covid diary: day 143

Well, here it is. As if you can't tell by the random capitalization and the disjointed language, here's a tweet from Trump from this morning:

With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

What a crock. First of all, mail-in voting and absentee voting are the same thing. The. Same. Thing. This process has been used by politicians (including Trump), elderly people, military service members, and people who are lucky enough to live in vote-by-mail states for a very long time. It's safe. It's secure. He just doesn't want to make it easy for people to vote, because when more people vote, more Democrats win. Secondly, he doesn't have the authority to delay the election. That date has already been agreed to by Congress, and according to the Constitution, the date applies to the entire country all at the same time. And finally, delaying the election won't help him, even if he doesn't have the reading comprehension necessary to process that information. His term ends on January 20, 2021, whether there's an election or not. And again, referring back to the Constitution, in that situation, guess who would be president? That's right, Nancy Pelosi.

But wait! you may argue. Doesn't Speaker Pelosi's term end that same day? Well, yes, but her election isn't a national election. California (and any other state) can definitely go ahead with any non-presidential elections it wants to. So assuming she gets re-elected, she'll still be in office. He won't.

Whoooops your plan sucks. Shocking.

In contrast, Representative John Lewis wrote his final words, and asked that they be published in the New York Times on the day of his funeral (today). NYT has the story behind a paywall (boo) but other outlets are printing excerpts of it. 

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

What a great man. What a decent man. I hope we follow his advice.

I watched parts of John Lewis's funeral today, and saw Presidents Bush and Clinton offer their words. I watched President Obama's eulogy later on (stupid work got in the way). And in all three, I was struck by their compassion, empathy, humor, intelligence -- all qualities sorely lacking in the current occupant of the White House (who wasn't in attendance). President Obama's speech in particular was moving and powerful.

The life of John Lewis was, in so many ways, exceptional. It vindicated the faith in our founding. Redeemed that faith. That most American of ideas, the idea that any of us, ordinary people without rank or wealth or title or fame, can somehow point out the imperfections of this nation and come together and challenge the status quo. And decide that it is in our power to remake this country that we love, until it more closely aligns with our highest ideals.

What a radical idea. What a revolutionary notion. This idea that any of us ordinary people, a young kid from Troy, can stand up to the powers and principalities and say no, this isn’t right, this isn’t true. This isn’t just. We can do better. On the battlefield of justice, Americans like John, Americans like reverends Lowery and C.T. Vivian, two other patriots we lost this year, liberated all of us. The many Americans came to take for granted. America was built by people like that. America was built by John Lewises. He, as much as anyone in our history brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals.

And someday when we do finish that long journey toward freedom, when we do form a more perfect union, whether it’s years from now or decades or even if it takes another two centuries, John Lewis will be a founding father of that fuller, fairer, better America.

And yet as exceptional as John was, here’s the thing. John never believed that what he did was more than any citizen of this country can do. I mention in the statement that day John passed, the thing about John was how gentle and humble he was. And despite this storied, remarkable career, he treated everyone with kindness and respect because it was innate to him, this idea that any of us can do what he did, if we’re willing to persevere.

And then President Obama pulled out all the stops with a full-throated call to all Americans. 

You want to honor John, let’s honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for. And, by the way, naming the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, that is a fine tribute. But John wouldn’t want us to stop there, just trying to get back to where we already were.

Once we pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, we should keep marching. To make it even better. By making sure every American is automatically registered to vote, including former inmates who’ve earned their second chance. By adding polling places, and expanding early voting and making Election Day a national holiday so if you are somebody who’s working in a factory or you’re a single mom who’s got to go to her job and doesn’t get time off, you can still cast your ballot. By guaranteeing that every American citizen has equal representation in our government, including the American citizens who live in Washington, DC, and in Puerto Rico. They’re Americans. By ending some of the partisan gerrymandering. So that all voters have the power to choose their politicians, not the other way around.

And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic, in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that’s what we should do. 

YES. I can't tell you how much I miss having a real president who loves America AND Americans. 

There's other stuff to write about, but today should be about John Lewis. American patriot. Founding father. 

Nationwide cases: 4,495,224. Deaths: 152,075.