Extinguishing the Gaslight in 2020

Some Final Thoughts on the Run-Up to the Presidential Election

MIAMI — It’s that time of the election cycle again, when we get asked by some well-intended voters, what they should do, sometimes because they are getting pressured in two different directions, from alternate camps. I usually suggest that they follow their own instincts, and consider what’s most important to them. When pressed more, I mention any of the following situations that contribute to how many of our colleagues feel as voters. This is not to put anyone down who may feel or interpret these matters differently, but there is a lot of convincing evidence to support these positions.

We had more #Covid19 cases confirmed yesterday than ever before, as most states are again on the rise, and far too many hospital workers are being totally overwhelmed.

The current healthcare status is not turning the corner in any good way, as 88,452 new US cases were confirmed yesterday, in one day, which now has us at 9,011,254. Over a thousand souls died again, taking the toll to 229,694.

Our beloved friend and long-time marketing teammate Juan Saco passed away from #covid this morning. So, yeah, it’s hard to hear from the current White House group that the deaths have “gone to almost nothing,” while we’re losing too many wonderful, irreplaceable people every day, every hour.

An obvious science note, testing doesn’t cause viruses, it merely verifies sickness that is already present. And, if a person has diabetes or hypertension with their condition under control, and then they contract covid and pass away, in most cases, they did not die from diabetes or blood pressure, they died from covid.

Despite much chatter to the contrary, there is no therapeutic regimen approved for use by American public as a treatment for the Coronavirus; thus, saying “we have the therapeutics” is not true. And, currently, there is no FDA approved vaccine for the prevention of Covid-19, as set forth via www.fda.gov.

Our supposed new “understanding” of the #coronavirus — whereas, we understand very little about its diverse organ system damage and long term effects — has not helped us control it, especially where reasonable guidelines are not being followed.

Boston had to close its schools back down last week; South Florida kids have had numerous positive exposures at 500 schools threatening their revived in-person learning approach; Chicago has had to impose severe restrictions at its restaurants again, etc., and these fluctuations continue to evolve across the country.

The red-state vs. blue-state covid formula, as governors pull in opposite directions, with no federal leadership — has clearly not worked. With just enough callous disregard, the herd immunity concept seems very close to a ‘herd manslaughter’ offense.

As more super-spreader rally events and related behaviors are orchestrated by the current president, he’s being credited as the #1 wingman (quoting @lipiroymd) for the uptick in covid numbers, helping to usher in this bona fide third wave, which is already rising to be the worst yet.

It is arguably the definition of insanity to expect someone to lead us out of the Coronavirus crisis, when that same person is leading us directly into more deadly dangers in the most shameless ways possible, by expanding exposure and discouraging all epidemiologically-recommended methods of mitigation.

The incremental rises or falls of Wall Street and the #NYSE are not the true measure of the economy, or of financial wellness for everyday Americans.

American military women and men are our greatest protectors, they are not suckers.

Among the motivations for the #familyseparation policy at the border was intentional cruelty, as a deterrent, where little or no efforts have been made to relocate the parents of 545 children, and 7 children have died.

Mexico did not pay for a border wall, and most of the 2016 campaign promises were just unkept farcical notions. Even though the incumbent railed that his 2016 challengers wouldn’t even say certain phrases involving radical terrorism, he will not say one word to denounce white domestic extremists, or numerous others who are on his own most-favored protected list.

When tariffs are imposed on a foreign country the importer pays those duties, and passes the increased costs along to the American consumers per higher prices for the products.

The “much better” healthcare plan that has been promised for 4 years, and is often-said to be coming “in two weeks,” does not exist, and will likely not ever materialize.

There is no indication that the current president will protect those with pre-existing conditions — like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart troubles, cancer, or covid issues — as his teams are continuously in court fighting to eradicate same.

And, there is the problem of extreme coziness with foreign leaders who have long-proven to not be US allies. There has been no transparency in the official dealings, and no showing that we are any better off as a nation following the private negotiations that have apparently taken place. A consensus of diplomatic experts confirms that we are indeed worse off, after wrongly recognizing and accommodating hostile leaders without any discernible benefit to the USA.

Reliable records show that the current president attempted to violate the embargo and do business with Castro’s Cuba, he has had secret bank accounts in China while in office, has had big plans for monumental operations in Moscow, and seemingly plays quid pro quo with vulnerable nations as often as possible. His challenger has had no such dealings.

So many other issues loom as unattended or presently positioned in the wrong direction. Per the dutiful governmental specialists: climate change is real; white supremacists constitute the greatest danger to the American public; systemic change is necessary to better countermand racial injustice; high-powered military grade weapons are too easy for unstable wanderers to access at will; most governmental employees are responsibly performing their jobs, regardless of any differing opinions, and, as such, the deep state concept is a lark.

The current president and senate has just packed the Supreme Court with three justices who favor the wishes of a distinct minority of Americans, and a future S.Ct could be grossly disfigured with any further imbalance.

As a general rule, American politicians do not threaten to indict or lock-up their adversaries, over emails and laptops, which according to law enforcement investigative reports, are not seen as valid bases for making exceptions.

It is less than ideal for an American president to be a verified unindicted co-conspirator, and presidents are not supposed to pardon witnesses of crimes that were ostensibly committed or abetted by that same president.

The current president was fully impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, yet as the GOP majority acknowledged his guilt, they claimed essentially that, it was better to leave his removal to the voters.

That vote would be up to us, taking place up to and including next Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

If anyone is troubled by the brazen, corrupt and/or dictator-like maneuvers of the current president over the last four years, remember, these were done while he still faced reelection.

There are no verifiable estimates for how dictatorial the immediate future could or would be if this president was reelected, or whether there would be any more presidential elections in the USA as we have traditionally known or participated in them.

Fears are stoked in media campaigns by the incumbent president by showing civil unrest, stating this is what we will have if Joe Biden is president. But naturally, all dreadful images shown have been systematically cultivated and augmented by the current president.

There is literally nothing to fear from a Joe Biden presidency, expect the return of a basic rule of law, a healthy measure of listening to the experts, and largely sound decision-making. Plus, we can plainly count on unwavering patriotism and unparalleled empathy from Joe Biden.

It is true that Joe Biden is an older guy, he makes his share of misstatements, and regrets a few votes cast per his vast public service. But, then again, he usually voted with a large majority who deemed that direction advisable decades ago, and he forthright apologizes for steps that in hindsight were less than optimal. Despite a deluge of mistakes made by the incumbent, we have not seen any expression of regret.

Joe Biden was an instrumental contributor to many progressive initiatives over the years, none of which were socialist. To say that he accomplished ‘nothing’ during his years in office is foolish hyperbole. And most criticisms of Joe Biden were concerned that he was so moderate, and moderate would be nice wholesome alternative to the imbroglio that we have been confronted with over the last four years.

Conspiracy babble about Joe Biden being part of any criminal activity or improperly making $millions was also addressed last week by campaign strategist @SteveSchmidtSES as follows:

“Joe Biden has always been clean, no one has ever made ethics violations against Joe Biden. I helped run a campaign against Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and there’s nothing there, clean as a whistle. Joe was someone who lived a very middle-class life, never made more than $167k, in all of his government service, and was annually ranked as the least wealthy US senator. These corruption allegations are complete and total bs.”

For everything mentioned here, there are hundreds of other themes that bear mention. But it seems, that the @JoeBiden vote delivers us a path lined with fresh hope. It is anticipated that, should the #BidenHarris ticket prevail, there would be much American & global rejoicing that immediately unfolds. And, coming up to the wire, many voters would prefer not to ponder the alternative.

Though, it is important to remember that, regardless of the election outcome, we will all need to do our best to cope, lawfully resist and/or heal, per whatever the resulting situation may be, and move forward with whichever version of togetherness we can muster. There is still some ample time to vote and get others to vote, so please do, hopefully in good harmony with our thus-far enduring democracy. God bless.