Portland: Will it Take Another ‘Four Dead in Ohio’?

CBS News reports after days of unrest over America’s….”

I wonder what people who were born after the 1970’s think when they read that sentence. I wonder what those same people think when they read the title of this essay. I wonder what 50 years has taught Americans about what happens when intolerance and fear strike with deadly force against our own citizens?

I don’t need to wonder. I saw it. Kent State. May of 1970. Students protesting the invasion of Cambodia. Protesting a conflict that will kill 58,000 soldiers. 300,000 wounded. President Nixon wanted law and order. The Ohio National Guard was called to the Kent State campus. No one gave the order to shoot, but shoot they did. It was inevitable. Four students lay dying. Another gravely wounded would soon succumb to the bullet.

And for the first time, “the war had come home” Newsweek proclaimed. We were killing our young. Historians say that day turned public sentiment against Nixon and the Vietnam Conflict. The “great silent majority” had turned away from the bloodshed in the heartland saying, “How could it come to this?”

And here we are exactly 50 years later. Racial injustice and the murder of George Floyd have finally brought out the masses — people of all creed and color. Mothers. Soldiers. Young and old. It’s not just in happening in Portland (although that is where the cameras are most ubiquitous), but BLACK LIVES MATTER protests are pounding the pavement in cities across the land.

The inevitable ‘twitching finger’ is already scripted unless someone stops a president determined to repeat history. The president is provoking the violence much like the National Guard’s presence provoked the students at Kent State. The Guard back in 1970 was made up of mostly just young adults, close to the same age of the protesters. They were just doing what they were told. Tear gas was thrown at students who in turn threw the gas canisters back at the Guard, who were hit with rocks and bottles. They cracked. It happens. It is terrible for all. Hearts break.

The generations that followed may not be aware that this nation has been here before.

Those not around in the turbulent 60’s have no memory of Vietnam protests and civil rights demonstrations, of riots following assassinations, of police and protesters clashing in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention, of police being called ‘pigs’, of young people being called ‘long haired freaks,’ of Jim Crow, of Vietnam Veterans coming home hearing that they were ‘baby killers’. The generations that followed may not be aware that this nation has been here before. The question becomes obvious to some: have we learned anything in 50 years.

Nixon knew when the dirty tricks had cost him the presidency. Republican senators told him so in 1974. It took time. However, this president has enablers (foreign and domestic) and unchecked (and unconfirmed by Congress) accomplishes ready to act on the whim of a president with total disregard to the Constitution to do everything to keep power and vilify all who cross their path. This president operates on the premise ‘divide and conquer.’ He relishes a house divided and has a television network at his disposal. Nixon never came close to that authority because there were people of integrity standing in his way.

The next 100 days can bring Americans together, but I fear that it will be darkest before the dawn. What will it take to move even the most hardened supporters of this current regime to realize that the incompetence, the cruelty, and the unabashed ignorance of this president and his minions has stained this nation so badly that our great democracy is threatened? Will it be another four dead in Ohio, or Portland, or Minneapolis, or Los Angeles, or Brooklyn?

If you want change, then vote for it.

And what should the protesters do? Both sides seem to be unable or unwilling to back down for fear that they will be ‘giving in’ to either the racial injustice or the unending nightly protests. At what point is all this becoming counter-productive?

Frankly, I must say that the criminal element taking advantage of the peaceful protests is unfortunately making the case for intervention, despite the fact that looting and damage to buildings is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the point has been made and underlined twice; police reform must be acknowledged and codified into law. Systemic injustice must be rooted out. Those who violate these reforms must be terminated, not just in one state but nationally.

True legislative reforms may only happen if Joe Biden and a his administration takes control of the Department of Justice. That should be the real focus in Portland and other cities. If you want change, then vote for it.

After Kent State, the great American writer James Michener tried to explain what happened there and why so future generations could take heed. His final sentence is a warning and a clarion call: “Tolerance. God how we needed it then.”

And now.

Who Knew COVID Would Happen? Hans Rosling — That’s a FACT!

The first thing you are wondering is ‘who is this Hans Rosling fellow? Well, I have good news for you — and sad news, as well. First, the good news. If you are a TED Talker or if you have had the pleasure of being invited to one of the many conferences on global health in which he has been the keynote speaker, then you already know whom this imminent Swedish scientist is.

Others know him because of his book Factfulness, in which he (along with his collaborators Ola and Anna Rosling) exclaimed this subtitle: 10 Reasons Why We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than We Think.If you have not read the 2017 work of Hans and Co., don’t feel too bad. I hadn’t heard of it either, that is until one of my close scientist pals Hal Dorr brought it to my attention.

Here’s the Big “Five Global Risks We Should Be Worried About… global pandemic, financial collapse, world war, climate change, and extreme poverty.”

Now to answer the question of who knew THIS would happen, we turn to page 237 in Hans’ book in which he tells his readers (after explaining that the world is in much better shape than we think) the five things he is really worried about because the DATA has driven his decision (it drives almost all of his conclusions).

Here’s the Big “Five Global Risks We Should Be Worried About… global pandemic, financial collapse, world war, climate change, and extreme poverty.” Why? “Because they are the most likely to happen. The first three have already happened and the other two are happening now.” Hans explains that each has the potential to cause human suffering either directly or indirectly by pausing human progress for may years or decades.”

So Hans knew it was just a matter of time for COVID 19 to hit and hit hard. Why didn’t “we” listen? Well, many enlightened and informed leaders did listen and guess what? In countries with leaders who read and believe in science, the COVID issue is diminishing. However, in the United States of America led by the most ignorant person to ever inhabit the Oval Office, the nation’s citizens were encouraged to ignore the pandemic, treat it as a “sniffle” because it “would just disappear.”

What does the data say? The only thing disappearing are 140,000 lives (and that number climbs daily). So what can we take from all this? I posit these conclusions:

First: Americans are learning in the most tragic details just how important it is to have a government lead by the best and the brightest. Never in her history have so many been duped by so few. Trump has sold the idea that ‘trusting your gut’ is what matters most in decision making. Simple slogans rule his day. Everything he doesn’t like is “a hoax” and anyone questioning him is “not loyal” and leads “a witch hunt.” This is not the kind of person to be trusted. The data was clear BEFORE he won office. Numerous bankruptcies and fraudulent “deals” compounded with no experience in public office or in foreign affairs (except a Miss Universe contest).

Second: Government really matters. When the inevitable disaster occurs, it is government that needs to step in with the resources, the clear vision and the unvarnished message about what to do. That message is formed by facts, it has nothing to do with someone’s gut. For example, how could people possibly vote for an administration that believes that global warming “is a hoax’ perpetrated by “the Chinese”? One of the few questions that Hans Rosling finds 81% of USA citizens surveyed got right was “Is the earth warming.” (I know — how could 19% miss that one.) During the pandemic, the government on the federal level has done most everything wrong. It is almost as if they were trying to do things badly so people would say, “See, government sucks!” The truth lies in the data. New York did everything right, and still their death toll was awful. It could have been lessened had the federal government acted sooner and with force instead of saying “It’s a state issue.”

Finally, there is time to turn the tide because we have learned from the mistakes of the last three and a half years. November 3rd looms large. Mr. Biden needs to lead a ‘team of rivals’ who use facts and the power of the government to steady a ship that is in dangerous waters. I am encouraged by so many Republicans (with the exception of Senator Mitt Romney) who are outside of government for realizing that the enemy is ignorance and blatant dishonesty running the party they once held in high regard. It is smart to be fiscally prudent. It is smart to be focused in government. It is smart to acknowledge that the enemies of democracy are motivated to shake America down because it is in their autocratic interest. It is smart to begin the sharp turn away from the fuels that erode the Polar Ice Caps. It is smart to realize (as Hans Rosling explains) that the world is in better shape because of science and the facts that drive decisions.

So, you ask, what was the sad news? Hans Rosling died shortly after his work was published. He did not have to face the pandemic and the unemployment and homelessness that it will cause. But he knew it was coming. One last thing — he said there was a sixth thing he worried about “the unknown risk.” We know what that is now. Donald Trump and his enablers.

Now that’s a disaster we can do something about.

Making Dishwashers, Showerheads, Toilets, and Light Bulbs GREAT…again.

Ross Sneddon@rosssneddon

“I don’t take any responsibility at all.” — Donald Trump on Covid 19 delay in testing.

You may not know that these are the ‘talking points’ that Mr. Trump has been railing against on his various appearances. Often, I am unaware, too. Why? Because I have done two things to make my blood pressure stable: 1. I’ve learned to use the MUTE button, and 2. I’ve never read his tweets.. However, no matter how hard I try to ignore him, he just keeps blathering on, and sooner or later, I read what he coughs up (usually on Medium) Then I am gob smacked.

Yes, he actually spoke about toilets and dishwashers and light bulbs (Oh My!) and claimed that these things need to be addressed immediately. He also made fun of wind turbines, thinking that if there is no wind blowing, then his television will stop working and naturally he will not be able to watch his election night returns because the television will go kaput. (He really said that. I should add that he will be kaput on November 3rd, too.)

What is sad, but strangely bizarre, is that the journalists that cover him (even the ones of Fox) try — with a straight face — to treat him as if he is a serious adult (aka the President of the most powerful nation on the planet). And try as they might, you have the sneaky feeling that the moment the cameras are off or the network cuts to a shot of another pundit, that reporter is likely to break into laughter because for four minutes she has tried to be serious about a man who is — for lack of a better word — CRAZY.

Now you may be thinking that I am being disrespectful. Yes. I. Am.

It’s as if the correspondent asks the vaunted political sage, “Why is the president saying that the suburbs will turn into a raging ball of fire with looters and left wingers like Biden taking your property values down?” The wise sage gathers herself and says, “Well, yes. It is a strange policy strategy for the president to take.” When you just know that the political expert really wants to say this: “Because HE IS BONKERS. He is a LOON. He is a RACIST. He is CRAZY because that is his BRAND!” However, the only people saying that are comedians, and for now, that is where the truth is told.

Now you may be thinking that I am being disrespectful. Yes. I. Am. And why? Because for far too long people have coddled to Mr. Trump. They have been crippled with courtesy, drippingly demure, flagrantly fair-minded. But the jig may be up. Chris Wallace, perhaps the one voice of reason over at Fox News, interviewed him and told him to his face, “Sir, Biden has not advocated defunding the police.” He told him that three times. What was Mr. Trump’s reaction? Stop the interview. What interview? It is not an interview if you insist on just ranting. (Eventually, Wallace proved he was right, but Mr. Trump was long gone by then.

On CBS this week, a very polite reporter Catherine Herridge asked him about the confederate flag and if he understands that people see that as a symbol of slavery and racism. His response, “No. It’s free speech… First Amendment.” Okay, yes, they have a right to wave that ‘flag,’ but that is not what she asked. She tried a follow up, but all he would say is “I don’t see it that way and lots of people don’t either.” Okay. Yes. We call those people followers of the confederacy and supporters of slavery — in other words, racists. Did she say that? Of course not. Why? Because she is the adult in the room (and not a loon).

And that’s really my point. How does one speak to a person who does not read his briefings? Who does not pay attention to the facts? To the data? To science (because it gets in the way)? To the reality that over 135,000 people have died on his shift? To businesses and state governments that are pleading for federal leadership? All they hear from Mr. Trump is “I don’t take any responsibility at all.” See what I mean? Can you imagine any American President dealing with a crisis of this magnitude passing the buck? President Harry Truman made responsibility clear, “The buck stops here.” That’s true of all who followed him into the Oval Office…until now.

So I hope, I really do, that more correspondents have a chance to call Mr. Trump out as being a fraud. John Dickerson tried, and he was escorted out of the Oval Office (and Dickerson could not have been more polite). The Supreme Court explained to Mr. Trump that no president is above the law in a 7–2 decision. BRAVO! (BOO to Thomas and Alito). What was Mr. Trump’s response? “I’m a victim of political prosecution.” Now seriously, how do you treat a person who behaves like a crybaby?

Give him a time out. November 3rd. And make sure he and his enablers leave for good.