I believe Joe Biden is just offering up an olive branch to the Republicans when he says he thinks he’ll be able to work with them but I wish he’d stop saying so. It sounds nice but naive. The Republicans aren’t even pretending to work across the aisle. Their “position” is that Democrats are illegitimate. Moscow Mitch declared at the beginning of Obama’s administration that his goal was to ensure Obama was a one-term President. (Job well done, eh?) I haven’t heard him say the same about the incoming Biden administration but Republicans certainly have already retreated to their anti-Democrat stance. Joe may be willing to work with Republicans but Republicans WILL NOT work with Joe. Period. Joe needs to approach his new job with a firm grip on that knowledge. I’m wary because “reaching across the aisle” was the line that shielded Obama from accomplishing too much for the American people…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve got to say, trump’s meltdown is becoming SO severe I’m starting to feel sorry for him. I mean, up until now I felt, in order, contempt then disbelief. After that came embarrassment. I genuinely felt embarrassed for him. Now? Jesus, it’s just…SO pathetic. Losing to Joe (60 times!) seems to have really and finally broken him. NONE of his usual coping techniques – the “tools” that have taken him this far in life – (denial, name-calling, threats, bribes, lawsuits, and tantrums) have worked. No matter WHAT he does, facts remain facts and he knows – everybody knows – that HE’S the biggest loser!

You know who else thinks this current trump show is pathetic, disgusting, and embarrassing? Karl Rove! Karl says that Americans LOVE a comeback story but they HATE a sore loser. A rational person would get it. When Karl Rove says you’ve gone too far, you can rest assured you’ve gone too far!

As a result of the trump tantrum, 45 is doing as much damage as he possibly can on his way out the door. He’s rolling back regulations. He’s still firing people and installing lackeys. He’s STILL got his cowed and cowardly Senate pushing as many “conservative” judges as possible. He’s like a little brat with a gun and an endless clip. He’s just blasting away at America in every way he can at every chance he gets.

Okay, well, that didn’t last long. I’m back to contempt…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Generally, I don’t have anything against the Swedes. They seem like nice enough people. But I sure got tired of hearing about them from the anti-mask, anti-lock-down contrarians. Apparently, the Swedes were going after the misinterpreted form of herd immunity. You know, the one where we just let people get sick and die off until the bug just…stops. In this model, the “immunity” is derived from the near-extinction of the herd. It’s exactly the kind of “misinterpretation” (read: lie) the Heritage Foundation or Cato are famous for and apparently, Sweden fell for it.

Now, because they didn’t react well to the pandemic, Swedes are dying at record levels – just like in the good old USA – and for the same reason! Stephen Colbert said it best: “It’s almost as if doing nothing has done nothing.” Well, it IS decreasing the surplus population. Ebenezer Scrooge would be pleased…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the meantime, Congressional Contrarians continue to obstruct efforts to help Americans most in need as a result of the feckless response to trump’s pandemic. This is going to be a rough ride because I’m certain Moscow Mitch has already pegged the impending economic disaster as a great political opportunity. All he’s got to do is prevent any (or, sufficient, at least) disaster relief from reaching Joe Six-pack. (To hell with desperate American people. It’ll be good for the party!)

The economic time-bomb awaiting us all is in rent relief. As it stands, there’s a hold on rent payments for anybody who loses income because of Covid-19. Great. BUT…once trump’s pandemic is controlled, all back rent will become due. Yeah, good luck with that.

The very fabric of this once-great nation has been reduced to pure, selfish greed. It’s not like the majority of landlords out there are offering up units at the lowest price possible. The mantra is, whatever the market can bear, remember? They take top dollar and then squeeze a little harder. The working class is already working multiple jobs and scrambling desperately each month in an effort to make just one month’s rent. How the hell are they supposed to pay back nearly a YEAR’S worth?

Economists generally agree the economic downturn associated with trump’s pandemic isn’t structural. The thinking is that once the pandemic is controlled people will go back out and start spending again. Right now? I agree, it isn’t structural. But once those rent payments become due, it won’t be money that follows. It will be bankruptcies and evictions.

Yes, I get it. Landlords aren’t evil. They’ve made an investment. Their resources are often tied up in these units so the downturn is as devastating to them as to the tenants who stand to lose their homes. In this, the “Greatest Country On Earth”^tm Congress could just make the payments. But, apparently, THAT would be a “handout” and we just don’t have enough for a handout to desperate Americans AND defense contractors (or Joel Osteen, who took 4.4 million taxpayer dollars for his megachurch that doesn’t pay taxes) so Average Joe is on his own.

Somehow, I don’t think the millionaires and billionaires running this once-great nation have a solid handle on what life is like for those of us born without a silver spoon…