Snarky Remarks

 "Tump's the Virus, Biden's the Cure!"

"It's more like an IQ test than an election."

What are some reasons not to vote for Trump?

1.  192,886 dead and 6,434,526 cases of Covid 19 as of today.
2. Trump tried to remove the preexisting requirement from health insurance.
3. Trump withdrew funding from the WHO during a pandemic.
4. Trump fired the pandemic response team in 2018 to save money.
5. Trump withdrew the US from the Paris agreement on climate change.
6. Trump tried to end transgender healthcare protections.
7. Trump tried to pressure Ukrainian officials to interfere in our election.
8. Trump encourages racism.
9. Trump locked children of refugees in cages.
10. Trump put a tariff on solar panels.
11. Trump insults liberals.
12. Trump is trying to cut funding for social security.

The Fall of America

I know that it has been predicted that the US will no longer be the leading economic force in the world. I wondered how that transition would happen. It seems like now I am seeing it unfold before me.

America is so obsessed with greed that instead of focusing on healing the sick we are concerned with wringing as much money as possible from the sick. The financial outfall from those who must be hospitalized from Covid-19 must be devastating.

Federal agents in unmarked vehicles, sent by the president of the United States are arresting antifascist protesters in Portland and detaining them without apparent probable cause. When did the US turn against anti-fascism?

The environmental protections that we fought so hard for during the 1960s and 1970s are being swept away by this administration.

A large fraction of the population seems no longer capable of critical thinking. They exist in their own constructed reality that is at opposition to science.

Most other advanced nations have already recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and England are all able to reopen. The US, I fear, will be forced to shut down again as this plague sweeps through the nation. Americans refuse to heed the warnings of our public health officials. 

I live in a neighborhood of mostly elderly people. When I go for a bike ride I have yet to see another person wearing a mask.

For now we are trying to survive the pandemic but the next crisis will be our healthcare infrastructure. People who do not have insurance or cannot pay the high deductible. I think this will tear down the healthcare infrastructure we have.

The republican party has made a mistake by politicizing this pandemic. We could have, should have ended it early. Instead they pretended like it was not real. Now so many people are going to die, many more will be left with bills they cannot pay.

Is America great yet? Because I'm not sure how much more of Trump's "greatness" we can survive.

Trump Gets a Job as a Lab Technician

Trump's first day as a lab technician.

Supervisor: You have to wear a mask.

Trump: No.

Supervisor: You're fired!

US Government Conspiracy

There is a conspiracy going on in the United States. The government and media are being controlled by a corrupt organization. Fox News is working hand in hand with this white supremacist movement to support the most corrupt President in history. His goal is to control all branches of the government. He is systematically eliminating judges, attorney generals, and law enforcement officials to prevent any oversight of his corrupt regime. This conspiracy is happening right out in the open.

Trump Declares War on America

It is all part of his plan. Allow civil unrest to divide the country. Deprive minorities of healthcare.

The Disinformation Age

I believe there are foreign agents at work trying to cause the deaths of as many Americans as possible and destroy the American economy. Not by sending in an army. By sowing doubt in our health care, scientific, and government agencies through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. In this war they have already largely succeeded. If we had been able to stop the virus early it would already be over. Instead we refused to follow the health and scientific guidelines and many more lives will be lost. When you spread misinformation you do their work for them.

Reality TV

This is what you get when you elect a reality TV star president. Next time vote for someone who cares more about others than he does about himself. Or at least someone who cares more about people than money.

What is Donald Trump Thinking?

This was the original text:

Please stop for a minute to look at this picture.
I don’t know or care much about politics not even gonna act like I do, and this is NOT a political post. This is simply something I want everyone to think about. So keep the bashing comments to your self.
Can you imagine the weight he must be feeling. I know my anxiety is through the roof sometimes and I feel like the weight of the world is on me. I know when he signed up for this role, without pay, he was willing to take on whatever, but the magnitude of what we’re experiencing has got to be paralyzing. And to some nothing he does is ever right ...
I wonder how he must be dealing with it all. When his head finally hits the pillow at night after press conferences and meetings, Constantly trying to defend himself and protect our country.. does he cry? Is he scared?
Is he even able to sleep?
Can he shut his mind off?
Or does he lay there and talk to God all night?
Whether he’s making you proud or not, I’m urging you to look at this photo and ask the Lord to soften your heart and lift him up in prayer. He needs them. He’s carrying the weight of our world on his shoulders and I don’t think anybody could/would be doing any better.
Feel free to share and remind everyone to be kind ! 🙏🏼😷❤️ please no negative comments - thanks !

**Author Unknown**

Here is some more:

Is he thinking that it is really tough being president so maybe he should not have harassed Obama about his birth certificate when he was trying to run the country?

Is he thinking about his hotels and casinos and how maybe he could save them if he opened the country up early and how many people would die if he did?

Is he thinking karma sucks?

Is he thinking maybe he can axe more of the environment while everyone is distracted by the coronavirus?

Covid-19 and US Healthcare Policy

If you have seen the news from Italy you know how bad things can get. Germany is doing better because they have invested in three times the intensive care capability than Italy. England only has about half Italy's IC. Spain is probably similar to Italy. Because of this Germany is reporting few deaths per hospitalization.

How about the US?

Unlike most European countries the US has a for profit healthcare system supported by a for profit private insurance system. How did this happen? I was about to blame it on Nixon but it turns out it probably dates back to the AMA in the 1920's.

History of Healthcare - Wikipedia

One bright point was the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. When Bill Clinton was elected president Hillary Clinton tried to go to congress to get healthcare reform passed but the Republican congress refused to listen to her basically because she was not an elected official.

Finally Barack Obama was able to get a healthcare reform package passed that allowed all Americans to get health insurance but it was a flawed plan. First his plan was not as extensive as the plan Hillary Clinton had proposed. It was based on on Mitt Romney's plan from Massachusetts. Then just as it was going to pass Edward Kennedy died and a Republican senator was elected to replace him. More concessions had to be made to the Republicans and the bill barely passed. People were so made about having to have healthcare that they elected a Democratic house of representatives and senate for the rest of Obama's term and he was not able to pass any significant legislation during that time.

Ever since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare was passed states have been trying to overturn it. It also turned out to be not really affordable. Many people decided to pay the fine in taxes rather than buy insurance.

If you end up in the hospital in one of the European countries I mentioned at the beginning of this paper you will spend some time in the hospital, you might end up on a respirator but if you survive the nightmare is over. If you end up in a hospital with Covid-19 in the US I heard someone on the say the received a bill for $35,000. They did not have insurance. If you have a lengthy stay in the hospital it will be more. Even if you do have insurance you will probably hit your deductible which will probably be several thousand dollars since most people have high deductible insurance now.

What will happen when insurance companies start getting hit with thousands and thousands of claims? They will go bankrupt and default on their payments to the for profit hospitals who will then also go bankrupt.

It is at this point that the government need to come in a provide medicare for all and eliminate for profit healthcare. Hopefully we will have learned our lesson.

I don't like Trump

I don't like Trump.

I watched a few episodes of "The Apprentice" and I thought it was OK during the first season, but after that I got sort of sick of Donald Trump and his signature "You're Fired." If you have ever been fired you know it is not something to take lightly.

Then during President Obama's presidency Trump demanded to see his birth certificate. I didn't know that every citizen has a right to see the presidents birth certificate. I am hereby asking to see Donald Trump's birth certificate. How do I know he was not born in the Soviet Union and brought here as a plant long ago? Anyway he acted like jerk. You can't just demand to see someone else's birth certificate.

During the correspondant's dinner Obama spent quite a bit of time harassing Trump. It was at this point that the Donald decided to run for president. He would get his revenge.

After getting elected president his focus was twofold. Undo every major accomplishment of Barrack Obama, and try to be the lead story on the news every day. To get on the news he would say or do something ridiculous every day. His supporters loved it. Here was someone who was not afraid to say anything to the press.

Then there is the bigotry and racism. Is Trump racist? Is Trump a bigot? It doesn't really matter because his statements and policies support racism and racist organizations. I have been opposed to racism since I was a child during the civil rights movement.

Trump hates science. I am a scientist. Trump does not believe in climate science. I thought it was terrible that he withdrew from Paris accords.

A few weeks ago I was thinking that Trump had not faced any difficult situation during his presidency and I thought he was ill equipped to handling one. Never did I imagine that this idiot would be asked to handle the biggest crisis the world would face in over 100 years. Now his disregard for scientific thinking shows he is willing to endanger American lives for his own aggrandizement. As Covid-19 is doubling every three days Trump declares that it is OK to return to normal. His followers will probably take that as an indication that they can do it now. He is completely ignoring the epidemiology of the situation because he hates science.

Feel the Bern!

Bernie Sanders is as far right as I am willing to vote!

Edit:

Bernie supporters apparently don't bother to vote.

State of the Union 2020

I could not watch this without responding to some of the comments.

Trump: The years of economic decay are over (etc.)

This is highly unlikely considering how the deficit is growing. Trump's economic plan of giving huge tax cuts to the rich just creates a huge deficit to pass on to our children.

Trump: Our values are renewed.

Trump as basically destroyed our values by supporting White Nationalists bigots. Now Obama had values.

Trump: From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the U.S. economy — slashing a record number of job-killing regulations

Many of the regulations Trump slashed were designed to protect our environment, our wildlife, and our economy from reckless practices in the past that lead to the collapse of our economy.

Trump: If we hadn’t reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witnessing this great economic success.

The Obama administration oversaw one of greatest economic recoveries in history which continued into the next administration, much of Trump's success must be attributed to Obama. He should be thanking him rather than insulting him.

Trump: Under my administration, seven million Americans have come off food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare.

I suspect that there are more people going hungry...

Trump: Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world, by far.

OK, this is not a good thing. This is not something to be proud of. Hasn't he ever heard of climate change...oh, yeah, that's right. He does not believe science.

Trump: After losing 60,000 factories under the previous two administrations, America has now gained 12,000 new factories under my administration, with thousands upon thousands of plants and factories being planned or being built.

I remember Trump talking about how great the Foxconn plant was going to be in southerns Wisconsin. That place is a mess. I have been there. There tore up the whole place and there are no jobs. The jobs that were supposed to be coming to Eau Claire mysteriously evaporated with Foxconn pulled out. Thanks Donald.

Trump: Six days ago, I replaced NAFTA and signed the brand-new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement into law. The U.S.M.C.A.

They basically are the same deal. A lot of farmers lost there farms while they were waiting for it.

Trump: That’s why my administration reversed the failing policies of the previous administration on Cuba.

Why would we want to backpedal on Cuba? We finally make some progress on Cuba and Trump dumps it.

Trump: Socialism destroys nations.

At this time let us reflect on some of the programs that have come from socialist ideals: social security, medicare, medicaid, public schools, public roads, the military (oh yeah the military is a government organization).

Trump: It’s called the Space Force.

It's a joke, OK. There is no space force.

Trump: Yet, for too long, countless American children have been trapped in failing government schools.

Now Trump is great a coining phrase to make it sound bad. Instead of saying public schools he is calling them government schools. Sounds bad doesn't it? Think we will be hearing that phrase on the campaign trail? You bet we will! The republican machine has been pulling money out of public education for decades forcing them to fail. Why? Probably so uncertified schools like Trump University can dupe people out of their money and trap them in student loan debt.

Trump: My budget also contains an exciting vision for our nation’s high schools. Tonight, I ask Congress to support our students and back my plan to offer vocational and technical education in every single high school in America.

Wait, what?! Aren't those the failing government schools that you wanted to get the kids out of? Well at least the kids who go to government schools will be able to get a job when they are done thanks to technical education. I guess the student who end up in the charter schools probably won't get the opportunity.

Trump: We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions.

Was this intended as a joke? Trump and the republicans have been trying the get rid of the pre-existing conditions requirement since Trump took office. Doesn't anybody remember anything? Isn't that why John McCain voted against it?

Trump: The American patient should never be blindsided by medical bills..(cut)..But as we work to improve Americans’ health care, there are those who want to take away your health care, take away your doctor, and abolish private insurance entirely.

Yes, I do want to get rid of private insurance. Why have some middle man making a huge profit? No one should have to go broke just because they are sick. I would much rather pay taxes and ensure my heath care is taken care of than pay some ridiculous amounts of money to some for profit hospitals and insurance companies.

Trump: One hundred thirty-two lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our health care system, wiping out the private health insurance plans of 180 million very happy Americans. To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: We will never let socialism destroy American health care.

Socialized medicine is going to happen eventually, it is only a matter of time. I would be very happy to replace my private for profit insurance with a public tax thank your very much. It is the for profit health care industry that has already destroyed American health care.

Trump: This will be a tremendous boon to our already very strongly guarded southern border where, as we speak, a long, tall and very powerful wall is being built.

Shouldn't we have been putting that money into health care. Since we need more workers and people are having fewer children shouldn't we actually be increasing immigration. What are you doing to make legal immigration easier?

Trump: And, Rush, in recognition of all that you have done for our nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to and that you inspire, and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Rush Limbaugh has made a ton of money by promoting government policies that mostly benefit the millionaire class, his class. And by being a jerk. Well, it is too bad he has cancer but maybe he should have lived a better life.

Trump: Whether we are Republican, Democrat, or independent, surely we must all agree that every human life is a sacred gift from God.

What about us atheists?

Trump: Rocky was at a gas station when this vile criminal fired eight bullets at him from close range, murdering him in cold blood.

Wow, we should really restrict access to dangerous weapons like guns...

Trump: So long as I am president, I will always protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Nope

Using your position to influence the election

There was a professor DT who was running for city council and he found out that one of his students was the HR director for a company and the son of his main rival was an employee for her company. So when the student turned in her assignment he gave her a zero. Then he called her up and said he would give her an A if she announced that the employee was being investigated for sexual harassment. She refused but someone in the next cubicle overheard the whole thing and reported it to the school administrators. What action should they take?