informed.

In terms of climate change, only the results of time will shock some people. One tactic is to instill doubt by avoiding the climate change argument and focusing on the antipollution argument. Argue the damage being done now by current pollution levels and past:

• With 11,000 miles of coastline, The Great Lakes are the world's largest body of fresh water on earth (one-fifth of the planet's fresh surface water supply). It has been heavily polluted since the 1960s. In 1970 Lake Erie was declared a dead lake. Progress in reversing the decline of the Great Lakes over the last 60 years has been slow, precarious, and continually threatened.
• The "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" is a floating collection of garbage in the Pacific that is estimated to be the size of the state of Texas.
  Another patch of garbage, discovered in 1972, has been found
  
  in the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic patch is smaller than the Pacific but still of significant size. It has been estimated with new technologies it would take 5 to 10 years to clean up the Pacific patch. Neither of these garbage patches was discovered until they reached a massive size. 
  The major source of this pollution is freshwater runoff such as the draining of the Great Lakes into the ocean, as well as run-off from other waterways and coastal cities. This runoff continues today… 50 years after the discovery of the Atlantic patch.
  Worse yet is the fact that there are bound to be more patches, smaller but growing and we are only seeing the garbage and debris that floats… what about the sub-service runoff?

There are other examples of serious pollution that rise to the level of potentially being a worldwide crisis: Killer smog in cities dating back over a hundred years, landfill shortages, fracking contamination, worldwide strip mining, deforestation, all threaten our current environment and sustainability. All have existed for decades while facing little resistance to exploitation. The solutions to these pressing problems are just as important to our current pollution problem as they are to our long term climate problem.

The idea that the world is just too big to pollute is critical to the climate deniers but the scope of unrelenting pollution on these levels dispute that claim.

Converting the deniers.

Diverting the debate from climate change to fighting pollution may be a more effective way of neutralizing the climate change-oriented talking points. By diverting the discussion from the talking points you may find a more effective way of getting your point across by addressing undeniable pollution facts that raise a sense of urgency. This approach can be effective in circumventing talking points. Not to say it works in converting every denier, or that it results in any more than stymieing the denier, but directly attacking the denier on his ground seldom works… no matter how right you are. They believe what they want to believe.

The objective in a debate is not to change the mind of someone but to persuade them to 'consider' a different possibility. That consideration can open the door to doubt.  If you fail to instill doubt in them whatever you accomplished at the moment will be reversed once they return to the environment that produced their position.

It's like trying to help someone in an abusive relationship. They know it's wrong and that they need to get out of it. But they cannot get out of the relationship until they get out of the environment and as long as they believe that things could change they will return to that relationship. They want to believe that things could change for the better but not until a seed of doubt is planted by a traumatic and eye-opening event will they truly leave that abusive relationship.

The problem with climate deniers is that there is little chance that a traumatic or eye-opening event will occur soon. Most of the effects of climate change occur slowly and over decades or centuries. Temperature changes, rising sea levels, the extinction of species, the decline in nutrients and protein in our food sources, the slow decline in some sources of drinkable water will all fail to register until we are past the point of reversal.

You can browbeat people into submission, you can out 'talking points' them, you can guilt or shame them into silence, and you can even get them to confess they're wrong, but these seldom result in changing their minds for any longer than it takes for them to get away from you, shun you, or decide to dislike you. You can even 'strawman' their sources to the point they realize the fallibility of those sources, but that will not guarantee their conversion. If you don't produce a seed of doubt they will simply continue to hold their belief below the surface.

• Trump Removes Pollution Controls on Streams and Wetlands
• Trump to Veto Bill Intended to Keep Forever Chemicals out of Groundwater
• 95 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump
• Interior Dept. to allow mining, drilling in Utah's national monuments
• 'Finally!': Court Orders EPA to Stop Stalling Potential Ban on Pesticide Tied to Brain Damage in Kids

1. Did President Trump Reverse an Insecticide Ban After Receiving $1 Million from Dow Chemicals?
2. World’s Largest Producer of Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos Ends Its Production

*anti-vaccine myths, birthers, moon landing deniers, ancient flat earth beliefs


Rolled Back Under Trump