Tag: Trump

US China Relations. The Big Picture. The Challenge.

Are we better than them? No, we’re not.

Are they better than us? Not either.

Are they dynamic, hard charging, smart, ambitious? Yes.

And so are we.

It would take doing the ostrich number, burying our heads in the sand, to not allow for the possibility they may surpass us in the near future.

They are moving up in the world, not by committing to security issues but by doing business. In Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, the rest of Asia, Australia.

While we’re battling racial issues, they’re pushing ahead with their plans to rise as fast as they can in every dimension. Space exploration? They’re already there and moving confidently.

Liabilities? Yes. Their autocratic regime. The intrusive governmental vigilance.

It has to be suffocating. But at this point, their fast rise in world standing allows the Chinese people to say to themselves, ‘we’re getting something for our sacrifices.’

Have the Chinese stolen intellectual property? They have and probably will continue to do so. But to think their rise is owed to their theft of knowledge from the West is to miss the fact that they have enormous scientific, technological and industrial capacity of their own.

It’s there in plain sight.

To deny it is to do the ostrich number.

We have not had an adversary of such stature since the Soviet Union in the Cold War. We went on to win that war because of our stronger economy. But China is clearly different.

The Chinese are not tying up their economy building nuclear weapons like the Soviets did. No, they’re making things, and selling what they make to a world eager for their products.

We pride ourselves with our ability to compete. Now the Chinese are saying to us, ‘let’s compete.’

They are saying to us, ‘you brag about your ability to compete. Well, we say to you, we will out compete you, and move past you.’

They are daring us and the whole world is watching.

Do we take them on?

Sure, they took advantage of preferred status in the World Trade Organization and even tried to rig the rules. But there they are. Strong and ambitious. Not willing to bow to anyone. Period.

It has to be exhilarating for their citizens. A nation that has been ruled by western nations and Japan, now standing tall and saying, ‘we have arrived!’ “We’re here on earth and we’re out there in space, too!’

So what are we going to do?

We can complain that they’re ungrateful, as if American companies didn’t make and keep making plenty of money from the vast Chinese markets.

We can and should decry their human rights abuses, their treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, and the violation of their accord with the British in Hong Kong. 

But that doesn’t address the main issue, the fact that their star is rising faster than ours.

And we either confront it or let them move past us.

Our pride is too strong to go with the second option. But to confront China’s rise we have to do some major work in our nation. Long overdue work we thought we could ignore and it would go away by itself.

Let us first consider leadership.

We don’t have any at present. A person who divides is a tribal leader. America has no use for that now. Never did.

The fact that we elected one is a sad chapter in our political history.

But a leader, man or woman, who is able to sit down and talk to us, will have a powerful healing effect. In our hearts and minds, right now, today, we’re all hoping for such a person to step up.

It could well be Joe Biden.

If he has it in him, then he would have to address every sector of this country, address it and say, ‘we can’t do this alone. We’re all part of the solution, we have to come together. Everyone has something to contribute, no one is better than the other. If we don’t pull together, we’ll fall behind. The task for the nation is clear. We must act now.’

To do that we have to forgive. Yes. Forgive that in the matter of race we’ve made blunder after blunder. And so, too, in the matter of growing inequality.

Of course, every group will have complaints and grievances, and every group will feel they should be first in line.

Our leader, will need to hear all of it, to understand and then use it to start down the road to compromise. We’ll have to go down that road because without compromise we won’t get ahead.

We can look at China and say they’re not free. But neither are we. There’s no freedom in disrespect of others, no freedom in systemic racism, no freedom in institutionalized unfairness, no freedom in not having access to proper education and health care, no freedom in living in a dangerous neighborhood without clean and safe water and proper lighting and housing.  

The Chinese are saying to us, ‘we’ll move past you because you can’t get your house together.’

They’re saying to us, ‘you can’t manage your differences.’

And they have a point. That is the Chinese challenge to us. They are telling us, to our faces, ‘dare to be more productive than we are’.

Can we do it?

I think we can. And as we learn to do so we’ll discover great riches. Human and creative riches. Riches that lie trapped in differences not understood.

For instance, how we address immigration will be key. Immigration has contributed enormously to who we are. We should be open to it.

The genetic pool from which China draws talent is enormous, nearly three times ours.

But we have always been a magnet for people from all over the world wanting to improve their lot. There are riches in staying open to the world.

A strong, compassionate leader will help us work with our differences to come together.

Renewal is essential to survival. China is challenging us. We are more than capable of taking them on. And also capable of botching the opportunity.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for a Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Trump and the Power of Pardons

Trump is in the Oval Office at the White House. He’s sitting alone behind his desk… feeling sad and lonely.

He clasps his hands and pushes back in his chair. This is not a good spot he is in. Joe Biden is ahead in the polls. The number of Coronavirus infections has kept going up. The death toll is mounting.

True, the economy’s charge back is a bright spot… but will people forget the death count? Will they forget the pain?

China had not been fully transparent at the outset of the epidemic but still there had been time to take better precautions, and if he had acted promptly the numbers would not be so horrible.

He rubbed his face, looked down at the ground.

He had made a note to himself to call up Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, to thank him for the extraordinary foresight and energy he and his team had shown injecting massive funds into the economy to ensure liquidity, but he hadn’t got around to it. Would he?

It was hard for Trump to acknowledge Powell’s grand moment.

Hard for him to acknowledge that it had not been his press conferences or his refusal to wear a mask that had boosted the spirits of the nation. No. It had been the feisty governors, mostly democratic, and yes, through it all, Jerome Powel and the Federal Reserve. The bankers, with their commitment to their work, had seized the spotlight and taken it from him.  

Congress had acted, too, and passed very important relief bills – but the spotlight was Powell’s.

Trump crossed his legs, brought his palms together beneath his chin and looked up at the ceiling. He felt his eyes grow misty… he felt so alone.

A lump of emotion formed in his throat and he took a deep breath.

If he had been a songwriter… he would have started to write the words for a song… ‘Don’t cry for me, USA, don’t cry for me…’

He shook his head disconsolately.

There were still three and a half months to election day but he already felt defeated.

Beaten down.

Then, abruptly, he clenched his fists. ‘What am I doing?’

He sat up and sprang to his feet, crossing to the window where he threw open the curtains.

Ah, yes… there was the city in its full splendor. Yes. And he felt a rush of relief. All was not lost. Not at all.

It wasn’t Biden that was defeating him, it was the Corona virus. All the mistakes he’d made, the talk of Russian interference, the bruising of long held alliances, the Ukrainian imbroglio, nothing of that had stopped the economy from rising steadily… until the virus hit.

Yes, Biden and the democrats had the virus to thank. If it weren’t for it, Biden and his lot of socialists would be well behind in the polls.

But the virus had happened.

Maybe it was divine intervention. No. Not that. God was on his side. It was more like a test.

Trump looked out and smiled. He loved the sight of the city from his window. And he loathed the idea that he might have to surrender it to a democrat.

He would’ve been glad to surrender it to Pence, instead, after serving a second term.

But no, he would not go down easily. If he had to sign bill after bill of relief funds, he would. And he would because his supporters were counting on him and he would not disappoint them.

He was an embattled president, wasn’t he? Yes, he was. He loved a good fight. And yes, he was going to do everything he could to beat back the socialists and fascists who wanted to tear up the very heart of America.

He would not let down the great nation, like he would not let down his friends.

Just the day before he had signed a pardon for his old time ally, Roger Stone, as he was about to start serving a three year sentence. No, he would not allow Roger to suffer that indignity.  

Trump kept looking out the window and crossed his arms. He was feeling better now. A little better. He had friends, yes, people who counted on him. But he knew, too, that he was running out of time. So he needed to face the facts. He had dealt with many painful situations in his life, having had to declare bankruptcy many times, and if he hadn’t acted decisively then the Trump brand would not have existed and he would not be standing in the Oval office.

He smiled to himself.

So, no, he was not going down without a fight… and even if he went down, bloodied and bruised, there would still be life after the White House. ‘Let’s face it,’ he said aloud, ‘I’m a historical figure, a turning point in the history of America. From here on out there will be two eras, the B.T., Before Trump, and the A.T., After Trump. Now, that was power. Great power.’

And yes, he would have to live with the regret that there would be no Nobel Prize for him, like there had been for his predecessor, the African born president passing himself as Hawaiian.

He chuckled. It was not deserved anyway, he consoled himself. The Swedes and Norwegians gave the prize to Obama at the start of his presidency before he had done anything, which was just as well because he didn’t do anything. In effect, Obama had got a Nobel Prize for being Black.

‘But don’t cry for me, USA!’ Trump exclaimed defiantly, surprised that he had shouted the words.

He nodded thoughtfully, closed his eyes and rubbed his chin.

Yes, he was a businessman at the core… and he had to protect the downside. He must, because there was the possibility that this time the polls were right, and Biden would beat him.

Never mind the debates, where he was sure to trounce Biden (surely Biden had something to say about that). He would have no mercy for Joe, Trump continued, because he didn’t deserve any.

Trump checked his watch. It was 4:58 pm. He had asked Pence to meet him at the office at 5.

He stayed looking out the window and two minutes later, exactly on time, there was a knock at the door.

‘Come on in!’ he cried.

And Pence stepped in. He went over to where Trump stood and they shook hands. Trump signaled for Pence to take a seat opposite him at his desk.

Quiet followed.

Then Trump began. ‘Mike… there is the possibility that, this time, the polls are right.’

‘What?’ Pence shook his head vigorously. ‘I don’t believe them. Not one of them. It’s all fake news.’

‘Thank you, Mike, you have been so loyal. To the point that you chose not to wear a mask when you visited Mayo Clinic. You went into the hospital wards where all the doctors were wearing them and you, alone, stood out for not having one on. That took guts.’

‘Thank you,’ said Pence, though it occurred to him that he had acted like an idiot, ‘I’d do it again, too,’ he added.

‘That’s precisely the kind of spirit we need when the chips are down. Now Mike… the reason I’ve asked you in… is that I need your help.’

‘Anything… you know that,’ said Pence.

They paused for an instant.

‘I had a dream last night,’ resumed Trump, ‘where I was standing on top of the staircase to Air Force One, ready to board, and I waved back. I had lost the election.’

‘No way,’ said Pence emphatically. ‘It won’t happen, the economy is bouncing back, before long it will be reaching record highs, and there will be major breakthroughs in getting the vaccine. People will be back to work and the unemployment rate will be close to where it was before Corona.’

Trump smiled wistfully. And he wanted to believe his loyal friend but he needed to cover his downside. He was, after all, a practical man.

‘Mike… if I lose…’

‘Don’t think that way,’ interrupted Pence, leaning forward, ‘You’re a winner, you’re what America needs.’

Trump nodded slowly, then, ‘Mike… if I lose… I need you to pardon me.’

Pence stared back at Trump, startled, then sat back in his chair and looked down at the desk in front of him.

‘Pardon you for what? You haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘I know, but you don’t know what these democrats will come up with, anything to drive me down into the muck… when all my work has been to elevate America.’

Pence nodded thoughtfully.

‘But how could I do that, I’d have to be president to pardon you?’

‘True… so I would make you president.’

‘What?’

‘If I lose… which I don’t think I will, but if I lose… I’d resign before the end of my term so you would become president… and then, after a week or so in office, you would turn around and pardon me.’

Pence raised his eyebrows. ‘You would be willing to do that?’

‘Yes.’

‘When would you resign?’

‘Right after New Year’s Day… which would leave you about 3 weeks in office. Enough time to handle one crisis or another, and then you would become former president Pence, and that would make you the leading candidate against Biden in 2024.’

Pence nodded approvingly, the possibilities dawning on him. ‘I would be the leader of the Republican party, with plenty of time to raise money to beat Biden or whoever became the democratic candidate.’

‘That’s the idea. Of course, if you want, I’d be glad to campaign for you,’ said Trump, ‘if you want.’

There was quiet again.

Then Pence smiled a big smile, his eyes sparkling, and extended his hand to Trump.

‘Deal,’ Pence said, gushing. And Trump’s sagging spirits were suddenly lifted.

‘You made my day, Mike,’ said Trump.

‘Now let’s get on with it and win this next election,’ said Pence, effusively.

And the two men rose, walked toward each other and embraced.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Dear Amy

                                                                                                                   

You’ve made your decision. And I think you are wrong.

The cruelty of some police officers has brought to the surface one aspect of the repression under which we live. There is a measure of freedom in our country but there is much political repression as manifested by the vast differences in the quality of our schools and the profound disparity in longevity, access to health care, housing and opportunity between sectors of our nation.

Racial differences are a way to direct that repression, and African Americans bear the brunt of it. That does not mean, however, that it should fall to an African American to lead the effort to remedy the problems.

That distinction should fall to the person presently most qualified.

The reason you were in contention to be the Vice Presidential candidate owed to your performance during the primary campaign. You had distinguished yourself by your pugnacity and balanced approach to difficult matters.

That has not changed.

Other candidates came and went but you persisted.

So why disqualify yourself?

A fair allocation of resources is an urgent matter in our country, and it will take contending with reluctant and entrenched interests to push through the needed changes and make them stick.

That’s where your pugnacity comes in.

Though Trump continues to make one error after another, it is not a certainty that Biden will become the next president so we will need a strong ticket that appeals to a majority of Americans to elect him.

Your performance as a prosecutor in Hennepin County in Minnesota proved to be flawed when you declined to file charges against officers involved in the death of African Americans. That was 20 years ago. You then embodied strong community biases. But you now convey the sense of having evolved.

That quality is essential to persuade all of those who have yet to evolve, to adopt a fair and non discriminating frame of mind which will be needed to push through critical reforms.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Canada wore a black face at a party when he was younger and later apologized. So have others.

There is no purity. There is, instead, the willingness to accept our mistakes, confront the prejudices we grew up with and work with them.

I think you have done that and are doing that. The task never ends.

So don’t take yourself out of the contest to become Biden’s VP. Put yourself back in. Call him back and say you’ve reconsidered. Great saints were great sinners.

It is laudable that you wish to defer to an African American woman insisting that there are plenty who’re qualified for the job, and I agree that there are. But you have been in the thick of the fire and learned a good deal along the way.

Given the polarization Mr Trump has fostered, a white woman in the Democratic ticket will have greater appeal for the undecided voters than an African American woman would.

Democrats need to win in November. We have to do that first.

Should that happen, the woman candidate Biden chooses will get a chance to pick an African American woman to be her running mate in 2024, should Biden not wish to run again, or in an environment more receptive to women candidates, face an African American challenger.

There is a profound sense of renewal flowering in our country. The brave youth of this nation is leading a vigorous movement. They will need people with much experience and a commitment to reform so that their efforts are not wasted.

You have a chance to be a leading figure in the tough task ahead. Don’t sit this out. Fight the good fight. Biden will make his choice but don’t you step back.

Later today, some of the best our country has to offer will be protesting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the President will hold a rally. He has already warned that protesters will not be treated with a kind hand. It is difficult to accept that our president is so willing to ignore the spirit of justice that animates the protests. He can do so, because he seems incapable to accept their courage. When he sees the protesters, instead of being struck by their willingness to step front for what they believe, he is filled with envy.

I say envy because it is unacceptable that, in the face of protests across this nation, he has yet to muster the strength to address us all and say, ‘we will do what we must to bring justice to our land’.

As I write this blog, just hours before the protesters convene in Tulsa, it is my fervent hope that no one is injured or killed.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’, available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The President Self Destroys. The Virus and George Floyd.

There had been one blunder after another during his disruptive tenure, and yet the economy had held up.

Then came the virus.

The President failed to take measures to protect us against it. Over 106,000 deaths later, the best he can do is to point the finger at China and say that it was their fault. It has to rankle him that China, with a population over 3 times larger than us, has had only a little over 4,600 deaths.

But the President is doing what he’s best at, deflecting blame.

To this day, he remains unable to admit that he was late in responding, unable to admit that he was distracted with the impeachment and that the challenge to his authority was what concerned him the most. Never mind that, with a clear majority in the Senate, there was no doubt he would be acquitted of the charges.

Then came George Floyd.

And the President lost it.

To this day, he has been unable to address the nation. A nation riven by protests and looting. A wounded nation in search of clear guidance and support. A nation bleeding from a deep wound to its soul.

And there the President stands, watching over us as we bleed.

The moment a person becomes elected to the highest office in the land, they become the person to turn to for answers to our deepest troubles. It may be too much to expect for one person to have all the answers, but we look to that person because even if they don’t have the answers, they will have access to our best and brightest, to our wisest and most serene.

But our President appears unable to take such responsibility.

And so he fails us.

It is a profound failure.

A blatant shirking of his duty.

When protesters circled the White House, he was hurried to his bunker. Please. No. Don’t you hide from your fellow Americans.

With every day that passes and you don’t address us as a nation, the greater the sense that we are truly leaderless. Someone is in the White House, sleeping and eating… we hear him rant, tweet, insult, call for the Army to take over our cities and silence the protests.

But we don’t hear a man take us into his heart and say to us, ‘I am deeply pained… that during my tenure, in this great land, a police officer had the audacity to pin down and slowly kill a man while others who were watching, begged him to stop. But it happened, happened here in this great land, on Memorial Day, in the great city of Minneapolis. To the extent that I have not endeavored to heal this nation, I, too, am guilty of what happened to George Floyd. And so I am deeply sorry that I have failed you. In this day of sorrow for our nation, I ask that we forgive each other… and forgive me… forgive so we can come together and work as the great family that we are… and join in the effort to not let this happen again.’

Our President, however, cannot say that.

To do so he would have to shed a tear for George Floyd.

And yet… still we look to the White House… only to realize that it is empty… and as we shed a tear for George Floyd… we shed a tear for ourselves.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Protests. The Looting. What is Justified?

The protests are. The looting is not.

African Americans are justified in their rage at how they have been treated by the police. They are justified in clamoring for fairness, for dialogue, for the end of prejudicial behaviors. They are justified in their call for prompt review of cases where improprieties or sheer cruelty have been present.

Yes, they are.

But as riots and wanton destruction spread across our land, I am disturbed by the lack of leadership to call the nation to its senses.

Why hasn’t our President been a President?
Why hasn’t he held a national broadcast calling for whatever actions are needed to stop the unfairness from continuing? Why hasn’t he called for police reform on a national level? Why hasn’t he looked us in the eye and acknowledged that something has been very wrong for George Floyd to have died as he did in Minneapolis.

And why hasn’t the African American leadership of the country stepped front and asked that the looting stop right now?

That is a responsibility that should not be shirked.

We need action now.

We need dialogue.

People have the right to protest, and loudly so, but not to loot, not to steal, not to destroy.

We do not need silence from our leaders, whatever their color. What is the point of letting a deeply flawed President continue to embarrass himself by his repeated blunders?

The nation is in flames and he has yet to step up and say, ‘Yes, protesters, there is something wrong, yes, and I too watched the video of George Floyd’s death. I, too, fellow Americans, felt the suffocating pain of his last moments as he lay pinned down by the knee of an officer with no regard for the damage his action might be inflicting. I too felt the anguish.’

But our President cannot say that because he lacks that depth of feeling. It is simply not in him.

Calls have gone out for him to address the nation, but as of this writing he has yet to do so.

There is a huge void of leadership in the country.

Someone has to step in. If we feel at a loss then let us reach back into our recent history.

And so I assure you, that Marin Luther King would have by now, stood up on a doorstep somewhere in Minneapolis and addressed the entire nation, whites, blacks, Latinos, Asian, vehemently asking, with all the power he could muster, that we show restraint, that the difficult time we are now living calls for reflection, for feeling the fullness of our hurt, asking that we reflect on how all of us have been deeply offended by the violence of some police officers and, even beyond that, that we are deeply offended by the institutionalized violence that leads to lack of opportunity in our land, uneven health care and education.

Martin Luther King would not have played it safe, holding back to see how much more our flawed President will do in his path to self destruction.

So, please, dear leaders, someone, no matter what your color, step up and call upon the spirit of the man who gave us the glorious words, ‘I have a dream, that one day in America we will be judged by the strength of our character and not the color of our skin.’

Someone, please, in this hour of need, someone with access to the media, please step up and do the right thing.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for A Nation’ available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Joe and Jill go Up the Hill

The big question to answer is, should Biden select an African American woman for the vice presidential spot?

To try and find out I transformed myself into a fly and flew into the Bidens’ living quarters. Becoming a fly allowed me to pass through the many secret service checks. A few times they swatted at me and even sprayed some nasty mist in my direction but I managed to dodge till, finally, was able to find a spot up on the ceiling of their living room. I anchored myself in such fashion that I could hear all they said, without seeing any of what they did. Respecting their privacy is important to me.

They had just stepped in from their bedroom when I first heard them. They sat down.

Joe – That is the question. Will African Americans feel disappointed and cool on me if I don’t choose one of them?

Jill – It’s a lot of pressure you’re under.

Joe – I wouldn’t be where I am if it hadn’t been for their showing up in great numbers in the South Carolina primary.

Jill – But still you worry about it, don’t you?

Joe – I do.

Jill – Why?

Joe – My main task is to win and remove Trump. The nation cannot endure four more years of this man. The African American vote alone won’t get us there. We need votes from every sector, from the Right to the Left, the poor to the rich and from all minorities. Whites are a majority in this country. I have to appeal to those who voted for Trump and are disappointed with his performance. Race played a big part in Trump’s victory. So I have to reach out to those voters and say to them, ‘look at me, brothers and sisters, I am a white man. Throughout all my political career I have defended the rights of African Americans, and guess what? Doing so has not diminished me but, instead, made me a better person and a better politician for all Americans. Had I not made the choices I made, Obama would not have chosen me as his running mate, and I would not have been able to serve the nation as I did.

Jill – I like that, Joe.

Joe – Thanks, baby.

Jill – It speaks to the need for continued integration, and that new strengths will arise from our coming together… not pulling apart.

Joe – Yes.

Jill – I worry, though, that the various camps… Warren’s, Harris’, Klobuchar’s… and the women governors who believe they might be picked… all keep striving to find favor with you… the people they represent thinking that what they stand for should be put up front on the national agenda, that their views should have a stronger voice, and their candidate being selected would make that more likely.

Joe – I understand. My task, though, is to convey to the nation, that I will be a President for everyone. I will be a president for the Trump supporter who will vote against me, and I will be a president for him because I will listen to what he has to say. I will also be a president to those who have given up on going to the polls, because they no longer believe their plight will ever be heard. Having been a life long supporter of African American causes, has helped me acquire the strength required.

Jill – You don’t feel you have to prove it by choosing an African American…

Joe – Right. Color alone will not sway me. Character will. How can we forget the good Reverend?

Jill – Indeed.

Joe – When you go to the polls and vote for me, you will be voting for what I stand, and my pledge to devote the rest of my life to making this country all it can be. And I will show you my taxes, too.

Jill laughs.

Jill – Joe… have you made up your mind, already?

Joe – I have.

Jill – I had a sense.

Joe – It wasn’t a difficult decision, once I thought about it in detail.

Jill – You feel good about it?

Joe – Very good.

Jill – Any hint?

Joe – I’ll give you one… it is one of the women who ran for president.

Jill – Why?

Joe – Because they put themselves out… they went for it with all they had. I value that.

Jill – That narrows it down quite a bit.

Joe – Yes. Who was your favorite?

Jill – I don’t want to tell you, it might influence you.

Joe – I’ve made up my mind.

Jill – I’ll wait till you announce. When will you?

Joe – At the convention. Keeping to tradition.

Jill – Something to look forward to.

Joe – Yes.

They are quiet for a moment.

Jill – Here’s another question for you… don’t answer if you don’t want. In multiracial America, is there room for an all white presidential ticket?

Joe – You’re nipping close, aren’t you?

Jill – You don’t have to answer.

Joe – Yes, there is. There’s room for an all white ticket.

Jill leans back in her seat and as she does she looks up and notices the fly on the ceiling.

Jill – There’s a fly up there. Wonder how it got in. Joe… Trump will not go down quietly.

Joe – I know. And neither will the voices that preach disunion, privilege and enmity. Look… this race is mine to lose… only I offer the hope for a government that is open to all… and to which I will bring the best and brightest to the White House… from the Right, the Left and the Center, and steer a path to reconciliation and healing.

Jill – And I will be there at your side.

Joe – Ah… what else can a man ask for? Come over here, baby.

At which point, thinking the rest was none of my business, I flew away so I could record what you have just read.

Oscar Valdes is the author of ‘Psychiatrist for a Nation’, available on Amazon and Oscarvaldes.net.

China and Trump

They’re beating him handily.

First he picked a fight with them over trade and intellectual property. It wasn’t that there weren’t real issues to be addressed, but our president had to make a great show of it. Defeat China, force her to her knees. But they didn’t go down.

Instead of working with our European allies to enlarge the negotiating bloc since they also were affected, he dismissed them. Trump thought he knew better. He would do it alone. After all, he had decades of experience making deals in New York buying and selling hotels.

But that hasn’t translated well into dealing effectively with the world, has it?

The trade war with China raised prices for us and led to huge subsidies to our farmers whose products China chose not to buy in retaliation. Eventually a deal was reached that favored the US slightly, but it was a pyrrhic victory because a lot of resentment was stirred.

Then came the virus.

China did what it had to do. That China is an autocratic and repressive regime there is no doubt, but they fixed their problem. They were heavy handed in quarantining and tracing their people, but they fixed their problem.

As of this writing, 4600 deaths from the virus have been reported in their nation of 1.4 billion and their economy is revving up again.

Contrast with over 71000 Americans deaths in a country of 330 million, less than a quarter the size of China.

Contrast with 550 deaths in Japan, with a population of 126 million, less than half of America’s.

So what happened?

Think on it for a moment.

Yes, that’s right. We screwed up. Big time.

That’s 71000 Americans.

The difference in the death tolls is not the price of freedom. It is the price of folly.

And that price keeps rising.

Known for our abundance we got caught off guard and scrambling for ventilators, for masks, for protective equipment to assist our burdened and valiant health workers.

What happened?

It is so sad, isn’t it?

It is not that we lack the productive capacity or the ingenuity or the will or the drive or enterprising push to get things done. No. It’s not that at all.

We knew the virus was coming.

On December 31st 2019 The Wuhan Health Commission alerted the Chinese National Health Commission and their CDC. That same day the World Health Organization (WHO) was also notified of the outbreak. Mind you, it took another 30 days to January the 30th, for the WHO to declare it a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ but on January the 23rd , Wuhan city, with 11 million people, was shut down. If that wasn’t a momentous event, then what is? When was the last time a city that size was shut down? To anyone paying attention it should’ve sent a big warning sign. Danger ahead! Watch out!

But we missed it.

Washington DC, America’s seat of power, was distracted.

Our great leader was tweeting on one or another inconsequential matter.

I can only imagine what was going through the president’s mind. When is my next rally? When will I, again, be showered with great praise?

His impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of congress had begun on December 18th 2019 and would not end until February 5th 2020. But all along the outcome was assured. With Republican Senators firmly under his control, Trump would be acquitted. Still he didn’t pay attention.

And the virus gathered force.

The president’s defense? Denial. Grand Denial.

It was like the flu, nothing more, it would go away quickly, he said. We, Americans, would be just fine.

71 thousand Americans have died since. The damage to the economy enormous.

Coronavirus was beyond his grasp like it is beyond him to apologize for not seeing it.

And the virus keeps pummeling us.

We’re all hoping for medical researchers to save us. Those gifted men and women from all over the world, who toil tirelessly to come up with a weapon that will stop the virus on its tracks.

But the White House cannot lead.

Just the other day, a global effort was put together to raise funds for vaccine research. We didn’t pitch in. Mind, you, there’s already much work being done here, but an American contribution to the grand effort would have been symbolic of the desire to join in and be part of a world team. We couldn’t do it.

Our Secretary of State, however, has been very busy trying to get other world leaders to agree to labelling coronavirus the Wuhan virus. But world leaders have not been persuaded.

Not wanting to stop blaming China, the president has spoken of imposing new tariffs in retaliation. They should’ve warned us, the White House says. China should’ve done more to prevent the catastrophe.

Well, they did. China made their own mistakes silencing doctors that told of the incipient outbreak, but eventually they turned around and got to work.

We didn’t.

But we could have.

We had plenty of time to take action and prevent the viral spread.

But all is not lost, is it? No. We can still put more blame on China, still time to make up a story that the Chinese actually manufactured the virus so they could inflict us great pain.

And for the gullible that might just do.

For the rest of us, however, let the virus be a warning of what we must do to remain a strong nation.

One key ingredient is to be willing to face the facts as they are and not deny them, to be able to see the truth and act decisively.

And no, China is not in descent as a nation. Let us not delude ourselves. Their economy has temporarily contracted but they remain a powerful engine of growth, a huge market to the world and a mighty rival.

And yes, the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well in that land, entrepreneurs contributing significantly to their GDP and representing a huge source of employment for their countrymen.

Eventually, that spirit will prevail in China and their system of government will change.

Meanwhile, we’d better give up the idea that the future is ours. It is not. We have to make it our own, and to do so we must be willing to face the facts at home and abroad and act accordingly.

With a population less than a quarter of China’s size, America’s openness to immigrants and our commitment to freedom of speech, we have a great advantage. But let’s watch out. A short sighted, tribal leader, can squander it all. In less than one term in office.

China Has Arrived

There is a certain majesty to China’s move to command the world stage. As the number of infected and dead rise worldwide, China is stepping up and saying ‘We have got this. We mitigated as was necessary and we have controlled the coronavirus epidemic.’

So far, the results back the assertion. Their economy is starting up again and, filled with confidence, are now sending experts to aid other nations in the grip of the virus, such as Iran and Italy. They are even building hospitals for them.

The Chinese did it.

And they deserve recognition.

China went into full battle with the virus and has come out ahead (South Korea has done the same).

The Chinese imposed severe restrictions on movement, mobilized resources, and got the job done. My hat off to them.

The Chinese do not deserve, to have the US try to devalue them by calling the virus the Wuhan virus. What that shows is how envious the present American leadership is. Trump and company had ample time to take the necessary steps to prevent the wide spread of the disease but instead wasted the opportunity. Is there a word for it? Yes. It is Denial. Massive Denial.

Preoccupied with lesser and partisan concerns, i.e. the building of the wall, his impeachment, Mr Trump could not think ahead to what was looming and how it endangered the lives of Americans. He could not bother to summon the multitude of experts the nation has at its disposal, because he needed to attend the political rallies that he requires to prop up his confidence.

Surely, the crowds chanted vigorously, Make America Great Again! just as dark clouds drifted menacingly in our direction.

The preoccupation with getting elected, prevented the president from hearing the advice that would have led to us having the necessary masks and testing kits and ventilators. But to think in those terms, requires a mind that is free to rise above partisan concerns and look beyond.

Mr Trump could not do that.

As of today, our nation has had nearly 4 thousand deaths from the virus, a figure larger than China’s, with a population 4 times the size of ours. And the forecast of future deaths is ominous.

Consumed as we are with tending to our own, we must now cede the stage to China, and we must because they were vastly more effective than we have been.

It would do us a world of good to recognize it.

It would do us a world of good to state openly, that China has done a most competent job at saving lives. Even as they segregate Uighurs and curtail freedoms to their citizens, which stains their standing as a leading nation.

And yet, as things stand, it would do us a world of good to be frank and upright and recognize that, in combatting the virus, they have done a better job than we have.

As we endeavor to follow the instructions to slow the spread of the disease, we will soon limit the lurid escalation of the death rate. There are already signs that the rate of infection is beginning to slow.

But our economy has suffered a major hit, many businesses will not reopen and unemployment is soaring.

Who knows how long this contraction will last.

China’s economy, by contrast, is revving up and, for now, will be the dominant world economy.

It will do us a world of good, our leaders foremost, to recognize it.

It wasn’t long ago, that nations in need would have looked to our country for urgent assistance.

Preoccupied with divisive concerns, we have shirked from the world, and now we see the cost.

There’s a price to pay for being short sighted.

A price to pay in lives and in prestige.

That matters.

Day One after National Emergency Declaration. A Public National Registry of Cases?

Yesterday, Mr Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. On the news, the stock market was up. Today, however, Mr Trump spoke of wanting to replace Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman. The likelihood then, is that the market will drop again.

I find it reassuring that the world map tracking the spread of the virus, shows the figures in China stable at 80 thousand plus and the figures in Japan barely over 1400. It tells me that the virus spread can be controlled, that we can do this.

A friend of mine and I were scheduled to meet today and, of course, we thought of whether it would be advisable. We met anyway. Something about friendship boosting our immune systems.

Still, the city of Pasadena, where I live, was largely empty. On a Saturday night, otherwise busy restaurants had only a few patrons. The streets had few cars. An ice cream parlor was closed.

When will the rising tide of infections crest? It’s anybody’s guess.

The recommendation is out for everyone to stockpile food supplies. I always have a few days’ worth as a matter of common sense since I live in earthquake country, but to expand on it is not appealing. Not yet, anyway.

I will eat out more, I say to myself. I suppose it’s in keeping with the part of me that likes to buck the trend, but I can also say that I’m supporting local businesses in the process. Anyway, the lines are short.

Should I fall sick, however, I would quarantine myself and ask to be tested. But I’m not there yet and maybe will not be. I tend to be an optimist.

I am washing my hands, more carefully than ever, avoiding hand shaking and reminding myself to not touch my face (not easy to do).

I am avoiding theatres, but still get my hot choco at the local starbucks.

One step at a time.

I would like to be able to read about how people have recovered, and if not, then why. It would be informative and confidence building. Why not create, then, a national registry of cases where a synopsis of cases was entered on a daily basis and posted online by major newspapers, viewable for free. The synopses would include a doctor’s comments on the course of the illness.  

Food for thought.

I read about measures to protect our elderly and infirm. It is heartening. To know that for those who are at the end of life, with their productive capacities spent or markedly diminished, a genuine effort is being made to keep them with us.

For all the devastation it has created, coronavirus is reminding us of our humanity.

May the pandemic be soon controlled.

And may the warm sentiments it evokes, stay with us forever.

Good night.

Market Drop on 3/9. Reversible?

Yes. There are two potentially reversible causes. The coronavirus and Saudi Arabia’s decision to increase oil supply and flood the market.

Take the first.

Imagine for a moment, that we began to see a drop in the incidence of cases. A few days of such a trend would lighten our heavy hearts. Possible? Of course.

Today I read an article in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (3/5/2020). It carried a brief report of the first case of coronavirus in the country. A 35 year old man in good health otherwise, had returned from Wuhan, China and, after a 4 day history of cough and subjective fever, presented himself on 1/19/20 to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County in Washington state. He was tested and the next day the CDC confirmed he had Covid-19. He did develop signs of an atypical pneumonia but by 1/30 all his symptoms had resolved except for the cough which was decreasing.

In the same issue, a hospital in Munich, Germany reported that 4 people had developed symptoms after exposure to a person who had visited from China but was asymptomatic while in Germany. She developed symptoms on her flight back to China, sought help and her contacts were traced. Of those German contacts, 4 became ill. Persons 1 and 2 had been in direct contact with the visitor, while persons 3 and 4 had only been in contact with persons 1 and 2. None had shown signs of a severe illness.

So, yes, this illness can be controlled.

Of course, if you’re already ill, your chances of recovery are lower but the illness can be controlled.

What about if we had an online summary of cases, or a sample of them, with both good and bad outcomes, so we could all check in?

Maybe we wouldn’t panic so much about this. Maybe we would be more rational.

Openness is good.

We need it.

Now I turn to the second reversible cause, the drop in the price of oil.

The Saudis and Putin have feuded before and will again. This time, though, with oil demand already low, the timing is disastrous for some of our industries.

Price of gas cheaper? Sure. But what about our shale oil producers? What about all those industries deeply connected with them? How many companies will go under?

Word is that Putin has wanted to put a good bruise on those industries of ours, since we have become a major exporter of oil and thus compete directly with Russia.

Well, now the Saudi Prince, with his intemperate action, will do what Putin has wanted.

Dear Mr Trump, was this prince not the same man who our intelligence agencies have said is responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Ankara, Turkey?

You did not hold him accountable then.

Will you hold him accountable now for the damage he is doing to our economy?

Just a phone call away, Mr Trump, just a phone call away.