Donald Trump Retweets Video of Supporter Shouting Out “White Power”

For years now, Trump has been accused of being a racist. This was particularly true after numerous incidents where he seemed to have said or done something that sure could be interpreted as racist, but did not quite outright qualify as him giving a straight-arm, fascist salute and yelling out “White power.”              

Long before Trump ever ran for the White House (the first time he ran was for the 2012 election, by the way), Trump took out a full page ad in the New York Times calling for the death of the Central Park Five, even though, it turned out, they did not commit the crime for which they were accused, and for which he was calling for the death penalty. He never gave an apology for that, either.              

But Trump supporters often had not heard about that, and did not care about it when they did. After all, Trump is a “law and order” kind of a guy, and they argue that he has the stomach to say and do what liberal snowflakes will not. Okay, then.              

Trump claimed that Mexicans in the United States were rapists and criminals. Some, he guessed, were decent people.              

But his supporters took exception to anyone daring suggest that Trump claiming that one specific group of people being horrendous criminals were racist.              

Trump championed halting all immigration from predominately Muslim countries, specifically, until we find out what the hell is going on.              

But his group of supporters also claimed that this was not racism, that this was just common sense, because all of the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11 were Muslims. They made no mention of whether some homegrown terrorists, like Timothy McVeigh, were Muslim, but that is another conversation for some other day, I guess.              

Trump made fun of a disabled reporter, seeming to mock his disabilities.              

But his supporters insisted that he was not really making fun of him, even though Trump said “you should see this guy” before acting out in a very physical, mocking way, what the guy was like, according to him. Maybe, maybe this was misinterpreted, although it sure strongly seems like he is indeed mocking the man for his disabilities.              

The Ku Klux Klan’s official newspaper endorsed Trump for the presidency in November of 2016, days before Election Day.              

But his supporters claimed that this does not mean that Trump himself endorses everything that the Ku Klux Klan supports, and that he cannot help it if they opt to endorse him. Still, was it not more than a little alarming that such a blatantly racist, homegrown terrorist organization like the KKK would support him? Okay, though, I guess you cannot control who will support you (Bill Clinton once got the endorsement of OJ Simpson, for example), but he could have made clearer that he did not stand for or represent their ideals, and their hatred.              

During the Republican convention, Laura Ingraham extended her right arm and gave what seemed like a Fascist, straight-arm salute while wearing a very serious, grim face, before suddenly loosening up and waving to the crowd, after endorsing Trump for president in the speech that had preceded her infamous moment.              

But his supporters claimed that she had not really given the Fascist salute, that the liberal elite media were producing still more “Fake News” just to try and stir the pot. Perhaps it really was not a fascist salute.              

Trump suggested that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the Charlottesville white nationalist rally in the summer of 2017, and then had a hard time criticizing any of the blatant white supremacists and Ku Klux Klansman and straight up Nazis who had gathered there, some of whom felt empowered by Trump’s rise to the White House.              

But his supporters suggested that the real instigators of the violence that weekend was the presence of Antifa (short for anti-facist). That, despite many of the white supremacists coming armed with shields and weapons, clearly gearing up for a fight.              

Trump dismissed dozens of countries in Africa and Central America, and the combined hundreds of millions of people living in them, presumably, when he referred to them as “shithole nations.”              

His supporters had a ready answer, of course. They stated that these places were pretty crappy, with many of them being impoverished, and some even being dictatorships.       

Trump visited Puerto Rico after the hurricane that brought such destruction there, and infamously made a point of not touching anyone, and throwing packages of paper towels like he was shooting basketball. He also seemed to make a point of making the whole thing confrontational with Puerto Ricans, and they never did get the assistance that they really needed in their hour of need.              

But his defenders suggested that he had a point, that the island had been badly mismanaged. They once again said that the media was making too much of a big deal out of those basketball throws, and his immediate turn to confrontation. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just trying to stir up trouble. Right.

When the coronavirus hit, Trump kept trying to push the name “Chinese flu” for the pandemic, and kept reminding everyone that it had originated in China. More recently, he referred to it as the “Kung Flu,” and when he did it again after receiving considerable criticism for what appeared to be blatant racism, the pro-Trump audience exploded with enthusiastic cheers. What a daring man! What an American hero.              

Of course, the allegations that this was a pretty damn racist statement were rejected by Trump supporters. No, this was not racist, they said. It was said in good fun, and not against Asian Americans. Besides, Covid-19 did originate in China, did it not? Fine, so be it. It does appear that it began in China. But what good does it do to try and keep reminding everyone of that? And why the petty mockery? Is that necessary, or helpful in the least?       

Recently, Trump, in an effort to try and bolster support for the 2020 campaign, used an upside down  red triangle with black outlining, which was accompanied with rhetoric about how dangerous mobs of leftists were destroying the country. He pounded the idea of the necessity to declare Antifa (which stands for Anti-Fascist for those who might be unfamiliar) - which is, in fact, not an actual organization - as a terrorist group. Meanwhile, he got into trouble because that red triangle was also used by Nazis used that upside red triangle with black outlining to mark political prisoners.

An honest mistake? Well, his supporters sure seemed to think so. At least publicly they did. But you have to wonder what made them use that symbol, specifically, while advocating illegalizing a non-existent political opposition group. 

Now Trump just retweeted a video of one of his supporters arguing with anti-Trump protesters, and one of them, quite clearly audible, shouts out “white power” before cowardly driving away in a golf cart. He even thanked the people in the video, claiming that they were “great people.” But three hours later, the tweet had been removed.              

Of course, Trump supporters are trying, once again, to defend the president’s disgusting actions. No, they say, he is not a passive-aggressive racist, trying to get away with sneaking videos that will appeal to racists, before taking them down a few hours later. This was just an honest mistake. He did not even hear the shout of “white power.”                                        

But the audio is a major part of it, and it rings out clearly. Trump, to my knowledge, does not have a problem with his physical hearing abilities (whether or not he actually listens to people might be another matter). So really, there should be no issue with him understanding what he was posting. He surely could have looked at the comments from the source that he got it from, just to be on the safe side. Yet, after all of that, he still nevertheless opted to retweet this video, only taking it down three hours later. Just enough to generate attention, to make racist whites feel at home, if you will. But then taking it down, to make it seem like he was being responsible, once he understood he was making a mistake. That is Trump’s style, doing or saying things that are outrageous and generate negative publicity, and then backing away from them when there is significant pressure. He misspoke. Or he was just being sarcastic. Or he was not aware, did not know, even though he makes it clear at other times that, as President, his authority is total, which means that he should be held responsible. After all, he has a team of capable people working for him, trying hard to make his image as acceptable to as many people as possible.              

Frankly, there is no excuse for this. Once again, Trump has done something indefensible, something that a grown man in a position of responsibility should have known better than to do. Yet, he did it.              

His defenders will be at it again, regurgitating Trump’s own arguments that he did not hear, that it was an honest mistake, even though Trump himself will never admit to having made a mistake. They will claim, once again, that this was just an isolated incident, like all of the other isolated incidents involving this particular man and an attitude of racism. They all just happen to have occurred, just by accident. Or perhaps they were all just misunderstandings.

Are all of these incidents really just misunderstandings? Can they all be chalked up to imaginations of what Trump and many of his supporters call the "lamestream media" (when he isn't busy referring to them as "enemies of the people"? Perhaps one or two, maybe, could be chalked up as honest mistakes. Maybe Laura Ingraham really did not give the Nazi salute, for example. Or maybe one of those other incidents could be dismissed as an exaggeration. But when these things keep happening, time and time again, and this pathetic man keeps catering to at least a very visible element of his support - that being the so-called white nationalists - with these" alleged misunderstandings that sure seem, in reality, shrewdly orchestrated, you cannot merely dismiss it as the workings of imagination. You cannot claim that these are just honest mistakes or misunderstandings, especially when he has been condemned by various groups for hate speech regarding numerous comments and speeches, from black activist groups to Jewish activists groups. Indeed, at some point, we have to admit that it's a problem. And retweeting a video where a Trump supporter clearly, loudly, and obnoxiously yells out "white power" is one of those moments where even supposedly modest Trump fans have run out of excuses. After a while, you just have to admit that there is no excuse for this man, and his consistently racist behavior. 

Trump thanked 'great people' shown in Twitter video in which a man chants 'white power' by Veronica Stracqualursi and Sarah Westwood, CNN, Mon June 29, 2020: 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/28/politics/trump-tweet-supporters-man-chants-white-power/index.html

Trump's Job Approval Ratings Tank Once Again

Donald Trump has seemed unusually agitated in recent months, and particularly the last few weeks. Things have not been going well for him just lately. Of course, that also means that things have not been going exceptionally well for the country, either. After all, he was elected to lead the country, for reasons that are frankly difficult to understand for anyone with an ounce of rationality and intelligence.  

But I digress. Yes, Trump was entrusted with the highest office in the land, and things have not been going well. Earlier this year, Trump and his supporters were gloating after he was impeached by the House of Representatives, but then basically was able to get off the hook by the Republican-dominated Senate.  

However, that was only the beginning. At that point, Trump surely must have felt good. He claimed that the Senate had totally exonerated him. That was not really true, of course. And it certainly did not mean that he was not guilty of crimes, or abuse of power, or corruption. But we have gotten used to that kind of nonsensical interpretation of the facts, the distortion of truth by manipulation of facts by this ridiculous caricature of a man, posing as some kind of all-powerful, all-knowing leader.  

Trump’s approval ratings went higher than they had been, as well. He went up to 49 percent approval, and re-election seemed almost assured.  

But if things were looking mostly rosy at that point, then they sure turned very sour, very quickly.  

We all know that it began with the coronavirus. He claimed that it was no big deal, downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic. Infamously, when there were 15 confirmed cases officially in the United States, Trump claimed that the number would quickly go down to close to zero, and that this was indicative of what a great job he and his administration were doing. Obviously, though, it did not go down to zero, or anywhere near zero. In fact, the United States soon climbed higher on higher on the list of countries with confirmed cases, until it became the country with the most confirmed cases, and the most deaths from Covid-19. Since taking that position, the United States has remained atop the list that nobody wants to be on in the first place. And Trump’s mishandling of the crisis has compromised any sense that he knows what he is doing, or how to handle a crisis. The latest ridiculous thing that he said about it was that less testing would lead to less cases of Covid-19. The White House then claimed that he was kidding, but he refuted that, claiming that he does not kid. Then, he just stated that he was merely being sarcastic. So, he was not kidding, but he was just being sarcastic. Right.  

During the pandemic, while hundreds of thousands, and then millions, of people got infected, and then hundreds, then thousands, and now well over one hundred thousand Americans died from coronavirus, Trump was busy bragging about his ratings during his disinformation daily briefings, and more recently, the coverage of his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, even though that did not go so well, with a mostly empty arena. Trump was apparently livid about it, and when he returned back to the White House later that night, he had taken his tie off and looking miserable and spent.  

Of course, that was not the only problem. There was a near financial collapse, as the all-important stock market numbers came crashing down. Since this was pretty much the only thing that he seems to regularly measure his own success as the president with. Finally, that was what got him to have any kind of sense of urgency to do anything.  

Tens of millions of Americans now are out of work, and many of those also lost their health insurance, adding to the already enormous number of tens of millions of Americans who do not have healthcare.  

Needless to say, Americans have come to finally understand that Trump is not really up to the task of being in the highest office in the land. And this lack of belief has now translated to something that will surely really irk Trump personally: his approval ratings. Right now, his approval ratings stand at 40 percent, which is close to the lowest of his presidency. In addition, 49 percent of Americans “strongly disapprove” of the job that he is doing, which is basically half of the country. He finds himself seriously trailing Democrat Joe Biden in the polls, and even though the race is far from finished at this point, the fact of the matter is that these are serious knocks on his sense of being all-popular and hugely successful.  

Plus, his tendency to say and do so many stupid things, and then to be mocked for it, clearly seems to be getting under his thin, orange skin.

For the first time just days ago, during a town hall meeting on FOX News, Trump seemed to finally admit that there were a lot of people who just plain did not like him, to the point that it might cost him a chance at another term. Speaking about Joe Biden, his Democratic rival in the upcoming election, Trump said this:

"And he's going to be your president because some people don't love me, maybe, and you know, all I'm doing is doing my job."

Awwww! Doesn't the unfairness of it all just get you right in the heart? This poor guy, who always complains about just how unfairly life has treated him.  We should all be beaten down by life, the way that he has. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, yet complains more than anyone I know or have ever heard of about how badly he has had it. Yes, he was born to tremendous wealth, and had a life of pure luxury, plus a famous name with a ring to it, and the family business connections. He was able to get out of jams that he found himself in whenever he needed it, because what good is power and wealth if it does not get you out of sticky situations, right? So, when he was called up for duty in Vietnam, he just had to cite "bone spurs," and that was enough to get him out of service. And when he blasted some veterans decades later with war records and horrific stories of their wartime experiences, somehow his power and influence seemed to convince about 35 to 40 percent of the population that he was making some kind of valid point. For that matter, every time that he has made utterly ridiculous - and often downright disgusting - "jokes" or comments filled with hate towards other people, again there was that reliable 35 to 40 percent of the people who thought that he was a daring genius just telling it like it is. Trump even recognized and bragged about this, claiming that he could shoot someone on a crowded Manhattan street in broad daylight, and still his supporters would stay loyal.

Trump has consistently gotten away with horrendous behavior, even criminal behavior, because of his famous name, and the impression that he tries to build of himself as some sort of business genius, even though he declared bankruptcy more than anyone I know and has had more businesses fail than anyone I have ever heard of. This, he assured the American public, is what he could and would do for the country. A bunch of scams that he mastered and sold people on, and now, we have had four years of a snake oil salesman trying to con us. Most people around the world, and even a majority of Americans, were able to more or less see through the scam, and clearly see the lies and smoke and mirrors that it this guy's entire act for what it is.

But then, there is that stubborn 35 to 40 percent, who support him no matter what. They even say as much. I heard some joking about what it would take for them to no longer support Trump. One former classmate and passionate Trump supporter joked on Facebook the other day that the only thing that would prevent him from supporting Trump is if he had a passionate love affair with Nancy Pelosi. I guess that is what passes for wit among Trump supporters.

Many of his supporters seem quite spoiled and delusional in their own right, just like the man who has become the object of their affections, the man that they believe has or will save this country, but who has instead predictably and relentlessly tried to sell the American people one scam after another, proclaiming great things, when in fact, there just is not much there. Hell, worse than progress, what he has done has made the country regress. But all he has to do, time and time again, is proclaim that he has done great and magnificent things, and his supporters believe him, despite the obvious lack of evidence. Build a wall and make Mexico pay for it ("Mark my words," he insisted)? Nope. Pay off the national debt in eight years in office? It has not even been fully four years (although it feels like he has been there for nearly double that already), yet he has increased the national debt by well over $5 trillion, and seems to want to keep adding to that, as well. He dismantled the White House pandemic team, despite warnings that this could lead to disaster. And then he completely mishandled the coronavirus pandemic, consistently undermining it and offering quack solution, regardless of his lack of expertise in the medical field, when he would have been better off shutting his big mouth and letting actual experts speak. Being too busy in the White House to play golf? Another lie. Make the United States a great and respected nation again? He has done nothing but make much of the world despise and distrust us, and we have literally never been as much of a mockery, a butt of jokes, as we have become with Trump in the Oval Office. He claimed that he would be the president for all Americans, but he has polarized the country instead, actively advocating hate and intolerance. He has regularly embarrassed and disgraced himself and the entire country with his absurd, immature conduct and words. The country is far worse off than it was before, and I say that as someone who is critical of both Democratic and Republican administration that preceded his. Trump is worse, far worse, than any of those prior presidents have been. Quite literally, he qualifies as the worst president in American history.

Sure, his supporters seem to love all of this. They eat it all up, and ask for more. He proclaims greatness, and delivers little to nothing, time and time again. But his supporters have bought the act, and despite getting obviously scammed, time and time again, they stay loyal, because the one thing that he has been truly successful with not merely for these past three and a half years or so, but throughout his entire life, is getting away with bad behavior, and driving rational, thinking people with some standards crazy. Yes, his supporters take absolute glee not in the perception that he has actually done some truly wonderful things to "Make America Great Again," but merely to drive the "liberal elites" or the "libtards" mad. Frankly, that seems to be the only true measure of success that he has had. Apparently, it is enough for these people, who loudly and proudly proclaim themselves to be superpatriots, but who in reality are anything but.

Obviously, Trump relishes in the fact that so many people love him and believe in his act. He seems overjoyed when he is in their presence, being applauded. For a long time, I felt that he had nothing but contempt for them. In fact, in his strange way, I believe that he does love them, or at least loves being in their company. A man who always needs to be at the center of attention, and is addicted to the idea of being adored, just loves the attention that they continually give him. He has not made their lives better in any meaningful way. Quite the opposite, as his policies have hurt them, much like they have hurt the country that he officially leads. But yes, I suspect that he does enjoy having them in his corner, giving him the attention, the adoration, and yes, even the love that he craves so shamelessly.

Still, even this is not enough to assure that it will just continue. Trump's words of admission that he might not get another term is simply him coming to terms with the facts, which in it's own small way, is a bit of an achievement for this man. After all, he and his supporters are clearly not friendly with facts, with truth. But the truth of poll numbers that have consistently been tanking since the coronavirus pandemic really starting to grow into a huge fiasco for this country seem to finally have caught up with Trump. Even he cannot spin those numbers in his favor, even though manipulating those things that are unfavorable to him, and making them work in his favor, is the one talent that this man truly has always had a gift for. But yes, even that has it's limits. Yes, his poll numbers went down by nine percent in the past three or four months, because of his poor handling of the Covid-19 crisis, and because of his seeming indifference to the plight of tens of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and their health insurance (while he and his administration continue to aggressively fight to revoke Obamacare even without some healthcare plan in it's place), and who then showed a stunning level of being tone deaf throughout the anti-brutality and Black Lives Matter protests, and the riots that were an offshoot of this. For someone as completely obsessed with his own popularity as Trump is, this has to be devastating.

Indeed, for the first time, he has expressed doubts that winning again in November is such a sure thing. He admits that Biden has a chance now, a real chance to defeat him and become the next president. And so, in typical fashion, he turns to personal attacks, nasty in their nature. That is all that Trump has ever known, all he seems capable of doing when his back is up against the wall. Here were some of his comments about Joe Biden in that same FOX News town hall:

“He doesn’t talk, nobody hears him. Whenever he does talk he can't put two sentences together,” Mr Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I don’t want to be nice or unnice, okay?”  

"I mean, the man can't speak. And he's going to be your president because some people don't love me, maybe”, he continued. “All I’m doing is doing my job”.

I am no big fan of Joe Biden, admittedly. Frankly, I think that he is basically a 2020 version of Hillary Clinton. And if he winds up winning, it will not be so much because he and his campaign are doing or promising such great things, so much as he is not Donald Trump, as a growing number of Americans are recognizing that Trump has brought only harm to this country.

If there is one thing that Joe Biden is doing right, though, it is in using Trump's own words and actions against him. Of course, Trump has pretty much always made it easy for opponents to do that, which is part of the reason that he so easily convinces his base of support that they love to attack him, personally. He manipulates it into feeding their conspiracy theories about the "liberal elite" and the "Fake News" media out to get him, because he poses a serious threat to their world order, as opposed to him being justly accused of buffoonery and being a truly awful, ridiculous excuse for a president. Recently, Biden was able to put into perspective the absurdity of Trump proclaiming himself a victim and whining about how unfairly he is being treated in the midst of the enormous suffering from the pandemic and the  grim economic realities that this pandemic has forced on people. This is what Biden recently said, in response to Trump's criticism of him:

“[Trump’s] like a child who can’t believe this has happened to him — all his whining and self-pity,” said Mr Biden. “Well, this pandemic didn’t happen to him. It happened to all of us.”

Again, admittedly, I am not a fan of Joe Biden. But if he is going to win in November's election, than what he has to keep doing - perhaps all he has to keep doing, if Trump continues to screw things up so badly that even his spin and lies are not up to the task of getting him past it - is continue to attack Trump directly for his conduct and his pathetic excuse for leadership. Trump is a con artist, and nothing more. It is time that this country finally recognized their mistake in electing him in the first place, and then just moved on.




Trump says Biden's 'going to be your president because some people don't love me, maybe' US president told Sean Hannity: 'I don’t want to be nice or unnice, okay?'  Gino Spocchia, une 26, 2020:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/trump-biden-2020-election-love-twitter-poll-a9587501.html

Hot Summer Afternoon at Skylands Botanical Garden in Ringwood

Yes, my son and I went back to Skylands Botanical Garden in Ringwood, New Jersey. on Monday. It may sound repetitive, because I have posted about this place numerous times before.  But if you know it, then you also know that it is a beautiful spot. And if you know of beautiful spots relatively close by, would you not make numerous visits?

This one was a bit different, because unlike our previous visits, it came on a sweltering hot summer afternoon. The temperatures were stifling, as was the humidity.

Still, this was the first time that I had seen my son in about three weeks, the second longest period of time that I had been away from him since he was born. After all, I was in quarantine, after my girlfriend tested positive. I had to work from home for my main job, and was taken off for one weekend (and only one weekend) for my second job. Also, I had to get tested. The results were negative, but still, I had to maintain my quarantine.

But it finally ended, and I got to spend time with my son again, just as the official academic year ended, and his official summer break began. Of course, no one has been in school - at least physically - since about mid-March or so. But he still had to try and keep up from home, even though that proved tough. My guess is that he needs the structure of an actual school day, one in which he physically goes to the school, to instill some measure of discipline. Hopefully, school will be back in come September, although I guess we will see, won't we?

In any case, I was very happy to see him again, and it felt something special was in order. But many places are still closed. Yet, the parks are still open (or rather, have re-opened), and it felt like the best place to go. We usually go hiking, but I was in the mood to do something even more special, like go for a walk in the woods, and then unwind and continue to read together while enjoying the views from a formal garden.

And so we went to Skylands, for a pleasant, albeit very hot, afternoon. 

Here are the pictures from yesterday's trip to Ringwood, New Jersey, at Skylands Manor. The water was back in the fountains, although the fountains themselves were not running (at least not yet). And the gardens are not quite full, although they were quite beautiful nevertheless.

Enjoy!

House Votes to Make Washington, D.C. the 51st State

There always seems to be some kind of debate every few years about the prospects of the 51st state, but it never seems to come to much in the end. Remember a few years ago, all of that talk about Puerto Rico becoming the next state?  

Well, Washington, the District of Columbia, came closer than anyplace has since Hawaii became the 50th state earlier this week.  

Yes, the House of Representatives voted to make the Capital district the next American state.  

However, both the Senate and the Trump White House – both dominated by Republicans – have stated that they will reject it. Thus, it is almost assured that Washington, D.C. will not become the 51st state. It should be noted that Washington, D.C. is very predominately Democratic, which is perhaps no small part of the reason why Republicans would be so opposed to it becoming a state. The same political considerations, not to mention some xenophobia, likely comes into play when Republicans in particular seem to dismiss any possibility of making Puerto Rico the next state.  

Some things never change.

Coronavirus Update for Saturday, June 27, 2020

Worldwide, we are now fast approaching ten million cases of people officially confirmed to have had the coronavirus. To date around the globe, there have been over 5, 300,000 recovered, while there have been just shy of half a million dead.              

Here in the United States, we are now bracing for what people kept warning would be a second wave. But this second wave has hit especially hard in numerous red states, where many people did not take the coronavirus pandemic seriously. We all have heard reports of overly crowded beaches in places like California and Florida over the past couple of months or so, and crowded malls and bars and other public places and gatherings in some other states, including Texas and Arizona. Many people are complaining, and some act shocked, even though, again, this was pretty much predicted for a very long time.              

Frankly, if this is the second wave, I personally would have thought that we would more completely have gotten past the first wave. But unlike many other countries, where this was taken more seriously, we never really got our numbers down as much. Granted, our attention was diverted because of the collapse of the economy, the anti-brutality protests and race riots in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and the ever-present news pollution of the Trump administration and the 2020 presidential race.              

The United States still has far and away more cases of Covid-19 than any other nation, although Brazil has seen a huge spike in both confirmed cases and deaths from the coronavirus in the past month or so in particular. But later on Brazil. Let’s cover the United States first. To date, there have been over two and a half million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the United States, which is still slightly more than a quarter of all official cases in the world. We also have the most deaths from Covid-19 of any other nation, with over 127,000 total deaths to date reported, while well over one million Americans have recovered from the coronavirus.              

Now, back to Brazil. The numbers have increased dramatically in Brazil, where they have a president who, like we have here in the United States, is arrogant and anti-science. Like with Trump, he seems to show a callous disinterest in the crisis, outright suggesting that he did not care about growing numbers, and implying that it was not really his job to take care of it. Reminds you a bit of Trump claiming to take no responsibility shortly after claiming that he, as president, had total authority, right?              

Given all of that, perhaps it really should come as no surprise that these two countries have more confirmed cases than the rest of the world.              

Brazil recently became only the second nation in the world with over one million confirmed cases. Officially, it has over 1, 280,000 cases, and has seen over 56,000 deaths from the coronavirus, both numbers being far and away the second highest in the world, even if it remains lower than the United States, for now. However, there are concerns that the number is actually much, much higher in Brazil. There are not enough tests, and there are many neighborhoods where social distancing just is not that plausible. So, when you add the anti-science mania of President Bolsonaro and his followers, the results here are really not all that surprising, and you have to wonder just how much worse things will get there. It seems like the problem will grow worse before it can get better.              

The epicenter of the crisis is in the nation’s largest city, São Paulo, a city with a total population of well over 12 million. To date, there have been over 259,000 confirmed cases in that city, and just shy of 14,000 deaths. Rio de Janeiro is next biggest city, with a population of well over six million. To date, Rio has seen over 108,000 cases, and over 9,500 deaths. Manaus, the third largest city, often viewed as the gateway to Brazil’s Amazon region, with a population of well over two million. Manaus has seen over 68,000 confirmed cases, but has seen over 2, 700 deaths, which is far lower, even by scale, to the previous two cities, which are enormous and in some areas, vastly overcrowded.              

India is another giant country that has seen the coronavirus crisis grow massively in the past couple of months, in particular. India is only the fourth country in the world to have reached the half a million official cases plateau. They have seen well over 15,000 deaths, which is only the eighth highest of all nations, although that number seems to be rising.              

Not too long ago, Europe was regarded as the epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis, although that has abated a bit lately with countries in the Americas and Asia seeing spikes. Russia saw a huge spike in cases in recent months, and ranks third in the world in terms of total confirmed cases, with over 627,000. But the death rate in Russia remains comparatively low, with just shy of nine thousand to date, while over 393,000 in Russia have made a recovery. The United Kingdom is next for Europe, with over 309,000 confirmed cases, and over 43,000 official deaths from the coronavirus, the third highest of any nation in the world. Italy has seen the fourth most deaths with over 34,000, and over 239,000 official cases. France has seen over 162,000 confirmed cases, but has had over 29,000 people die from it, the fifth most of any nation. Spain has had over 294,000 official confirmed cases, and over 28,000 deaths. Germany has had over 194,000 cases, with just over 9,000 official deaths to date. Belgium and Sweden each have well over 60,000 cases, with Belgium having seen over 9,700 deaths, while Sweden has seen over 5,200 deaths. And the Netherlands has had over 50,000 confirmed cases, and over six thousand deaths.              

I mentioned that other nations in the Americas have seen huge spikes, other than the United States and Brazil. Peru, a nation with just shy of 33 million people, ranks seventh in the world in the number of confirmed cases, with over 272,000 confirmed cases, although the death toll there remains relatively low, at just under nine thousand – at least officially. Chile, a nation of just over 19 million people, has also had it bad, with over 263,000 confirmed cases, and over 5,000 deaths. And Mexico, a huge nation with over 128 million people, has seen over 208,000 cases, with a total of over 25,700 deaths from Covid-19.              

Finally, some other major nations with serious Covid-19 numbers include Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Iran has had over 217,000 official cases and over 10,000 confirmed deaths. Pakistan has had almost 199,000 confirmed cases, although the death toll remains comparatively low, at just over four thousand. Turkey has had over 194,000 confirmed cases, and over 5,000 deaths. And Saudi Arabia has had over 174,000 cases, with over 1,400 deaths.              

South Africa has the most cases of any African nation, with over 124,000 confirmed cases there, and over 2,300 deaths. Egypt is next among African nations, with over 62,000 cases, and over 2,600 deaths.

Yesterday Was Global Beatles Day

Photo by Luiz Fernando Reis (Bealtes cor 36 on Flickr) 

Creative Commons License -https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Image courtesy of niteprowl3r Flickr page -  beatles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sreichenbach/3025971406/in/photolist-5BoTSN-6Kp6DG-9oQPyZ-6Kp8vw-6Kp9oJ-6KjXm4-6KoV2S-6KjVca-eC4tTE-6Kp3Qm-6Kp3hq-6KoWdy-6KjLZg-6Kp5yf-6KjUgt-6Kp6TN-6KjXdM-6Kp45N-6Kp1WY-6KoUGs-6KoVYG-6KoUx9-6Kp153-6KoX3q-6KoZUu-6KjLoH-6KoVv9-6KoXvh-4vA8mP-6Kp4SW-6KjWq6-6Kp4xm-6KjVXZ-6Kp4hS-6Kk1G6-6KkdtD-6KjMRH-6KoVS5-r1ZqRn-6KjZfx-6KjMrx-6KjZue-6KjYzt-6Kp7D9-bCr2k3-aWjPYX-6KvxqP-6Kp7R7-aUXW5n-6KjZW8

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Indeed, I did not quite get around to posting about this, but yesterday, June 25th, is known as Global Beatles Day.

Why such a seemingly random day?

Well, it is not actually that random. It was on that day back in 1967 that the Beatles performed on a BBC program, known as "Our World." They performed their then new song, "All You Need Is Love," during the broadcast, which was aired before an international audience.

Also, this day happens to more or less fall in between the birthday of two of the Fab Four, the two who still survive to this day. Paul McCartney's birthday just recently passed. It was on June 18th. And Ringo Starr's birthday is July 7th, when he will turn 80 years old!

So again, not so random.

But as a big fan of the Beatles, it seemed appropriate to honor the band, and the ideals of peace and love and great music, that the band has come to symbolize.

June 24th Marked the 25th Anniversary of the New Jersey Devils Winning Their First Stanley Cup Championship

Unbelievable how times flies, isn’t it?              

I remember the Devils winning their first Stanley Cup quite well, as if it just happened maybe a few years ago. But then, earlier today, I heard on NJN News that the 25th anniversary of this historic (especially for New Jersey) event was fast approaching. It hardly feels possible that it could have been that long, but I guess the calendar does not lie, does it?              

Sports can be funny in some ways. It can take you through the highs and the lows, and that is true of being a sports fan, as well. Some of my very favorite memories were of great moments for teams and/or individuals who I was a fan of over the years. Looking back at some of my favorite sports memories, I can remember many highs (and some lows, admittedly, as well) just in terms of being a fan.  

Perhaps my top sports memory was of France winning their first World Cup back in 1998, when it also hosted. My brother somehow managed to get tickets to the semifinal (which ended up being between France itself, as well as Croatia), and he offered to take me. So that was the main impetus for what became a whole return trip to France. But that first week was incredible, from the semifinal game which we went to and enjoyed (it was one of the vert best football/soccer games that I have ever seen), followed by seeing the Three Tenors at the Champ de Mars, followed by France winning the World Cup Final against favored Brazil, followed by the celebrations on the 14th of July, France’s national holiday. The memories from that World Cup run were amazing. As pleased as I was when France won it again back in 2018, it did not quite feel the same. The family was together, including my son, who is old enough now to remember it, and I was thankful for him getting to see it. But in 1998, my brother and I were actually in France, in Paris, and had attended a game. We were in Paris celebrating with the rest of the city after they won the whole thing and became world champions. That qualifies as my favorite sports memory, and it was particularly special, since they hosted the tournament.  

Next was probably Super Bowl XXV. As a Giants fan, that season felt far less sure than their other Super Bowl seasons, which made the final results all the more satisfying. I had been just 12 years old when they won the first time, but was 16 and in high school when they won it all again in January of 1991. They just squeaked by the 49ers in San Francisco, and that was when the 49ers were the perfect rivals, enjoying perhaps the best run of any NFL team that I have seen, before or since (including the Patriots). It is hard for people now to understand just how good, and virtually unbeatable, the 49ers seemed to be. But it felt incredibly satisfying as a Giants fan to know that they had finally been the team to end the 49ers dynasty of the 1980’s. Then, the very next week (the first time there was not that two week grace period between the championship games and the Super Bowl), the Giants just edged the highly explosive and heavily favored Buffalo Bills, to win their second title in five seasons). The Giants have won two other Super Bowls since, and both of them were exciting wins against the Patriots, including that year when New England was undefeated. Yet, I maintain that for me, far and away, the most exciting time to be a Giants fan was in January of 1991.  

Some other teams and/or individuals that I really liked enjoyed some success, as well. I remember the Nets winning two straight Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003, and I actually went to some cool playoff games involving them at the time. But they did not win either of the NBA Finals that they qualified for, and were actually swept by the Lakers in the first one. That said, I was thrilled to see the Toronto Raptors take the NBA Championship last year, being a fan of the only Canadian NBA franchise. My favorite tennis player, Andre Agassi, was one of those who took me, as a fan, through various highs and lows. There were obviously matches, and even whole tournaments, where he did not live up to the enormous expectations and billings that always surrounded him and his image (Image is everything, remember?). But I was very glad when he won Wimbledon in 1992, the US Open twice - especially the first time in 1994 - and the Australian Open four times – but especially the one in 1995. However, the top moment as a fan of his, for me, was when he won the French Open. It was the third time that he had reached that final, and those had been perhaps the biggest disappointments to me as a fan, when he lost those first two French Open Men’s Final matches in back-to-bac years in the early nineties. But after dropping the first two sets, he came storming back and found his way to victory, finally winning the one Grand Slam tournament that had eluded him. At the time, he was the first man in about thirty years to have achieved that feat of a career Grand Slam, setting him apart from all other men, including the one man who had clearly been ahead of him in virtually every way to that point, Pete Sampras. But with that one win, Agassi now had the career Grand Slam achievement to his name, and he was also the first (and still one of only two men in history, the other being Rafael Nadal) to have achieved what they refer to as the “career Golden Slam,” which is having won all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic Gold Medal). I actually saw one of the most important and memorable matches of Agassi’s career, when he played Pete Sampras at the US Open Men’s Final in 2002, but he lost. It was still great to see, and I was there to see it. Still, that 1999 French Open Men’s Final was, to me, far and away my favorite tennis memory.  

In hockey, I remember the Montréal Canadiens winning the Cup twice, although that was when the Québec Nordiques were still an actual NHL franchise, and they were kind of my co-favorite team, along with the New Jersey Devils. This was all before the NHL began to favor southern expansion at the expense of northern cities, especially Canadian ones, and so I was a bit tired of the Canadiens and their legacy. All of that changed once Québec lost their NHL franchise, and that franchise went on to win the Stanley Cup in it’s very first year of existence as the Colorado Avalanche. That left a bitter taste.  

But the year before that, in 1995, the New Jersey Devils, a team that had been getting better and coming closer to reaching truly elite status, finally broke through. They had enjoyed a tremendously successful season back in 1993-94, and met the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In fact, they owned a three games to two lead heading into Game 6 in New Jersey, and had a lead going into the final period. But Marc Messier, as many people will recall, had boldly predicted a win, and he scored a hat trick to lift his team to the win to force a decisive Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. The Devils still played well in that one, but they eventually fell short and lost, while the Rangers would eventually lift the Cup a few weeks later.  

The 1995 season was a bit bizarre, as many may recall. It was a strike-shortened season, and the Devils did not stand out as much as many had expected them to during the regular season. If memory serves correctly, they were the fifth seed. But once in the playoffs, they suddenly were virtually unbeatable. The dominated the Boston Bruins in the first round, four games to one, and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins by the same margin in the next round. In the Eastern Conference Finals, I managed to get tickets to Game 6, and hoped that the series would reach that point. It did not appear promising, as the Devils took the first two games in Philly. But the Flyers tied the series with two road wins in New Jersey, and I was happy that I would finally see an NHL playoff game. The Devils won Game 5, and had a chance to ice the series in Game 6. So, my friend and I went, and we enjoyed watching the Devils finally take care of the Flyers at home, and qualify for their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

When the Devils were now in the Cup Finals, they faced the Detroit Red Wings, who had looked simply awesome during the regular season, and were heavily favored to capture the Cup. As a Devils fan, it was a bit daunting to think about, and the fact that Detroit had home ice advantage was a bit intimidating, as well.  

Yet, the Devils looked awesome in take Game 1 in Detroit, and suddenly, it felt like home ice might not mean quite as much as it otherwise would have. When the Devils took Game 2 for a commanding two games to none lead, it suddenly felt like the Cup was within reach. But it would not do to get ahead of ourselves, since the Flyers had also lost both of their first two home games in the prior series, only to win the next two in new Jersey.  

But in Game 3 of the Cup Finals, the Devils dominated Detroit. The game was never in doubt, and now, with a comfortable three games to none lead, the series could hardly be in doubt, either. Suddenly, New Jersey was on the cusp of their first major sports championship.  

The Red Wings showed up in Game 4, however. It was a tough game, and a close one. It could even be argued that Detroit played their best game for that final game, when they were facing elimination. If the Devils lost, and the Red Wings perhaps could take Game 5 in Detroit, was it not impossible that they could make a series of it yet?  

That, however, would not happen. The Devils broke the game open in the third and final period, pulling away towards the end. Any last doubts were alleviated once they got the final goal for a 5-2 lead. All that was left was the countdown to the end of the game, and thus, the end of the series. The Red Wings were spent, and had nothing left. They had been completely and utterly dominated by a Devils team that suddenly looked like they had been the team of destiny all along. That season, in fact, they were.

Suddenly, the New Jersey Devils - the first major sports franchise in the history of the Garden State - were the champions. They had come close the season before, yet many people felt that their chance to achieve greatness had passed. Then, just like that, they turned it completely around, hoisting the most  prestigious, and arguably the most famous, championship trophy in North American sports.

Great memories, and a great team! They would have awesome regular seasons in the following years, from 1996 - 1999, winning the top seed in the Eastern Conference each of those seasons. Yet, they got eliminated early in each of those postseasons. But the Devils would return back to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2000, and would outlast the defending Stanley Cup Champion Dallas Stars, thus earning their second Stanley Cup title. They came within a whisker of winning back-to-back Stanley Cups the following season, but fell just short to the Colorado Avalanche in a seven game series. However, the Devils would return to elite form in 2003, once again earning the number one seed, and this time taking it all the way to the Cup Finals, eliminating the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in Game 7, to hoist the Cup for a third time. That would be the last time that the Devils were so good, although they went back to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012, ultimately losing a six-game season against the seeming team of destiny, the Los Angeles Kings, but acquitting themselves well by playing hard and enjoying such a successful postseason, including a decent series against the Kings.

A lot of success in a fairly short period of time. But it all started with that incredible Stanley Cup Championship back in 1995, where the team finally began to build a truly championship legacy for itself, emerging out of the shadow of the local rivals, the New York Rangers, to earn the spotlight for themselves. 

Hot Time, Summer in the City

Well,  summer is officially here now.  Yesterday evening,  it officially started.


Yesterday was also the longest day of the year. 

For me,  it felt like it began a couple of days before,  after seeing the first lightning bugs of the year.  They are wonderful to see,  and still capture my imagination,  even after all of these years.  It feels almost like they are natural miracles of sorts.  Sometimes,  I feel like I could watch them throughout an entire summer night!

In any case,  summer is here,  yes.  Many of our hopes and plans for the year,  and especially for the summer,  have been altered due to the coronavirus pandemic.  That was surely the case with me,  as well.  But let's try to stay positive and focus on the good.  Summer is here again,  and here is wishing everyone the best for a summer that is now officially underway.

Pearl Jam Recently Released an Uncensored Version of the Famous 'Jeremy' Video to Raise Awareness of Gun Violence

Pearl Jam was always a political, socially conscientious band. Some have taken offense, or acted surprised when the band has expressed itself politically, but this really should not come as a surprise. They have always been a very political band, if you are paying attention. Apparently, not many have, until well after the fact.

I remember seeing Pearl Jam get booed off the stage at a 2003 show in Nassau Coliseum, because they played their song, "Bushleaguer," which was a criticism of then President George W. Bush. They got in similar trouble just weeks before during a show in Denver, when they played that same song. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter claimed that Eddie Vedder had impaled a mask of George W. Bush. Obe friend of mine, the one who was originally supposed to go to that Nassau show with me, cancelled, and claimed that the band's actions were completely unacceptable. But these reports were greatly exaggerated. In fact, Vedder has positioned the mask on on the microphone stand. He did pretend to kiss the mask, so it was not completely respectable. But then again, neither is starting an unjustifiable and immoral war based on lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction, and which is the more serious offense? 

Of course, Coulter also claimed that thousands of people had left after all of this, but in fact, people who were there said that maybe a few dozen people left, but hardly in droves as Coulter suggested.

But this band has always been quite political. It is part of what attracted me to them in the first place.

What got me into them was a friend telling me about "some band: who sang a song about suicide, and it was something like "Jeremy spoke in class today." I was intrigued. Eventually, I found out who the band was, when I heard it on the radio. Pearl Jam. I quickly got their album, "Ten," some days later, and got hooked. The rest, as they say, is history.

Recently, just a couple of weeks or so ago, Pearl Jam released an uncensored version of their "Jeremy" video, in order to raise awareness about gun violence. It seemed more than time for me to write this blog entry about that, and so here it is:

Pearl Jam releases uncensored 'Jeremy' video in hopes of drawing attention to gun violence Gary Dinges USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/06/06/jeremy-pearl-jam-releases-graphic-uncensored-music-video/3165518001/

Belated Happy Birthday to Paul McCartney!!

Paul McCartney’s birthday was just a few days ago, on the 18th. Yet somehow, I forgot to dedicate a blog entry for the occasion, like I usually do.             

So this is my attempt to remedy that.

Photo courtesy of RV1864's Flickr page - Paul McCartney: https://www.flickr.com/photos/summer1978/17049437322

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

Today marks the 76th birthday of Paul McCartney, who was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, England.

He went on to have some modest success in his musical career.

Hey Paul, you say it's your birthday?

Here is a clip from a concert that I actually was blessed enough to have attended, and which was like a life dream in music come true. This is a clip of Ringo Starr's 70th birthday concert at Radio City Music Hall, with Paul McCartney making a special guest appearance. McCartney was on base, Ringo was on drums, and it was touted as half of a Beatles reunion. It was as close as I'll ever get to actually having seen The Beatles as a band, and again, I felt extremely privileged to have seen such a thing in person!

And here is the entire concert!

Trump Continually Threatening Authors of Books That Spill the Beans About Him

So, we all know that Donald Trump has incredibly thin, orange skin. He is hyper sensitive, and the very picture of a melting snowflake, never passing on an opportunity to try and lash out at critics, or really anyone who does not bend over backwards to give him the attention and especially praise that he so clearly, desperately needs. 

Lately, Trump has been trying to silence dissent by threatening lawsuits against people who were formerly quite close to him.

The first was former national security advisor John Bolton, who published his revealing book about the Trump administration behind the scenes.

The second book is from a family member. Yes, Trump's own niece recently wrote a tell-all book that is not at all flattering to Trump.

First, though, Bolton's book, which only very recently came out, and has some rather shocking revelations about Trump and his administration. According to a recent Yahoo article by Davd Knowles, here are five truly shocking revelations about Trump that we did not already know, but which this book reveals:

Trump asked China's Xi for help in winning reelection.

Trump also gave approval for China to build concentration camps for Uigher citizens. 

One that is truly shocking is that Trump evidently ruminated on the idea of assassinating American journalists who refused to reveal their sources. So much for freedom of speech and of the press, huh?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other members of Trump's staff basically insulted him behind his back.  

Bolton says that the Democrats screwed up the impeachment hearings by focusing too exclusively on Ukraine, when in fact Trump's crimes stretched well beyond that. Frankly, this is a point that I felt, and still feel, is very true. In time, we will get wind of more of Trump's crimes, as I imagine many, if not most (probably not all of them, though) will be revealed to the general public in due time. And yes, the Democrats should have added some of these, to show that this is a general trend with Trump, and not relegated to one incident or phone call with the leader of Ukraine. 

All of that sounds pretty believable, particularly that part about Pompeo and other Trump staff members talking about Trump behind his back. After all, we already know that former high-ranking members of  the Trump administration has referred to their boss as a "fucking moron." Trump just has a way about him of getting former friends and allies to turn into enemies. He went from praising some of his former hand-picked members of his own cabinet (Tillerson, Scaramucci, Kelly and Bolton himself come to mind) to going out of his way to try and insult them.

The back and forth between Trump and Bolton has become regular headlines as of late. Bolton, for his part, has suggested many, many things that are upsetting to Trump, including that Trump is unfit to be president, and that he has a definitive authoritarian streak. Trump has countered that Bolton is a "wacko" and that his book is "exceedingly tedious." He accused Bolton of having a one track mind, being always in favor of war. But as Seth Myers suggested, everybody knew that already, yet Trump still hired him for the position.

Then, of course, there is another book. This one is called "Too Much and Never Enough" by Mary Trump. Yes, a Trump family member. Trump is trying to halt publication of that book, as well, as it evidently will also be pretty damning.

Frankly, I cannot think of words that fit Donald Trump to a t more than the title of that new book. Too much, and indeed, never enough, pretty much sums up everything about Trump and his staggering levels of narcissism and greed and brutality in order to get every possible thing that he wants. Yet, indeed, it never seems to be enough for him. 

What a clown show.





Below are the links to articles that got me onto this topic. Please take a look:

Trump is reportedly looking into suing his niece to stop her from publishing a tell-all book about him Ashley Collman Jun 17, 2020, 5:49 AM

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-considers-suing-niece-mary-tell-all-book-nda-report-2020-6?amp&fbclid=IwAR35JM3WXl5FBz988afon6Xsj846-gWQGk5N2KrisxCxL05fxp3l3Gx16zQ





READ: Trump administration's lawsuit against Bolton over book By CNN  Updated 6:33 PM ET, Tue June 16, 2020:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/16/politics/john-bolton-book-lawsuit/index.html




Five bombshells about Trump from Bolton's book David Knowles, Editor,Yahoo News•June 17, 2020

https://news.yahoo.com/five-bombshells-about-trump-from-boltons-book-201739765.html