Trump to UN: "Let me back in"

Next Friday marks two years since the US withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal. Withdrawal was a signature Trump initiative to overturn President Obama’s sensible creation which eliminated Iran’s nuclear threat. The deal was arguably the most significant peace saving measure of this century. Trump, got a twofor: besides nullifying an Obama policy, it furthered his desire to overturn the Iranian regime. Withdrawal allowed Trump to demand a new agreement which would essentially eliminate Iranian sovereignty.

But withdrawing backfired, so much so that Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is demanding the US never really left the deal and wants back in. Why? Turns out Iran didn’t cave to Trump’s intimidation. They kept their powder dry knowing the UN and other signatories support the deal and are appalled the US would sabotage it. As a party to the deal the US would have an easier time imposing “snapback”, a clause that would automatically trigger pre deal sanctions. Leaving the agreement ended US opportunity to impose snapback for any Iranian non-compliance. Pompeo now argues the US never really left the deal even though Trump’s May 8, 2018 announcement trumpeted the US ‘withdrawal’

After three years of demonizing Iran, designed to both discredit his wise predecessor and take out the Iranian regime, Trump has simply cemented his stature on the world stage as a foreign policy fool.

Trump’s WHO vendetta stalling UN call for worldwide pandemic campaign linked to military ceasefire

The UN Security Council’s resolution calling for a ceasefire of worldwide hostilities to fight only the pandemic is has being held up by President Trump for two reasons. He does not favor any resolution that commits the US to curtail its perpetual wars in the Middle East and Africa. But instead of just admitting that, he’s couched his refusal on the ludicrous demand the resolution delete any reference to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the worldwide campaign against covid-19. Demonizing WHO, as well as China, has become Trump’s signature re-election strategy to deflect justified criticism of his pandemic handling. Even working cooperatively with the UN and its 193 members to flatten the pandemic curve while flattening the war casualty curve takes a back seat to securing election for Trump.

That’s a campaign tactic too far.

Blame it on China

Trump’s abysmal handling of the pandemic, with 1,100,000 infections, 60,000 dead, and no end in sight, represents a national catastrophe. The Republican Party, seemingly unconcerned with the human tragedy, is laser focused on the coming electoral tragedy…for them. They need a scapegoat to survive this November. Beleaguered Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has come up with a 3 point plan: China, China, China. His blueprint for Red success specifies blaming the pandemic on China, standing up to an aggressive China and painting Democrats as ‘soft on China’. McConnell’s charges “China is not an ally, and not just a rival – they are an adversary and the Chinese Communist Party is our enemy.” McConnell hit man Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas chimed in “China’s leaders wanted the coronavirus to spread because they did not want to see their relative power and standing in the world decline. It’s a scandal to me that we have trained so many of the Chinese communists. If Chinese students want to come here and learn Shakespeare and the Federalist Papers – that’s what they need to learn from America; they don’t need to learn quantum computing and artificial intelligence from America." Down in Xenophobic Hell, Sen. Joe McCarthy is applauding Cotton’s red-baiting.

McConnell would be well served attempting to figure out how China, with 4.3 times as many souls, has one twelfth the US infections and deaths. He might learn about fostering national unity and lifesaving leadership.

Walt Zlotow

Glen Ellyn

Grim Reaper's new theme song

Georgia On My Mind

Back to school

Lock down at home tough especially when involved in many social activities. One benefit has been Mary signing up for online history and art appreciation courses. These aren’t brief overviews but intensive examinations of events and the people involved. Already completed 12 hours each on Winston Churchill, Tchaikovsky, and George Orwell. Didn’t think Orwell could possibly require 12 hours but when concluded, we were left wanting more on this extraordinary, gifted visionary whose 'Animal Farm' and ‘1984’ echo down to today. Halfway thru 15 hours on WWII providing amazing insights not previously gained from dozens of histories and biographies. Mary so enthralled she emailed the Orwell prof to express her appreciation. He responded with news of his upcoming venture coming this fall: ‘60’s London and the Beatles.’ That’s on our watch list, quarantine or not. Watching that magic screen doesn’t quite match the ambiance of musty lecture halls at University of Chicago and Loyola seven decades past, but helps speed up the time till paroled back into society.

Quote of the Day

“One day, our society will come to respect the sanitation worker if it is to survive, for the person who picks up our garbage, in the final analysis, is as significant as the physician, for if he doesn’t do his job, diseases are rampant. All labor has dignity.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr. addressing striking Memphis sanitation workers, April, 1968

A low pandemic number that chills

Normally, it’s the high pandemic numbers that shock. Today we’ll see the one millionth US infection and the 56,000th death. But it’s also a tragically low number that chills this morning. A Washington Post analysis of the last three weeks of Trump’s pandemic briefing comments reveals just 4 minutes of 13 hours spent recognizing and empathizing with those victims. The other 776 minutes were spent bashing reporters and lavishing praise on himself and his administration's pandemic response. Worse, many of those minutes were spent hawking an unproven, potentially deadly drug cure; even bombarding the infected body with sunlight and injecting disinfectants.

A low number that won’t chill? Trump’s sinking re-election poll numbers.