As I was walking through my local Costco this morning I saw that everyone was wearing as mask. It was depressing.

My thoughts were the United States is the wealthiest country the world has ever known and yet with just a little over 4% of the world’s population we have accounted for 20% of COVID-19 illnesses and deaths.  Instead he has been telling us the disease will “just go away” and “we’re turning the corner” for more than many months.

Despite that fact the president keeps telling us what a wonderful job this country has done in fighting the virus.

Trump agreed to an interview with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl. The interview began with Stahl asking the President if he was “ready for tough questions.” Trump replied that he only wanted her to be “fair.” “But you’re OK with some tough questions?” Stahl asked. “No, I’m not,” Trump replied. The program will air this coming Sunday night and I am sure the viewing audience will be extra large.

The president’s 75-minute speech Monday at a rally in Prescott, Arizona is probably the best window into his mind. He didn’t talk about the things he would be doing in a second term in office. Instead he listed his grievances by reigniting his quarrel with Dr. Anthony Fauci and attacking tonight’s debate moderator, NBC’s Kristen Welker, calling her “angry” and a “radical Democrat.”

“People are tired of COVID. You turn on CNN, that’s all they talk about: COVID, COVID, pandemic, COVID, COVID, COVID,” Trump said at the Prescott rally. Trump is correct. We are tired of COVID. We want you to take charge and take action to reduce the spread and the deaths. 

So go ahead and watch tonight’s debate but don’t expect to hear anything new from a man who is living in his own world.

We are the victims of his behavior and lack of leadership.  Joe Biden is far from perfect but compared to Donald Trump he is the leader we need now.

President Donald Trump’s war on every successful action of former President Barack Obama continues to this day.  It appears to me that Trump is bitter that a Black man was so successful and is still admired by millions of Americans.

It all started before Trump decided to run for president. In 2011 Trump joined the groups of people who questioned Barack Obama’s place of birth.  It was called birtherism.

Trump began pushing the issue in television interviews as he was considering whether to run for president in 2012.

“I have some real doubts,” Trump told the “Today” show. He claimed to have sent his own investigators to Hawaii, where Obama was born. “I have people that actually have been studying it and they cannot believe what they’re finding.”

Trump raised another falsehood in an interview with “Good Morning America,” suggesting Obama was trying to conceal his religion by withholding his birth certificate. “Maybe it says he’s a Muslim,” he said. Obama is Christian.

His latest is the claim that Osama bin Laden wasn’t killed and is still alive, and that the man killed in the Obama-directed raid lead by Seal Team 6 was actually a body double.

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was Trump’s first target. He has claimed the law is too expensive and denies everyone the right to choose their own plan. Trump is correct in saying that some plans are not included but that is because the coverage is very inadequate.

The Iran Nuclear deal in which Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 – the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. It came after years of tension over Iran’s alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran insisted that its nuclear programme was entirely peaceful, but the international community did not believe that.

However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump abandoned the landmark deal and in November that year, he reinstated sanctions targeting both Iran and states that trade with it. He claimed it was the worst agreement ever made by the United States.

The Paris Climate Accord Agreement was a commitment that was made by the Obama administration: a pledge to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 26 to 28 percent by 2025. On June 1, 2017 Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement.

Trump has directed the Labor Department to reverse Obama-era rules imposing restrictions on major banks and investment advisers, and the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also rolled back multiple regulations aimed at fostering worker protections. These include the delay of a rule requiring employers report worker injury and illness records electronically so they can be posted online, and the cancellation of a directive allowing a union official to accompany an OSHA inspector as an employee representative into a non-union shop.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was an Obama effort to protect children brought to the United States illegally but have grown up believing they are Americans. When congress refused to resolve the issue Obama issued an executive order to stop deportation of those people. As recently as June of this year his administration said will again try to end legal protections for young migrants at risk of deportation a day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his first attempt.

At the September 29 presidential debate Trump once again accused the Obama administration of spying on his campaign — a claim that Trump has made on numerous occasions and which remains false.

So let’s be clear. Donald Trump cannot stand for the idea of someone else can be more successful than him.

Glendale confronts its racist past, apologizing for ‘sundown’ laws as reported in the Los Angeles Times on October 15.

Glendale now in essence saying ‘Oops, we are sorry we had those laws but you know we were frightened by the color of your skin and we feared there would be intermarriage.  Oh, by the way we still believe in the superiority of White Christians over all other people.  That includes Jews, Mexicans and any other group that that doesn’t look like us don’t and speak our language.  We finally accepted Armenians when we noticed they do look rather White and they are Christians.’

Precinct Reporter Group, an African American news organization listed these cities as “sundown” cities.

California cities classified as “surely” sundown towns include Chico, Culver City, El Segundo, Fresno, Glendale, Hawthorne, La Jolla, Palmdale, San Marino and Taft. Cities that are now majority Black and Brown, including Compton and Inglewood in Southern California, previously barred Black residents. The list also includes some entire counties as surely sundown in the past.

Congressman Adam Schiff represents all of Glendale and surrounding areas.  I wonder how many residents know he is Jewish. A delicious revenge.

This consolidation by the Washington Post of comments from various guests on today’s Sunday morning political shows speaks for itself.

Source: Peter Nicholas in The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and my own thoughts

People have speculated that Trump’s COVID-19 treatment altered his judgment. They are incorrect. His judgement and behavior have always been erratic. Based on all the reports from those who have known Trump for years tell of a man who believes he has the right to demand whatever he wants.

He seemed as if he might be delirious. He blasted out bewildering tweets in all caps. Sick and infectious, he circled the perimeter of the Walter Reed hospital in an armored SUV, waving to supporters. He demanded the arrest of his opponents.

None of this behavior especially surprises those who’ve heard Oval Office rants dating back to the start of Trump’s presidency. “In terms of his current behavior, to me it looks like just another day at the office,” John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, told Peter Nicholas of The Atlantic “He doesn’t need steroids to behave this way.”

Former White House chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, has told friends that President Donald Trump “is the most flawed person” he’s ever known.

It is now reported that in Oval Office meetings, John Kelly, the president’s ex–chief of staff, would clear the room of lower-level aides when Trump grew irate. “His face would get contorted and red, and you could see spit flying out of his mouth because he would get so mad about something,” Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, told Peter Nicholas. “Sometimes he’d get mad about something that wasn’t even the topic of the meeting.”

In appearances this week, he has vented his frustrations with suburban women — a critical voting bloc that polls suggest he has lost to Democratic nominee Joe Biden — mixing an uncharacteristic personal plea with raw resentment and a curious claim of achievement.

“Suburban women, will you please like me? I saved your damn neighborhood, OK?” Trump said at a rally in Johnstown, PA.

Right now, the pressure Trump may be “feeling, knowing that he’s going to lose the election, is intensifying everything that we’re seeing and putting him in a hyper-agitated state,” Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, told Peter Nicholas.

It might all get worse. As Election Day nears, Trump’s dread may only grow, and his outbursts may only become more desperate. He may step up attacks in hopes of staving off a loss that he’d see as an intolerable rebuke. For someone who craves adulation and can’t ever seem to get enough, defeat could leave a hole that no treatment can remedy.

Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Easter Prayer Breakfast in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, April 4, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Donald Trump is a well known liar and obfuscator. Is Joe Biden any better? If you didn’t catch it here are three topics Joe Biden attempted to evade in last night’s town hall.  This was pointed out by Alice Stewart on a CNN posting on their web site.

 

1. Fracking

The bad is Biden’s not-too-credible answer on fracking. Despite saying that he does not propose banning fracking, he pledged during the primaries to “establish an enforcement mechanism to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050,” which, as CNN has reported, “would almost certainly require a significant reduction in fracking.”

His denials that he would ban fracking are simply not credible. Even host George Stephanopoulos said “not everyone buys your denial.”

Instead of answering the question, he filibustered on renewable energy, zero emissions, and hauling chicken manure. While he talks of transitioning to new technologies, the truth is Biden is beholden to the far-left policies of the Green New Deal. In an effort to not alienate moderates, his campaign site calls the policy “a crucial framework.” You can’t have it both ways.

2. Tough on Crime

Another bad reply deals with the 1994 Crime Bill. When asked if it was a mistake to support the bill, Biden said yes, but only with regard to what happened on the state level. He neglected to mention he wrote the bill; it was his signature piece of legislation.

3. Packing the Supreme Court

The ugly is Biden’s outright refusal to tell us where he stands on the issue of expanding the Supreme Court if elected president. The Democratic nominee again refused to go on record about court packing. Expanding the court is supported by the far-left base attempting to dilute the power of the majority of conservative justices on the Supreme Court. Even CNN Democratic commentator Van Jones gave Biden a “D-” on this response when talking with Anderson Cooper.

It was a stark contrast between Trump and Biden on display in dueling town halls. It lays bare serious issues for both candidates. I do not like either of these men.

It’s another year of voting for the lesser of two evils.

Trump and Biden were both forced to answer tough questions as the President vied for an elusive campaign reset while trying to defend his response to the coronavirus pandemic, his embrace of conspiracy theories and his stance on White supremacists under tough questioning from NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.

Here are the noteworthy parts of each town hall.

The Joe Biden Town Hall

There was no confrontation between Joe Biden and moderator George Stephanopoulos

Biden opened his ABC town hall on Thursday night by describing how he would have handled the coronavirus differently, using the comparison to lambast President Donald Trump for his somewhat uneven response to the virus.

Biden said there should have been more national standards earlier in the pandemic and that the President should be pushing all Americans to use masks as a way to stop the spread. Biden said he would lean on governors, as president, to mandate mask use.

At the same time, Biden was repeatedly pressed to clarify his position on whether he will support adding members to the Supreme Court, his work on the 1986 and 1994 crime bills and his positions on fracking and the Green New Deal. He was also forced to explain his controversial comment that if Black Americans don’t support him “you ain’t Black.”

The Donald Trump Town Hall

Savannah Guthrie, the moderator,  was confrontational with Trump from the very beginning of the event.  She questioned his action and behavior throughout the one hour program. Trump did what he does best.  He was evasive in answering questions from Guthrie and those that asked questions. 

In one of the most news-making moments of the night, the President admitted that he may not have taken a coronavirus test on the day of his debate with Biden, even though he was required to do so by the Commission on Presidential Debates and tested positive for Covid-19 two days later.

He refused to say when his last negative test was before the debate and did not express any regret for the Rose Garden event that is now widely viewed as a “super-spreader” event, where attendees were not socially distanced and did not wear masks.

When asked about the New York Times reports that he has debts of approximately $421 million dollars — loans that he has personally guaranteed and that will come due in the next four years — Trump nodded but then insisted that the newspaper’s numbers are “all wrong.” He told Guthrie that he does not owe money to Russia. But when Guthrie asked whether he owes anything to foreign banks, Trump replied: “Not that I know of.”

I doubt any minds were changed as the result of these two events.  It was just interesting to see how they responded to some tough questions.  Joe Biden’s refusal tp take a stand on Supreme Court packing could harm him. Donald Trump’s attitude toward wearing masks could harm him.

If nothing else tonight’s town hall events will be an evening of entertainment. So despite calls to boycott NBC, watching Donald Trump will be entertaining. After all Trump’s “Apprentice” was on NBC. It will be interesting to see how he responds to difficult questions or will there be any difficult questions? Who will decide which questions are asked?

Strangely at a campaign rally in Greenville, N.C., Trump repeatedly criticized NBC News, which is hosting a town hall with the president Thursday night.  Why would he do this?

Reports are saying that 10 million people have already voted in this election cycle rather than waiting until November 3. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have avoided talking about everything except COVID-19, health care and the economy. The media has ridden along without bringing up any other issues.

The reason should be obvious. All those other issues are far more complicated. Politicians probably don’t have simple answers. They may not know the answers to those issues. So they resort to name calling and unsupported accusations about their opponent.

Trump says Biden is too weak to be president. He doesn’t even know he is alive. He won’t last two months. At his first rally after returning from Walter Reed hospital Trump railed against Mr. Biden, describing the Democrat’s program as “beyond socialism – Communist, that’s about right.”

For those of us that love to follow politics it will be a very interesting evening that will provide commentators with plenty of juicy evaluations and insights.

This is a serious topic that neither Joe Biden not Donald Trump is interested in talking about. No wonder. It’s complicated and most people expect their elected representatives to solve the problem.

The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.  But you wouldn’t know it. Politicians try to use it to their advantage.

The Social Security trust fund will run out of its funds in a dozen years or so if nothing is done. Some experts say the government should tap general revenue to pay beneficiaries.

A monthly check from Social Security is the only thing keeping millions of older Americans out of poverty. Half of married senior citizens and 70% of unmarried seniors get at least half of their income from it, according to the Social Security Administration. It is the indispensable retirement solution. But the trust fund that pays old age and survivor benefits is going to run out of money sometime in the 2030s.

Those hard facts have raised a question:
Should Social Security stop depending just on payroll taxes and the trust fund to pay benefits and start supplementing those sources with general tax revenue? The debate came to a boil in August, when President Trump floated the idea of a permanent cut in payroll taxes, which would presumably necessitate a big infusion of general tax revenue to keep benefits whole.

A lot of advocates for Social Security worry that tapping general revenue will make people perceive the program as welfare rather than a mutual insurance compact among workers.

On the other hand, drawing on general funds would make it easier to pay scheduled benefits to the Baby Boom generation without big hikes in payroll taxes.

Faced with this scenario, the usual response is to choose from an unpalatable menu for fixing Social Security’s finances, such as raising the retirement age, choosing a stingier cost-of-living adjustment, or increasing the payroll tax rate. Democratic Representative John Larson of Connecticut, chairman of the Social Security subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, is sponsoring the Social Security 2100 Act, which raises benefits slightly while gradually lifting the payroll tax rate for workers and employers from 6.2% to 7.4% and subjecting wages over $400,000 a year to payroll taxation.

But none of the choices on the menu undo the core problem, which is that American society has aged. The number of beneficiaries per 100 covered workers has risen from 25 in 1965 to 29 in 2000 to 36 this year, and it’s expected to reach 45 by 2040.

Here’s what a Biden presidential win may mean for your Social Security benefits as reported on CNBC. Biden would increase the special minimum benefit, which was created to provide low-earners with adequate benefits. Biden calls for setting that figure at 125% of the federal poverty line. That would bring it to $1,301 from $886 a month as of 2019, according to an analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump would like to cut payroll taxes to put more money in every family’s hands now to boost the economy but offers no plan on keeping the program afloat.