We Dodged the Bullet 

     Today is Thanksgiving, 2020, and I offer no apology for turning the day into a joyous political celebration. Yes, I am thankful for escaping the nasty covid-19 pandemic for nine months, and my family staying healthy as well.  Yes, I give thanks to whatever prime mover exists in the great unknown for living long enough to start my 90^th year in a couple of weeks, free of dementia.  Thanks, after more than 25 years of retirement, we are solvent and have not run out of money. Yes, and thanks for so many wonderful friends, staying busy every day and living in a comfortable senior community free of dogs and as far as I can tell, republicans.

     But that is not what I celebrate most today.  No, today I give thanks for the salvaging of democracy with a remarkably honest and transparent election, and the removal from public office of the worst President of the United States we have ever had in the history of the republic, Donald J. Trump and his sycophantic Vice-President.  I give thanks to the election inspectors and the tireless Postal Service for the extra effort. I write these words, some 18 days since the election became apparent in Biden’s favor and taking note that Trump has not yet conceded.  In fact, his post-election behavior has been absurd and irrational, which brings me to the final thanks for this Thanksgiving—giving thanks for science.  It is science, and not politics that yields the explanation.  The science of it is that Trump is mentally ill and deteriorating while we watch. He suffers from malignant narcissism with a notable paranoia and a destructive behavior pattern. Will someone in the family please call for a psychiatrist!

      And the bullet we dodged? We dodged, in a word, a Trump dictatorship.  We dodged a “Third Term Campaign Office”. We dodged the tsunami of lies. We dodged the further dismemberment of democracy and the constitution. We dodged a Republican Party governed by fear. We dodged an EPA that would have further degraded our air and water.  We dodged a Department of Education that would have further dismembered our public-school system. We dodged an impeached president gone unconvicted by the people. We dodged a president interested in only furthering his own interests. We dodged a president that believed he was above the law. We dodged an administration that would not regard the survival of mankind on this planet as any kind of an objective.

     So, I am celebrating Thanksgiving.  Yes Sir! I may even have a martini.

    

                                              Why Did It Take So Long?

     Within a few weeks now of the presidential election, David Gergen on CNN finally said of President Donald Trump, “We are in the grip of a madman”.  Why did it take so long?  Why is it so meaningful?  The answer to the first question is simple, and to the second complex.

     It took so long because the Corona virus pandemic has been so overwhelming and the politicization of the science of the response has been so confusing to the public.  The irrationality of the leadership during this national tragedy been slow to emerge as an underlying contribution to the fact that after eight months of near, the virus is again out of control.  In the presence of such economic stress, the people can be excused for being slow in questioning the mental status of their leader.  Now it is out in the open and grounds for discussion. 

     As to why it is meaningful to understand this situation prior to the date of final voting is the fact that if elected, we the people will have to deal with the diagnosis of madness for a second term.  To understand the situation now is to understand that the president is and has been suffering from a mental disorder called malignant or grandiose narcissism for a long time.  Narcissism, according to the abstract noted below, identifies people who display grandiosity of behavior, overconfidence, risk taking, an inflated view of one’s abilities, and a sense of entitlement, low social empathy, impulsiveness, and a willingness and ability to use others to achieve their own self-interest. And why is that important?  It is important because one of the facts that science tells us is that this condition is characterized by chronic faulty decision-making. That’s right! Along with the other requirements for making a diagnosis, the ability for making rational and correct decisions is impaired.

     This recent information does not come from the psychiatric literature. No, it comes from the business world, specifically in a publication by the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, authored by Charles A. O’Reilly, Professor of Management and co-author Nicholas Hall, Associate Director of the Graduate School of Business Behavioral Lab.  The paper published August 14 of this year is entitled, “Grandiose Narcissists and Decision Making: Impulsive, Overconfident, and Skeptical of Experts—but Seldon in Doubt,” published on line by Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection [a Public Health Emergency COVID 19 Initiative].  The abstract of this paper states that the condition results in “a high likelihood of the grandiose narcissist as one who is overly confident and convinced that they are special and better than others”.  In addition, after getting the wrong answer, “grandiose narcissists are more likely to blame others and remain self-confident in their judgment.” 

      The paper goes on to conclude that, “the grandiose narcissist is convinced that they are specially more creative, competent and intelligent”: that, “they are more likely to manipulate others even lying, cheating, and stealing”: and, “Research has shown that because they often feel that they are not being recognized as superior, grandiose narcissists often respond with hostility.  In addition, “grandiose or malignant narcissists have been shown to make choices more quickly than non-narcissists and that this behavior can provide short-term benefits but lead to negative long-term outcomes.  Finally, Professor O’Reilly’s paper adds that New York Times journalists have noted Trump’s profound need for personal praise, the propensity to blame others, the penchant for rewriting history, the lack of human empathy, the distortion of facts, and the impatience with scrutiny or criticism, but in my opinion, it doesn’t seem to have acquired much traction.

      Yes, Mr. Gergen, Donald Trump is a madman-- specifically a sick grandiose narcissist who should not be President of the United States or any other organization.  How crazy and ironic it is that it has taken science from a business school, not a medical school to clear the air.  

 

What is the Upcoming Presidential Election All About?

 

What is the Upcoming Presidential Election All About?

     The answer is simple and clear.  The presidential election on November 3, 2020 concerns the completion of the impeachment trial of president Donald Trump by the US Senate.  The majority of the republican members of the Senate dodged their responsibilities by hiding behind a statement of Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee who said, “The question then is not whether the president did it, but whether the United States Senate or the American people should decide what to do about what he did. I believe that the Constitution provides that the people should make that decision in the presidential election. …Our founding documents provide for duly elected presidents who serve with ‘the consent of the governed,’ not at the pleasure of the United States Congress. Let the people decide.”    

     There is little to gain debating the faulty reasoning of the honorable senator, or questioning the lack of logic in his interpretation of the Constitution regarding the intentions of the founders.  The bold fact is that except for the courageous vote by Senator Mitt Romney, the Senate Republican majority left the final decision to the electorate this November.  By default, therefore, every voter must, if not place the issue at the top of their considerations, at least not forget this responsibility and include the decision in their deliberations regardless of party affiliation amid the smoke and fog of this particular election in the midst of a world pandemic.

     I have not heard, nor seen a single word, as to whether the electorate will consider this question of guilt or innocence of the charges when voting this fall.  Nothing. Nada!   But that is not the only tragedy resulting from the cowardice of the Republican majority in the Senate trial.   Nothing was said of the possibility of the election being anything but honest and fair. Nothing.  Nada!  The alarming fact is that the same Republican party is working day and night to disrupt this election, tampering with the rules, and without any evidence declaring that the postal system will be unable to manage the necessary added burden that voting by mail will inflict.  Rather than providing extra funds and personnel for the states in most need in the face of a pandemic, and doing everything possible to solve any extra stress on the system, the President of the United States has named Louis DeJoy Postmaster General, a mega contributor to Trump, who will do all in his power to see the system does not work.

     An editorial in the New York Times today [August 20,2020], outlines what President Trump intends to do on election night, if ahead in the count by virtue of early voting booth results. “First, he will claim victory. Then, having spent most of the year denouncing vote-by-mail as corrupt, fraudulent and prone to abuse, he’ll demand that authorities stop counting mail-in and absentee ballots.  He’ll have teams of lawyers challenging counts and ballots across the country.” In summary, “A key element of Trump’s strategy is to undermine the Postal Service’s ability to deliver and collect mail.” Chaos follows.

     What will Lamar Alexander do about that?  What about messing with the consent of the governed?

 

Anti-science, Anti-life and My Vote

Anti-science, Anti-life and My Vote

     Time magazine reported that in May 2018, a year and a half before the coronavirus began in Wuhan, China, President Trump authorized his national security adviser, John Bolton, to eliminate the National Security Council’s (NSC) global health security unit and demote its pandemic experts.  This unit or council was focused on pandemic preparedness.  Bolton claims that he simply reorganized the NSC and it did not impair country’s bio defenses.  Bolton is a Trumpster, so I will leave it there except to say that after this pandemic is over, the Congress should hold hearings and get to the truth because, Dr. Anthony Faucci told the present Congress that, “It would be nice if the office were still there.” Let me put words in his mouth, “If it was still there, we would be better prepared”.

      The Center for Strategic & International studies [CSIS] a respected think tank in the US, sponsored a two-year commission, which just a month before coronavirus was reported in China, rang the “now hear this warning”, and recommended the White House restore health security leadership at the NSC.  In short, the seven recommendations were a response to the conclusion that we are not prepared for a global pandemic.  Despite the fact that this distinguished CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security included six members of Congress, health experts, and US government and military officials it was ignored by the Trump administration.   The CSIS Commission included Kelly Ayotte, former Senator (R-NH) who had chaired the Armed Services subcommittee on Readiness, Julie Gerberding, MD.,MPH and former president of Merck Vaccines, Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), who  before being elected to Congress practiced medicine, served as Chief Medical  Officer for Sacramento County, and taught medicine at the University of California, Davis.  Also, Ambassador Mark Dybul, faculty director of the Center for Global Health and Quality at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Admiral Jonathan Greenert, former US Navy and Chair of the National Security Studies at the National Bureau of Asian Research; plus Christine  Wormuth, director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND Corporation,  to name just a few. [see healthsecuritiy.csis.org/members/] for complete list of outstanding experts.

     Worst of all, President Trump continues to mislead the public by discrediting the scientists.  Epidemiologists stress that social distancing is critical in saving lives by slowing the transmission of the virus, and that such measures must be in place for weeks to show results.  Trump tweets that, “We cannot let the cure be worse than the disease”. Perhaps he doesn’t even believe that white lives matter.  Meanwhile, outbreak information from New York City shows accelerating increase in cases and hospital beds being hastily dispersed at the Javits Convention Center and naval hospital ships rushing to both coasts to add a thousand beds each.

      My conclusion: I am voting for Joe Biden.  He was a Boy Scout and knows what being prepared is all about.

March 25, 2020

White House: Post-Impeachment Statement by President Trump

Feb. 6, White House:

Post Impeachment Statement by President Trump. 

“If we didn’t win, [the 2016 election] stock market would have crashed,” was an opening comment.  “I did nothing wrong” states the President.  “We were treated unbelievably unfairly, referring to the impeachment.  Thanks Speaker McConnell. Kudos to Senator Chuck Grassley for what is not clear.  Says he is sorry for Mitt Romney.  “The Russians, the Russians was all bullshit”, referencing the Mueller Report which is replete with evidence of Russian interference with the 2016 election. “Democrats are vicious as hell “. Slams Hunter Biden for being corrupt. Claims “Total Acquittal”.  “Nancy Pelosi doesn’t pray for me”. We are putting up the wall.  “There is more support for the republicans around the country than ever before.  “Democrats can’t count votes and they want to run the health system”, was a quote.  Went on to announce and name the “warriors”, who were people who were part of the House and Senate defense.  “We went through hell”. He had his legal defense team stand for applause.  There was no remorse nor recognition of the truth nor discussion of the constitutional issues at the center of the impeachment process.  Trump indicated that he was the victim. 

     Rambling in front of Republican cheering section for over an hour demonstrates the extent of his mental illness, a flight from reality and extreme narcissistic behavior.  What is worse is this question. Have we witnessed the solidification of a cult replacing the Republican Party?  My sad answer is yes. No doubt about it. This is now the reality. 

     What are the characteristics of a political cult?  Generally, they are:

     1. Led by a charismatic leader, who demonstrates deterioration in        critical thinking.   The leader claims to have done no wrong. The leader claims to be “perfect”.

     2. Members demonstrate oppressive loyalty to their leader and willingly isolate and disparage non-believers.

     3.  The leader demands a high level of adherence and single-minded thinking of an extreme ideology.

     4.  Members often end up “drinking the Kool-Aid”.

     For observers of the recent impeachment proceedings, it is easy to see the final evolution of the process in the president’s “Celebrations” today.

     All but one member of the Republican Senate drank the Kool-Aid.

Maybe so, Maybe no !

     I have had a recurrent nightmare over the past few months.  I dream that on the first day after Donald Trump is elected to a second term, he announces the opening of his presidential campaign for a third term. I wake up in a sweat, heart pounding believing that the era of the elected dictator is here-Democracy is dead!   But all of a sudden, I have been sleeping much better for the past week.  A new scenario is taking shape.  My meletonin level has shot back up to normal

     What if the House of Representatives impeaches the president and by constitutional directive, the senate must conduct a trial to determine if Trump is to be removed from office?  Up until this week, I have believed with the rest of the country, that our republican controlled senate would never vote the president out of office. But not so fast Kowalski! Maybe so. Maybe no.   Who could have imagined that Senate Majority leader  Mitch McConnell would lash out so vigorously at his president for his pig-ignorant foreign policy blunder in Syria? Or that former republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would lead a rebellion pronouncing his own vision of the Republican Party and blasting Trump's withdrawal of troops in Syria as a "bloodstain on the annals of American history".  Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, genetically an [RR] representing South Carolina tweeted, "Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration".  All of a sudden the party leadership sees a possibility to  recapture the leadership.  Who would of thuk it?

     With a two-thirds vote needed to convict and remove the president, it gets down to about 20 votes in the senate.  Are they there?  Maybe so, Maybe no.  But the question is now on the table and it may not go away.  The enormous collective embarrassment of true republicans, who believe in the integrity of the office, who believe in fiscal restraint, who believe in an intelligent and measured process of developing policy, who decry payoffs to prostitutes,  may prove to be a force yet to be unleashed.  Yes, the Republican Party may find an electorate that has been lied to every  day of the Trump Administration a mighty force. 

     The thought of coming to the 2020 election with a new ticket, with the possibility even of adding an electable women may be suddenly electrifying, particularly facing a Democratic candidate list that may not gel from their dissension and divisions.  Finally, the leadership of the Republican Party should look upon this opportunity as one that may not come around again. A third term by a sick narcissist will likely result in the destruction of whatever restraining  political institutions remain and whatever international alliances and common allegiances we have built over the past three-quarters of a century, including the UN. Throw in a global warming crisis and the extinction of global fisheries while you pray for your grandchildren.  

     Yes I am sleeping a lot better.  Will it continue?  Maybe so.  Maybe no.  Depending on a Republican Party solution is its own nightmare.     

The Case Against Legalizing Marijuana in the State of New York.

1. Legalizing marijuana will generate in new users an addiction rate or 7-8% in adults and 13-15% in teenagers.  A single most damaging argument is that fewer teens finish college.

2. Increased availability will affect the workplace by blunting cognitive abilities and produce negative effects on physical and mental health.

3. Studies have linked marijuana use to increased risk of psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, suicide and criminal behavior.

4. Arguing for legalizing leisure use of marijuana based on a medical argument is invalid since three cannabinoids are already approved by the FDA.

5.Pregnant women who use marijuana have 2.3 times greater risk of stillbirth.

6. The experiences of other states have not been sufficiently studied to determine the direction of any legalizing legislation.  This argument may be the most important. More research is needed before any further decisions are made.   The FDA has never done a study on leisure use of marijuana.

7. As pointed out in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). 2015 Jan 20; 313(3): 241–242.,

Edible products are responsible for the majority of health care visits due to marijuana intoxication for all ages. This is likely due to failure of adult users to appreciate the delayed effects of ingestion compared with inhalation. Prolonged absorption complicates dosing, manufacturing inconsistencies lead to dose variability, and the appealing product forms lead to unintentional ingestion by children.

     This is unconscionable. Furthermore,

Manufacturing practices for marijuana edible products are not standardized. This results in edible products with inconsistent THC concentrations, further complicating dosing for users. According to a report in the Denver Post, products described as containing 100 mg of THC actually contained from 0 to 146 mg of THC

8. There is an increase in collision claims in Colorado.

After retail marijuana sales began in Colorado, the increase in collision-claim frequency was 14 percent higher than in nearby Utah and Wyoming, according to the report. Washington’s estimated increase in claim frequency was 6 percent higher than in Montana and Idaho.

9. There aren't adequate parameters to police marijuana use.

10. There are long term effects of chronic use.  According to the British Journal of Psychiatry (2001-178:101-106),

There is considerable evidence that performance in heavy, chronic cannabis users remains impaired even when they are not actually intoxicated.  These impairments, especially of attention, memory and ability to process complex information, can last for many weeks, months or even years after cessation of cannabis.

11. The conclusion; “Cannabis is not, as widely perceived, a harmless drug but poses risks to the individual and to society.”

12. The argument that the majority of the public wants legalization should be re-framed to state what the majority of an informed public prefers. Certainly, the majority of the public wanted pain relief, but they did not bargain for an opioid epidemic.

13. Currently, the drive for legalization of marijuana is being driven by powerful Wall Street forces that do not have the health of the public as a prime objective.

Alternative plan to legalization:

1. Legislate monetary penalties rather than incarceration.

2. Use the funds for education on addiction.

3. Request the federal government to address the status of marijuana as a Schedule I drug in view of the three cannabinoids approved by the FDA.

4. Urge the funding of the FDA to do a long needed independent study.

5. Wait until we have more definitive information.

[This was submitted to the Democrat & Chronicle as an op-ed topic].