Changes to: How to Select an American President

Following Election 2020, I plan to write and publish an updated version of How to Select an American President by James A. George and James A. Rodger (c) 2017 Archway Publishing. Two changes are so significant I want to share them now.

First, I once believed that having corporate executive experience is comparable to having government executive experience. That must be revisited and refined. 

Corporations are not governments. Managing huge international corporations with a diverse workforce might be comparable to managing the diverse government workforce comprising many different departments, agencies, and disciplines. 

However, the business models are entirely different. Managing a large state government or big city government afford the relevant experience. 

I will change my scoring method to give more weight to government experience and less to being a corporate executive.

The second change is about the characteristics of presidential candidates that include:

Character

Mental health

Physical health

Age

I will continue to research these areas and to draw from experts in the field.

On a personal note, I don't believe that the presidential candidates should be older than 57 years at the start of their first term. A president who succeeds in winning a second term will be retirement age 65 on conclusion.

The current candidates are too old for office. 

https://www.amazon.com/Select-American-President-James-George/dp/1480840882

Sick Trump, Healthy Pence?

At a time like this, which is better to lead the nation, a sick Donald Trump or a healthy Mike Pence. The White House decided that a sick Trump is better than a healthy Pence.

Which would be better, a lame Pence or a healthy Harris? That is a question looming in a debate between Pence and Harris. Why do I call Pence lame? He is Donald Trump's puppy dog sidekick who failed to guide the President to make better decisions in the policy and process of managing the COVID 19 epidemic. Pence failed.

Mike Pence Resume

48th Vice President of the United States

Incumbent

Assumed office January 20, 2017

Chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force

Incumbent

Assumed office

February 26, 2020

50th Governor of Indiana

In-office January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017

Member of the

US House of Representatives from Indiana

In-office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2013

Constituency 2nd district (2001–2003)

6th district (2003–2013)

Chair of the House Republican Conference

In-office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011

Personal details

Born June 7, 1959 (age 61)

Columbus, Indiana, U.S.

Political party Republican (1983–present)

Other political

affiliations Democratic (before 1983)

Spouse(s) Karen Batten

(m. 1985)​

Education Hanover College (BA)

Indiana University, Indianapolis (JD)

Occupation Politician Lawyer

Pence described himself as a "principled conservative" and supporter of the Tea Party movement,[4] stating that he was "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.

During the race, Pence used "political donations to pay the mortgage on his house, his personal credit card bill, groceries, golf tournament fees and car payments for his wife."[29] While the spending was not illegal at the time, it reportedly undermined his campaign.

During Pence's twelve years in the House, he introduced 90 bills and resolutions; none became law.

His committee assignments in the House were the following:

107th Congress (2001–2003): Agriculture, Judiciary, Small Business

108th Congress (2003–2005): Agriculture, International Relations, Judiciary

109th Congress (2005–2007): Agriculture, International Relations, Judiciary

110th Congress (2007–2009): Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007 (Ranking Member)

111th Congress (2009–2011): Foreign Affairs

112th Congress (2011–2013): Foreign Affairs, Judiciary

Pence failed to accomplish anything.

Kamala Harris

United States Senator from California

Incumbent

Assumed office January 3, 2017

32nd Attorney General of California

In-office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2017

27th District Attorney of San Francisco

In-office January 8, 2004 – January 3, 2011

Personal details

Born Kamala Devi Harris

October 20, 1964 (age 55)

Oakland, California, US.

Political party Democratic

Spouse(s)Douglas Emhoff

 (m. 2014)​

Parents Donald J. Harris

Shyamala Gopalan

Education Howard University (BA)

The University of California, Hastings (JD)

As a senator, she has advocated for healthcare reform, federal descheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform. 

Public safety

Felony conviction rate

Harris as San Francisco District Attorney

Just prior to Harris taking office, the felony conviction rate was 50 percent;[58] by 2009, it was 76 percent.[59] Convictions of drug dealers increased from 56 percent in 2003 to 74 percent in 2006.[60][59]

Violent crimes

In the early 2000s, the San Francisco murder rate per capita drastically outpaced the national average. Within the first six months of taking office, Harris cleared 27 of 74 backlogged homicide cases by settling 14 by plea bargain and taking 11 to trial; with nine convictions and two hung juries, she attained an 81 percent success rate. She took 49 violent crime cases to trial and secured 36 convictions, for an 84 percent success rate. From 2004 to 2006, Harris achieved an 87 percent conviction rate for homicides and a 90 percent conviction rate for all felony gun violations.

She was an effective prosecutor and manager.

Vice President, Mike Pence

Senator, Kamala Harris

The Trumps Have COVID 19

 Resulting from loose behavior and noncompliance with mask-wearing, Donald Trump and his wife have contracted COVID 19. Rest assured, they will get special treatment and care that many Americans will not have.

This circumstance is regrettable, though not unforeseen, as President Trump flaunted medical experts and scientists. By lousy example, he created an environment among his followers that was dangerous for them too.

One of his followers remarked that it is just nature taking its course. "Stuff happens." We're trying to stay safe by following protocols that reduce the risk for everyone.

I don't wish anyone a bad outcome with this terrible disease. I will join others who may seek this president's prosecution for his irresponsible and derelict leadership in this emergency, where his intentional performance resulted in more deaths lost than in the Viet Nam War.

Vote him out and prosecute him for all his crimes.

Ready, Aim, Fire at Trump's Onslaught on Bidens

 I don't want to see Joe Biden in a baited brawl with Donald Trump.

However, expected is Trump will attack Biden and his family. Here is a warning shot to Donald Trump.

Trump Family Illegalities and Allegations

"Trump Foundation Will Dissolve, Accused of 'Shocking Pattern of Illegality'" -- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/nyregion/ny-ag-underwood-trump-foundation.html

By Shane Goldmacher, Dec. 18, 2018

Once billed as the charitable arm of the president's financial empire, the Donald J. Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve on Tuesday and give away all its remaining assets under court supervision as part of an ongoing investigation and lawsuit by the New York attorney general.

The attorney general accused the foundation, Barbara Underwood, of "functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump's business and political interests," and of engaging in "a shocking pattern of illegality" that included unlawfully coordinating with Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

In addition to shuttering the charity, her office has pursued a lawsuit that could bar President Trump and his three oldest children from the boards of other New York charities, as well as force the payment of millions in restitution and penalties.

"This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone," Ms. Underwood said in announcing the agreement

The closure of the foundation is a milestone in what has been a two-year investigation after the nonprofit's management and giving patterns emerged as a flash point in the 2016 campaign. What assets remain after penalties will be directed to charities that must be approved by the attorney general's office, and the process will be subject to judicial supervision.

Ms. Underwood and a lawyer for the Trump foundation signed the stipulation agreeing to the dissolution.

"We'll continue to move our suit forward," Ms. Underwood said, "to ensure that the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law."

Nonprofit foundations are supposed to be devoted to charitable activities. But the attorney general's office has charged that the Trump Foundation was used to win political favor, accusing the foundation of virtually becoming an arm of the Trump campaign, with its campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, directing the foundation to make disbursements in Iowa only days before the state held its presidential nominating caucuses.

"Is there any way we can make some disbursements [from the proceeds of the fund-raiser] this week while in Iowa? Specifically on Saturday," Mr. Lewandowski wrote to the foundation's treasurer in an email disclosed in the lawsuit.

Mr. Trump was required to sign annual filings with the Internal Revenue Service in which he attested that the foundation did not engage in political activity.

The president had said after the 2016 election that to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, he would dissolve the foundation. But the attorney general's office blocked him from doing so amid concerns about the handling of the foundation's documents and assets.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, refused to comment on the dissolution of the Trump Foundation, saying, "That's something that I would refer you to the Trump Organization."

Mr. Trump has long claimed that all the foundation's money went to "wonderful charities" that had legitimate purposes. Alan S. Futerfas, a lawyer for the foundation, accused Ms. Underwood of making a "misleading statement" on Tuesday in "a further attempt to politicize this matter."

"The foundation has been seeking to dissolve and distribute its remaining assets to worthwhile charitable causes since Donald J. Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election," he said. "Unfortunately, the N.Y.A.G. sought to prevent dissolution for almost two years, thereby depriving those most in need of nearly $1.7 million."

Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for Ms. Underwood, said the Trump foundation had previously wanted to dissolve without any oversight. "That was unacceptable," she said.

The investigation of the foundation was begun by the former attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat who was an antagonist of Mr. Trump before stepping down following revelations of sexual misconduct this year.

Next month, the ongoing case will fall to the incoming attorney general, Letitia James, a vocal critic of Mr. Trump who said recently that she would "use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family."

Ms. Underwood's office sued the Trump Foundation in June, charging it with "improper and extensive political activity, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions, and failure to follow basic fiduciary obligations or to implement even elementary corporate formalities required by law."

[Want to know more about the Trump Foundation? Read this explainer.]

Charities are barred from advancing the self-interests of its executives over the charity's mission, but the attorney general's office said in a court filing this year that the foundation had entered into a number of "prohibited self-dealing transactions that directly benefited Mr. Trump or entities that he controlled."

The Trump Foundation, for instance, purchased a $10,000 portrait of Mr. Trump that was displayed at one of his golf clubs. The existence of the portrait, along with other examples of questionable spending cited in the lawsuit, was first reported by The Washington Post.

One transaction was revealed by a note in Mr. Trump's handwriting that said $100,000 of Trump Foundation money should be directed to another charity to settle a legal dispute between the Town of Palm Beach and Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort."

Bullshit Scammer

Why Impeach Donald Trump, Again?

 Why Impeach Donald Trump, Again?

By James A. George, Independent Journalist

Documented, reported, and corroborated, Donald Trump, lied to the American people thousands of times. There are consequences to his having done this, and one glaring significant lie is that about COVID 19.

"because famed Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward recorded him, we can hear Trump's voice saying that he understood precisely that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was deadly and spread through the air. As he played down the virus to the public, Trump was not confused or inadequately briefed: He flat-out lied, repeatedly, about Science to the American people. These lies demoralized the scientific community and cost countless lives in the United States."

His purpose or intentions use to rationalize his lying fail to mitigate the outcome. That is, hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans died at the hands of his actions and words. The deaths and struggles from his incompetent actions have not ceased.

Many other lies on a range of responsibilities are linked to dire outcomes, whether for untimely action in Western fires, untimely or delinquent action in disaster relief or fueling urban and racial violence.

It takes only one consequential lie to impeach Donald J. Trump, and I submit that the COVID lie accomplishes that.

Impeach Donald J. Trump for the death and suffering of over 100,000 Americans, more than double the number of lives lost in the Viet Nam War. 

Trump lied about science | Science. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/09/11/science.abe7391.full

Can a President be tried for incompetence?

 At >200,000 deaths, a large portion of which was preventable is where America stands today. We have no plan from the executive branch, only confusion, chaos, and unsubstantiated claims.

Can a President be tried and convicted for incompetence? Can they be held accountable for dereliction of duty? Can they be held responsible for violations of their oath of office?

In the instance of Donald Trump, Americans will make those decisions.

Noise and Cobwebs

Having hosted a poem contest addressing religion, I am assessing what I learned and challenging my ideas. The contest was not to change minds as the purpose was to share different thoughts and explanations.

Taking the time to study ancient history, including the evolution of mythology and religious thought, one
thing is persistent; these are inventions of the human mind.

People have invented religious ideas in a plethora of beliefs, and shared among them is the notion of superiority and intolerance of others.

Attributing superiority to the belief that a man-god prefers one faith over another is absurd on its face.
Religion evolved to help humanity cope with their mortality, and to make life among the living more palatable.

Parallel with the developing mythology and religious philosophy are notions of government and economy. Eventually, the various ideas blended, and the forms manifested in nation-states and kingdoms.

When the world' nations states collaborated at the United Nations, they produced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which most members subscribe; those that don't are considered rogue outliers to peaceful coexistence.

The United States Constitution separates the government and the church explicitly, offering a shroud of protection for the freedom of beliefs.

This ideal is under constant attack, as are many of the democratic ideals therein protected.

To be clear, I advocate using the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the standard for filtering out noisy distractions from political leaders.

To achieve sustainable lives, people need a sustainable economic model and a government that upholds the ideal of the UDHR and the American Constitution and the overarching rule of law.

Witness that President Trump and his disciples consistently undermine the rule of law, the UDHR, and civil liberties protected by the Constitution. They are insurgent enemies of the nation as are anyone going along with them.