"Life has a way of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once." -- Paulo Coelho.
Oh, to be bored. Perhaps 2021 will be chock-full of boredom and balance out the chaos of 2020. Weekly writing does little to give nod to events that occur and change on an hour's notice. It is difficult to choose just one topic to elaborate upon, and chances are the words will be expired by some even greater cataclysm.
The first presidential debate was not an entire loss. Trump's bullying and disregard for the rules of debate were on display for all to see. For those who cheer Trump's actions as those of a "street fighter" or a "dominator," you are wrong. What the world witnessed was the response of someone who has no answers and can only respond with insults, lies and ignorance.
The inability to debate by previously agreed-upon rules can lead those with limited cognition to resort to schoolyard tactics. Biden obviously struggled to contain his emotions. Those who think Biden to have dementia, senility or another type of diminished capacity don't realize how hard it is to deal with a stuttering problem. Biden often pauses and looks down to refocus his thoughts. It is even harder to form complete sentences or thoughts when someone is yelling and interrupting. That he did not walk off the stage in disgust is an indication of his strength.
Not surprisingly, it turns out that Donald Trump is not only a bully but also a fraud according to tax returns revealed by the New York Times. He is not the savvy billionaire businessman he would have us believe. He just plays one on reality television, which paid him some $400 million. Which he then lost on speculative real estate purchases.
I have no issue with him paying $750 in taxes. I am certain his accountant did his tax returns. He paid so little because he had business losses of almost a billion dollars which entitled him to owe little or nothing in taxes for years. He is also almost half a billion dollars in personal debt, payable within the next four years. Who holds those loans? A foreign country? Putin?
If a Democrat was in that same financial mess, Republicans would have a field day calling for impeachment. As it stands, Trump is a national security risk. He could be leveraged to give favors or deals to those who hold the loans, influencing legislation to possibly help his debt. It also explains why Trump has billed the American taxpayers for golfing and promoting events at properties he owns. It should be clear by now that those running for the presidency must disclose their tax returns and place all business matters into a blind trust.
For those into karmic events, President Trump and his wife were infected with covid-19, most likely at the Rose Garden party announcing the nomination of Amy Barrett for the Supreme Court. Few people wore masks and no social distancing was used at the event. How could this happen? Sure, Trump rarely wore a mask and conducted massive rallies with other unmasked individuals who were not social distancing, he belittled those around him who did wear masks, but who could have seen this coming? Turns out that Trump can't protect himself or other Americans. His lack of vision, planning, and disregard for expert advice has resulted in death and suffering for thousands.
Seriously, I wish the president a speedy recovery, which, as of this writing, appears likely. He has the best medical care available, unlike most others. More than 208,000 Americans have already died from covid-19, thousands are suffering from its complications, and I do not want to see Trump become one of those statistics.
I am hoping he becomes one of the 30 million unemployed in January.
-- Devin Houston is the president/CEO of Houston Enzymes. Send comments or questions to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.