Columns

The Biden-Trump Debate in a Nutshell

The New York Times assessment of the final presidential debate was brutally succinct: "Asked about the environment and race, Trump did not mention the environment or race." "Trump, the current president, tries to paint himself as the outsider against Biden." "In their closing statements, Trump attacks Biden while Biden offers a vision for the country."

With his mass appeal for national unity over division, science over fiction, and truth over lies, Joe Biden exposed Donald Trump as the criminal he is. In other words, the Biden-Trump face-off was a case of Mass Demeanor versus Misdemeanor. 

Saluting Our Founding Youngsters 

Most history books encourage us to revere the Founding Fathers as a uniquely gifted band of wise elders when, in fact, most of them were rabble-rousing twenty-somethings. Check it out: On July 4, 1776, Aaron Burr was 20, Alexander Hamilton 21, Nathan Hale was 21, Betsy Ross was 24, James Madison was 25, John Jay 29, and Thomas Jefferson a ripe old 33. At the extremes, James Monroe was only 18 when he stood up to King George while Ben Franklin filled the "wise old elder" profile at a well-seasoned 70 years of age. 

Why do schoolbooks downplay this youth-empowering message? Might it have something to do with protecting that nemesis called the "status quo"—rule by venerated, older, entrenched, establishment figures (business leaders, politicians, military officers, and the like). If revolutionary change is the goal, we might be better off applauding the agitation of younger Americans—those who are more likely to be marching in the streets than lunching in corporate high-rise office suites. 

Fight Fires but Save the Bullet Train 

Same old news: New week; New fires. 

John Cox, a 2018 gubernatorial campaigner who is now Chair of Citizens for Honest and Non-partisan Government Effectiveness (CHANGE) California, thinks the solution is simple: “This is common sense. Get overwhelming force on a fire. Douse it before it becomes an inferno that is incredibly difficult to put out.” All it would take is an “Air Armada,” composed of at least 60 fire-fighting aircraft ready at a moment’s notice to fly in and douse fires. Cox has proposed financing his plan by defunding the state's $80 billion-dollar high-speed rail system. 

Cal Fire was unimpressed, noting that the state already has a fleet of "more than 50" aircraft that can reach fires "within 20 minutes." As Cal Fire spokesperson Scott Mclean told CBS 13: "We would like to see more aircraft, but there is a point where too many is too much,” 

Here's another thought. In California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado, heroic firefighters are exhausted from working 24-72-hour shifts, on duty for up to 14 days, cutting brush and dousing flames in extreme weather conditions. They could use some help. 

The Pentagon currently has more than a million army soldiers, sailors, aircraft pilots and National Guard troops at the ready on bases scattered in every state in the US (with the sole exception of Vermont). What if the Department of Defense were to put just 100,000 of these stateside troops to work fighting wildfires in the West and rescuing flood and hurricane victims in the South and East? 

The Pentagon also has a pretty substantial "Air Armada" of its own (not to mention fleets of boats and powerful all-terrain vehicles). 

The Army's mission is supposed to be "defending America." This would be a good way to prove it. 

Ironic Footnote 

In Oregon, rampaging firestorms have turned entire towns into smoking rubble within minutes. Some of these towns might have been saved if the state's entire fleet of fire-fighting National Guard helicopters (four Back Hawks and six Chinooks) had been available to fight the fires. Unfortunately, four of Oregon's Chinnoks are currently overseas in Afghanistan helping to support Washington's decades-long military intervention in that country. 

Kudos to Two Berkeley Businesses 

Shoppers at the Trader Joe's outlet in downtown Berkeley got a nice surprise this week. As we were approaching the checkout counter, the clerk greeted us with an unexpected question: "Would you like a complimentary loaf of pumpkin bread?" 

There were no catches: just part of TJ's annual celebration of All Things Pumpkin. 

And in West Berkeley, I drove over to Berkeley Auto Body to get an estimate to repair a scrape on my car. The helpful guy on duty, rose from behind his desk and walked outside to assess the damage. 

He estimated it would cost around $200 to repair the scrape. 

I was about to schedule an appointment when he said: "Wait a minute. I think I can take care of this." 

He returned to the building, opened up a side door, grabbed a large bottle of industrial solvent, a rag, and a bottle of touch-up paint. Next thing I knew, he was down on the sidewalk, scrubbing away at the ding. After getting it clean, he got on his knees and carefully painted over the multiple scratches with strokes of matching paint. He finished the touch-up in under ten minutes, leaving the damaged door looking almost as good as new. 

When I asked how much he wanted for the work, he shrugged and said it was "fairly simple" and "on the house." 

"Excuse me," he said with a smile. "Now I have to get back to my paperwork." 

I gave him $10 and a big smile. 

Fox's Flyover Flap 

Fox Sports broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman recently took some heat owing to a hot-mic moment—a flippant, not-off-mic exchange that followed a military flyover at the start of an NFL broadcast. To set the scene for the following, please note: due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the football stadium was mostly empty. 

"That's a lot of jet fuel just to do a little flyover," Aikman was heard to say. 

"That's your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work!" Buck rejoined. 

Bearing in mind that football is a real-world metaphor for war, it's not surprising that many sports fans attacked the Fox duo for a lack of patriotism with some even accusing them of "mocking" the military. 

But there were many who Tweeted notes of support. Here are a few: 

• They are right to call it a waste of money and fuel! How ridiculous is it to fly over nearly empty stadiums before a game? How ridiculous is it even if the stadium was full? The other disturbing thing is the reaction of others calling them unpatriotic or against Vets. I like Troy Aikman a lot more now. Sadly, I think this type of thing will continue no matter who is president. 

• What about a petition to be presented to the NFL, NCAA, MLB, and other organizations allowing these flyovers, that they be required to donate the costs of those flyovers and the jet fuel wasted to various environmental groups working to clean up the messes those flyovers create? 

• No Flyovers. Instead, dedicate the money saved to housing the country's homeless vets. That's a more humane definition of Patriotism. (Sometimes it's fun to expropriate a word like "patriotism" and use right-wing lingo to put pressure on the DoD-heads. 

A-Hole in One 

Speaking of wasted kerosene, does anyone know how much jet fuel Trump uses in a year flying off to vacation at his golf course retreats? 

Turns out there's an answer to that. There is an actual website called Trump Golf Count that tabulates the taxpayer-bourn costs of each and every one of Trump's golf vacations. 

According to the latest edition, since his inauguration, Trump has taken "at least 140" golf vacations at a cost to the taxpayers of around $141 million. For more details (updated as of October 16, 2020) you can click on TGC's complete data table listing Trump's outings and review a breakdown of total costs. You also can read about the new GAO report on the cost of Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump Mulling Defeat? 

On October 20, Donald Trump told a crowd of die-hard supporters in Macon, Georgia: “Could you imagine if I lose? My whole life, what am I going to do? I’m going to say, ‘I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics.’ I’m not going to feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country?” 

Could it be Trump has decided not to attempt a power-grab in a blatant, post-election, SCOTUS-empowered coup? 

Could it be that Trump is laying the groundwork for fleeing into exile—opting to become an ex-pat rather than an inmate—just another disgraced despot forced to seek political asylum abroad to avoid serving multiple sentences for numerous crimes in domestic, state, and federal crimes? 

If Trump loses the election and is forced to flee the US to avoid jail-time, the obvioius question is: where would he resettle? Surely, the Saudis would be hospitable but the smart money (and the "dark money") says: "Russia." 

California's Next Senator 

If the Biden-Harris ticket claims victory at the end of this bitterly contested election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will face a tantalizing question: Who will he appoint to replace Kamala Harris as the new junior US Senator from California? 

Back in August, the New York Times ran the numbers and came up with the following list of senatorial wannabees. From the ranks of Latinx legislators, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Secretary of State Alex Padilla. From the Afro-American community, Rep. Karen Bass (D-LA) and our own Rep. Barbara Lee (both were short-listed as potential Biden running mates). 

Other potential Newsom picks include: Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), State Senate President Toni Atkins, progressives such as Berniecrat Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Silicon Valley) and a slew of big-city mayors including Eric Garcetti of LA, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. Also on call: Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (known for her wealth and fund-raising prowess) and House Intelligence Committee chair, Rep. Adam Schiff, whose dogged pursuit of Trump during impeachment hearings earned him nearly 2.5 million Twitter followers. 

And I've got two more names to add: (1) billionaire businessman, climate activist, and former presidential candidate Tom Steyer and (2) perennial political gadfly Willie Brown. 

If Biden Wins 

There currently are 53 Republicans serving in the US Senate and not one of them supports the defining characteristic of a democracy—the people's right to a popular vote! Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has spent decades publicly dissing the ballot box. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has described the very idea of direct, popular elections as “devastating.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has criticized the Electoral College as “less than democratic”—but he still defends it. 

In a recent snail-mail funding pitch, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) made an appeal for cash to bolster the campaigns of two Democrat challengers—Kathleen Williams of Montana and Alyse Galvin in Alaska. Schiff explained how the election of Williams and Galvin might determine the outcome of November's presidential vote. 

"If there is a dispute over which electors to seat," Schiff explained, "that decision would be made by the full Congress. But, under the 12th Amendment, if no presidential candidate gets a majority of the Electoral College votes, the election is decided by the House alone. And that vote would be conducted in a very unusual way—with each state delegation getting a single vote. That means California, with 53 [Electoral College] members, gets the same number of votes as Alaska or Montana, which have only one." 

And that means that flipping these two seats, could also flip the delegations, putting Democrats "in a much stronger position in the event the Electoral College ends in a tie or without a majority for Joe Biden." 

"Trust me," Schiff wrote, "none of us want it to come to that . . . but we need to prepare for every eventuality." 

How to Be a SCOTUS Toady: Grin and Barrett  

If obfuscation were a defining characteristic of a Supreme Court Judge, Amy Coney Barrett would be a shoo-in. When Sen. Diane Feinstein asked Barrett if the Constitution gave Trump the right to delay the election, you would expect that Barrettt (a former Notre Dame constitutional law professor), would knock that soft-ball question out of the park. Instead, Barrett smiled and bunted: 

"Well Senator, if that question ever came before me, I would need to hear arguments from the litigants, and read briefs, and consult with my law clerks, and talk to my colleagues, and go through the opinion-writing process. So, you know, if I give off-the-cuff answers, then I would be basically a legal pundit, and I don’t think we want judges to be legal pundits." 

Trump and his GOP enablers are clearly pressing for Barrett's quick confirmation to assure a conservative Supreme Court majority. In the event of a disputed election, Trump's future claims to the presidency could be determined by a majority of Trump-friendly High Court appointees—not by the voters. 

When Senator Patrick Leahy asked Barrett if she would recuse herself from any case involving her sponsor's presidential expectations, she released this cloud of gibble-gargble: "I can't offer a legal conclusion right now about the outcome of the decision I would reach." So, no: she would not recuse herself. 

Like a Mob Boss, Trump Threatens Schiff 

Not so long ago, while Don the Con was venting with Fox and Friends, he set his sights on Burbank Rep. Adam Schiff, suggesting that the Congressman who caused him so much grief during the House impeachment hearings should be "put away" in prison, should be "investigated" by prosecutors, and suggesting (with the oblique menace of an East Coast mob boss) that “he ought to be, you know, something should happen with him.” 

It's dangerous talk. Trump spent weeks haranguing Michigan's Democratic Governor Gretchn Whitmer and inviting members of his "army" to "Liberate Michigan." A gang of armed terrorists is now facing prison terms for plotting to kidnap (and possibly kill) Whitmer. 

Undeterred by the FBI's disclosure of this plot, Trump continued to lead rallies where his un-masked supporters shouted a “lock her up” chant targeted at Whitmer. 

"To be clear," Schiff writes, "this is the same kind of threat and incitement of violence we have come to expect from Trump. It’s the stuff of a tin-pot dictator, not the President of the United States." 

Blue Backstories Alarm Peacelovers 

The Democratic Party has sent out a funding call to support two "Social Security champions" but the accompanying mini-bios are raising concerns among resolute anti-war democrats. Here are the portions of bios that raised concerns: 

MJ Hegar flew helicopters in Afghanistan. When she was injured in the line of duty by enemy gunfire, the military brass barred her from competing for a ground combat position because she was a woman. She fought back and won a change in that outdated policy. . . . 

Dr. Al Gross killed a bear in self defense. He won’t take any guff from Republicans who stand in the way of lowering prescription drug prices, and he’ll fight to expand Social Security and Medicare. 

And here are a few responses from the pro-peace community. 

• Wow! Hard to tell which is cooler, killing bears or killing Afghans. 

• I would never have thought to put "killed a bear" on a resumé. 

• This makes Mitch McConnell sound adorable by comparison. All he kills is bills.