This is a good article. Note who wrote it. This senator was forced by his
Democratic colleagues to resign because a Republican woman who had been in
show business when he was, accused him of touching her life saving vest and
kissing her when the cast of a film was fooling around after a filming
session and then several other women came forward and accused him of
inappropriate behavior. The female senator of my state was one of the most
insistent that he leave the Senate. That same female senator has just
endorsed Joe Biden who has been accused by several women of sexually
inappropriate behavior and by one woman of sexual molestation. Joe Biden
hasn't made any statement about anything lately, that is as coherent as this
one by Al Franken, but we are being forced to accept him as a credible
presidential candidate.
Miriam
Start Hearings Now!
By Al Franken, Al Franken's Website
03 May 20
Before President Trump offered the insanely stupid (and I do not mean that
sarcastically) idea of injecting disinfectants into our bodies to treat
Covid-19, a good majority of Americans had already concluded that Trump is
not providing the wise, measured leadership of, say, a Lincoln or an FDR.
Leadership has come from elsewhere. From governors, medical professionals,
and other essential workers on the front lines. But we have no coherent
national response to this pandemic. That response really should come from
the federal government.
There are three branches of our federal government. Donald Trump leads the
executive branch and has shown himself to be completely dishonest, extremely
paranoid, and, yes, stupid. Dishonest, disturbed, and stupid are no way to
lead a country, sir.
That leaves the other two branches. One of those is the Supreme Court, which
is ill-suited to lead in anything other than a Constitutional crisis, let
alone a pandemic. Also, the Court just fast-tracked the appeal of the
decision of both the district and circuit courts by a purely partisan 5-4
margin. All in order to force the people of Wisconsin to risk their lives to
vote in the state election of a state judge.
The 5-4 margin exists only because Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell
is a proudly transparent, shameless hypocrite, who recently gave "a sly
smile" when confirming that he would fill a Court vacancy if one opens up
between now and noon on January 20, 2021.
In the meantime, McConnell is suggesting that states declare bankruptcy.
So, that leaves the House, whose members are now back in their home
districts on recess. Most, I'm sure, are sheltered at home and working hard,
consulting with state officials, local businesses, hospitals, schools,
doctors, and (if they're Democrats) labor leaders.
A message to Speaker Pelosi. Tens of thousands of Americans are dead, and
tens of thousands more will die. Our economy is in freefall. Maybe this
would be a good time to have hearings.
Say, on testing. President Trump keeps saying that we've tested more people
per capita than any other country. He's lying! Shouldn't Congress call
expert witnesses, read and hear their testimony, and then ask them
questions?
Do we have a national plan for scaling up the testing as fast as possible?
What should the federal role be? The state role? Do we have every lab
working at full capacity? What kind of tests do we need and in what
quantities, and how do we make sure they are distributed and administered
strategically? Is the FDA on top of guaranteeing that Americans aren't
getting bad tests? Do we have the reagents we need? No? Then where can we
get them? Do we have a national plan for contact tracing? How would that
work? What is the most effective use of testing to enable us to get people
back to work? Do we need to spend a lot more on testing?
That's just the tip of the iceberg. On testing.
How do we make sure kids aren't hungry?
What would the effect on worldwide markets if our states did start declaring
bankruptcy?
This is a worldwide pandemic. How are we working with the rest of the world?
What exactly does the World Health Organization do? Is it really a good idea
to cut off our funding?
Is there a black market in PPE? What can we do to stop that? Should Trump
finally fully invoke the Defense Production Act so there are no shortages?
And - how about a little oversight on the nearly $3 trillion dedicated so
far to addressing the pandemic and the economic disaster that has come along
with it. Yes, the Speaker has established an oversight committee on the $3
trillion that Congress has approved thus far. But why exactly aren't we
having hearings now?
It's true that bringing the 435 House members together under one Dome
creates some real social distancing problems. But it's also true that my
three-year-old granddaughter, Avery, meets with her pre-school class five
days a week online. She has a staffer (my daughter) who gets her connected.
And it works like a charm. Yes, the House would need to adopt new rules to
allow virtual hearings. Well - do that!
Now, Americans might say - "Hey, Congress! Suck it up and wear PPE at
hearings. Just like our medical professionals and so many other Americans."
Fine. Then do that! But, Christ! Do something!
America desperately needs leadership - right now. Donald Trump is not
providing it. The Senate won't provide it. If Mitch McConnell approves an
oversight committee, it'll be on Joe Biden. Or Hunter Biden. Or another
Biden.
Avery sees and talks with her teacher and classmates on this thing called
Zoom. They're working now on sounding out the letters of the alphabet. I'm
not sure how secure Zoom is. But my guess is that the House could figure
this out. Please. Start hearings now!