October 8, 2020: American Bar Association Warns Us about Trump

 

10/8/20: There are some days, with Trump in the Oval Office, that you think the country is doomed to disaster and disgrace.

 

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One in five could run out of cash by November.

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Then there are other days when…okay…you still think the country is doomed to disaster and disgrace.

 

It’s Thursday, so the weekly jobs report is out. In the latest seven-day reporting period 1.3 million Americans filed for unemployment under traditional and pandemic-related coverage.

 

The damage continues to pile up. Experts at Credit Karma warn that 1 out of every 5 Americans will run out of cash by November. “People are going to be forced to make tough choices,” Credit Karma Chief People Officer Colleen McCreary says. “There are a lot of Americans who either haven’t been in this situation in a long time or have never had to face this reality. Many will have to sacrifice and prepare because it could get worse before it gets better.”

 

Second, we learned that the coronavirus spread is not abating. There were a few brief moments of hope in mid-September when cases fell briefly. Now we’re off to a terrible start for the month. On October 7, CDC tallied an additional 53,051 cases. Today, new cases hit 54,887.

 

The death toll is holding steady, but at an alarmingly high level: 900 dead on October 7, followed by 979 on October 8.

 

Yet, listening to right-wing talk radio today, on the final leg of a drive home from Oregon, my wife and I heard Bill Cunningham on 700 WLW out of Cincinnati, agreeing with guests who said, nah, this virus is no worse than the flu. Besides, the radio host said, he didn’t want to be a “subject” of a government, telling him what he could and could not do. Wear a mask! Don’t congregate in bars! Limited guests at weddings! Caps on how many persons can attend church!

Bah!!! Cunningham wanted to be free to infect you and me and get infected himself. It’s right there – in the Bill of Rights! 

Bill, right, is a master of bombast.

This health challenge would not be easy for any leader to meet. But the U.S. continues to pile up cases and deaths, where other nations have dramatically slowed the spread. As of now, the United States has suffered 658 deaths per million in population, according to Worldometers.

 

The top ten worst nations in the world:

 

San Marino:  1,237 per million (total deaths 42)

Peru:   1,000 per million

Belgium:  873

Andorra:  712

Spain:  704

Bolivia:  702

Brazil:  701

Chile:  690

Ecuador:  685

USA:  658

 

Several countries hard-hit at the start of the pandemic have been doing far better than the U.S., including France and Italy. Germany has lost 115 persons per million. Ireland, once tied with us in rates of death, has slowed the spread, although 368 persons per million have succumbed. South Korea has only 8 deaths per million. Finland, with its socialized medicine, has 62. Norway, another country with socialized medicine, has lost 51. Canada has had 253 deaths per million. Australia, with 35, and Japan, with only 13, put the Trump record to shame.

 

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THE MORE you keep track of President Trump and his team of miscreants, the more you come away horrified by what you find.

 

Today, several hundred former judges, state and local bar leaders, and three past-presidents of the American Bar Association, promise “broad support in the legal community” for current members of the Department of Justice who wish to protest against the politicization of the DOJ, at the behest of the president and with the acquiescence of Attorney General Barr.

 

We support DOJ attorneys and personnel who stand by their oaths and the Department of Justice’s duty to do justice for the public by not participating in partisan misuse of the DOJ. They honor the rule of law, our profession, and the country as we face this crucial test for our democracy.

 

Mr. Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power – even if solely intended as another effort to discourage voters – heightens our concern about what actions the Attorney General might take that would undermine the vote and the rule of law.

 

The fact that 895 leaders in the field of American jurisprudence feel a need to warn us that democracy is at risk should tell you all you need to know before you vote.

 

In other court news, another woman, former model Amy Dorris, came forward today and alleged that Donald J. Trump once forcibly kissed and groped her at a golf tournament.

 

No one seems to have the same exact count. But Dorris is one of at least twenty-two women who have accused Mr. Trump of criminal behavior. “He just shoved his tongue down my throat and I was pushing him off. And then that’s when his grip became tighter and his hands were very gropey and all over my butt, my breasts, my back, everything,” she told British reporters. “I was in his grip, and I couldn’t get out of it,” even though she told him to stop. She says she wanted to tell her story in 2016, but feared for her family. Now, she says, she was inspired by her twin daughters to give warning.