Donald Trump expected to run in 2024... So what?

Donald Trump has allegedly decided that he's not finished inflicting damage on our country, and that he intends to run for President in 2024.  Personally, I doubt he'll actually run.  He's dangerously obese, visibly unhealthy, and would be 78 years old were he to run again.  At age 75, he already sounds unstable, and I fear for his mental health.  So why is he running around beating his drum for anyone who'll listen?  He's an attention whore, plain and simple.  There are countless reasons why Democrats and Independents shouldn't be wringing their hands in fear at the prospect of another Trump campaign--and perhaps the most obvious one is that this man has shown himself to be a loser--many, many times over.

He lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 3,000,000 votes.

He lost the popular vote to Joe Biden in 2020 by over 7,000,000 votes.

He was trounced in 2020's Electoral College count, 306 to 232.

He's a disgraced, two-time loser--having been impeached twice.

And let's not forget he's a loser in business as well.  As of this moment, Trump has filed six bankruptcies in his "illustrious" Wall Street career, and it appears as though a seventh is on the horizon.  In every instance he was bailed out by U.S. taxpayers.

Donald J Trump is a notorious sexist pig and serial groper, and now that he's out of office a rape case is slated to proceed against him.  He's blatantly and unapologetically racist, and has no interest in matters of justice.  And, given the fact he's guarded his educational records with a paranoid frenzy, it's probably safe to assume he's the stupidest man to have ever occupied the Oval office.

The multiple failures racked up by the Trump White House boggle the mind.  His bungled Covid policies cost tens of thousands of lives.  His failed bromance with Kim Jong-un left north Korea free and clear to develop long-range ballistic missiles.  He lost the trade war he initiated with China, and failed to live up to his promise that he'd topple the Iranian regime.  And, let's not forget his other failed bromance--this one with Vladimir Putin.  Trump opened the door to Russian interference in our elections, and allowed Putin to run roughshod over basic human rights in Russia,.  It's also likely that Putin directed the attempted assassination of Alexei Navalny.  Trump never squeaked out a word of criticism, afraid to anger his mentor.  The list of Trump's failures is endless.

Donald is the poster child for failure, and if he decides to run for president again, he's sure to become a three-time loser, and an international laughing stock.  It would be nice, though, if we could be spared the "drama" of "will he, or won't he?"  We've got better things to do with our time than to waste another minute thinking abdou that pompous, arrogant fool.

The Trump Pandemic

 Ever since Joe Biden became the duly-elected 46th President of the United States, and Trump was effectively fired by the American people, we've been blessed with comparative calm.  Sure, the occasional toadie (McCarthy, Graham, Scalise) ventures down to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the bloated ego, but by and large since Twitter bestowed the ultimate gift upon the nation (stripping DJT of his accounts), it's been relatively quiet... until now.

You'd think that after fomenting the January 6th attack on the Capitol, "the Donald" would be inclined to lay low.  But as the country recently marked the one year anniversary of the Trump Pandemic, he's attempted to re-insert himself into the national dialogue by demanding full credit for the development of the Covid vaccines.  Well, perhaps we should give him an iota of credit for the rapid pace, but it was primarily science that came through for us.  And, given the history of Trump's response to the virus, it's a wonder he has the audacity to even raise the topic.

--In May of 2018, the Trump administration disbanded the White House pandemic response team.  Tragically stupid.

--In January of 2020, he crowed "we have it totally under control.  It's one person coming in from China."  Speaking of China, he praised President Xi for his "transparency" and efforts to curb the virus.

--All along, Trump was made to understand how dangerous this virus was.  He told Bob Woodward (in private) "This is deadly stuff".  However, he assured the American people "this is a flu".  He lied.

--He claimed that "one day, it's like a miracle, it will disappear".  Delusional.

--By April of 2020, he was promoting hydroxychloroquine as "a great thing to try", contrary to all medical and scientific advice.  This was followed by his off-hand suggestion that we investigate injecting the body with disinfectant/bleach, for a thorough cleaning.  He also wondered about the possibility of hitting the body with "very powerful light", ultraviolet or otherwise.  Insanity.

--In May, he proclaimed "this is going to go away without a vaccine", while May also saw the national death toll surpass 100,000.

--Once testing for Covid finally began to approach appropriate levels, he complained there was "too much testing" (because more and more cases were being uncovered).  He took the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (in the middle of a pandemic!), and began his racist references to Coronavirus as "the China virus".  

--By August 2020, he was once again proclaiming that everything was under control, and demanding that schools be reopened in the fall.  September saw the national death toll pass 200,000 (and climbing).

--Trump was now solely focused on getting re-elected, Covid 19 be damned.  He always scoffed at masks, as well as social distancing.  When questioned if he was afraid of contracting the virus, he replied "I'm on a stage, it's very far away, so I'm not concerned at all".  Apparently he had no concern for his supporters.

--In October, both Trump and the First Lady tested positive for Coronavirus.  More than a dozen White House aides followed suit shortly thereafter. Ceremonies at the White House continued to serve as "super-spreaders" when all safety precautions were routinely ignored.

--On November 2nd, he falsely claimed that "Joe Biden is promising to delay the vaccine and turn America into a prison state--locking you in your homes while letting far-left rioters roam free.  The Biden Lockdown will mean no school graduations, no weddings, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas or 4th of July.  He'll listen to the scientists!"

Mercifully, Trump was booted out of the White House--he lost the popular vote by over 7,000,000 and suffered a landslide defeat in the Electoral College (306-232, almost the same margin as his win over Hillary Clinton, and he called it a "landslide").  At any rate, he's gone, though by the time he left D.C. the Trump pandemic had claimed over 400,000 lives.  Given his complete failure at dealing with the crisis, he needs to be quiet now and let wiser heads prevail.  Goodbye Donald, may the next time we see you be in court in New York!

Joey Molland: The Underdog Takes It All

The classic Badfinger line-up consisted of Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, and Joey Molland.  From 1968-1975 the band recorded five albums for Apple Records, and topped the charts world-wide with "Come and Get It", "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue".  Harry Nilsson scored a smash hit with the Ham & Evans song "Without You" (also covered with great success by Mariah Carey almost twenty years later).  During their time with Apple, Evans & Molland worked on John Lennon's "Imagine" album, and, after working on "All Things Must Pass", George Harrison brought the band to New York to play at his "Concert for Bangla Desh" concerts.  Harrison worked with the band as a producer on the "Straight Up" album, along with Todd Rundgren.  By 1973, however, Apple Records was in financial chaos, and the notorious American businessman Allen Klein was brought in to establish "order".  Unfortunately, he showed little regard for artists, even those who'd proved to be successful, and Badfinger signed on with Warner Brothers.  Badfinger released two albums for Warners in 1974, "Badfinger" and the critically acclaimed "Wish You Were Here".  However, it had become evident to Joey Molland that their manager, Stan Polley, had been robbing the band blind.  Apparently believing he could do the same to Warners, Polley pilfered a joint publishing account.  Unfortunately, the band paid the price.  "Wish You Were Here" was pulled from record stores weeks after its release.  With Apple royalties tied up in escrow, the band had no income.  In the months that followed, Pete Ham left the band, then returned a few weeks later.  Following a short tour, Molland left the band permanently, frustrated at his inability to get the others to see Polley for what he was.  By the time Ham realized the truth, it was too late.  In April of 1975 he hanged himself, leaving behind a note that pointed the finger at Polley.

Following brief stints with other bands--Molland with Natural Gas, Evans with the Dodgers--the two joined forces in 1979 to revive Badfinger.  They released "Airwaves" in 1979 and "Say No More" in 1981.  Both albums had their high points, but disco was peaking at around the same time, and Badfinger's "power pop" was suddenly out of place.  Combined with internal frictions, the band broke apart in 1982.  Molland and Evans went their separate ways with each fronting their own version of "Badfinger".  Neither one of them proved successful, and Evans lost his struggle with his personal demons.  In November of 1983, he hanged himself.

Despite the daunting adversity, Joey Molland resolved to carry on.  Supported, as always, by his wife, Kathie, he released his first solo album, "After the Pearl" in 1983.  He toured extensively in an effort to establish his own identity while simultaneously keeping the memory of Badfinger alive (in 1990 he released the recording of a Badfinger concert at Cleveland's Agora theater in 1974).  1992 saw the release of "The Pilgrim", with "This Way Up" following in 2001.  Though both were chock full of great tunes and were well received by critics and fans alike (particularly "This Way Up"!), neither achieved the widespread success they deserved.  "Return to Memphis", released in 2011 saw Joey exploring new ground, but felt oddly incomplete.  It gave no hint that a power pop masterpiece was in the making.

However, in 2020 the combined talents of Joey Molland and producer Mark Hudson released the "feel good" album/CD/digital download that had been missing from the music world for far too long.  Frankly, there isn't a weak track on "Be True to Yourself", but there are more that a few songs that warrant special mention:  "Better Tomorrow", "Rainy Day Man", "All I Want To Do", "I Don't Wanna Be Done With You", "Shine", and the title track.  Not bad when you feel the need to single out more than half the tracks!

Joey Molland has endured more than his fair share of hard knocks (most recently in 2009 when, after 37 years of marriage, Kathie passed away in her sleep), yet there are a few folks who apparently resent the fact that he's a survivor.  Not only a survivor, but an optimist!  Those detractors need to get over it.  On the other hand, many of us have always believed that Joey was capable of work like this, and "Be True to Yourself" is precisely what we've waited for.  Now, finally, the underdog "takes it all".