An Impoverished Party and Presidency

President Donald J. Trump

im•pov•ish•ed Exhausted of richness and fertility. Poor. Lacking. Sadly, I think impoverished best describes the state of the Republican Party and its leader, soon-to-be former President Donald J. Trump.

The Election

I write as the media reports on 12 senators who plan to challenge the certified electoral college results from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a congressman, Louie Goehmert (R – Tex.), and a group of self-appointed Arizona electors lost their lawsuit, which had as its purpose vesting in Vice President Michael Pence the power to choose the next president of the United States, by no evident measurable standard. As roughly two out of three self-identified Republicans

Rudy Giuliani and the Power of the Voice

Mark Rubin

Donald Trump informed us on Sunday, December 6, that Rudy Giuliani tested positive for COVID-19. Within hours, we heard about Mr. Giuliani being hospitalized.

I shared some thoughts on Facebook. I mentioned the preciousness of human life and how challenged I was to conjure up empathy for Mr. Giuliani. Specifically, I referenced Mr. Giuliani’s outrageous behavior in the past couple of weeks. No mask. No distancing. Spouting nonsensical absurdities about fraud. Appearing in court while he was under the administrative suspension for failing to pay bar dues. And, most of all, explicitly and implicitly telling people they need not worry about COVID-19, and that The Other stole a Presidential election.

Asymmetrical Craziness

Mark Rubin

Dr. Scott Atlas encourages large holiday gatherings. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has “inquired about” unlawfully tossing Georgia absentee ballots, while the person to whom he made the suggestion – Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger – gets death threats from Just Folks who want Trump to get the Georgia electoral votes. The Missouri Senate can’t meet because too many senators and staffers tested positive, after a mask-less retreat several days ago. (Same story. Different M state.) Meanwhile, the New York Times reports 166,581 new COVID-19 cases on November 16, 82% more than 14 days ago. And from President Trump? Silence.

Sheer stupidity. Arrogance too. A regular You Are Not The Boss of Me

Trump: Election Lies

President Donald J. Trump

No sentient being should have ever expected a normal post-election period in 2020. No. One. Still, POTUS and his minions deserve a trip to the woodshed, to be whipped with a proverbial stick, for making a shambles of our democratic traditions.

Rs tell us, the votes count, not what the media declares. Right, sort of. At the end of the day, we have 51 separate voting systems in the United States, each of which determines which electors get to cast their votes on December 14, 2020, the Monday following the second Wednesday in December. (Rs tend to favor state’s rights, but in 2020, do we really need to let states decide the

Election Day: Here We Are!

Mark Rubin

The angst drives me nuts, but I was blessed with a solution: a one-day trial on Election Day. I’ve spent most of Monday doing trial prep, and I will be blessedly oblivious until the trial ends on Tuesday afternoon.

I am very optimistic about election results and deeply pessimistic about our nation. Donald Trump represents the ugliest of the ugliness that we have adapted to. One example: Trumpers have been out in force for the past few days, messing with traffic by taking all lanes, driving slowly and, in Texas, trying to force a Biden bus off the road. POTUS cheers, but when I heard about these Jackasses hiding their license plates, I

Ugh!!!

Mark Rubin

I wrote most of a post on Monday and Tuesday morning. It focused on the tax return story. Not quite done, I got wrapped up in life for the rest of the week. The Tuesday Night Sh*t Show. Illness at work. A bad case. Blah, blah, blah. Then, yesterday morning, a sick president and, by late afternoon, an occupant in the Presidential Suite at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

On Friday morning, someone near and dear to me texted me about President Donald J. Trump’s health fiasco. No recent blogs, she inquired. Maybe, I said, and told her I had most of the tax thing done, but that it seemed like fish wrap, after