Morning Fog

A Bazaar Of The Bizarre

I've been busy this week and may have missed some news items, but it's clear that Trump's desperate measures to deny reality have only become more and more bizarre. Why should we - citizens of the United States, of any political stripe, put up with this charade?  Trump loyalists have suggested that it's just a matter of humoring our wack-doodle President until he comes to terms with reality, but what precisely are they doing to burst the bubble of his make-believe world?  My question of just a few posts ago ("Is Insanity Contagious?") has been answered affirmatively, as more and more Republickin's, most recently Rudy Giuliani, have thrown their own sanity and political futures on the blaze of Trumpian fury.

Enough, already. The solution for this exists in the Constitution, Twenty-Fifth Amendment, Section 4. Mr. Vice President, do your job! If anyone should doubt that Pence has the fortitude to declare Trump incompetent, join the club!  But this is what we need.  

 

Flagging Veterans Day Observances

Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. I'm a veteran, and I put my U.S. flag out this morning, as I do for other key national holidays, e.g. Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Flag Day of course, and others. Election Day too, although I confess I forgot to put it out this time.

That's a habit my Dad probably taught me. He was an army lifer, but even after he retired, he observed this simple gesture of patriotism and national unity for years. More important, so did most of the neighbors in the university town where he retired, even though none of them were veterans, so it wasn't just a military thing.

I've noticed lately though, that few observe this tradition. I suppose in the aftermath of "my" war (Vietnam), when public respect for our military services seemed to hit a new low, people began to be a little ashamed to fly the flag, or just felt that it was a corny remnant of a more innocent decade. Could it have a revival now?

It's not clear. Nowadays, if we see a house with a flag, we assume a Republican lives there. And when we see a whole wall of ginormous flags (as at Trump rallies), or people riding around flying huge flags from their pickup trucks, we all feel sure these are Republican events. Conversely, when the left rallies politically, we are more likely to see black U.S. flags, or upside-down ones.

We have allowed the political right to take over our national emblem, and I think as a nation we should resist that. So Morning Fog says, if you own a flag, get out there and hang it on these national days. If you don't have one, go buy one today and fly it next time. And if you're a political candidate or the organizer of a demonstration, make sure the number of real red-white-and-blue flags at least exceeds the number of those other ones. Corny, maybe, but it can help us all remember our shared interests and culture.

Footnote: The Tin Lizard seems to have a Veterans Day post, too. Check it out.

 

Is Insanity Contagious?

As noted here before, the fellow waiting in the wings to try out the job of ex-President greeted the election outcome with outrageous and incendiary falsehoods. Since that time a few days ago, I've heard people who know Trump well, including family members, staffers, and commentators, claim that Trump really believes that he, Trump, won the election and it's being stolen from him. Incredible as that may seem, I can almost believe it. I said years ago that Trump - to put it in terms that people in Trump country would have readily used in the small towns of the 1950s and 60s - is "tetched," that he "ain't quite right in the head."

But if Trump does believe this fantasy, he is most certainly the only one. The spectacle of his family members, political supporters, staffers - people like Baby Trump and campaign guru Lewandowski - repeating this tripe publicly is disgusting (there's that favorite Trump work again!)  They are all people who not only should but DO know better. As responsible, concerned citizens, they could  say, as many have done, that all votes need to be counted, and that recounts will be called for in some places. But there is no reason in the world to use the language they are using, unless they seek to spread dissent, sow doubt where none exists, and incite violence. It's like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, and should be prosecuted. Good that so many of them are on film and tape with these statements.

Just an hour ago I received an anonymous chat message, the first of what I'm sure will be many, seeking to spread the same misinformation. With a cleverly designed cartoon (it shows a ballot being inserted into a red box, which is labeled Stop the Steal and which looks cleverly like the ballot counters many jurisdictions use, being shredded as it goes in, and a long message with multiple bullet points, all of which are totally false). As that message's lead-in says, "I didn't think I'd ever see anything like this is America." Ironically, I agree. Amen to that! I'm sure it's from a blind telephone number, but those things can be traced, so I'll be actively looking to the investigative sites I expect to be set up by the FCC, or my telephone company, to which to forward such viciously intended, actionable trash talk. 

Voter Suppression - An Apotheosis

President Trump, early this morning, decided to ignore all the tiny steps his minions had taken, and planned to take, to suppress votes against him, by the simple step of effectively declaring himself the winner. 

Claiming falsely to have won several states in which results remain unclear, and suggesting that pausing while millions of remaining votes are counted, are evidence of Democrats' stealing the election. "We were getting ready to win this election ...frankly, we did win this election" he said. He promised to go to the Supreme Court (he recently packed them for a trip) and get them to stop the voting! [sic - clearly he means "counting"]. 

The newscaster on BBC, where I watched this horrid statement, was circumspect, simply stating, of his "we did win" statement, "That's not true."

The President was addressing his campaign staff at 2:00 AM, looking to cheer them and laud their work. Should we forgive his "alternate facts" for that reason? Well no, since he was aware of course that his remarks would be broadcast around the world. It is probably a good thing that his live audience was hired staff,  because a real audience of random voters would probably have broken out in guffaws. Personally, we suspect that Trump's real pique was clued by his statement "we were getting ready to win this election" - he had planned a big party for his 400 guests at the White House, and wasn't able to have it. Poor baby. 

Overall, this was a comic performance on a serious matter, so Morning Fog is going to take a while to absorb more facts before further comment.

Meanwhile, we recognize that not everyone may share our assessment of Mr. Trump's statement. For an alternate view, check out today's Tin Lizard post, "Relieved." 

Supreme Court Election Meddling

As a followup to my post of October 27, below, it's worth reading a piece from the Washington Post this Sunday titled "The Supreme Court Shouldn't Decide Voting Cases".

It seems the Court has already left the barn through a back door, showing an unnecessary willingness to rule off the cuff where no ruling is needed.

 

Breaking The National Political Logjam, Part II

Back on October 7, Morning Fog opined that the main burden of finding common ground among the U.S.'s two bitterly divided political factions will rest with the Democratic Party. Not because I necessarily expect them to win the election two days hence (on that, I give them 60-40 odds), but because we cannot expect any effort toward finding common ground from Trump, who has striven mightily to spike existing divisions and to open new ones. So even in the event of a Trump win, the Democrats will provide the only hope of conciliation.

Is conciliation necessary? Yes, probably, if we want to think of ourselves as one nation. In fairness, I reject the idea that we enjoyed sublime unity before Trump came along; all he did was make things worse for political advantage. On the other hand, I also reject the idea that we can't get past our divisions once Trump disappears; I believe we are more united than we realize, it's just the politicians who foster cataclysmic notions.  

It will be essential to try restoring a greater sense of commonality. For me, the crux of the current problem is civic - too many people have too many options to work, play, socialize, communicate, and reside among people who are just like themselves on one or more yardsticks (political, economic, educational, racial). It's natural, I suppose, to do that, but it results in division rather than diversity. We've lost environments where people will meet other people whom they don't pick.  

One of those was the military. Predating our current all-professional armed services, we had the draft. Readers of Morning Fog a few years ago may recall that I have more than once argued for restoration of conscription, among other reasons because it spreads the burden of service. It ends up giving our population a better appreciation of what the military is about; it gives the country a military leadership with a greater appreciation of its democratic legitimacy, and it helps bring together people from all sorts of places and backgrounds. Is there a war movie that doesn't have those scenes of the hardened Brooklynite New Yorker and the Kentucky farm boy having to learn each other's ways? [Schumer? McConnell? Sort of?]A draft could do this even more effectively now that women are accepted in most military roles. 

The draft had a lot of benefits but it would still need improvements for the 21st century. The new environment should bring in more participants, and a broad cross-section of the population. It would need to be truly random in its application to the population (unlike the old Selective Service System, which too often ended up applying only to the poor and less privileged, with "exemptions" available to those who had the influence or money to obtain them. [George W. Bush?] That only means that it must very strictly mandatory for those selected. If picked, you will serve, no cop-outs. And that would be quite possible if it were not just for the military but for a wide variety of "social service" activity too. Something for everybody, regardless of physical condition, learning ability, race, religion, or riches.  If all U.S. persons (let's include immigrants too) were in the pool, only a small percentage would need to be selected. I could imagine that a few years after such a program got up and running, those who had been in it would be much sought-after by employers.

Dream on, you say? Yes, this is pie in the sky, and would be hard, if not impossible, to bring to reality. Let's keep it in mind, though, as an incorporation of some of the key elements of a national plan to reintroduce us to one another. 

Important Note: After writing but before publishing this, I was reading today's newspaper and was surprised to find that one-time Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has proposed a similar "civilian service corps" in his book Trust. Leave it to Pete to be ahead of me (I could be more inspired to vote the Dem ticket if he were heading it).  However, if the summary I read is accurate), he suggests participation in this corps be voluntary. I think that would just lead to the self-selection of certain sorts of folk - people already inclined toward seeing good in others. A random selection with no opt-outs would be a far better way to get a true cross-section involved.