AHOY! A BLOOMBERG IS ON THE HORIZON

Let's suppose Bloomberg ends up being the nominee. He will definitely need, and should definitely have, a lady running mate (especially in view of the mysterious dirty joke pamphlet). 

Forget the alt-right haters; his current weaknesses seem to lie with minority & mid-west voters. Although his minority (black) support is on the upswing -- because he is seen as the dRump killer -- I haven't seen any discussion about Bloomberg's chances in the mid-west.

Enter Amy Klobuchar. She's a she, she's moderate, smart as a whip, tough, no nonsense & slightly more charming than Bloomberg. 

OTOH, Kamala Harris is all those things plus she appears to be even more approachable, has real charm, an infectious laugh, is a minority & all that counts for something anywhere, any time.

Having said that, a Bloomberg/Harris ticket would represent the two coasts, once again leaving the mid-west as flyover country & I'm not sure the Dem's should try that again (even though Uncle Joe will undoubtedly be waiting in the wings to help out). So maybe it will be Bloomberg/Klobuchar.

However, given that the overriding imperative in 2020 is to make dRump the unPOTUS, I believe all the losing Democratic candidates -- maybe not Bernie because he'll be pouting up in VT -- but a wonderful culturally diverse cross section of very smart surrogates like Castro (Latinos), Beto (idealists), Booker (love preacher), Bennett (Big Sky reformer), Mayor Pete (LBGTQ + Iowa) & Warren (the pragmatic revolutionary) will be out campaigning for the chosen one, addressing some of the electorate nooks & crannies across the nation.

If I'm right, the current POTUS can kiss his ass goodbye. Unfortunately, that will not rid us of the Trump/Kushner cabal. They will be feeding in the political trough, dogging the Democratic administration for years to come. But it will eventually recede like a bad dream.

FOLLOWING THE SHINY OBJECT, JOURNALISM IN THE AGE OF TRUMP

What I wouldn't do to sit down with Walter Cronkite, Bud Benjamin, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, Fred Friendly, Roger Mudd, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, Tim Russert, Mike Wallace, Bob Schieffer, and a few others to discuss how the TV news outlets are covering this political season.

I think it borders on irresponsibility especially as TV journos consider themselves an indispensable column in the democratic coliseum. But it may be time to realize that what was once fine TV news reporting is now slithering from the Fourth Estate into the Fifth Estate.

Journalists and news outlets of all kinds ARE indispensable to a healthy democracy. However, there is much public sentiment that views TV news as utterly dispensable. Considering how much news is consumed over the airwaves, this is dangerous but may be deserved.

Day after day, there is uneven, lazy TV reporting on our presidential candidates, arguably the most important story in the world for all that it suggests about our place amongst nations. I watch the coverage day after day. I find myself talking to my TV set. I'm both disgusted and sad.

It's like watching an extremely accomplished, greatly respected individual, who once had gravitas, now living as a drug addict, on the street, family-less, home-less, fund-less, scrounging around, wondering how to get their next (ratings) fix.

* * *

First published in my local newspaper during the 2016-17 campaign season. Three years later I am able to say that journalism (especially newspapers) are again carrying their weight, restoring their mantle & leading the way.

February 15, 2020

ACCESSORIES TO MURDER

Steyer, Bloomberg, Soros, Schultz & other such fortunates should spend their billions to target EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN SENATOR in Washington up for re-election in 2020.

From now until November, the billionaires should blanket newspapers, magazines, airwaves, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter with facts exposing these unprincipled representatives to the cleansing effects of sunlight, for turning their backs on our civilized society. They are criminals.

The law goes like this: If you are a witness to murder and you do nothing, you are an accessory to the crime.

The crime: murdering the rule of law, murdering the Constitution, murdering our values, our respect for each other, murdering our way of life, all to preserve their miserable fiefdoms & by so doing, unleashing the sociopath, who resides in the White House, onto the rest of us.

Making dRump the unPOTUS is the imperative but let's finish it in one sanitary flush.

Voters in every town, city & state that has a Republican Senator up for a re-election, should organize to wipe out these spineless individuals. Citizens should take to the streets again, again & again in order to show them the door in November.

These Senators are nothing less than a virulent form of political Ebola that spreads like wildfire. And that's already happened via social media & on the airwaves; both in broadcast & cable.

It is now up to us to mobilize our forces to quarantine it for reasons of our national health.

So organize! If we can get to the moon in less than a decade, we can run these criminals out of office in less than ten months.

Wake up! The clock is ticking, ticking, ticking...

TIME

Bedroom View (Winter 2020)