We all watched, almost from the beginning, an administration with a loose association with the truth. It was sad to see that behavior from a President, from those he surrounded himself with, past associates, press secretaries(I’ve lost count how many) turns out, that didn’t matter, because they do no press.

   I think, as each, either current associates, former lawyers, campaign managers, Defense advisors pleaded guilty and went to jail or were dismissed due to public outcry, we thought surely that’s the end of this madness. But, it wasn’t. It was a taste of things to come.

   We started to see deviations from the norms that have held this democracy together for almost 250 years. It was disconcerting to say the least. We thought, we have a series of checks and balances in place that have helped us weather many storms, political and otherwise, they must kick in at some point? Right?

   We’ll not so much apparently. This President happened to land in the perfect storm.

   A segment of the nation, who quietly had subdued their righteous indignation at the thought of a black President, now took notice. Their fear and prejudice had been hidden slightly below the surface. They met in small groups. They had organizations teaching their children of the rights of the White race, over all others. They were out there, but they were timid in a time of more diversity than they had ever seen. The LGBT+Q community was coming out, and coming out with protections offered by our Government. More diversity.

    Women’s rights and movements that called out the powerful men who used their position to dominate, demean, and destroy women emotionally and physically, that was soon coming to an end. Powerful men, were finally being held accountable. Scary stuff for those who hid in the shadows.

   Then, 2016 happened. The perfect storm. A Democratic candidate, despite her years of public service, had baggage. Some unjustified, and probably some deserved. Benghazi and the five investigation by the Republican Congress come to mind. Using an unauthorized email server, now seems so trivial in the grand scheme of things.

   But, it was something the R’s could hang their collective hats on. And there was one man, who had no issue with dirty politics. In fact, he had no issue with “dirty” anything.

    The son of a slumlord. A millionaire by the age of eight. Bailed out of every bad business mistake he ever made. Why wouldn’t he play dirty.

   Stalking his female opponent during his debate, lumbering around behind her like some goon from the movies. He also shuttled in all of  Bill Clinton’s accusers you might recall. What a class act. Probably wasn’t enough room on the bus for his own 20+ accusers.

   We learned of his 4900 lawsuits. We learned of his scam University, his fake luxury products he hawked at every turn. His MAGA hats that were made in China. His grand gesture of showing hundreds of folders representing his “Tax Returns” those folders were empty, filled with blank paper. Just another sham example of his deceit. By the way. Anyone can show their taxes, even while being audited.

  But that was just the beginning.

It soon became apparent, that this perfect storm had far greater consequences than any of us could have anticipated.

   His rhetoric, almost immediately began to divide. From his “This American Carnage ends here” statement in his inaugural address, to the equation of those protesting Neo-Nazi’s and the actual Neo-Nazis, as fine people on both sides. What? His failure to condemn, opened the door. David Dukes spoke fondly of Trump. The signal had been delivered.

  Now the storm was starting to rage. He spoke down to our allies, Members of NATO, unexplainably to everyone who had traditionally been united in common cause since World War II or before. But he had nothing but glowing remarks for the dictators of the world. Many of us began to question his real allegiance. It’s almost unbelievable that he continues to deny election interference in the past election, when every intelligence service as said as much, and he continues to do nothing to protect the next election. What could be his motivation?

  During this epic storm, he has consistently made every effort to dissolve government agencies, disband entire divisions of government. Place people in charge of the very agencies they once lobbied against. The EPA, FCC, FDA and on and on. Betsy Devos, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson and his dining room table adventure.

    Then as we lurch into the most devastating pandemic in our lifetime, we see the actual cost of an unprepared, ill equipped, and uninformed leader. This storm has brewed for over 3 years, most of the damage can be mitigated with new leadership and time, and the work of  decent public servants who have America’s best interest at heart. But, there are some things that this storm has wrought, that cannot be fixed. We will never see some of our loved ones again. We surely know someone who has been affected by this virus. Those who have parents in Nursing Homes are scared. We’re losing frontline health care workers. Ill equipped health care nurses and doctors and therapists are reusing PPE’s that the greatest country on earth should be able to provide in adequate numbers to keep those workers safe.

   And what does our President do? Continue to sow devision. Play politics, blame others, offers medical advice he is not qualified to give, fails to present common guidelines for the safety of the citizens, calls protective measures…suggestions, and says he won’t be wearing a mask, claims total authority, till someone obviously tells him that makes him responsible for the outcome, then quickly shifts the responsibility to the Governors, while asking protesters to “liberate” their states and oppose their Governors.

    At this time, despite not having the actual numbers due to lack of testing, the curve is flattening in some areas. Despite this President, not because of this President. And it is flattening because of the actions by governors and mayors, enforcing social distancing, and stay at home policies.

   The people who are protesting “Stay at Home” must have forgotten, you do not need to be sick, to infect others.  Asymptomatic people, can transmit the disease. That is the hidden horror of this strain of virus. So, they feel fine, must be OK to open back up?

     When they do that, when they rush to jump start the economy at the President’s request, we WILL see another surge, and we are running out of front line health care workers. When these are gone, it will take years to train the next group to the point where they can step in.

   I have left out the impeachment and emoluments issues and abandoning  allies to be slaughtered, climate change, cuts to health care,and safety net programs, they are gravely important to the history of this Presidency and this nation, but the storm we face is pouring down on us now! It’s not a misstep in hiring incompetent people, it’s not stoking division, it’s not an ineffective cabinet. It’s life and death, and it’s in the hands of the most incompetent President we have ever had. Ask the families of the 34,000+ dead how they feel about how this President has handled this storm. With the turn of a phrase he say’s “Our death toll is much lower than anticipated” like the deaths, are just numbers, not real people.

   People can be unbelievably naive, and easily persuaded, especially with tribe mentality.

    To open businesses, beaches, and sporting events up before we know who’s infected, is an unbelievably reckless decision. That decision should fall on the shoulder of the leader of the free world, as well as the consequences. What cha’ gonna do?

   Does the dam burst under the stress of the storm, or do you fortify it with every tool

We all watched, almost from the beginning, an administration with a loose association with the truth. It was sad to see that behavior from a President, from those he surrounded himself with, past associates, press secretaries(I’ve lost count how many) turns out, that didn’t matter, because they do no press.

   I think, as each, either current associates, former lawyers, campaign managers, Defense advisors pleaded guilty and went to jail or were dismissed due to public outcry, we thought surely that’s the end of this madness. But, it wasn’t. It was a taste of things to come.

   We started to see deviations from the norms that have held this democracy together for almost 250 years. It was disconcerting to say the least. We thought, we have a series of checks and balances in place that have helped us weather many storms, political and otherwise, they must kick in at some point? Right?

   We’ll not so much apparently. This President happened to land in the perfect storm.

   A segment of the nation, who quietly had subdued their righteous indignation at the thought of a black President, now took notice. Their fear and prejudice had been hidden slightly below the surface. They met in small groups. They had organizations teaching their children of the rights of the White race, over all

We all watched, almost from the beginning, an administration with a loose association with the truth. It was sad to see that behavior from a President, from those he surrounded himself with, past associates, press secretaries(I’ve lost count how many) turns out, that didn’t matter, because they do no press.

   I think, as each, either current associates, former lawyers, campaign managers, Defense advisors pleaded guilty and went to jail or were dismissed due to public outcry, we thought surely that’s the end of this madness. But, it wasn’t. It was a taste of things to come.

   We started to see deviations from the norms that have held this democracy together for almost 250 years. It was disconcerting to say the least. We thought, we have a series of checks and balances in place that have helped us weather many storms, political and otherwise, they must kick in at some point? Right?

   We’ll not so much apparently. This President happened to land in the perfect storm.

   A segment of the nation, who quietly had subdued their righteous indignation at the thought of a black President, now took notice. Their fear and prejudice had been hidden slightly below the surface. They met in small groups. They had organizations teaching their children of the rights of the White race, over all others. They were out there, but they were timid in a time of more diversity than they had ever seen. The LGBT+Q community was coming out, and coming out with protections offered by our Government. More diversity.

    Women’s rights and movements that called out the powerful men who used their position to dominate, demean, and destroy women emotionally and physically, that was soon coming to an end. Powerful men, were finally being held accountable. Scary stuff for those who hid in the shadows.

   Then, 2016 happened. The perfect storm. A Democratic candidate, despite her years of public service, had baggage. Some unjustified, and probably some deserved. Benghazi and the five investigation by the Republican Congress come to mind. Using an unauthorized email server, now seems so trivial in the grand scheme of things.

   But, it was something the R’s could hang their collective hats on. And there was one man, who had no issue with dirty politics. In fact, he had no issue with “dirty” anything.

    The son of a slumlord. A millionaire by the age of eight. Bailed out of every bad business mistake he ever made. Why wouldn’t he play dirty.

   Stalking his female opponent during his debate, lumbering around behind her like some goon from the movies. He also shuttled in all of  Bill Clinton’s accusers you might recall. What a class act. Probably wasn’t enough room on the bus for his own 20+ accusers.

   We learned of his 4900 lawsuits. We learned of his scam University, his fake luxury products he hawked at every turn. His MAGA hats that were made in China. His grand gesture of showing hundreds of folders representing his “Tax Returns” those folders were empty, filled with blank paper. Just another sham example of his deceit. By the way. Anyone can show their taxes, even while being audited.

  But that was just the beginning.

It soon became apparent, that this perfect storm had far greater consequences than any of us could have anticipated.

   His rhetoric, almost immediately began to divide. From his “This American Carnage ends here” statement in his inaugural address, to the equation of those protesting Neo-Nazi’s and the actual Neo-Nazis, as fine people on both sides. What? His failure to condemn, opened the door. David Dukes spoke fondly of Trump. The signal had been delivered.

  Now the storm was starting to rage. He spoke down to our allies, Members of NATO, unexplainably to everyone who had traditionally been united in common cause since World War II or before. But he had nothing but glowing remarks for the dictators of the world. Many of us began to question his real allegiance. It’s almost unbelievable that he continues to deny election interference in the past election, when every intelligence service as said as much, and he continues to do nothing to protect the next election. What could be his motivation?

  During this epic storm, he has consistently made every effort to dissolve government agencies, disband entire divisions of government. Place people in charge of the very agencies they once lobbied against. The EPA, FCC, FDA and on and on. Betsy Devos, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson and his dining room table adventure.

    Then as we lurch into the most devastating pandemic in our lifetime, we see the actual cost of an unprepared, ill equipped, and uninformed leader. This storm has brewed for over 3 years, most of the damage can be mitigated with new leadership and time, and the work of  decent public servants who have America’s best interest at heart. But, there are some things that this storm has wrought, that cannot be fixed. We will never see some of our loved ones again. We surely know someone who has been affected by this virus. Those who have parents in Nursing Homes are scared. We’re losing frontline health care workers. Ill equipped health care nurses and doctors and therapists are reusing PPE’s that the greatest country on earth should be able to provide in adequate numbers to keep those workers safe.

   And what does our President do? Continue to sow devision. Play politics, blame others, offers medical advice he is not qualified to give, fails to present common guidelines for the safety of the citizens, calls protective measures…suggestions, and says he won’t be wearing a mask, claims total authority, till someone obviously tells him that makes him responsible for the outcome, then quickly shifts the responsibility to the Governors, while asking protesters to “liberate” their states and oppose their Governors.

    At this time, despite not having the actual numbers due to lack of testing, the curve is flattening in some areas. Despite this President, not because of this President. And it is flattening because of the actions by governors and mayors, enforcing social distancing, and stay at home policies.

 

We all watched, almost from the beginning, an administration with a loose association with the truth. It was sad to see that behavior from a President, from those he surrounded himself with, past associates, press secretaries(I’ve lost count how many) turns out, that didn’t matter, because they do no press.
I think, as each, either current associates, former lawyers, campaign managers, Defense advisors pleaded guilty and went to jail or were dismissed due to public outcry, we thought surely that’s the end of this madness. But, it wasn’t. It was a taste of things to come.
We started to see deviations from the norms that have held this democracy together for almost 250 years. It was disconcerting to say the least. We thought, we have a series of checks and balances in place that have helped us weather many storms, political and otherwise, they must kick in at some point? Right?
We’ll not so much apparently. This President happened to land in the perfect storm.
A segment of the nation, who quietly had subdued their righteous indignation at the thought of a black President, now took notice. Their fear and prejudice had been hidden slightly below the surface. They met in small groups. They had organizations teaching their children of the rights of the White race, over all others. They were out there, but they were timid in a time of more diversity than they had ever seen. The LGBT+Q community was coming out, and coming out with protections offered by our Government. More diversity.
Women’s rights and movements that called out the powerful men who used their position to dominate, demean, and destroy women emotionally and physically, that was soon coming to an end. Powerful men, were finally being held accountable. Scary stuff for those who hid in the shadows.
Then, 2016 happened. The perfect storm. A Democratic candidate, despite her years of public service, had baggage. Some unjustified, and probably some deserved. Benghazi and the five investigation by the Republican Congress come to mind. Using an unauthorized email server, now seems so trivial in the grand scheme of things.
But, it was something the R’s could hang their collective hats on. And there was one man, who had no issue with dirty politics. In fact, he had no issue with “dirty” anything.
The son of a slumlord. A millionaire by the age of eight. Bailed out of every bad business mistake he ever made. Why wouldn’t he play dirty.
Stalking his female opponent during his debate, lumbering around behind her like some goon from the movies. He also shuttled in all of Bill Clinton’s accusers you might recall. What a class act. Probably wasn’t enough room on the bus for his own 20+ accusers.
We learned of his 4900 lawsuits. We learned of his scam University, his fake luxury products he hawked at every turn. His MAGA hats that were made in China. His grand gesture of showing hundreds of folders representing his “Tax Returns” those folders were empty, filled with blank paper. Just another sham example of his deceit. By the way. Anyone can show their taxes, even while being audited.
But that was just the beginning.
It soon became apparent, that this perfect storm had far greater consequences than any of us could have anticipated.
His rhetoric, almost immediately began to divide. From his “This American Carnage ends here” statement in his inaugural address, to the equation of those protesting Neo-Nazi’s and the actual Neo-Nazis, as fine people on both sides. What? His failure to condemn, opened the door. David Dukes spoke fondly of Trump. The signal had been delivered.
Now the storm was starting to rage. He spoke down to our allies, Members of NATO, unexplainably to everyone who had traditionally been united in common cause since World War II or before. But he had nothing but glowing remarks for the dictators of the world. Many of us began to question his real allegiance. It’s almost unbelievable that he continues to deny election interference in the past election, when every intelligence service as said as much, and he continues to do nothing to protect the next election. What could be his motivation?
During this epic storm, he has consistently made every effort to dissolve government agencies, disband entire divisions of government. Place people in charge of the very agencies they once lobbied against. The EPA, FCC, FDA and on and on. Betsy Devos, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson and his dining room table adventure.
Then as we lurch into the most devastating pandemic in our lifetime, we see the actual cost of an unprepared, ill equipped, and uninformed leader. This storm has brewed for over 3 years, most of the damage can be mitigated with new leadership and time, and the work of decent public servants who have America’s best interest at heart. But, there are some things that this storm has wrought, that cannot be fixed. We will never see some of our loved ones again. We surely know someone who has been affected by this virus. Those who have parents in Nursing Homes are scared. We’re losing frontline health care workers. Ill equipped health care nurses and doctors and therapists are reusing PPE’s that the greatest country on earth should be able to provide in adequate numbers to keep those workers safe.
And what does our President do? Continue to sow devision. Play politics, blame others, offers medical advice he is not qualified to give, fails to present common guidelines for the safety of the citizens, calls protective measures…suggestions, and says he won’t be wearing a mask, claims total authority, till someone obviously tells him that makes him responsible for the outcome, then quickly shifts the responsibility to the Governors, while asking protesters to “liberate” their states and oppose their Governors.
At this time, despite not having the actual numbers due to lack of testing, the curve is flattening in some areas. Despite this President, not because of this President. And it is flattening because of the actions by governors and mayors, enforcing social distancing, and stay at home policies.
The people who are protesting “Stay at Home” must have forgotten, you do not need to be sick, to infect others. Asymptomatic people, can transmit the disease. That is the hidden horror of this strain of virus. So, they feel fine, must be OK to open back up?
When they do that, when they rush to jump start the economy at the President’s request, we WILL see another surge, and we are running out of front line health care workers. When these are gone, it will take years to train the next group to the point where they can step in.
I have left out the impeachment and emoluments issues and abandoning allies to be slaughtered, climate change, cuts to health care,and safety net programs, they are gravely important to the history of this Presidency and this nation, but the storm we face is pouring down on us now! It’s not a misstep in hiring incompetent people, it’s not stoking division, it’s not an ineffective cabinet. It’s life and death, and it’s in the hands of the most incompetent President we have ever had. Ask the families of the 34,000+ dead how they feel about how this President has handled this storm. With the turn of a phrase he say’s “Our death toll is much lower than anticipated” like the deaths, are just numbers, not real people.
People can be unbelievably naive, and easily persuaded, especially with tribe mentality.
To open businesses, beaches, and sporting events up before we know who’s infected, is an unbelievably reckless decision. That decision should fall on the shoulder of the leader of the free world, as well as the consequences. What cha’ gonna do?
Does the dam burst under the stress of the storm, or do you fortify it with every tool available?

 all watched, almost from the beginning, an administration with a loose association with the truth. It was sad to see that behavior from a President, from those he surrounded himself with, past associates, press secretaries(I’ve lost count how many) turns out, that didn’t matter, because they do no press.

I think, as each, either current associates, former lawyers, campaign managers, Defense advisors pleaded guilty and went to jail or were dismissed due to public outcry, we thought surely that’s the end of this madness. But, it wasn’t. It was a taste of things to come.
We started to see deviations from the norms that have held this democracy together for almost 250 years. It was disconcerting to say the least. We thought, we have a series of checks and balances in place that have helped us weather many storms, political and otherwise, they must kick in at some point? Right?
We’ll not so much apparently. This President happened to land in the perfect storm.
A segment of the nation, who quietly had subdued their righteous indignation at the thought of a black President, now took notice. Their fear and prejudice had been hidden slightly below the surface. They met in small groups. They had organizations teaching their children of the rights of the White race, over all others. They were out there, but they were timid in a time of more diversity than they had ever seen. The LGBT+Q community was coming out, and coming out with protections offered by our Government. More diversity.
Women’s rights and movements that called out the powerful men who used their position to dominate, demean, and destroy women emotionally and physically, that was soon coming to an end. Powerful men, were finally being held accountable. Scary stuff for those who hid in the shadows.
Then, 2016 happened. The perfect storm. A Democratic candidate, despite her years of public service, had baggage. Some unjustified, and probably some deserved. Benghazi and the five investigation by the Republican Congress come to mind. Using an unauthorized email server, now seems so trivial in the grand scheme of things.
But, it was something the R’s could hang their collective hats on. And there was one man, who had no issue with dirty politics. In fact, he had no issue with “dirty” anything.
The son of a slumlord. A millionaire by the age of eight. Bailed out of every bad business mistake he ever made. Why wouldn’t he play dirty.
Stalking his female opponent during his debate, lumbering around behind her like some goon from the movies. He also shuttled in all of Bill Clinton’s accusers you might recall. What a class act. Probably wasn’t enough room on the bus for his own 20+ accusers.
We learned of his 4900 lawsuits. We learned of his scam University, his fake luxury products he hawked at every turn. His MAGA hats that were made in China. His grand gesture of showing hundreds of folders representing his “Tax Returns” those folders were empty, filled with blank paper. Just another sham example of his deceit. By the way. Anyone can show their taxes, even while being audited.
But that was just the beginning.
It soon became apparent, that this perfect storm had far greater consequences than any of us could have anticipated.
His rhetoric, almost immediately began to divide. From his “This American Carnage ends here” statement in his inaugural address, to the equation of those protesting Neo-Nazi’s and the actual Neo-Nazis, as fine people on both sides. What? His failure to condemn, opened the door. David Dukes spoke fondly of Trump. The signal had been delivered.
Now the storm was starting to rage. He spoke down to our allies, Members of NATO, unexplainably to everyone who had traditionally been united in common cause since World War II or before. But he had nothing but glowing remarks for the dictators of the world. Many of us began to question his real allegiance. It’s almost unbelievable that he continues to deny election interference in the past election, when every intelligence service as said as much, and he continues to do nothing to protect the next election. What could be his motivation?
During this epic storm, he has consistently made every effort to dissolve government agencies, disband entire divisions of government. Place people in charge of the very agencies they once lobbied against. The EPA, FCC, FDA and on and on. Betsy Devos, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson and his dining room table adventure.
Then as we lurch into the most devastating pandemic in our lifetime, we see the actual cost of an unprepared, ill equipped, and uninformed leader. This storm has brewed for over 3 years, most of the damage can be mitigated with new leadership and time, and the work of decent public servants who have America’s best interest at heart. But, there are some things that this storm has wrought, that cannot be fixed. We will never see some of our loved ones again. We surely know someone who has been affected by this virus. Those who have parents in Nursing Homes are scared. We’re losing frontline health care workers. Ill equipped health care nurses and doctors and therapists are reusing PPE’s that the greatest country on earth should be able to provide in adequate numbers to keep those workers safe.
And what does our President do? Continue to sow devision. Play politics, blame others, offers medical advice he is not qualified to give, fails to present common guidelines for the safety of the citizens, calls protective measures…suggestions, and says he won’t be wearing a mask, claims total authority, till someone obviously tells him that makes him responsible for the outcome, then quickly shifts the responsibility to the Governors, while asking protesters to “liberate” their states and oppose their Governors.
At this time, despite not having the actual numbers due to lack of testing, the curve is flattening in some areas. Despite this President, not because of this President. And it is flattening because of the actions by governors and mayors, enforcing social distancing, and stay at home policies.
The people who are protesting “Stay at Home” must have forgotten, you do not need to be sick, to infect others. Asymptomatic people, can transmit the disease. That is the hidden horror of this strain of virus. So, they feel fine, must be OK to open back up?
When they do that, when they rush to jump start the economy at the President’s request, we WILL see another surge, and we are running out of front line health care workers. When these are gone, it will take years to train the next group to the point where they can step in.
I have left out the impeachment and emoluments issues and abandoning allies to be slaughtered, climate change, cuts to health care,and safety net programs, they are gravely important to the history of this Presidency and this nation, but the storm we face is pouring down on us now! It’s not a misstep in hiring incompetent people, it’s not stoking division, it’s not an ineffective cabinet. It’s life and death, and it’s in the hands of the most incompetent President we have ever had. Ask the families of the 34,000+ dead how they feel about how this President has handled this storm. With the turn of a phrase he say’s “Our death toll is much lower than anticipated” like the deaths, are just numbers, not real people.
People can be unbelievably naive, and easily persuaded, especially with tribe mentality.
To open businesses, beaches, and sporting events up before we know who’s infected, is an unbelievably reckless decision. That decision should fall on the shoulder of the leader of the free world, as well as the consequences. What cha’ gonna do?
Does the dam burst under the stress of the storm, or do you fortify it with every tool available?

to be sick, to infect others.  Asymptomatic people, can transmit the disease. That is the hidden horror of this strain of virus. So, they feel fine, must be OK to open back up?

     When they do that, when they rush to jump start the economy at the President’s request, we WILL see another surge, and we are running out of front line health care workers. When these are gone, it will take years to train the next group to the point where they can step in.

   I have left out the impeachment and emoluments issues and abandoning  allies to be slaughtered, climate change, cuts to health care,and safety net programs, they are gravely important to the history of this Presidency and this nation, but the storm we face is pouring down on us now! It’s not a misstep in hiring incompetent people, it’s not stoking division, it’s not an ineffective cabinet. It’s life and death, and it’s in the hands of the most incompetent President we have ever had. Ask the families of the 34,000+ dead how they feel about how this President has handled this storm. With the turn of a phrase he say’s “Our death toll is much lower than anticipated” like the deaths, are just numbers, not real people.

   People can be unbelievably naive, and easily persuaded, especially with tribe mentality.

    To open businesses, beaches, and sporting events up before we know who’s infected, is an unbelievably reckless decision. That decision should fall on the shoulder of the leader of the free world, as well as the consequences. What cha’ gonna do?

   Does the dam burst under the stress of the storm, or do you fortify it with every tool available?

    The son of a slumlord. A millionaire by the age of eight. Bailed out of every bad business mistake he ever made. Why wouldn’t he play dirty.

   Stalking his female opponent during his debate, lumbering around behind her like some goon from the movies. He also shuttled in all of  Bill Clinton’s accusers you might recall. What a class act. Probably wasn’t enough room on the bus for his own 20+ accusers.

   We learned of his 4900 lawsuits. We learned of his scam University, his fake luxury products he hawked at every turn. His MAGA hats that were made in China. His grand gesture of showing hundreds of folders representing his “Tax Returns” those folders were empty, filled with blank paper. Just another sham example of his deceit. By the way. Anyone can show their taxes, even while being audited.

  But that was just the beginning.

It soon became apparent, that this perfect storm had far greater consequences than any of us could have anticipated.

   His rhetoric, almost immediately began to divide. From his “This American Carnage ends here” statement in his inaugural address, to the equation of those protesting Neo-Nazi’s and the actual Neo-Nazis, as fine people on both sides. What? His failure to condemn, opened the door. David Dukes spoke fondly of Trump. The signal had been delivered.

  Now the storm was starting to rage. He spoke down to our allies, Members of NATO, unexplainably to everyone who had traditionally been united in common cause since World War II or before. But he had nothing but glowing remarks for the dictators of the world. Many of us began to question his real allegiance. It’s almost unbelievable that he continues to deny election interference in the past election, when every intelligence service as said as much, and he continues to do nothing to protect the next election. What could be his motivation?

  During this epic storm, he has consistently made every effort to dissolve government agencies, disband entire divisions of government. Place people in charge of the very agencies they once lobbied against. The EPA, FCC, FDA and on and on. Betsy Devos, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson and his dining room table adventure.

    Then as we lurch into the most devastating pandemic in our lifetime, we see the actual cost of an unprepared, ill equipped, and uninformed leader. This storm has brewed for over 3 years, most of the damage can be mitigated with new leadership and time, and the work of  decent public servants who have America’s best interest at heart. But, there are some things that this storm has wrought, that cannot be fixed. We will never see some of our loved ones again. We surely know someone who has been affected by this virus. Those who have parents in Nursing Homes are scared. We’re losing frontline health care workers. Ill equipped health care nurses and doctors and therapists are reusing PPE’s that the greatest country on earth should be able to provide in adequate numbers to keep those workers safe.

   And what does our President do? Continue to sow devision. Play politics, blame others, offers medical advice he is not qualified to give, fails to present common guidelines for the safety of the citizens, calls protective measures…suggestions, and says he won’t be wearing a mask, claims total authority, till someone obviously tells him that makes him responsible for the outcome, then quickly shifts the responsibility to the Governors, while asking protesters to “liberate” their states and oppose their Governors.

    At this time, despite not having the actual numbers due to lack of testing, the curve is flattening in some areas. Despite this President, not because of this President. And it is flattening because of the actions by governors and mayors, enforcing social distancing, and stay at home policies.

   The people who are protesting “Stay at Home” must have forgotten, you do not need to be sick, to infect others.  Asymptomatic people, can transmit the disease. That is the hidden horror of this strain of virus. So, they feel fine, must be OK to open back up?

     When they do that, when they rush to jump start the economy at the President’s request, we WILL see another surge, and we are running out of front line health care workers. When these are gone, it will take years to train the next group to the point where they can step in.

   I have left out the impeachment and emoluments issues and abandoning  allies to be slaughtered, climate change, cuts to health care,and safety net programs, they are gravely important to the history of this Presidency and this nation, but the storm we face is pouring down on us now! It’s not a misstep in hiring incompetent people, it’s not stoking division, it’s not an ineffective cabinet. It’s life and death, and it’s in the hands of the most incompetent President we have ever had. Ask the families of the 34,000+ dead how they feel about how this President has handled this storm. With the turn of a phrase he say’s “Our death toll is much lower than anticipated” like the deaths, are just numbers, not real people.

   People can be unbelievably naive, and easily persuaded, especially with tribe mentality.

    To open businesses, beaches, and sporting events up before we know who’s infected, is an unbelievably reckless decision. That decision should fall on the shoulder of the leader of the free world, as well as the consequences. What cha’ gonna do?

   Does the dam burst under the stress of the storm, or do you fortify it with every tool available?