Did You Enjoy the Oscars?

I didn’t watch the Oscars the other night. Apparently I was not alone.

Viewership dropped off nearly 60% from the last telecast to a figure just under 10 million people. Now, that’s still a lot of viewers, but comparatively speaking, it’s not much at all. Why is that, we wonder?

I think there are several reasons, beginning with the pandemic which killed hundreds of thousands of people — hard to get that out of mind — and which among other things closed up movie theaters around the country. It also shut down a lot of movie productions. Bottom line, there weren’t a whole bunch of new movies to watch, and the usual places for watching them weren’t open.

That’s not all, however. Hollywood choice of movies for production and distribution tuned out to be a lot of dramatic, intense, sad films — not exactly what a suffering nation would most appreciate. So, hardly anyone one saw the movies Hollywood made; I couldn’t even name the films nominated for an Oscar, much less the directors and actors involved. Why should I bother watching the actors and directors and the rest celebrate themselves for doing something I was never remotely involved with?

And the answer is — I didn’t. And of course neither did others like me. I doubt many or possibly any felt a loss about it.

And then there’s yet another reason: the narcissism of the whole enterprise. Hollywood congratulating itself once again. Actors who are paid so much having another opportunity to show us they are regular guys. Or, worse, preaching to us about one or another matters from their exalted positions in the universe. I’m weary of that. And also I don’t care how someone looks in their new dress that someone else designed for them. And I really don’t care how many orphans they rescued in the last 12 months.

So it was mostly a wash for me. I feel I missed out on absolutely nothing because I spend the evening watching a game show on TV and reading a book about English history. I’m not ruling out going back to the movies down the road — that’s up to you, Hollywood — but I’m pretty sure I’ve watched my last Oscars ceremony.

I’ve got a lot more books waiting, too.

Do the Right Thing: Get Vaccinated

In late 1941, the historian Alan Nevins wrote about an America confronted by an unimaginable global war against both Japan and Germany in a politically divided atmosphere. He called for an “heroic mood” that could only be achieved “If the whole people be enlisted on as nearly an equal an basis as possible” to stave off “the grumbling, rumor-mongering and passive resistance that will become the vocation of large groups.”

He could as easily have written that about the anti-vaccination groups and individuals circulating in noisy numbers today. Theirs are voices raised in another time of crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic which has already claimed more than 500,000 American lives, many of them needless victims.

“This is a free country and I am free not to get a vaccine,” shouts one of them. Others insist the vaccines are poisonous and will kill. Still others believe they are part of a sly government plan to control its citizens. And some apparently believe God will decide whether they will I’ve and die no matter what the vaccines do.

Such a crew of complainers. Interestingly, many of their voicers are the same ones raised to protest the results of the presidential election, to endorse the riots at the Capitol on January 6 and to allege that Joe Biden is an illegitimate President.

Blather like that, of course, only lessens a need for even acknowledging such balderdash. (Yes, I know there are far blunter words to convey this thought, but let’s keep it aboveboard.)

But the co-mingling of lies about elections with lies about vaccinations comes appallingly easily to a lot of Republicans. And yes, these are Trump Republicans, as if there is any difference between the majority of GOP members and the continuing affection for the still-lying, still-narcissistic former president.

Vaccinations work. Scientists and medical personnel say so. There is physical evidence from those who have been vaccinated. It’s a real and good thing. It is protective not only for those vaccinated but for those around them. It will help keep family and friends alive. It’s the right thing. And for all but a few who have legitimate medical issues, there is NO VALID REASON to fail to get vaccinated.

Please stop all the nonsense circulating around anti-vax groups on Facebook and Instagram and other social media sites. Don’t believe what you read from unsourced materials; do some serious homework about the vaccines. The truths you’ll find are far more complex than the foolish diatribes against vaccines, and you’ll come away with a better and deepened appreciation and understanding of what’s at stake.

Do it for yourself. Do it for people you care about. Do it for America because you’re a real patriot. And this is what heroes do.

Spare Me Your Freedom

To vaccinate or not? To protect yourself and family and friends or to insist on your freedom to ignore the requirements of public health. Tough call. Wait – not really.

There was a day-long hearing at the Connecticut Capitol today in which people argued over the state’s proposal to remove religious exemptions from mandatory school vaccinations. Most people apparently argued against changing the exemptions.

One of them was quoted as saying, “Religious freedom is not just about the right to worship in a church or synagogue. It’s about not having to violate your core beliefs to culture nor to government.”

Another put her gripe this way: “I cannot imagine the disappointment my son will feel if I have to tell him he will not be able to enroll in camp or school next year because our religion doesn’t matter to the state.”

I’m willing to grant these are sincere expressions from concerned parents. On the other hand, nothing truly infringes on their “freedom” to have their children vaccinated against diseases that can affect the children they come into contact with. Or, does your insistence on freedom to do whatever you want impinge on the majority’s wish to be safe from potentially fatal diseases? I hardly think so.

There’s a lot of political right-wing conservatism running through some of these comments. These are anti-government voices as much if not more than expressions of “religious” rights.

By the way, these proposals do not “force” anyone to be vaccinated (and at this point they don’t involve the Covid vaccine). They do, however, bar un-vaccinated children from attending a public or private school, no matter whether the anti-vaccination decision is a result of a religious or personal belief. So, no don’t get your kid vaccinated if you don’t want to – but don’t expect you will get all the benefits that accrue to kids who do get vaccinated. Like safety.

The claim that vaccines are not safe and cause deaths is simply not grounded in truth. It’s an excuse. For every instance where something like that has occurred there are tens of thousands of instances where nothing of the sort happened. Hundreds of thousands. And more.

So, hold to your beliefs, no matter whether they be based on religion or politics. But in the process don’t endanger the lives of many, many others to protect themselves from your “freedom.” Please.

The Trump Legacy

What can we calmly but bluntly take away from the acquittal at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial?

Well, first, it isn’t really an acquittal. A majority of the Senate (57 members) voted to find Trump guilty, including seven members of his own party (the responsible ones). The rest condemned themselves as surely as Trump as cowards. Like I said, that judgment comes calmly and bluntly.

Second, it effectively eliminates Trump from another appearance in a national election. He is clearly extremely damaged goods even as he maintains a cadre of of white believers and sycophants. They probably won’t go away in large numbers, but neither will their shouts and screams drown out Trump’s ghastly record of lies and embrace of criminality.

Third, Trump’s record of encouragement to Capitol rioters on January 6 will forever be the most lasting element of his legacy. It was permission of an effort to destroy democracy, an inducement to a mob to storm and even kill members of Congress (including Trump’s own vice president Mike Pence). The films of what actually happened will always be the starting point for consideration of Trumps life. And that consideration will be devastating. Not only will tyrump be viewed by coming generations as our worst president but also as the one who so severely threatened our democracy.

Those are the obvious lessons we have learned from this second impeachment. In some ways they are an affirmation of what we already knew about Trump. In other ways they give us so much more devastating assessments of this man.

He is a criminal offender, a man whose disdain for the rule of law — so many things he did even before his criminal insistence that the elections as stolen from him — forever marks him as America’s great disgrace. shame on Donald Trump, even as he has none.

And why say that? Just these facts: Trump has never condemned the rioters and rioting of January 6. He has never apologized for it. He has never acknowledged he played any role in it.

It is his legacy.

Convict Trump

For a time I wondered whether impeaching Donald Trump for a second time was the right step to take. After all, it would really give him more headlines at a time when most Americans want to hear less about him.

But it really is about him. It is about his incitement to riot that helped push dangerous, murderous mobs into the US Capitol on January 6. It is about his empowering those mobs to follow his deranged, baseless claims that he won the election, that the election was stolen from him. He pushed that lie time and again for nearly two months, and a lot of people believed him, came to Washington, and were spurred to commit crimes in his name.

We cannot forget that. We should not forget that. That’s why we need the second impeachment. We need to be reminded bluntly of just what Donald Trump did, and how his lies propelled the criminals at the Capitol.

There’s no reason – and not enough space here – to enumerate those charges against him, except to say that they point to his guilt, his incitement, his horrible lies.

Trump requires this second impeachment. And whether or not he is convicted – too many toady Republicans will likely see he won’t — the record, the truth, will be laid bare for everyone in coming generations to see. Trump is a criminal, and everything that can be done to make clear exactly why that is true must happen.

Convict him. But know that no matter what, he is convicted.

An Affirmation of American Democracy

As he skulked away from the White House, Donald Trump vowed “We will return in some form.” My preference would be as a caterpillar.

Apart from the democratic ritual and sense of national renewal this Inauguration Day, we take notice of something most welcome: Vice President Mike Pence, taking part in the inaugural ceremony and then later departing with his successor, Kamala Harris. In spite of being a toady for Trump through most of the last four years — in some ways it’s understandable — he showed himself in the last week to be a responsible person who does indeed care about the democratic norms. We salute him for that.

It felt good — no, it felt better than that — to see former presidents in attendance (Obama, Bush, and Clinton). That was a reaffirmation of the transition process, one from which the cowardly Trump refused to acknowledge. He was and remains a very small child.

And as he departs, we trust he will soon find himself kept very busy, not with golf, but with trying to find seventies against the coming legal onslaught, from a second impeachment (what a terrible legacy) to civil and criminal lawsuits coming in many locales. He may hope to turn into a caterpillar sooner rather than later.

What We Heard the other Day…

We think we’ve finally found the truth. No, not that truth, the REAL truth, the one that the truthful people really believe is true. It goes like this, and we can prove it:

There is a group of people who believe we are secretly governed by a cabal that practices satanism and pedophilia and which is headed by none other than Donald Trump. Yes, that’s right, Donald Trump. It’s group secretly known by their logo: AQON. When you think about it (which is never recommended) it becomes obvious.

We know Trump has spoken in desirous terms about his own daughter Ivanka. His own words not to mention his marital habits make clear his preference for much younger women. How much younger? That’s a secret, of course, known only to believers in AQON.

Satanism? How else can you explain Trump’s expressed notions that the coronavirus will simply “disappear?” Why would he tell people it isn’t necessary to wear masks? How could nearly 400,000 people die of the virus and yet be ignored by Trump? Satanism indeed is rampant here. AQON reigns.

And then take a gander how at his most fervent, misguided and gullible believers — the ones who invaded the Capitol — are exactly the kind of people satan really prefers. The more misguided and gullible the better. The perfect agents for the AQON legacy of Donald Trump.

So, it just has to be true. It sounds true. Because there’s just one kind of truth, and that’s the one we believe in. Truthfully.

So, stay truthful, my friends. And remember: it’s the only way. Unless there’s another way.

A Humiliating and Deserved Departure

The impeached, disgraced and cowardly Donald Trump — a man who has trampled over democracy with his lying, corruption and glaring ignorance — is finally slinking away from the White House this week. It’s a pity it wasn’t four years ago.

The end of the Trump presidency is as mangled and corrupt at the end as it has been since 2016. Trump is departing without so much as a nod to the incoming President Joe Biden after having continued to insist that he was cheated out of the election by rampant voter fraud — rampant fraud that no one, Republicans included, could ever document.

Worse, his election lies incited an insurrection against the United States government, a riot of white nationalists, QAnon supporters and fringe hangers-on who stormed the Capitol at Trump’s bidding, an act for which Trump has been impeached — a second time — and likely will face. criminal charges.

What a disgusting person he is. His disdain for the Constitution and the rule of law is egregious. He has brought on himself a legacy that will forever link him to a seditious mob who tried to destroy the citadel of government and the people who are responsible to it. He has no shame about that, only perfunctory regret, most likely because the rioters didn’t succeed.

The sooner he’s gone the better for America. And better for the (few) responsible Republican lawmakers who have wasted their lives endorsing the president’s misbehaviors. There aren’t many profiles in courage in the GOP once you get past Sen. Mitt Romney, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger and some others. Hooray for them. May they rise as we move into the 2020s.

And as we move into 2021, let us not say good-bye to Donald Trump. Let us instead wish him all the misery and terrors he has so justly earned since 2016 (and before, for that matter). He is an appalling person, and the damage he has done to his country will always be the prime part off his legacy. Go in shame, Donald. And go.

Go, Go, Go

The disgraced, cowardly, ignorant Donald Trump needs to be removed from office before he can do further damage to America. Either by using the 25th Amendment or an impeachment or possibly by his own resignation — not that he has that much self-awareness — he must go.

An unhinged, mentally unstable man in the White House is a danger to this nation. There is no telling what his sickness will lead him to attempt. Another treasonous call to his domestic terrorist supporters isn’t out of the realm of possibility. And there are probably some elected Republican officials who would endorse that no less. Looking at You Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.

Having Trump remain in office a day longer is unacceptable. Drag him out if we must, but get him away from the presidency. Justice, fairness and common sense demand it.

Trump Adds Treason to Odious Behaviors

As Trump protestors — spurred by the president himself — storm our Capitol, it is apparently that Donald Trump has unleashed treasonous actions against this United States. He has placed democracy at risk and encouraged violence against America. He and a group of Republican allies in Congress is attempting nothing less than a coup and must be stopped.

My hope is that the military may help restore order and justice in Washington. And that Donald Trump be arrested and placed in restraint as a danger to this nation with his potentially treasonous behaviors. He is not merely sick but diseased and must be removed from office immediately.