Let History Be Our Guide

It is becoming increasingly CLEAR… the longer we wait, the more this becomes permanent. The larger the SCAR will become. And on DAY ONE, the Senate Majority Leader sent the United States Senate HOME FOR THE WEEKEND, knowing the spread of the virus was exponential. DAYS. Lost.

In order to SAVE LIVES, the doctors and scientists of the United States tell us we must STAY HOME. We are doing as required by science and by LAW… and the Senate Majority Leader tells the States, if they can’t cut it they should just file for BANKRUPTCY.

The leadership of the Senate GOP wishes to revert to the Articles of Confederation, a system we rejected over 200 years ago! The majority of the Republican Party currently advocates for political de-evolution.

… let them.

If they choose to fight for a lost cause, let history inform them as to their Party’s fate; cast aside and forgotten along with their political predecessors… Our sight is FUTURE FOCUSED. Let history be our GUIDE.

The NOISE… in this moment, the noise becomes deafening. Deflect and distract, not to our benefit, but to our detriment. It’s hard to find a TRUE bearing within all this chaos. The polarity shift within our political spheres has pushed this nation to its extremes. Divided us on things as basic as TRUTH and FACTS… at a time when we should be UNITED.

LIVES are in the balance, yet elected officials in the Senate unite behind a President, asking in GOOD FAITH, if we should investigate using cleaning supplies as a treatment for COVID-19.

Hey! You know… if it had never been investigated before NOW, in all those years of use on kitchen countertops and in toilet bowls… he might have a strong point.

With every passing day, with every insanity uttered. With every life LOST, the agenda of the Senate Majority Leader is laid BARE before his constituents and the American People. Continuing his lust for political power and electoral supremacy in this moment transforms his actions; from something simply unseemly or distasteful, into something historically adjudicated as being complicit.

But these agendas are NOT OURS. These agendas and ill-informed opinions are not those held by the MAJORITY. And, once again… this fall the people must choose the lesser of two evils:

**Damned if you DO or Damned if you DON’T.**

It’s time for the SYSTEM to change… it’s time for the system to represent the PEOPLE from whom it receives its POWER.

The vaccine is in human trials. May they proceed safely… then let us be on our way. This quarantine cannot end until either TESTING for the virus and it’s antibodies is widespread, OR a vaccine is mass-produced. Until then, we must proceed with CAUTION. The choice is CLEAR when cast in this light, yet the Governor of Georgia wants everybody in his State to go out and get a HAIRCUT… while the infection rate continues to GROW.

“Georgia starts to reopen but nervous mayors warn that coronavirus crisis isn’t over.” CNN.com (04/25/2020)

It is not a failure of science. It is not a failure of the PEOPLE. In fact… it’s not a failure of the system. The system has been designed to work this way. It is a government empowered by the people who put those elected officials into office… THE DONORS.

“Bush signs bank bailout, Oct. 3, 2008.” Politico.com (10/03/2013)

“McConnell signals interest in protecting employers from coronavirus litigation.” Market Watch (04/24/2020)

We have the ability to SAVE LIVES, simply by STAYING HOME. The only reason people want to go back to work, is because the United States Government has FAILED to take care of the PEOPLE first… the CORE of our economic engine. Instead of ensuring FOOD and SHELTER for EVERY AMERICAN until this pandemic is over, The United States Senate has focused on business owners… hoping their kindness and generosity would trickle down.

**To that I say, let HISTORY be their guide.**

…

Once again, every American Citizen knows better than Donald J. Trump what the best course of action is to SAVE LIVES… yet he does not act. He goes to great lengths to do the opposite of what is necessary. Just like his businesses, all the risk is on someone ELSE. When things go south… he’ll just WALK AWAY.

Our laws have been set up to enable people like him to be successful. Donald Trump is the shining example of what the GOP wants this nation to BE… and to that end is how they LEGISLATE.

To my ears, a call for a return to normal just rings hollow. I would not send my children to school next week… or next month. I would not go and get a haircut right now. I fear putting the life of my stylist in jeopardy more than anything else… because he is a black man. Even though I have Type 1 diabetes and am at higher risk, I know I have better health insurance than he does.

How would I justify a decision like that to his FAMILY?

“African Americans struggle with disproportionate COVID death toll.” National Geographic (04/24/2020)

…

When faced with a CHOICE, the Senate Majority Leader chose INACTION and IGNORANCE, over PREPAREDNESS and SCIENCE. Briefed in NOVEMBER by the United States Military, on the potential threat posed to U.S. Forces in Asia, the Gang of Eight could have started preparing THEN.

“Intelligence report warned of coronavirus crisis as early as November.” ABCNews.com (04/08/2020)

NOVEMBER 2019.

4 DEMOCRATS and 4 REPUBLICANS.

Who has acted in the interest of THE PEOPLE?

… who has NOT.

They knew in November. Now 50,000 Americans have died. And that number will only continue to rise. Plans EXIST… plans have been implemented across the GLOBE, successfully, and countries have started their RECOVERY…

INACTION in the UNITED STATES SENATE

“McConnell slams brakes on next round of coronavirus aid.” Politico.com (04/21/2020)

Tests were available IN JANUARY. South Korea was testing hundreds of thousands every day at the peak of their crisis.

Millions of Americans remain in the dark.

Eddie Glaude Jr. said it best this week: “This is an invitation to the grave.” If not for ourselves, then for those around us who are more susceptible, more vulnerable… for those who are less fortunate than ME.

Because any success we realize by surviving this crisis would not be as sweet, if there was something we could have done… if only we had known.

“In New York Nursing Homes, Death Comes to Facilities With More People of Color.” NPR (04/22/2020)

They’ve known since November. It didn’t have to be like this.

Let us ensure it can never happen again.

End the Electoral College.

-JC

The Case Against the President, Part 7: The Great and Powerful Oz

SPOILER ALERT!! Once you know the magic behind the show…
You may not want to buy a ticket for the SECOND ACT!
STAND UP for the Rule of Law!
#EndTheElectoralCollege

…

OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN VIDEO for the political organization
“Jack Charbonneau 2020: Political Revolution”

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In Lives and Livelihoods

… November 2019.

“1st known coronavirus case traced back to November…” Livescience.com (03/14/2020)

… and consider how fast this virus travels.

Chinese press reports the emergence of a particularly severe respiratory infection in December. Even though publicly reported information shows President Trump would not be briefed on the subject by our intelligence agencies until late January, it would be wrong to assume that no one in our government knew what could be happening.

Besides, President Trump and President Xi are BEST FRIENDS… they talk on the phone all the time. About TARIFFS and trade, and North Korea.

December 20, 2019:

… don’t forget who’s listening in on those calls.

From October 25, 2018:

…

What SHOULD our government DO?

What should HAVE BEEN DONE to avoid the situation we are now IN?

**We were PREPARED.**

Deliberate actions were then taken…

to ensure we were NOT.

SARS. N1-H1. Swine flu. Ebola. Each and every event, we have learned from that experience and developed strategies to implement, in real-time, to prevent the start of an unmitigated spread across this nation, because the cost of dealing with an event like that would be staggering… both in lives and livelihoods.

It is unsustainable to continuously stock the large volume of equipment necessary to deal with mass casualties from a disaster like this. That is why we were prepared to stop it before it had the chance to take hold. Knowledge and information sharing, mass testing, public awareness, social distancing… all preventative measures, taken to FORTIFY our nation and protect its citizens. To SAVE LIVES…

February 27, 2020:

Starting in DECEMBER, when the Intelligence Community would have briefed the Gang of Eight about the potential disaster being SILENCED by President Xi, the White House Pandemic Coordination Team would have been contacted and preparations would have STARTED IN DECEMBER. Questions would have been asked:

What would we need in a worst case scenario?
What do we have on-hand right NOW?
Who will need to have it first?

Under the leadership of an alternative Administration, preparations would have already been underway to protect American Lives and our interests abroad… MONTHS before President Trump was reportedly first informed.

February 26, 2020:

After it was known that the situation in China was being underreported, travel bans would have taken effect. Mandatory screenings and quarantines of American citizens returning from China, as well as other nations where outbreaks were beginning, would have minimized exposure here, by containing any spread only to known sources, stopping community transmission of the virus within our borders.

February 29, 2020:

In an alternative time line, this story would have ended HERE. Under another Administration, we would have mitigated the spread before the first instance of infection without a known source, and we would have continued to MONITOR. By taking temperatures of EVERYONE entering the United States and continued social distancing measures, as well as continued testing to guarantee our findings were SOUND.

We would then be able to extend a hand, to help the countries from whom we had learned. We could have sent supplies and expertise to China, to help in their battle for containment. We could have reached out to the government of Italy and offered whatever support they needed, to minimize the devastation they are now enduring.

Through our leadership, by taking decisive action immediately, with ONE PURPOSE… leaders of every nation would have LISTENED to what our Commander-in-Chief was saying, LISTENED to where the doctors and scientists of the United States believed the virus was going next, and ACTED to avoid worst case scenarios… and avoided unnecessary loss of LIFE.

Now, leaders of the world have listened to what OUR PRESIDENT has said…

Elected by OUR VOTES.

An embodiment of the WILL of THE PEOPLE of the United States of America.

…

I refuse to be ignorant.

I refuse to play DUMB.

Even IF we practice EVERY prescribed act of social distancing asked of us in this moment, PERFECTLY…

“… if we can hold it down to 100,000 to 200,000 [deaths caused by coronavirus]… we all together, have done a very good job.”

–Donald J. Trump, President of The United States of America (03-29-2020)

Yet we are still not ready to do what is required to meet that expectation.

“Trump resists nationwide stay-at-home order.” ABC News (04/03/2020)

“Fact Check: Georgia governor says we only just learned…” CNN.com (04/03/2020)

“It’s a shit sandwich.” Politico (04/03/2020)

Our WORDS matter. Our words carry weight that we may not see immediately, but the consequences are real… and they will follow.

I do not blame the governors, they are doing the best they can in this unprecedented situation. I do not blame the hospital workers who are now charged with fighting this fight. I don’t even blame President Xi for our current situation… because I wouldn’t have believed his official numbers actually reflected reality from the outset.

I would have assumed they were intentionally LOWERED for his political gain…

Anything to SAVE FACE.

“… while you still can.” (11/16/2019)

Beware the company YOU KEEP

…

But NOW… what do we do NOW?

The crisis has not been averted. We are awash in the surge of the pandemic, and we have LOST the chance to end this before it began. The only course of action, if we choose to protect LIFE over ALL ELSE, is to STAY INDOORS. By mandate, we must stay home and STOP THE SPREAD. Our own government says so!

And how will Congress help?

$1200. For a family of FOUR… that MIGHT cover food for a MONTH.

What about everything ELSE?

Life savings… spent in a matter of WEEKS. Plans for retirement, now thrown into chaos over the uncertainty projected by our President. But the GOP Leadership is ready to give it ALL AWAY to “small businesses”… while the workforce STARVES.

“McCarthy: Republicans to oppose Democratic coronavirus bill.” Politico (03/12/2020)

“Republicans Are Worried Coronavirus Stimulus Bill is Too Generous…” Vanity Fair (03/25/2020)

These elected officials are representatives of the people who put them into office…

THE DONORS

They make their decisions with their interests in mind, and obviously not the interest of the VOTERS who elected them.

“Sen. Kelly Loeffler sold at least $18 million more…” Vox.com (04/01/2020)

And I know it’s like I’m kicking a dead horse here… the mainstream media will tell you too, the whole Russia thing is FAKE NEWS! But all of this was the exact same strategy employed by Vladimir Putin on the people of Ukraine, in the decade preceding his interference in our elections.

All of the chaos and unrest, led by a sympathetic leader, installed by corruption and political manipulation…

Right down to the man who was tapped to handle the situation in Ukraine.

…

“… politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests.”

McConnell says that the Speaker should hold off on any plans for a 4th aid package… the FIRST CHECKS haven’t even arrived, bleeding everyone’s savings, leaving us all on the brink… and we should HOLD OFF?

For the benefit of WHOM? The PEOPLE? Their FAMILIES? The people who have lost ONLY their business… only their home… only a FAMILY MEMBER? Our charity is abundant, but these organizations cannot hold out forever.

“Government needs to step in…” CommonDreams.org (04/02/2020)

We MUST have FOOD and SHELTER NOW.

How can we expect to reignite our economic engine if the CORE has been hollowed out? Not only from the death toll… but from diaspora. Where do you GO when your life is changed forever…

“A Kremlin-linked Firm Invested Millions in Kentucky.” Time (08/13/2019)

We are no longer talking about incompetency, we are no longer refering to party politics. Launching an investigation into wrong doing that will cause loss of life on this scale, is necessary. Speaker Pelosi isn’t launching this investigation to make Donald Trump look bad, sir…

He did that all ON HIS OWN.

…

A lack of TESTING brought us to this point.

The only way out of this situation is MORE SUNLIGHT.

Every citizen must be tested.

BOTH for the virus and the antibodies produced by SURVIVORS of the disease. Once we know who has it, and who HAS had it, we can accurately predict where it will go NEXT. Without this vital information, any strategy we attempt to pursue is just a roll of the dice.

If we don’t know who has it, EVERYONE must believe they do have it and can SPREAD IT. YOU may be a carrier…

STAY HOME. Save a nurse’s LIFE!

…

We did not seek it, but once again… WAR has come to our shores. And once again it strikes the island of Manhattan. TWICE now in TWENTY YEARS.

We have FAILED to secure her as we once promised we would do. 20 years. 2 wars… yet we did not address the underlying CAUSE of the problem. Now we STAND, suspended in our own Temporal Echo… able to SEE what has become, and compare it to what shall BE.

We do not do this for ourselves.

We do this for our CHILDREN, and THEIR children…

We do this to HONOR those who have come BEFORE.

We must remember what it is we are fighting FOR. Do not forget! She STILL STANDS in your harbor today…

Let her LIGHT be your guide.

In this fight we know what must be done. Dutifully we shall RISE and face this moment, and preform with our eyes fixed upon the future.

And as the wave comes crashing ashore, across every state and through every community; we now face the SAME STRUGGLE with you… We are ALL from New York.

May her LIGHT guide us ALL…

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

-JC

Be Prepared

Tonight my heart aches because of the Coronavirus. Not because I have it, and not because I am one of those “at-risk individuals with an underlying condition like diabetes.” I hang my head tonight because of the shadows cast by this Administration, the ones that have lurked behind them all along.

I didn’t decide to run for President because it seemed like a fun thing to DO… I was worried that something of this magnitude could someday happen.

While I sincerely hope that this is not that event, it is apparent that preparedness is not the strong suit of our Commander-in-Chief. His ‘King of the Hill’ leadership style may have served him well in the world of real estate, but it’s now obvious that that management style does NOT work well as a governing philosophy… something that every American Citizen should have already known… it’s IN our Founding Documents!

An incoming President has 4000 jobs to fill before DAY ONE.

FOUR THOUSAND… advisors, secretaries, officials, specialists, doctors, scientists, nurses, historians, technicians, Cabinet Members, and Diplomats… and SO MANY more that my ADVISORS will have to inform me that I’ve forgotten them. THAT is the only way things get done! A collection of the BEST and BRIGHTEST with the VISION to see what needs to be done BEFORE a situation arises, BEFORE drastic and costly decisions must be made.

In times of crisis a true leader doesn’t make the life-saving decisions… the people he put in place before the crisis began do. They are a direct reflection of the values held by that leader… whether he be corrupt or a saint.

The Career Public Servants of the United States of America are NOT a burden on our pocketbooks, they are our INSURANCE POLICY against losses caused by catastrophic disasters. The bean counters, pencil-pushers, organizers and planners… LOGISTICS! How do we get the test kits to Walnut Shade, MO? How do we prepare for an escalation BEFORE it happens? Being prepared means we set up pre-determined locations with supplies… inventoried, stockpiled, and ready to GO. And all of it has to be maintained… by GOVERNMENT WORKERS.

It’s the DEEP STATE!

A forklift driver named Joe… who’s in-charge of rotating stock in our warehouses, filled with MREs and BOTTLED WATER.

Now, due to a CUTTING of the size of our government, many of these responsibilities are farmed out. Contracted to CORRUPT companies who are just looking to take advantage of the TAX PAYERS. Corrupt legislators… who are FIRST and foremost, corrupt POLITICIANS… rewarding their DONORS with multi-million dollar contracts, so they can secure FUNDING for their reelection.

“Puerto Rico Power just hired 2 contractors with little experience…” Vox (10-26-2017)

**In the LAND OF PLENTY, where it falls off the tree and ROTS on the ground… people in Puerto Rico couldn’t get WATER after a storm.**

“20,000 Pallets of bottled water left untouched…” CNN (09-20-2018)

Like that storm, experts could see from its earliest days that the potential for loss of life could be HIGH… and this Administration just continues to make it up as they go along. Changing weather maps to make it seem alright. ‘Don’t worry! He knows what he’s doing… why? Do you think he DOESN’T know what he’s doing?’ And now, his downplaying of the severity of potential disasters will cause more unnecessary loss of LIFE.

Even IF he did know everything, he wouldn’t be able to do it all by himself. Roosevelt didn’t take out Hitler alone… he couldn’t have. Imagine if Truman would have come into office with the goal of eliminating the DEEP STATE on his first day…

‘All of this GOVERNMENT WASTE! Going toward some covert military project… in Manhattan?! That’s gotta GO!’

Our LIVES are now in the hands of a President, in-office only because of LIES and DECEPTION, and elected by a MINORITY of the electorate. Our collective fate is being determined by a man who values HIS self-interest over that of everyone else.

When I say #EndTheElectoralCollege, I don’t simply say it to get under his skin (and it obviously DOES!), I say it as a call for STABILITY. A reinstatement of the ideals we have ALL come to cherish. Though the actions of our Presidents have been at times misguided, they have always been carried out with one goal in mind- SECURING this nation. Every action taken by Donald J. Trump as President of the United States, has served the interests of ONE MAN…

Now that man will be Russia’s President for the REST OF HIS LIFE, and he will continue to influence our geopolitical sphere for MANY years to come.

2016 was not the FIRST time… it certainly won’t be the LAST.

To stand SILENT and watch her FALL, makes you COMPLICIT in her demise.

We must End the Electoral College.

Vigilance

I’ll admit it… I may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but I am smart enough to know when I am wrong… and, I want to ensure I don’t act a FOOL in the future! So I make sure I learn all I can, about what led to that mistake and why I made the decision I did…

So it won’t happen again.

From a policy standpoint, I did not care much for the George W. Bush Administration. But he did have ONE redeeming quality: he established task forces and inquiries to gather knowledge AFTER he made his mistakes. Not for HIS benefit, but for the benefit of future Administrations… for the benefit of ALL Americans.

Through the actions taken by past Administrations, we have studied and trained for events like the current spread of the Novel Coronavirus, and communities in every State have benefited from the resources we’ve developed. Emergency Preparedness plans, data collection and information sharing, first responder training, community outreach and education efforts… all of these tools STILL EXIST, entrusted in the hands of THE STATES.

Because that is a VITAL part of our nation’s success… because the Framers of Our Constitution knew what could come.

This is NOT a test, THIS is the moment we have been preparing for. The History of Humanity is plagued with challenges, and yes… this moment may try to leave its mark upon us on that scale. But this is not the time for panic. In fact, it’s not necessary… because every one of us is already PREPARED. From the moment we began our training we knew this moment would come, and if not TODAY, we know… someday it WILL. That is WHY we train.

**Ever vigilant, because we are PREPARED.**

Why is it that I can see it, yet the current President does NOT? Right now, EVERY American Citizen knows better how to handle the spread of Coronavirus than Donald J. Trump… why is that? It’s not the first time this has happened, and it’s not simply a lack of intelligence:

Puerto Rico. The size and scope of the devastation was apparent immediately. A massive response would be necessary to SAVE LIVES… and instead, the President politically attacked the Mayor of San Juan.

California. Higher temperatures and changing weather patterns have fueled some of the most devastating wildfires in the State’s history… and the President PULLS FUNDING from FEMA. Funds designated to help fight those fires. Then he suggests that its all their fault… they should have spent more money on RAKES.

The Flood of 2019. Farmland across the Midwest was inundated by flooding equal to that of the historic Flood of 1993. Stores of grain housed in silos and million dollar farm equipment, all destroyed by the rising waters…

Donald J. Trump and the GOP acted to kill a Disaster Relief Bill created to help family farmers… MULTIPLE TIMES. The man who lives in a GOLDEN PENTHOUSE could not extend a hand to the people who elected him, while their LIVELYHOOD was drowning under floodwater.

And now, in this moment, when we should be focused on TESTING every American showing symptoms and gathering more data… the President calls it “a hoax”. A Democrat strategy to take down the President.

Instead of a call for ALL Americans to be vigilant and informed, his ACTING Chief of Staff tells people they should turn the TV off for 24 hours.

In a few weeks, TORNADO SEASON starts here in Kansas.

Communities WILL be devastated, lives WILL be lost. It is inevitable… how many are lost is up to us RIGHT NOW. If we remain ignorant and TUNE OUT, we will lose MORE LIVES…

… needlessly.

There is no American who benefits from IGNORANCE or SILENCE. Every American Citizen knows this. No one working in GOOD FAITH would continue to subject themselves to the same institutional failures, over and over again, without making significant changes in their strategy.

Donald Trump knows this.

His STAFF knows this.

The career Public Servants surrounding him know this.

Partisan political rhetoric is a TOOL used to secure power in order to enact a particular legislative agenda. Partisan political rhetoric is NOT a legislative agenda.

…

What is the FIRST THING any Commander in Chief would do when facing a large scale threat posed by an eminent Natural Disaster?

They would declare a National Emergency.

This would instantly free up FUNDING for preparedness and it would inject massive amounts of money into the economy… but the President continues to downplay the possible severity of this disease, and publicly provides facts and figures about the situation that are provably FALSE.

These actions do not protect Americans. These actions do not act to reassure a volatile Stock Market. The repeated inaction and errors do not benefit Donald J. Trump this November either… that is, unless the disease remains UNCHECKED. If no one knows the extent of the threat, and the American People are caught off-guard as the disease starts to re-emerge after summer has come and gone…

IF we are not careful and don’t stay FULLY INFORMED, this fall we could see a situation similar to what they have in China RIGHT NOW.

How do we run our National Elections if large indoor events are PROHIBITED?

How will we know the facts and figures used to justify such an act are SOUND…

… would that even matter to him?

Our future has not yet been written, our fate is not carved in stone. Our ACTIONS will determine our fate… and the choice is always OURS. Whatever the future may bring, we must act with knowledge, preparedness, and COMPASSION. If we are to stand the test of time, we must STAND UNITED.