Rules, Choices, Consequences - updated

We live in a country governed by the rule of law.  That law comes from many sources – the Federal Constitution, state constitutions, legislatures, regulations, city ordinances, executive orders, etc., and even restrictions imposed by state governors during a health pandemic emergency.  These are the rules that govern our behavior in our society. 

Basically, the rule of law provides that a society and the individuals within that society will be consistently governed by a set of legal codes and processes.  Our “rule of law” is based in our Constitutional form of government.  Countries not governed by a rule of law include a variety of authoritarian regimes as well as those devolved into anarchy.  Aristotle proclaimed, "It is more proper that law should govern than any one of the citizens."

When someone does not like or does not wish to obey a particular rule they are faced with choices, three of which immediately come to mind:  obey, challenge, disobey.  Each of these choices comes with consequences attached; those consequences should be part of one’s consideration in making the choice.

If one chooses to obey a rule they do not agree with, the consequences are twofold.  First, they will not be penalized for failure to obey the rule and secondly, they will likely have to change their behavior or desired behavior in some way to do or not do something they had wanted to and otherwise would or would not have done. 

The second possible choice is to challenge the rule using our judicial system.  That challenge might be based on such things as whether or not it is constitutional or an abuse of discretion or power, whether it is duplicative or ambiguous or unfair in its application, etc.  One might also ask for an exemption to a particular rule based on their own personal circumstances.  Such challenges of course take time; one will not get immediate gratification, but must instead wait for a ruling and perhaps a challenge to that ruling and also must understand that in the end the ruling may not be the one they hoped for.  But that is how a country governed by the rule of law (rather than personal or mob demand) operates.

The third choice that one can make when faced with a law they do not like is to disobey that law and simply do what they want.  Murderers do this.  Illegal border crossers do this.  Jay walkers do this.  Anyone who makes this choice on any level should also be prepared to face the consequences which may include criminal penalties including fines, jail or, in some cases death.  Sometimes people making this choice will determine that it is necessary to disobey and take the consequences in order to make a broader social justice point – for example participants in lunch counter sit ins during the civil rights movement.

In our current pandemic times we have many examples of people choosing to disobey their governor’s restrictions.  They often claim they are justified in doing so, asserting that any restrictions on their “rights” are unconstitutional.  First, that shows an appalling lack of understanding of our Constitution.  But, even if that were a reasonable argument, the thing to do is to challenge those restrictions that they argue to be illegal in a court of law.  Some individuals in some states have done so (for example churches seeking permission for drive-in services) and have either obtained exemptions or seen modifications to the rules.  Others have not won their arguments against the rules.

As an aside here, I will note that the governors do indeed have the authority to impose reasonable restrictions during a time of health emergency.  One has the right to challenge the reasonableness of a particular restriction.  If one does so, one must be willing to accept the decision of the court or courts to which they bring their appeal.  That is how the rule of law works.

What we see, however, is an alarming refusal to follow the rule of law when it comes to such health emergency restrictions.  I happen to believe that governors are doing the best they can with data that changes daily and with concern for both their state’s people and its economy.  People who think they know better than their governor probably do not; at a minimum they do not have access to all of the daily information that governors receive.  I suspect they have not taken the time to understand the purpose behind those restrictions which they do not like.  And yes, some governors are probably getting some things wrong, but blanket refusal to acknowledge their very power to issue restrictions, along with blanket disobedience of those restrictions is a frightening disavowal of our very system of government.

In the end, what I see is too many people who, like young not yet socialized children, refuse to not only follow reasonable rules but also refuse to take personal responsibility for their disobedience.  Let’s take for example the Texas salon owner who was sentenced to a week in jail for failure to follow her governor’s restrictions.  Here was a woman who made a choice and should have been willing to accept the consequences of her choice which included criminal penalty including jail.  She was happy to choose to disobey, but seemingly unwilling to accept the consequences of that choice, believing that her personal reasons were enough to allow her to break the rule and open her salon.

Rather than make her choice and accept the consequences, the woman, like a small child, did what she wanted.  Before being jailed or even arrested, she was given a cease and desist order – which she tore up.  This is the point at which she might have instead requested an exception based on her personal circumstances if she really believed those circumstances warranted the rule not being applied to her.

Once charged for opening, in court she was given the option of taking “this opportunity to acknowledge that your own actions were selfish, putting your own interest ahead of those in the community in which you live” and then being given a fine only.  She refused and instead made excuses:  she wasn’t selfish but needed the money, ostensibly to feed her family (essentially asserting that herself was more important than society and the public good).  She refused to close her salon and told the judge to go ahead and send her to jail.

Her behavior is not unlike a small child who defiantly refuses to follow rules.  But what may be worse are the other adults in her community and beyond who are acting like parents who excuse their children’s bad behavior.  Rather than perhaps helping her with her personal circumstances, they are making the excuses of why she “needed” to disobey the rule.  Some are even offering to take the blame or even the punishment for her.  They have raised several hundred thousand dollars for her because of her failure to comply.   In essence they are justifying her illegal behavior.  

This really is simply another example of avoiding personal responsibility and of others excusing that avoidance.  When we can do whatever we want, obey only those rules that we choose to or which are agreeable to us, when rather than accept personal responsibility for what we do we instead make emotional excuses that are accepted by others who then excuse us, when this becomes the norm then we no longer have a nation governed by the rule of law. 

ADDED NOTE:  Once the rule of law was followed, the Texas Supreme Court just now ordered the woman freed and the governor banned jail as penalty for failure to comply with this rule.  Following the rule of law indeed provided a remedy for this woman.  

This disobedience and excuse is not new with the current pandemic; rather, the fact that people are having their lives and routines disrupted for the public good has revealed the extent of the self-centeredness that exists in this country.  That self-interest abundantly extends to a belief that one only need follow those rules which they choose.  With this absorbing self-interest comes a lack of patience and hence too many believe there is no need to question via our judicial system – just disobey and get whatever immediate gratification is sought. 

Sure, we see the daily stories of those who act selflessly to serve others during this pandemic.  But that goodness seems to be outnumbered and overwhelmed by those who cannot think beyond themselves and their immediate desires.  This has been a part of our society for some time; it is just more visible now.  And it should give us all pause as we consider what happens if we allow ourselves to become a nation where personal responsibility is excused by self-interested narrative, allowing individual citizens to make their own rules so that the rule of law is no longer the governing principle in our society.

This should not be political, but NPCs help to make it so

The coronavirus pandemic is not a political issue and I wish people would stop treating it that way.  I happen to think that our President has for the most part done and is doing a good job handling this complex problem.  I also happen to think that my state governor, a progressive Democrat, is doing an outstanding job.  This is not a political issue and we do not need political rhetoric clouding things up.    

This pandemic and its effects are complex.  This is not a simple issue with a right and wrong answer.  It is a new issue that this country, this world, has never faced before.  No one has all the answers, and everyone is learning as we go along.  Learning is a key word here.  Everyone who wants to spout an opinion on this issue should take some time to educate him or herself about it first.  That means facts, not anecdotal evidence from one satisfied or dissatisfied person or business owner or victim of the virus.  And not following in the approach that so many currently take to newsworthy issues which is to simply spout the rhetoric of one or the other political parties.

There is a term NPC which originally referred to a non-playable character in a video game; that is, a character with whom other players can interact but which can only repeat programmed lines – it cannot think for itself.  The term has come to be used for those political minions who similarly do not think for themselves but only repeat programmed phrases – that is, they spout the party line without thought.

NPCs have been around for a while.   Now they spout their party’s politically correct phrases and positions about the coronavirus pandemic.  I used to see NPCs as primarily a Democrat phenomenon.  They would stick to their programmed dialog even when simple common sense proved it to be ridiculous.  For example, during the Kavanaugh hearings the Democrat NPCs all asserted that “women must always be believed when they claim sexual assault, even if there is no evidence to confirm their story and even evidence to contradict it.”  Now, with a seemingly credible allegation against Biden, the program has been changed to “all women must be believed, but only if they are accusing a Republican; when they accuse a Democrat we can dismiss their claim post haste.”

But now I cannot help but see the assault of NPCs and their programmed views coming from every political persuasion.   The Democrats and Anti-Trumpers first assert their same tired complaints:  President Trump is destroying the country, he does not know what he is doing, and, more specific to the virus – he is killing people.  They also assert that everything he does violates and/or destroys the Constitution and our government.  He acted too late.  He acted too early.  He should not let the governors decide.  He cannot make any national orders.  He must make national orders.  And, of course, he must be investigated.  Don’t ask the folks making these assertions to explain or support them – they cannot.  The only truth underlying them is that they either don’t like the President or don’t like his policies, or both.

But we also have the Republican NPCs.  Their current mantra is “Open Now!”  They have supplementary statements that they assert in support of this demand:  Closing businesses violates our rights; people have the right to choose; shut down orders violate the Constitution, not opening now will destroy the Constitution, the economy, and our country.  Do they have the science or the economics or the legal scholarship to prove any of that?  Of course not.  Sure, closing down and staying home orders do interfere with some rights or at least some activities, but they do so and are allowable for the public good.  These Republican NPCs have apparently conveniently forgotten that part of civics class – it seems to not be a part of their programmed lines. (They have also forgotten their old mantra of “we don’t need anything from the government” as they hold out their hands for stimulus and other benefits).

All these programmed assertions do nothing more than to prove some sort of ignorance, or at least an inability or disinclination to think things through.  For example, one cannot end with “just open up and let people choose whether to stay home, wear masks, etc.”   This reveals so much about what the asserter does not know.  First, the point of staying home, wearing masks, is to keep those who are asymptomatic from spreading the disease to others (and, if they bothered to look at facts they would know that huge percentages of us are asymptomatic, which is why we need things like sufficient testing and other data before opening up).  They would also understand that even if one is free to stay home, that might be a difficult choice if opening up means one has to choose between returning to a job or losing it by staying home.  These NPCs often claim they are demanding opening now for the workers, but would that really help those workers?  They claim decisions about what to open/close are unfair, but they do not have the details upon which these decisions were made; such assertions are just part of their politically programmed speech.

We have a pandemic involving a virus for which there is no treatment or cure and no vaccine.  It threatens the Public health of everyone in the country.   We have experts who update data and projections daily as they determine and regularly revise, based on new information, the best way to handle this public health crisis.  In order to flatten the curve – which was necessary so as not to overload healthcare and thus make the effects of the pandemic far worse – stay at home orders and business closures were put into place.  Of course these affected the economy and now those same experts are recommending a safe, data-driven and measured re-opening of business.  They provide clear criteria and a wealth of data to help each Governor make decisions and a reopening plan for his or her state.

NPCs are not interested in facts or data.  Here, by the way, is the link to a cite that provides a wealth of data, updated daily, about the corona virus, including state by state statistics and projections.  LINK.  Interestingly, when I shared this with a social media discussion about the virus populated mostly with NPC-type statements, the entire conversation was suddenly deleted.  Perhaps no one is really interested in facts. 

Generally, in this country we of late seem to suffer from a wealth of people who think they are experts on everything or at least anything about which they have an opinion.   Yet they do not educate themselves about that which they are opining.  Many of them are actually NPCs.   They are often wrong or incomplete in their statements and often insufferable in their thinking or lack thereof.  But annoying as it can be, such false belief in one’s own knowledge is usually not harmful; certainly not deadly.  Not so when we look at the coronavirus. 

Those false experts who are demanding anything and everything from opening fully now to never opening again, from asserting we must have more and more money forever to compensate those possibly injured by the virus or its economic effects  to those who would deny any and all financial aid, from those who see every well thought out cautionary and temporary restriction as the end of our Constitution and our life as we know it to those who assert that now is the time that mandates a complete restructuring of our government, all of these programmed assertions spoken without thought or support are dangerous.

We need to get the solution to this problem right.  We need to intelligently balance the health dangers with the economy.  This requires understanding and thought.  It cannot be done by NPCs.  Yet it is the voices of the NPCs who are at times drowning out those reasoned expert voices that we need.

There are those in this country who take the time to educate themselves about the science of the disease, who take the time to look at and understand facts, and to think for themselves.  These are the people who are looking at data, who are looking at various measured guidelines for reopening, who are understanding that it is a delicate balance between protecting the people from this serious health risk and from keeping the economy in a position where it can return to “normal” without too much hurt and delay when the time is right.

These people stand in stark contrast to the NPCs who simply spout politically driven opinions and demands about the virus and the economy.  Their leaders of course are trying to capitalize politically in any way possible from this pandemic and its effects on both health and economy.  Their leaders will use it to push their agendas and to trash those of their opponents as well as the opponents themselves.  The NPCs are their necessary minions.

NPCs and self-proclaimed experts (often one and the same) need to simply shut up until they are willing to actually think.   We all need to use our brains and our common sense to understand what is going on, to accept reasonable restrictions and inconveniences, and support all of our leaders as they do their best to get this right.  What we do not need to accept, and indeed should ignore, are the politically driven NPCs and their unhelpful and potentially dangerous comments.   

Of People, Sacrifice, and Selfishness

I saw a headline that 3 out of 4 Americans say that coronavirus has changed their life.  Unless someone is a hermit, if we are all doing our part against this invisible enemy, shouldn’t that number be 4 out of 4?

The CDC asks us all to stay at home except for essential trips out, to limit group contacts, to practice social distancing.  Certainly that has to change one’s daily life to some extent, even if they have no other connection to the war against coronavirus.  Those people in essential jobs who do go out also must be experiencing differences in their workplaces as well as changes in their lives outside of work.

The CDC issued its 15-day guidelines last Monday.  These were guidelines that everyone in this country was asked to follow, the reason being that if we do so we have a good chance of really slowing the spread of the disease.  The more people that do not follow, the more likely that the epidemic will be worse, infect more people, and last longer.  

We should not have to wait for our governor or other authority figure to mandate compliance with these guidelines.  We should all, selflessly, be following them.  Those people who are part of the greatest generation, or close enough in age to them to have heard their stories of sacrifice, have some understanding of selfless sacrifice for the common good as a way to overcome a threat to a nation.  Apparently, that concept is lost on many others.

Here is some of the selfishness that I see in my community.  First, is the hoarding.  When shelves are restocked, people grab all they can – often enough of a product or food item to last them a year or more.  There is no consideration of their neighbor who might need just one of those items.   And, of course, the more available income one has, the more one can spend on hoarding, which often leaves those less financially able to do without. 

This hoarding also affects the truckers who are crucial to restocking the shelves.  In some places they and their loaded trucks need to be guarded by law enforcement.  This is nuts!   If people would limit themselves to what they need for 2 weeks, then we all could return to the stores in 2 week time periods to get what we need.  But sadly, some people are thinking only of themselves.

I went for a walk in my neighborhood.  People are out walking in groups crunched together on our narrow sidewalks.  These are not family groups who are already together in the same household.  These are friends and neighbors grouped together.  Apparently they don’t understand that any one of them could be an asymptomatic carrier, transmitting the virus to those they are with who could then transmit it to others and they to others.  This is how the virus spreads and what the guidelines and social distancing stop.  It’s a simple concept so I have to wonder if it is not about their lack of understanding, but their lack of care and concern for others.

When non-essential businesses stay open they are not only putting their employees and customers at risk, they are furthering the possibility of community spread to others, including the most vulnerable.  More importantly, they are setting a bad example by encouraging behavior that contradicts the CDC 15 day guidelines. 

I understand that it is devastating for a business, especially a small business to close and lose revenue.  But, in many cases businesses can compensate somewhat by having curbside services as well as increasing on-line commerce.  Even when that is not possible, even when it really hurts, if we don’t all pull together and fully follow the 15 day guidelines, then we are only creating the likelihood that this epidemic will be worse and last longer than it otherwise would. 

Some small businesses understand this.  They know they will take a hit (though the government is now working hard to make that hit far less than it might be).  When one of the Indian Pueblo’s Tribal leaders decided to voluntarily close their casino and other businesses, he stated that it would hurt their bottom line deeply and possibly permanently, but there was no question in his mind that everyone, including him, has a duty to our neighbors and that he would always put people above profits.  Unfortunately, not every business sees it this way and sadly, the bottom line for those that encourage people to come out and patronize them despite the current CDC guidelines is that they are telling us that to them, profits are more important than people. 

Then there are people who just can’t handle giving up their regular routines or pleasures.  The college kids on spring break who say things like “I won’t get it or if I do, so what, I don’t care” show us an ugly and selfish side of humanity:  thinking only of oneself and not others whom their behavior might adversely affect.  It reflects a stunning lack of social consciousness.  And that lack is especially startling when it so frequently comes from those who are always proclaiming the need for things like social justice, concern for those less fortunate, and flat line equality.

But it’s is not just young people.  Senior citizens are often just as reluctant to give up some regularly scheduled social gathering or to alter their routine in any way.  Like some of the young, these elderly do not seem to think that the guidelines should apply to them.  Such thinking is not only ignorant, it is also selfish; there is no excuse for such selfish disregard of guidelines that are for the good of all the people in this nation.

I also want to address the obsessive focus of some on the virus tests.  I understand that people want certainty and that a test confirms that one does or does not have the virus, but only at the moment of the test.  Testing does not lessen the spread or prevent one from getting the virus.  And demanding a test when the current medical and CDC guidelines do not show that one is indicated in a particular individual’s case simply slows down the administration and results for those for whom a test is medically indicated.  The mobile test sites in my area have lines that are miles long.  My guess is that many of these folks are there only seeking some sort of selfish certainty and not because a test for them is medically indicated.

I understand that all of us prefer certainty to uncertainty.  But we must accept that there is no certainty with this virus.  We don’t know how long it will be with us; we don’t know exactly how much our behavior can flatten the curve; we don’t know when or if there will be a cure.  It does no one any good to whine about this or complain that the government isn’t telling us.  Indeed, this administration and its team of experts are being enormously transparent about the information they do have.  They hold daily briefings, as well as other meetings that are live streamed.  I’ve been watching the daily morning news conferences and yesterday I also watched the teleconference with state governors.  Anyone else could do the same.

It is from the experts that we all should be getting our information.  There is, of course, all the false or inaccurate information, the fear mongering, the conspiracy theories, the anti or pro government rhetoric, all sorts of theories and cures and predictions put forth by people who have no actual facts or expertise in the area.  None of this serves to help the situation.  Things like whether or not to call this virus that came to the world from China the Chinese virus in the same way we have named other pandemics or diseases after countries or places of their origin (e.g. Spanish flu, West Nile virus, German Measles, Japanese Encephalitis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, to name just a few).  Don’t we have more important things to focus on while saving this sniping for after we have won our war against this virus?

While I am proud of the 3 out of 4 who are sacrificing in some way as they follow the guidelines, even if it is simply learning how to chill out alone at home, I am also disheartened by the rest of my countrymen who seem to be presenting a lack of concern, a lot of selfishness, and an inability to sacrifice for the common good.  One out of 4, it can be inferred from that poll, are more selfish than selfless. 

Everyone needs to read the CDC guidelines and educate themselves on the reasoning behind them – why it is so important that everyone – 4 out of 4 – take them seriously and follow them so as to limit to the greatest extent possible this deadly pandemic for which we currently have no vaccine or cure.

When this is all over and we can go out without limitation again, I hope that we all reflect upon what we have learned about ourselves and our neighbors, about this country and its resilience and whether or not we really can all come together for the common good.  We will remember our actions and those of others, for it is actions that speak louder than words.  We will remember whose actions said what.  And we will have the opportunity to take further action to express our feelings about who did what; for example we can go out of our way to patronize businesses that shut down before they were forced to, while remembering differently those that put profit or self-interest above their fellow humankind. 

This is a great opportunity for us all to raise our often-professed social consciousness or patriotism to a new level.  This is an opportunity to us all to realize what it is like to work together for a common good.  As Yoda of Star Wars says, “Do.  Or do not.  There is no try.” The sacrifices we are all asked to make are simple.  As Rosy the Riveter said in WWII– “We can do it!”  So let’s make that number who DO follow the guidelines and alter their behavior a full 4 out of 4 so we can defeat this virus as soon as possible.

We’re All in This Together – Except When We’re Not

COVID-19 is a virus that threatens every person in this country and potentially every person in the world.  While not a visible army, we can very much consider ourselves under attack and the leaders of every country are under an obligation to do the best they can to protect their people.

I happen to think that our President is doing a fantastic job.  He has assembled a team of experts to advise him, led by the very competent Vice President.  President Trump has coordinated and brought together the resources that are available to him, has brought private industry and their innovation and resources into the mix, he has gotten our Congress to begin to work bipartisanly for the good of the people instead of themselves.  The President has acted decisively and quickly and in so doing has likely lessened at least somewhat the spread and effects of the epidemic in this country.  He continues to act as he daily consults with his experts and the new information that they daily gain about the virus.

The President is working for the people of the country.  Many of those people are also working selflessly for their fellow Americans.  And those that are not a part of critical services, those that have been asked to social distance and not go out for non-essential reasons can and should also do their part for America against this invisible enemy.  Many are; sadly, some are not.

This virus can be asymptomatic – a person can have the virus and be able to infect others without feeling any symptoms themselves.  We should all consider ourselves carriers, and the best way to lessen the spread of the virus is for us all, then, to avoid going out in public where we, or our touch on tables, door handles, etc., can possibly spread the virus to others.  To go out, when we do not have to, is to put our fellow Americans at risk.

Yet too many seem to believe that it is about them, not others.  They are not sick, so why not go out.  They think they are healthy and won’t get sick, so why not go out.  There is no concern for the less healthy others who might indeed get sick or die from the virus that they might spread.  The part that most Americans are being asked to play is nothing like the burdens that Americans have suffered together in times of war (ask your parents/grandparents about the second world war!).  We are simply being asked to stay in and away from others as much as possible.  Not a big sacrifice, yet still some are not willing to take it.

For some, it is just a matter of changing their usual social behaviors.  For others – small business people for example, it may be a bigger sacrifice as they close their doors for 2 or 3 weeks, lay off their employees, and lose revenue.  Yes, that is a big deal.  Yet the President and Congress are passing and have passed a series of bills that will in large part alleviate the losses.  This President will forget no one, and we Americans need to trust that he and Congress together will keep us whole.

So, we the people can and should all pull together and each of us do our part for the good of our neighbors and our country.  We need to put self-interest and self-centeredness aside and begin thinking of the many others with whom we are in this together.

But there is another group I would like to address, and that is those who continue to see this as a political goldmine.  First, let me say that I am impressed in the last few days with the bipartisanship that has surfaced in Washington as the Congress and the White House seem to be, for the most part working together.  While realistically I suspect this will not continue once we have won the current war against the virus, I would like to hope that at least  a small part of it will in some way remain and evolve into something both positive and permanent.

But then there are others.  At a time when we need to be working together, I read about a Democrat PAC that plans to spend five million on ads attacking President Trump’s handling of the epidemic even as we are in the middle of the crisis.   When people are already balking or not understanding the need to follow the CDC/White House guidelines which are clearly necessary to attack and slow this virus, why would a group choose to try to make people question the President’s actions that include issuing those guidelines?

This most recent PAC is not alone in its actions.  There are other PACs taking similar actions.  Biden and Sanders have not held back in their attacks on how the President is handling the crisis. And of course the Press, even at the daily White House press briefings, latches onto and furthers these attacks.

There will be plenty of time to attack the President and his actions once this crisis is over.  It will be over a lot sooner if we let the President and his experts continue their thus far effective strategies rather than trying to convince the American people that he is incompetent or doesn’t care about this or them, or whatever lies they are trying to spread.

On NPR this morning they were focusing on problems with testing from weeks ago and letting people complain about the incompetence of the system as if it were today.  To be clear, doctors and experts have emphatically stated that problems with testing at the beginning were not the fault of Trump or the CDC, but of a system in place that did not work for this sort of epidemic.  Since then, the President has revamped the system and partnered with private industry to create quicker and faster tests and make them available to all who need them.  Let’s applaud that rather than whine about a problem that has already been handled.

And, as to those tests, not every single American needs one and if every American demands the certainty of knowing they do/do not have the virus they will only clog the system.  People who need tests can get them.  Let the system work.

The Press often attacks because they get information today that was not given yesterday or perhaps conflicts with earlier information.  Well, the information that we have about the virus is evolving hourly as the experts have more data to analyze and more cases to review.  Trump’s team is doing this, informing him, and hence he has new and sometimes different information to provide.  This is not a bad thing.

But then, if you are Donald Trump, too often in the eyes of the Press you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.  For example, he was criticized for his early decisive action to stop incoming flights from China.  There is no dispute that this early decisive action greatly reduced the threat in our country.  When he could no longer be criticized for closing the borders, he was then criticized for not doing it soon enough.  Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.  And certainly not helpful in a time of crisis.

Then there are the repeated attacks because the President (and others) call this the Chinese Virus.  Hey, it came from China.  If it came from America it would be an American virus.  Those are facts.  Calling the virus Chinese is not racist, even if there were no other reason for doing so.  But, besides it being a factual statement, it counters a propaganda campaign waged by China that it was American soldiers who brought the virus to China.  It emphasizes the falsity of that Chinese propaganda.  That is not racist and attempts to make it so are simply attempts to divide the country when we should be trying to bring everyone together with the common goal of defeating this viral enemy.

When a country is under attack, when it is at war, it is a time for the people to pull together for the common good and the good of their country.  They become less self-centered and more concerned with the greater good.  Most Americans are doing this now.  But there are those who are not in this together with the rest of us, who simply see this crisis as an opportunity to further their own selfish interests.  While I hope the American people can and will recognize this, that task becomes harder when one of those who is not pulling together but instead participates in the sowing of seeds of dissention is the Press.  We get our information from the Press and its ability to objectively approach and report news is crucial to our ability to understand a crisis and each do our part to help resolve it.

There are those who have been trying to pull this country apart for several years now.  Their continuing such actions in a time of crisis should prove to all that they do not care about our country or any of us, its people, but instead only care about their own agendas and their own power.  They can only hurt us.

But, to the many Americans who do believe that we are all in this together, who are doing their part in our war against the Coronavirus, I applaud you for your sacrifices, be they great or small.  Thank you for understanding the war we are in, for listening to our leaders and experts, for following the guidelines, even as they evolve, and for protecting not only yourself but your neighbors as well.  If we all pull together we will beat this thing sooner rather than later, so let’s just ignore those disrupters who are not in this with us.

What Covid-19 Tells Us About Our Neighbors and Other Thoughts

In watching the reactions of my neighbors and our country to the Corona Virus (its existence, its spread in this country, the way we are handling it, etc.), I realize that it tells me a lot about my fellow citizens.

The first thing that struck me early on was the panic, and the continued fomenting of panic to make the story better.  That, early on, combined with the seeming need of the Democrats to use the virus and the accompanying panic as a new weapon against the President.  When WHO named it a pandemic (a term that simply means "an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people," the panic level increased, as if pandemic meant the end of the world.  WHO by the way is the World Health Organization, and not Who’s on first (since with baseball cancelled no one is on first – but, I digress). 

With the new encouraged panic that came with the label pandemic, and the accompanying attacks on the President for how he was handling it, I couldn’t help but see the words that exist within “pandemic”:  PANIC and DEM.  It sure seemed like an appropriate coincidence that the Dems were using the pandemic to try to foment panic in a way that would hurt the President. 

But, those are politicians, and, truth be told, they seem to be doing a better job at bipartisanship in the last few days.  Though, certainly, they will examine every word of every press conference once this threat has passed in order to find new ammunition against their opponents.

So, let’s look at the regular people.  How did they react?  First, there is the hoarding.  Of ridiculous items like toilet paper –I really don’t understand that.  I can understand buying a  little more soap or hand sanitizer, but what about the woman I watched in my local grocery pull the 7 remaining jars (gallon size I think) of hand sanitizer into her already overloaded basket, and refuse to share with someone who asked if she could have just one?  Why are people hoarding water?  This isn’t a drought.  Perishable foods that would last me 3 months that I know will rot before they are used while someone else who just wanted a week’s worth will go without.  This is not only ridiculous; it is selfish plain and simple.

This selfishness is especially noteworthy due to the fact that many of these same people are the ones who are usually lecturing about our need to take care of those less fortunate than us.  I guess that is fine when you have all you need, but when you think they might have or get something that you want, then it becomes just fine to ignore their pleas.  For so many it is really all about oneself, and I am interpreting this to also mean that the seemingly humanitarian gestures they may make when we are without a pandemic really serve some ulterior selfish motive (the need to have people dependent on oneself, the need to feel superior in one’s ability to “help” someone less fortunate, the general need for power).   

Then there are the variety of guidelines, that are generally put out by the CDC, but required at varying levels by different states.  So many people think these guidelines, or even the state requirements do not apply to them.   Clearly, they do not understand the purpose of the varieties of social distancing that are suggested or required, or if they do, then they are just plain selfish.   They would rather not give up a night out or some other unnecessary pleasure than eliminate the risk that they might carry the virus to someone else.  Yes, one can carry the virus without showing symptoms, and the more places we go the more likely it is that we will come into contact with the virus and potentially carry it to another.   Each one of us should really think of ourselves as a carrier, and we should understand that it is not about our selfishly not missing some nonessential event, but about us protecting our fellow humans – our neighbors.  Yes, the social distancing protects oneself, but it also protects our fellow citizens.

Another thing that stands out to me is the inability of many people to deal with uncertainty.  This virus and our knowledge of it is ever evolving and so there really are no certain answers.  This does not sit well with many; they become angry, they think they are being lied to (“you said that yesterday, but today you say this”), they attack, and then they think they can just ignore everything.

I have recently been watching the daily White House briefings on the virus.  First, I would argue that the President and his team of experts are doing an amazing job.  Probably not perfect (I’m sure the Democrats will analyze even the slightest imperfections to death once this is over), but they are balancing reality with possible panicked overreaction or over limitation on our freedoms.  As is appropriate, they leave the extent of requirement and enforcement to state governors who can assess the particular threats within their state.  And, because the knowledge base about the virus is ever evolving, their statements and recommendations likewise evolve and may even contradict earlier statements.  This makes sense, yet some of the press chooses to use their questions to attack/find fault with this instead.

Yes, we want answers.  Definitive answers.  How long?  How many?  Can I plan something for April?  Can I go to a movie?  With how many friends?  The answers today will likely be different tomorrow.  We must live with this uncertainty as we work to understand and get the virus under control.  Rather than anger, let’s listen to the experts and try to follow their advice – for the good of both ourselves and our fellow Americans.

The President and his team issue guidelines – today a 15 day critical list – which they ASK Americans to follow for the benefit not only of themselves but of their fellow citizens as well.  These, according to the experts, can drastically slow the spread of the virus.  They are not difficult to follow.  They will probably change in 15 days.  Yes, people will need to alter their routines, forego some of their usual activities, but they are nothing like the wartime rationing or the like that our parents and grandparents suffered as they all pulled together for the good of their country.

Rather than complain about the hardships of being asked to stay home for a while, I wish that people would perhaps use that time to educate themselves about this virus and think about how they can do their part for the good of our country rather than whine about what they themselves cannot do.

As a start in that education process here are two links.

The first is to the White House 15 day guidelines issued today.  This 2 page document explains how you can do your part to slow the spread of the virus:  GUIDELINES 

The second link is to an interactive article from the Washington Post that explains why “flattening the curve” of the outbreak is so important and how different levels of social distancing can affect that.  FLATTENING THE CURVE 

I finally note that many people are doing all they can for all of us:  the President and his team, the bipartisan efforts from Congress, the private industries that have stepped up, the individuals who are helping their neighbors, and most importantly, our health care workers who are that thin white line of defense on which we all depend.  So many people, from the President to the local janitor who is keeping things sanitized, are working selflessly for America and its people.  Let’s all get behind them and help to minimize the destruction that this virus will cause.

Stand By Your Man (and the country be damned), and Other Thoughts

I have not written here for some time for two main reasons.  One, I personally have been quite busy, and second and more decisive was that there is just little new to say.   The Democrats are the same angry haters obsessed with removing Trump from office.  Socialism is still socialism.  Trump is still using crude language but doing great things for the people of this country – jobs, economy, international relations, etc. etc.  So, having addressed all of this previously, it seemed redundant to rewrite.

But, now that the Democrats have seemingly chosen the instrument that they will use to attempt a win in November, and now that we have the Senate Democrat leader threatening Supreme Court justices, I do have a few thoughts which follow.

First, about Joe Biden.  I think it is clear to just about everyone that Joe seems to be in the early stages of dementia.  Whether or not you like or support Joe, that is sad.  But more importantly, it is frightening to consider that he could be the candidate for and could even be elected as president.  Anyone with any thought must be able to see the danger in that.

So, that is why I wonder why his wife stands by and supports him.  We saw her protect him by attacking a protester recently, but is she really protecting him when she encourages his continued run for an office it seems clear that his mind in its present state cannot handle?  Is she protecting him when she is helping him to be used by the Democrats who don’t really care about Joe, but only see him as a useful tool to possibly regain their power?

I don’t understand this.  But then, I don’t understand how a whole party could care more about their own power than the country.  I suspect that if the Democrats successfully use Joe to regain power, they will quickly cast him aside, so if he does get the nomination, the one voters should be scrutinizing is not Joe, but his pick for Vice President. 

But what really puzzles me is the wife.  Democrats are always saying that Republican women can’t think for themselves, but I look at Joe’s wife and I wonder what on earth she is thinking, or if she is even thinking.  Would anyone help to put someone who so obviously seemingly suffers from some sort of dementia into the powerful position of President of the United States of America?  Can she really be that selfish?  Or, is she, like all good Democrats, just falling in line and doing what she is told, even when in the long run it is more likely to hurt her husband or at least make him some sort of laughing stock, while at the same time working to create a situation that endangers the entire country.  

If someone whose mind is not 100% is given the chance to make world and life changing decisions that can affect us all, then we are all in danger.  Joe’s wife, Dr. Biden (Ed.D.) must understand that.   I know that if I were in her situation and my husband were showing signs of early dementia, regardless of party demands or personal love of power, I would do everything I could to talk him out of running.

Joe is a lovable character.  His gaffes are humorous.  Now.   There are many types of dementia, some progress quickly, others slowly.  But no matter how much you love someone, or how much you hate the current white house occupant, absolutely no one should be even considering replacing that current occupant with someone whose mental state is questionable.

But, then, when your only campaign policy is to beat Trump, I guess such things as the good of the country really are not relevant.

***

Turning now to Senator Schumer’s recent threats toward Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, this also is something about which every American should be outraged.  His words, while arguably hyperbolic, were clear threats intended to intimidate those justices to rule a particular way in an upcoming case.

That is nothing like giving an opinion about a case that has been decided or about comments made by a justice in a decided case or on other matters not before the court.  Yet, in its biased propaganda wisdom, the mainstream media considers such comments by Trump to be completely analogous to the threats of Schumer.  They are not.

Schumer said: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”  These words were spoken at an abortion rights protest in front of the Supreme Court while the court has a pending abortion case before it.  It is a threat to the justices, an attempt to cause them to rule pro-abortion in the pending case. Schumer, despite his attempted retractions, knew exactly what he was saying and what he was doing. 

Schumer’s threat is nothing like the statements by Trump in which he, in his typical straight and common verbiage (not refined politi-speak) criticizes decisions he does not like.  This is something that every president tends to do – give opinions about decisions that have been rendered.  That is very different from threatening a judge to decide a particular way in a pending case “or else.”

Even Trump’s most recent statements about Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg were not threats to their decision making in a pending case.  He said he thought they have been unfair to him in the past and that they should recuse themselves from future cases involving him.  These are his opinions; there is no pending case involved and there is no threat that if they do not decide his way in a pending case that they will “pay the price.”

Trump’s words express his unfavorable opinions about justices and their past decisions.  Schumer’s words are a clear attempt to intimidate and influence the decision in a current case pending before those justices whom he threatened.  In this country we are allowed to express our opinions.  We do not, however, threaten judges to decide a pending case in a particular way.  To do so can be a felony or other crime.  This is because in this country we expect impartial justice.

It is dangerous when Americans, especially American leaders and politicians, believe they can intimidate the Supreme Court and force it to make decisions political rather than render unbiased, legal, and Constitutional decisions.  Dictators, socialists, other authoritarian regimes may tell their judiciary how to decide a case, but we do not do that in this country.  But, perhaps the Left, in its quest to upend our democracy and establish their own absolute power, have forgotten that.

***

And, finally, one quick comment about another Democrat primary contender – Elizabeth Warren.  Her inability to endorse Sanders, whose policies mirror those that she advocated during her campaign, just underscores what we have known since long before this campaign cycle:  that she is a total fraud.   For her, there is only one interest, and that is herself.  She used a false Native American narrative to further her career and her power; she used big money, then trashed it when it better served her campaign to do so; and, apparently she used a progressive/socialist agenda to try to further her presidential chances, but there is no evidence that she really believed in or cared about what she was saying.  She is a woman after her own power and nothing else.  I assume she will work to get the best deal she can for herself before she comes forward with an endorsement which could be for Bernie or for Joe; she really doesn’t care as long as it is good for her.  Remember that next time she runs. 

It Ain't Over Til It's Over

And this will never be over.

(The Scream by Edvard Munch)

Some reflections on the Impeachment Show.

Here are some brief thoughts on the Impeachment Trial itself along with what it tells us about the Democrats.

1.  To those who keep asserting that if there is some personal motive or gain then that makes an otherwise legal/unimpeachable act illegal/impeachable: My guess is that every official act/vote by the senators is done in part for personal gain or other personal motive (most likely for better re-election chances).  The actions of senators may be done for other reasons as well (to further policy they believe in & on which they campaigned for example) and the acts then are constitutional but to follow the reasoning of the Schiff crew, the fact that a senator might also place him/herself in a better position for an upcoming election would make the acts impeachable.  Essentially, to follow their logic, the entire Congress, both chambers, should all be impeached.

2.  Does no one understand how our system of justice works?  In a trial the prosecution or plaintiff brings a complaint.  If that complaint is insufficient, the case will be dismissed.  If after discovery (investigations, depositions of witnesses, etc.) the case is still insufficient to state a claim, then it will be dismissed.  During the period of discovery, some subpoenas as well as other discovery requests and even specific questions may be challenged and decisions on those challenges may be appealed.    Asserting one’s right to question the legitimacy of a discovery request is not an obstruction against the body that made the request. It is not some sort of cover-up.

Justice requires time and patience; its goal is to get it right, not to meet some deadline favorable to an upcoming election.

It is not the duty of the deciding body to find the witnesses and do the investigation.   Some trials will be decided on the pleadings and discovery alone.  Contrary to Ms. Pelosi, witnesses are not required at the trial for it to be a “real” trial.  When a case reaches its conclusion, with or without witnesses, if there is a decision that the defendant is acquitted, then that is a valid decision.

In this case, the House did its investigation, called its witnesses, etc. and determined they had an “overwhelming case” for impeachment.  They brought that to the Senate where, for the first time, the President was able to present his position.  It became clear that the House did not have even an arguable case.  It further became clear that new witnesses, while they might dislike the President and have negative things to say about him or his policies, had no relevant information about the charges brought to the Senate by the House.  Their testimony would be nothing more than a waste of time.  This is not some sort of cover-up, much as the Democrats would like it to be, but is simply an appropriate decision about their case.

3.  It ain’t over til it’s over, and this will never be over.   The Democrats will refuse to accept the acquittal just as they refused to accept the very through investigation and conclusions of the Mueller report, just as they refused to acknowledge evidence that disproved their 11^th hour me-too assault on Justice Kavanaugh, just as they have refused, since November of 2016, to accept Donald J. Trump as the duly elected and legitimate President of the United States of America.  They have yet to understand that their hatred of President Trump does not make him illegitimate, just as it does not make his policies with which they disagree illegal or his manner and leadership style in effectuating those policies unconstitutional.   

Yet, it is clear from the Democrats and their supportive media that they will continue to dig and dig for dirt that will give them the opportunity to try once again to remove the people’s choice from office.  They would rather do that than the business that they were elected to conduct.

4.  In the end, it’s the People’s decision.  You cannot impeach a President just because you don’t like him and you fear that he will continue to act in a manner you don’t like.  The way to fix that is to present an alternate candidate at the next election and let the People decide.  The Democrats seem to think that they know better than the voters who should be president and they are willing to usurp the People’s voice in order to install their choice into the Oval Office.  That is simply un-American.  It is indeed a coup attempt. 

5.  For this country to work, we must both understand and respect our Constitution and our laws.   As a lawyer I have been and continue to be appalled by the Democrats’ continuing disregard for our Constitution, our legal system, and this country’s core principles of justice.  They, of course, are doing it for very political reasons, all of which extend from their desire for power.  But even more appalling is that so many are willing to accept their distortions about our core principles and values, to accept their contempt for our Constitution and system of justice.  In part I blame this on a lack of education about these things; that, combined with a mainstream media that presents and supports the Democrat agenda rather than objective facts places our democracy in a precarious position indeed. 

I can only hope that as the dust from this ridiculous impeachment settles that the People will begin to realize what a farce it really was.  I can only hope that the People will begin to demand that their representatives begin doing their business rather than continuing to pursue their jihad of hate against the President as they seek to grab for themselves what is the People’s power.