You knew it would happen.  Trump’s incompetent response to the COVID-19 outbreak is one of the few crises in the last three years that is not of his own making, and his sycophants have come to realize that he can’t lie or tweet his way out of this one.  The response?  Gen up the Noise Machine, WhatAbout Version.  One of the loudest blowhards in the Machine is PJ Media formerly called Pajamas Media, one of the biggest manure shovelers on the web.

The WhatAbout target this time?  Barack Obama, of course, and this time it was his response to the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009, days after he had taken office.  H1N1 became apparent in January 2009 and being researched by the WHO then.  The first case of H1N1 was discovered on April 15, 2009, the WHO declared a medical emergency on April 25, and the CDC began releasing anti-viral drugs to fight the disease. Obama declared a US medical emergency on April 30.  He requested $1.9 billion then and as the pandemic grew, requested another $9 billion for response and vaccines.  In October of 2009 Obama did declare a national emergency, but only after multiple efforts to control the virus.  Today, H1N1 continues as a recurring flu virus and has killed an estimated 75,000 Americans since 2009.  It’s part of the annual flu vaccine today that many Americans still refuse to receive.

Let’s talk about how Republicans responded to the virus back in 2009 versus what they are saying now.  During the funding debates of 2009, Republicans opposed Obama’s request because, well, they’re Republicans.  Also, the noise machine cranked up led by Gleen Beck, Lou Dobbs, and Rush Limbaugh.  Glenn Beck, who at that time had a big show on Fox Noise said, “…you don’t know if this is going to cause neurological damage like it did in the 1970s,” adding that he would do “the exact opposite” of what the federal government recommended and might even attend a swine flu party to deliberately infect himself before the virus could mutate.  Rush Limbaugh said, “I am not going to take it [the H1N1 vaccine], precisely because you are now telling me I must. . . . I don’t want to take your vaccine. I don’t get flu shots.” He added that if “you have some idiot government official demanding, telling me I must take this vaccine, I’ll never take it.”  In Congress Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) commented, “We can’t let all of our spending and our reaction be media-driven in responding to a panic so that we don’t get Katrina-ed. . . . It’s important because what we are talking about as we discuss the appropriateness of spending $2 billion to produce a vaccine that may never be used—that is a very important decision that our country has to make.”  Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) added, “I don’t think we need to spend $1.5 billion on flu vaccine when . . . the research shows that it’s not going to be very virulent. . . . We are stealing our grandchildren’s future by borrowing and spending. . . . This hysteria over the flu is driving the media, and it’s driving the administration, driving the leadership here. We’ve got to stop that.”

The funding was passed, but after intense anti-vaxxer misinformation and loud Republican opposition, the distribution of the vaccine was greatly suppressed and even THAT was affected by party.  Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 50% in saying they would take the vaccine.

The Repubs are singing the same song this time, too, calling the outbreak of COVID-19 a hoax and supporting Trump’s idiotic and incoherent blabbering and tweeting about it.  Even as they try to cover for Trump, they’re attacking Obama for doing exactly the opposite of what he actually did.

Same song, different pandemic.

I don’t know if any of you are interested in or follow tennis, but there is a serious changing of the guard happening right now.  I personally started playing tennis over 50 years ago and still play today.  I follow professional tennis closely and love the grand slam events.  This year is a seismic shift in the sport with both young women and men rising  and challenging the pillars of the sport.  The new guard in women’s tennis burst onto the scene last year when 20 year old Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams last year for the US Open championship.  It continued this year when 15 year old Coco Gauff defeated Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon, reaching the third round before she was defeated by eventual tournament champion, Simona Halep.

Tonight, Coco and Naomi met in the third round of the US Open in NY, and Naomi won decisively in straight sets to move on to the round of 16; while important, that was not as significant as what happened after the match was over.  I let you see it for yourself first:

What we are seeing is a changing of the guard in tennis, and it seems it is in good hands.  This new generation is setting an example for all, and this old tennis player loves it.

Say what you will about Nancy Pelosi, but she is seldom wrong.  Yesterday, the Noise Machine went nuts when she said that Trump was trying to goad the Dems into impeaching him.  The Noise Machine went nuts for one reason, and one reason only:  she’s 100% correct.  Think about it:  The latest ABC News/WaPo poll found that 55% of voters definitely will not vote for Trump; further, 85% said they were going to vote in 2020.  High turnout is death for all politicians Republican.  Trump’s approval is hovering at 39% to 41%.  All these numbers are terrible for him. Terrible.  I would say that Trump’s chances of getting re-elected now are low, unless the Dems are stupid and run HRC again in 2016, which is not going to happen.  Biden, if he maintains his current intensity, will slaughter Trump, especially with a vibrant younger VP like Harris or Hickenlooper.

In short, the shine is off the fake gold plating, and Trump’s record as a fraudster and criminal is finally beginning to catch up with him, especially with those not in his drooling, Confederate flag wearing base.  Indictments on a number of state and federal charges once he leaves office are a virtual certainty; he will be legally and financially destroyed once he comes out from under his rock in the WH.  His only hope to fight off the wolves at the door is to stay in office as long as possible, and a new term will protect him until he’s too old to throw in jail for the rest of his life.

Because of these facts, Trump’s only chance of survival is to gain sympathy and support from low information voters by fighting off a huge threat.  That huge threat is impeachment by the Big, Bad, Democrats in the House.  So let’s consider what would happen if articles of impeachment were drawn up in the House. First, it takes a majority vote in the House on Articles of Impeachment, and that is not a certainty, especially if Pelosi continues to oppose.  If Trump is charged by a majority of the House, he must undergo trial in the Senate, which requires a 2/3 supermajority to convict.  With current Senate membership and leaders, Trump’s conviction has a zero chance of happening.  Zero.

So, impeachment is exactly what Trump wants.  He wants to play victim on Twitter and national television over a “witch hunt” and “coup attempt”.  That’s why he’s begging for impeachment by blocking disclosure of the unredacted Mueller report, claiming executive privilege.  That’s why he’s preventing Barr and McGhan from testifying.  That’s why he’s ignoring every single subpoena and request for information.  Since beating an impeachment charge is his only chance of winning another term, expect him to continue escalating his attacks on the House, Dems, and all things that are considered good and decent.

Though no other president has deserved impeachment more than Trump, the Dems must not take the bait.  They need to continue bombarding him and his cronies with subpoenas, demands,  requests for information and admonishments, but Pelosi is right.  Impeaching this son of a bitch is the last thing the Dems should do.

This is not directly about politics, but in the end really is.  A couple of days ago, it was reported that notorious mobster, James “Whitey” Bulger was found dead in his cell.  OK, he was 89 years old and in poor health; another dirtbag dies in jail.  That happens all the time, but this one is different – he was murdered in his cell.  OK, that happens all the time, too, right?  It’s still different. Bulger, who was wheelchair bound, was viciously beaten to death with a padlock stuffed into a sock to make a sort of medieval mace.  That’s not all, though – his eyes had been gouged out and at least part of his tongue cut out.  Jesus.

Bulger was an infamous member of the Irish Mob in Boston who was famous for his cruelty and cold blooded murder.  He was also an active informant to federal law enforcement during his life of violent crime.  He was finally jailed in 2011 for life when caught after 16 years of hiding in plain sight.  Since being imprisoned for two consecutive life terms he’s been a pain in the ass for prison officials and disciplined multiple times.  Bad guy, right? But here is where it gets weird.  Bulger was suddenly moved this week to the maximum security federal prison called Hazelton in West Virginia.  Within 24 hours, he was beaten to death and mutilated in his cell. The cell was in the general population of the prison.  The prime suspect is a guy named Fotios “Freddy” Geas, a Greek hitman for the Italian mafia in Massachusetts who is serving a life term for murder.

So here’s the point – and it’s not that a really bad guy was brutally murdered by another really bad guy both serving life in a maximum security prison.  They’re both vicious murderers.  The point is that this is no coincidence.  Some official in the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the US Department of Justice authorized this move.  This official moved Bulger to a prison where he was most certainly in deadly danger, and danger became reality in less than 24 hours after the move.  Some employee of the federal government signed Bulger’s death warrant, and THAT is the point.

We are in a time of great uncertainly and instability.  The federal government, led by a morally bankrupt individual, is fragile.  This brutal murder in a federal prison by an inmate supervised by the federal government was sanctioned by an official of the federal government.  Our Constitution commands equal protection under the law.  Those Constitutional rights extend to EVERYONE in our country.  EVERYONE, even vicious criminals in our prisons.  The Department of Justice has a legal obligation to protect everyone under its jurisdiction, especially those in prison.  This murder exposes the rot within the DOJ.  If a federal official authorizes a move that would result in the certain death of one under their care, is the next step disappearing people who politically disagree with the government?  What about those arrested for protesting in Congress or at the Supreme Court?  Bringing the full force of the federal government to take the life of a prisoner demonstrates a shocking corruption that must be removed.  Corruption is corruption no matter where it lay, especially in the federal government.  This corruption must be exposed and eliminated.

OK, kids.  All of you along the Gulf Coast from Houston to Brownsville need to turn on your TeeVee for the latest weather.  The National Hurricane Center has now forecast landfall late Friday night NORTH of Corpus and south of Victoria.  The storm has strengthened rapidly and is forecast to reach Category 3 before coming ashore, hitting 125 MPH winds before coming inland.

That’s not the big problem, though.  The big problem is that the damn thing is forecast to stall just inland until as late as Tuesday before dissipating.  It’s going to dump a LOT of rain on the coastal areas, and Houston is going to see its share.  Back at El Jefe’s Beer & Bread Emporium, we call this kind of storm a Clear Up Shower.  Clear up to your ass.  Forecast rains for Houston could be 12″ to 18″ of rain through Sunday into Monday.

Y’all pay attention to this one, this is going to be a wet one.  We’ll be watching closely.

Interesting posts on my Facebook feed this morning.  There are articles one after the other about how BOTH major political parties are on the ropes.  I give you the headlines:

‘Trump is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’ – Politico

and right after it –

Sen. Bernie Sanders – “Democratic Brand is Pretty Bad” – CNN

In recent days, talkers from both sides have been bemoaning the condition of their own parties.  Some are going after their party leaders; some are blaming everyone from the Russians to their political rivals.  For the first time in over a decade, Nancy Pelosi’s job is in jeopardy.  After the Dems were skunked in the recent special elections, younger Dems are publicly talking about new party leadership in the House. Republican senators are openly refusing to support Mitch McConnell’s plan to destroy the US healthcare system.  The only oddity that continues is that the Republicans remain terrified of Trump and his Twitter fingers.

Are we finally reaching a crossroads in political party life?  Deep inside, the Repubs certainly recognize the smoldering ruin of their party after Trumpzilla rampaged through in 2016.  But it’s worse than that – to cling to power, the GOP has abandoned common decency and common sense, appealing to the worst instincts of the ignorant base.  That’s their problem.

The problem on the Dem side is more subtle.  Party leadership is fossilized.  It’s not adapted to the new normal.  Although the vast majority of creative thinkers and visualizers are Democrats, the party has remarkably failed to engage them in dragging the party out of the 1990’s.  The Dems don’t stand for anything – not to say they don’t have the interests of workers, families, and the disadvantaged – they can’t articulate it.  That was Hillary’s well documented problem…she couldn’t connect on that level.  Senate and House leadership now has the same problem.  While the GOP is in smoldering ruins, instead of taking advantage of that weakness, the Dems are arranging furniture and counting noses – no one is leading.

Maybe the voices of the younger generation will get loud enough for the geriatric leadership of both parties to get the message and get out of the way.  Can you imagine what America would be if we had youthful enthusiasm involved?  Can you imagine if political leadership was 50/50 men to women, inclusive of all faiths and ethnicities?

We’re a long way from that, but I can still dream.