Old people

In the 1990s, when I came back from California in summer to stay with my father, I would comment about all of the old people.  You’d go to McDonalds or the grocery store or Rite-Aid, and everybody would be old.  

20 years later there are even more old people, and, OMG, I’m one of them.  

Sen. Gene Yaw is the Chair of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.  In the recent Center report, Sen. Yaw notes that Pennsylvania has the fifth largest population of people 65 years old and older.  Partly this is a function of sheer numbers of people.  California, New York, Florida, and Texas all have more old people than Pennsylvania.

On the other hand, if you look at percentage of oldsters, we are right up there with West Virginia and Maine.  

Here is something to ponder.  If you were a 22-year-old college grad, would you stay in Pennsylvania?  I don’t think so.

When you think it couldn't get any worse

Trump has just nominated Sam Clovis, a conservative radio talk show host, to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s top scientist.  

Clovis has neither training in the hard sciences nor expertise in agriculture policy.

He is, by the way, an outspoken climate change denier who claims that climate science is “junk science.”

If Clovis is approved by the Senate, he would head the USDA’s research, education, and economics division.

This information is from Lancaster Farming, July 29, 2017.  I have not seen any info on this on any of the cable news programs or even in the New York Times.  This is the kind of policy changes the Trump administration is making while Fox, MSNBC, and CNN are caught up in the Russian scandal and the “Mooch.”  I don’t think the American public has any idea of what changes this Administration is making under the radar, and I think cable news is not helping.

Apology to John McCain

A few days ago I posted a snarky message criticizing John McCain for taking advantage of a very expensive government-funded medical treatment and then coming back to vote to repeal of the Affordable Health Care Act.  

While McCain did vote to debate the repeal, he came through in the end.  

I also want to commend Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) for voting no on the repeal.  McCain’s no vote was dramatic, but the bill still would have passed except for Murkowski and Collins, both of whom were under heavy pressure by the Trump Administration.  They were brave women, and they did the right thing by their constituents.

In the meantime, my Senator, Pat Toomey, expressed disappointment that millions of people did not lose their health care.  

I can’t believe the number of so-called “moderate” Republicans who voted to kill the Affordable Care Act.  Really?  Moderate?  I don’t think so.  

Bright Shiny Objects

While most Americans are distracted by the tweet on banning transgender service members or firing Rinse Preebus (I know that is spelled wrong, but why look it up at this point?), Trump has nominated Mr. Randal Quarles to serve as the Federal Reserve vice chairman to supervise the banking system.

Quarles said that he supports relaxing the “stress testing” of the nation’s largest banks.  He is considered to be a friend of financial institutions.  

Trump also appointed Joseph Otting as the comptroller of the currency.  Mr. Otting presided over thousands of foreclosures as chief executive of OneWestBank in California.  About his tenure in that company he said “There were errors.”

The Senate Banking Committee, run by Republicans, is considered certain to approve both nominees.

(If you want to read more about this debacle, see “2 Nominees Who Support Backing Off Big Banks,” NYT, (July 28, 2017), p. A15.)

Advice for President Trump

Fire Jeff Sessions.  The guy isn’t doing you any favors.  He’s not loyal.  He didn’t stick up for you.  That early endorsement was just sucking up so you’d appoint him to something.  He really isn’t your friend.  He doesn’t have your back.  

Be a man.  Fire him.  

P.S.:  I also have my doubts about DeVos, Zinke, Price, Perry, and especially Tillerson.  From what I’ve heard, none of those people really like you.  My advice–keep your eye on them.  Also that that guy “Mooch.”  I think he is trying too hard.  And I know Ivanka is your daughter, but how sure are you about her?  

Obama the Calm

I’m currently listening one of the Great Courses entitled “The Early Middle Ages” taught by Professor Philip Daileader of the College of William and Mary.

I learned that many of the rulers in the 900s and 1000s were often given a tag.  There was Louis the Pious, Pepin the Short, Louis the German, Charles the Bald, and Charles the Fat.

I thought the best one was William the Bastard, who, after he won the Battle of Hastings in 1066, was renamed William the Conqueror.

That led me to thinking what we might call our recent Presidents.  Clinton the Randy, Bush the Confused, and Obama the Calm came to mind.  Then there is Trump the Clown, although that may soon be changed to Trump the Impeached.

Note:  69 years ago today President Harry Truman issued an executive order ending racial discrimination in the Armed Forces.

The Republican "Health Care" Bill

#1:  I am not the first person to point out that McCain had almost a $100,000 health care bill paid for by the government so he could come back to Washington and vote against giving other people health care.

#2:  As a field representative for California state senator Jerry Smith in the early 80s, I learned that when a major piece of legislation passed in CA, the following year the legislature adopted a “clean-up” bill.  That was to take care of unanticipated consequences of the legislation, and it was considered routine.  

Obviously the Affordable Care Act has some flaws.  Democratic legislators and President Obama knew that.  Unfortunately, the Republicans were not interested in fixing the legislation.  Their whole emphasis from day one was to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

#3:  We should let the Republicans pass their repeal.  It is cruel, since millions of people will lose their health insurance, and people will die.  I am not kidding:  people will die.  Perhaps that is what it takes to bring home the message that votes have consequences; that voting for Trump has consequences.  

The other thing to consider is that the Trump administration has already taken steps to undermine the Affordable Care Act.  That way he can point to the failure of the Act and say “I told you so.”  This is a deliberate strategy, detailed recently in the New York Times.  So my feeling, heartless as it is, is go ahead.  Repeal it.  Take responsibility for the misery you are about to cause.

Bayer/Monsanto merger

If the U.S. Department of Justice approves the merger of Bayer and Monsanto, there will be two companies that will control almost all soybean seeds–Dow/Dupont and Bayer/Monsanto.  Look for higher seed prices and higher pesticide and herbicide prices.  

It would be great if non-GMO soybean seeds were available to small farmers, but with two giant companies controlling the market, it is doubtful we will see that.

Of course, the Justice Department under Jeff Sessions may say no to the Bayer/Monsanto merger.  

Yeah, right.

If you are a small farmer who voted for Trump, you really should have you ass kicked.

Status Offender

A “status offender” is someone who has not committed a crime but is nonetheless subject to arrest because of his or her “status.”  Immigrants without papers have not done anything really wrong except to be here in the U.S. without the proper papers.  They may be law abiding, have a job, be raising a family, but they lack the crucial legal documents.

After Trump was elected I discussed my fears with a number of members of the Executive Board of the Palmerton Area Historical Society.  They told me I was being paranoid.  They said that the Trump administration would not be undertaking mass deportations.  It would’t happen.

Guess what.  ICE agents have upped the number of raids.  We are now deporting thousands each month.  The agents are not targeting rapists or “bad guys;” they are targeting ordinary men and women who “don’t have papers.”  A New York Times reporter received permission to ride along on a raid in California.  The ICE agents came at dawn, handcuffed the father (why the handcuffs; he had a family and his boys were American citizens not going anywhere), and took him to a detention center.  No time to pack, no time to notify the employer.

Why are we doing this?  Is an American citizen about to take over this man’s job?  Does this make us better as a country?

Please do not comment saying this guy was here illegally and should be thrown out of our country.  On so many levels–Christian theology, American traditions, empathy for the family–this is wrong, it is evil, and I never thought I would be a citizen of a country that would do this kind of thing.  It makes me sick.

America read

The title above, as you may have noticed, is in the past tense.  When I first started teaching, students would read between classes.  You’d see them sitting on benches on campus reading.  In the last few years I taught this had changed.  Instead of reading they were looking at or talking on their phones.

I know that old people are always decrying how bad things are now compared to the past, but I do think people in the past were more serious about their reading.  I recently came across a compilation of stories, articles, and poems from Good Housekeeping Magazine.  This was a so-called “women’s magazine” which started publishing in 1885.  The compilation was put together in 1960.  It included the following authors:  Sara Teasdale, Amy Lowell, W. Somerset Maugham, Ring Lardner, Gertrude Atherton, Sinclair Lewis, Ogden Nash, Thomas Mann, James Thurber, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Cheever, Evelyn Waugh, Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and so many many more.

If you think that list is impressive, you should see the one from a similar compilation of 1956 from the Ladies’ Home Journal.

Both magazines are still published, although the Ladies’ Home Journal is now a quarterly.  While I don’t know for sure, I doubt if either one is up to earlier standards.

(I really do think many things were better in the past.  When I was born, FDR was president.  The first Republican president I knew was Ike.  Now we have Trump.  Case closed.)

Bikers for Trump

Last year the U.S. government fined Harley-Davidson $15 million for selling devices that could shut down the emissions controls on motorcycles.  Part of that fine would go toward reducing pollution from wood-burning stoves.  This was routine.  For example, BP was asked to pay billions for coastal restoration after the Gulf oil spill.

Now Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that $3 billion of the Harley-Davidson fine need not be paid.  

I assume that this was a reward for bikers supporting Trump.  Bikers, I believe, see themselves as American individualists.  Free spirits.  No need to wear helmets.  Tough guys.  Tattoos that say “Mother” on one arm and “Born to Lose” on the other.  

Quite a few of them show up at the Redneck Festival in Weissport.  I’ll be there also staffing a Democratic Party booth.  I plan to have some fun with them, but they will not like me very much.

Yellowstone Grizzlies

Last month Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced that the grizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park would lose their endangered species protection. 

If this occurs (there is a 30 day period after the rule change is published in the Federal Register), it means that the bears will be under the tender mercies of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Would somebody explain to me how that action makes American great again?

Mr. Lara deported

I’m going by an article in the New York Times from June 19 about Mexican farmworkers in Willard, Ohio.  People there had planned a welcome back party for returning farmworkers, but in the atmosphere of Trump’s America, some residents objected.  Some of the returning workers do not have proper papers.  One Vietnam vet said “We are still waiting for our welcome-home party.”  (My personal view is that it is soon time to close down that pity party.)

The article, by Miriam Jordan, discussed how farmers in that area of Ohio were about to loss millions of dollars worth of crops, since there was no one there to harvest therm.

The article also discussed the case of Mr. Lara, an immigrant who arrived in Willard in 2002, fell in love with another Mexican immigrant, bought a house, and had four children, Eric, 13, Edwin, 11, Anuar, 10, and Elsiy, 6.  In 2008 he was pulled over on the way to the dentist.  He had no driver’s license, which Ohio does not give to undocumented residents, and he was jailed.  He was ordered deported in 2011, but he was granted a reprieve because he was otherwise law-abiding.

He had to check in with ICE every year to renew his permit.  In January the Trump administration announced that no one in the country illegally was exempt from deportation.  On March 28, when he arrived for his annual check-in, he was fitted with an electronic tracking device.  

He had letters from employers and teachers supporting his “stay of removal.”  However, Timothy Ward, an ICE field director, wrote, “I have determined that pursuing removal of Mr. Lara Lopez is consistent with enforcement priorities.”

He was ordered to buy an airline ticket to Mexico.  His date for removal was yesterday.

Let’s examine this.  If you take a “strict parent” approach to politics, you will says, “Mr. Lara broke the law.  He is illegal.  We need to set an example.  Send him packing.”

If you follow the “nurturing parent” approach to politics, you will say, “This is a model American.  Bought a house.  Has a job.  Is raising a family.  Let him stay.”

I wonder what you would say if you were a Christian following the teaching of Jesus Christ?  I think I will write to Congressman Lou Barletta and ask him.

George Romero, 1940-2017

Some years ago I read Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood.  Dillard is an excellent writer, and the book was wonderful, but one item I remember is that her father was an extra in “Night of the Living Dead.”  That stuck with me.

I taught a course in political films at San Jose State, and I took an expansive view of what constituted a “political film”; the course included “invasion of the Body Snatchers.”  While I didn’t use it, “Night of the Living Dead” was definitely a political film.

If you recall, a calm take-charge black guy (Duane Jones) saves a farmhouse full of stupid white people.  In the end, the local citizenry (Western Pennsylvania rural gun owner types) destroy him.  Is that a metaphor for current politics or what? 

Romero went on to direct other horror films, including “Dawn of the Dead,” set in a mall.  HIs films were always interesting, always scary, although perhaps not as scary as life under President Trump.

Carbon County, PA, in the news

This morning MSNBC noted that while Trump’s approval ratings are in the mid-30’s, in the so-called “surge counties,” where Trump did exceedingly well last November, his approval ratings hover around 55%.  The report mentioned Carbon County, Pennsylvania, as an example of a “surge county.”  The map of those counties indicated that most of them were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

I know that we are supposed to understand the desperation of people who supported Trump in 2016.  We are supposed to feel their pain, listen to their cries for help, understand their anger.  

On the other hand, I do like my friend’s take on this when I told her about the continued 55% approval rating.  She said, “Well, what do you expect?  That’s about the IQ of the voters in Carbon County.”

She will remain nameless.

Dia: Beacon and Storm King Art Center

We went to Newburgh, New York, yesterday, and I forgot to take along my Airbook.  Sorry.

We visited the Dia: Beacon.  It is an art gallery in a huge old Nabisco building in the town of Beacon on the Hudson River.  The museum specializes in very large installations.  This is not the kind of art you would put in your living room unless your living room was a warehouse.  

Richard Serra’s “Torqued Ellipse II”  and “Double Torqued Ellipse” are giant iron sculptures that weigh tons and would need very large machinery to move.  Are they art?  That’s in the eye of the beholder, but they certainly are impressive.

Today we visited the Storm King Art Center, about 10 miles south of Newburgh.  I liked this one very much.  Giant outdoor sculptures are scattered around about a 400 acre property, and they are amazing.  My favorites were Alexander Calder’s “The Arch,” Andy Goldsworthy’s “Storm King Wall,” and Zhang Huan’s “Three Legged Buddha.”  You can see most of the sculptures by taking a tram ride, which we did.  What a great weekend.

The Big Sick

What do you do when you break up with your girlfriend and then you are called to the hospital where she’s just been admitted to the ICU and the hospital wants you to sign a paper allowing it to perform a dangerous procedure?

Linda and I saw “The Big Sick” today.  It’s a comedy, but it is also a movie about the difficulty of being a Muslim in American and the problem an immigrant has in breaking with his parents’ culture.  

In the 1990s I saw “Mississippi Masala,” a film by Mira Nair, in which the Indian heroine falls for Denzel Washington.  Her mother is scandalized.  I never forgot her reply.  “This is America, Ma.” 

Whatever evils Trump may impose, we are still individuals trying to cope and get along.  See this movie.  Be prepared to laugh.  Ray Romano and Holly Hunter are wonderful.  Bring along some extra Kleenex.

Spoiler alert.  Emily does not die.

Carbon County Fair Booth

Every August the Carbon County Republicans and Democrats sponsor booths at the Fair.  Every year the Republicans draw in more people, have more activity, register more voters.  They give away free bags of peanuts, have an animatronic elephant, and usually have a plethora of signs and bumper stickers.  Last August people were lining up to get Trump signs.

While the Democrats probably wouldn’t have done as well with Clinton signs, it was a moot point, since the Clinton campaign didn’t provide any.

This August both parties will again be at the Fair.  I’m on the Committee to come up with Democratic booth attractions.  We are going big this year; we have rented two spaces.  Now we need something to draw in fair attendees, something interesting, even exciting.

I’m looking for some suggestions here.  Any ideas?  And don’t suggest an animatronic donkey.

It's all connected

Item 1:  An iceberg the size of Delaware has broken off the ice shelf in the Antarctica.  

Item 2:  “Biological Annihilation  said to be underway.”  (Headline in today’s Times.)  Elizabeth Kolbert already wrote a book about this.  We are in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction.  This is the first one that is human-caused.

Item 3:  “The Deep Industry Connections of Trump’s Deregulation Teams.”  (Front page headline in today’s Times detailing the industry connections of Trump’s “deregulation teams,” charged with eliminating environmental, consumer, and labor protections.)

Our grandson, age 11, just spent two weeks with us.  I dread to think about the world he will inherit.  I don’t understand Trump supporters who stick by him.  “Drain the swamp.”  “Make American great again.”  Really.?  When does reality sink in?  When will they see what this man is doing to our country and our globe?

Stupid and evil

Yeah, you know who I’m talking about, and it is the worst combination, although I probably could have thrown in greedy.

Kathy Talento, who believes that birth control pills cause cancer, infertility, and miscarriage, is now a White house domestic policy aide.

Erik D. Prince, a founder of the firm Blackwater, and Stephen A. Feinberg, the billionaire owner of DynCorp International, a giant military contractor, have been tapped to give advice on Afghanistan.  Both are strong believers in the use of military contractors rather than U.S. troops, and both stand to make money if contractors are used.

I keep hearing from Trump supporters that we should give the President a chance, that we need to be patient.  I’m sorry, but that train has already left the station.

Solving Beltzville State Park problems

Every year on Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day, Beltzville State Park, just about three miles off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, suffers from overcrowding, parking problems, litter problems, and even toilet problems.

I understand there is an on-line petition to charge people to use the park.  Locals sometimes talk about “our park” being overrun by people who litter, ignore rules, and generally leave the park in an unholy mess.  

In fact, one “local” showed up on my front porch on July 5 to castigate me for writing a letter last year opposing charging park visitors a fee.  He yelled at me, and when I mentioned I should have been down at the beach helping to clean up, he went ballistic.  “Why should locals help to clean up after these PIGS?”  Whenever I hear people described as “pigs,” I bristle, but I said nothing.

OK, so let me explain my position on Beltzville State Park.  First of all, as a member of a family who had the largest single parcel of farmland and woodland taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (they took 431 out of 460 acres of the Christman farm), I obviously have an interest in how the park is used.

Secondly, I am fully aware that when that land was taken under eminent domain proceedings, it was paid for by U.S. taxpayers’ dollars.  Taxpayers from Danville, California; Rawlins, Wyoming; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, helped to pay for that federal project.  “Locals” need to remember that.

Thirdly, I am very much aware that Beltzville does have problems.  In part this is a result of the Pennsylvania legislature starving DCNR, the agency that runs Pennsylvania State Parks.  It is my understanding that Beltzville has two (TWO!) full time rangers.  Beltzville is a huge park.

I have some ideas on how some of the issues could be handled, including more enforcement during non-holiday weekends, closing the park when it nears capacity, public service announcements signage on the Turnpike, and handouts to park visitors.

What I will oppose is any effort that targets Latinos and African Americans and tries to prevent them from using “our” park.  Beltzville was paid for by the U.S. government, and some of the comments I’ve been hearing are racist.  If a fee is imposed to help to pay for park improvements, it better be charged on every park visitor throughout the entire year.

Hawks, chickens, and robber barons

Today we visited the J. P. Morgan library and museum in New York.  The museum is featuring the journals of Henry David Thoreau along with explanatory materials.

Thoreau has had a major influence on the way I think.  As you may know, I keep chickens.  Over the years I’ve lost two to hawks and had one badly injured, although it recovered.

Here’s what Thoreau said about hawks:  “I would rather never taste chickens’ meat nor hens’ eggs than never to see a hawk sailing through the upper air again.”

My sentiments exactly.

I must add something.  Guys like Frick, Morgan, Stanford and Carnegie were not nice people.  They exploited workers, built giant mansions, collected priceless artifacts.  On the other hand, they also endowed colleges, founded libraries, and on their deaths opened their collections to the public.

Contrast them with our modern billionaires.  Yeah, the Koch Brothers give a pittance to cancer research, but it hardly erases the evil they do.  Look at the robber barons in the Trump cabinet.  Look at Trump.  These people do not contribute in any way to the well-being of this country.  It makes one long for the Carnegies, Fords, and Rockefellers of the past.

Ms., Miss, or Mrs.

In the 1950s my mom was not only identified as Mrs. Christman, she was also often identified as Mrs. Elwood Christman.  She had no identity other than being a wife of my dad.  

Sheila Michaels, a civil rights organizer, New York cabdriver, and technical editor who died this week, changed all that.  Ms. Michaels was largely responsible for the use of Ms. as an honorific rather than Miss (for single women) and Mrs. (for married women).  Men, of course, were always identified as Mr., whether single, married, widowed, or divorced.

I remember in the Sixties being flummoxed on how to address women I didn’t know well, and trying to find out if they were married.  I was so relieved when I learned I could use Ms.  Today that is so natural.  

Thank you Sheila Michaels.  You made life easier for women...and for men.

Grandfather

In years past it always annoyed me how grandparents would talk about their grandchildren, show pictures of them, tell how smart they were.  

Now I have a grandson.  He’s 11.  He’s smart as a whip.  He feeds the chickens.  He knows how to look up items on the Internet.  He argues with me about movies.  He understands mathematics better than I do.  He measures out the sugar we need for the raspberry jam.  He helps to pick the sour cherries and the currants.  He helps to dig post holes.  

He doesn’t like Trump.  

Now I get it.

Washington Crossing Park

Today Linda, daughter Rachael, grandson Gavin, and I visited Washington Crossing Park on the Delaware River.  On Christmas Eve, 1776, Washington assembled his troops on the Pennsylvania side of the river and crossed over to New Jersey.  The move included horses and cannons.  Once the Jersey side was reached, the troops had to march nine miles through the snow to Trenton, where a force of Hessians was located.

A second group of soldiers was supposed to cross south of Trenton and march north to capture the Hessians in a pincer movement, but that group never made it across the river.

People sometimes question whether Washington would be standing on a boat crossing the river as he is pictured in the famous painting by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze.  He might very well have been, since the boats used were ore boats that had no seats.  The experienced boatmen were from Marblehead, Massachusetts, an example of inter-colony unity.

These were tough and hard men.  At least one froze to death during the operation.  Nonetheless, the troops who did make it across the Delaware reached Trenton on Christmas morning, routed the Hessians, and may have saved the American Revolution.

This country was once blessed by amazing leaders.  People like Washington, Franklin, and Adams were giants.  They combined intelligence with integrity, and we should be proud of them.

How Presidents should act

Botswana is a bone dry country in the southern part of Africa.  It became independent in 1966 and was listed by the U.N. as one of the least developed countries in the world.  It had almost no paved roads, high schools, or electricity.  

Ketumile Masire, the vice president, took over the country in 1980 upon the death of the president and served until 1998.

After independence, the DeBeers company discovered diamonds in the Botswana, and the country came into some money.  President Masire used that money “to add schools, improve health care, build infrastructure and modernize farming.”

A professor from the Harvard Business School who wrote about President Masire noted that unlike many leaders who wanted to build palaces and statues, Mr. Masire said he would rather build schools.  Today Botswana has achieved middle income status and has a healthy growth rate.

When Mr. Masire stepped down, Botswana had no term limits.  Mr. Masire helped to establish them. 

A final word from Mr. Masire:  “Corruption is an evil.  It is something that has really ruined the economy, the morals and everything of value in a society.”

Mr. Masire’s obituary was in the New York Times, July 1, 2017, p. A24.  The information in this post is from that obit.

You may have noticed that I don’t post much about Trump any more.  His act is getting old, and he starting to bore me.  He’s tiresome.  

Travesty

The Pocono Record on July 2 reported that Pennsylvanians pay more for beer than residents of any other state.  It isn’t the taxes.  Other states have higher taxes on beer but pay less for a case.  Pennsylvania does impose a 10 percent tax on every bottle of alcohol sold in the state to help pay for the damage of the Johnstown Flood, which occurred in 1889, but even with that, other states have higher taxes.

The study compared the prices of cases of Bud Light and Miller Lite, two popular brands of beer.  Michigan, which has the lowest prices, averaged $14.62 per case.  The national average was $18.64.  Pennsylvania checked in at $21.98.  

Pennsylvania was the home of Ben Franklin, who said beer was proof that god loved us.  Home of Yeungling.  Home of Iron City.  Home of the Pennsylvania Dutch.  How can this be that we are paying so much for our beer?  This is just wrong.

Happy Independence Day!

Gov. Wolf stands tall

The Trump Administration has formed a “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.”  It is headed by Kris Kolbach, known nationwide for his voter suppression efforts in Kansas.  He is working for Trump, who famously charged, with no evidence whatsoever, that Clinton had received over three million illegal votes.

The Commission wants to collect from every voter in the U.S. the following information:  First name, last name, address, birth date, political party, voter history, military status, Social Security number.  

Why do they need this?  Does Putin want this?  Of what possible use is this data to a Trump-appointed commission?  

Pennsylvania’s Governor Wolf has noted the past history of voter suppression and says Pennsylvania will not cooperate in providing the requested data.  At least ten states, including Kansas and Mississippi, are also not cooperating.  

Just do it

Trump is proposing that the Republicans in Congress repeal the Affordable Care Act even though they don’t have a replacement ready.  This would send the insurance markets into total chaos, leave millions without coverage, ignore the wishes of Republican Governors who have expanded Medicaid coverage, and rest on a forlorn hope that the Congressional leadership, which so far has been clueless, could produce an actual health care policy.

I have enough anarchist in me that says to the Republicans in Congress:  Do it.  Go ahead.  Do it.