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DEMOCRACY PRESERVED

From Worldometer:

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9     1093    4732        1185       246          82
July    22     1205    7128        1293      1120         572
Aug    12     1504     6556       1242       835         130
Sept     3      1094    5886        830     1083         174
            9      1208    6222        1136      1168          82
Oct      8        957    6420         730       967        160
          12       316     3757           203       710          83
          13       843     5006           354      723       165
          14       970     6075           716       694       123
          19       442     4392           321       594         21
          20       952     6169           662       714       164
          21     1225     6849            571       703         85
          22       973     6470           503       683       102
          23       903     6526          566       656        48 
          24       784     5599          398       575         53
          25       442     4629          237       463         24
          26       529     5095          288       505        40
          27     1039      7023          530       519         45
          28     1030      7116          487       509         58
          29     1047      7172          565       568         53
          30      988      7513          529       550         66
Nov     4      1199       8192          276       511         74

Summary:   
  • I told you to wait until today.  This new wave is only getting worse for places like the the World, USA and Europe.
  • Yesterday, in addition to the USA (#1 with almost sextuple figures--94,463), the following European countries had quintuple new cases:  France, Russia, Spain, UK, Italy, Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
  • No U.S. state had quintuple new cases, although Texas led with 8439 and 92 new deaths, both highs for the country.
  • Hawaii had 87 new cases and no new deaths.  We haven't had a death in several days.  And we opened up the state tourism around 10 days ago.
  • Vermont had 18 new cases and no new deaths.
  • Did you know that our military has had 85,301 total cases and 110 total deaths?
  • Veterans Affairs have had 77,740 total cases and 4060 total deaths, with 1003 new cases and 43 new deaths.
  • Federal prisons have had 20,682 total cases and 132 total deaths, with 275 new cases and no new deaths.
  • Navajo Nation has had 11,947 total cases, with 72 new cases, two new deaths and 586 total deaths.
  • Japan had 468 new cases and 6 new deaths.
  • China had 49 new cases and no deaths. 
  • Singapore had 9 new cases and no new deaths.
  • Australia had 8 new cases and no new deaths.
  • South Korea had 75 new cases and 4 new deaths.
  • Thailand had 10 new cases (and is now #147 in total cases) and no new deaths.
  • Taiwan had 4 new cases (and is now #177 in total cases) and no new deaths.
Pretty much everything I feared happened last night:
  • Donald Trump declared victory at 2:30AM EDT and said he would go to the Supreme Court to make any new votes counted after midnight illegal...except for, maybe Arizona and Nevada.
  • I noticed that when he made this announcement, there was a decent crowd with his supportive family, mask wearing optional...but a curious lack of other prominent administrative executives.
  • I went to bed at 3AM EDT, fearing that Donald Trump was, indeed, about to be re-elected, leading in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
  • I woke up at 8AM EDT (3AM Hawaii Time) to go to the bathroom, turned on the TV, and learned that the good lead of Trump in Wisconsin had reversed, with a few more votes to be counted, but almost surely leading to more votes for Biden.  But Nevada got closer and Georgia still looking good for Trump and a large lead in Pennsylvania.
  • Woke up at 11AM EDT (6AM HT) and saw that, indeed, things were looking even better for Biden in Wisconsin, but that Michigan, too, had reversed, with a good number of votes to be counted, but as most were early mail-ins, that would favor Biden.  Trump still had a decent lead in Pennsylvania, but there was a sense that considering where in the state this would be coming from, and most uncounted mail-in ballots, Biden had a shot at winning this state.  Nevada was still close, but many of the votes to come were from the Las Vegas area, which should favor Biden.  Arizona and Georgia were still close to call, but a split seemed likely.
  • In short, the odds are high that Joe Biden will be the next president of the USA.  We should know by the end of the day, and surely by Friday.
  • It's 1PM Trump time, and he hasn't yet taken any serious steps to stay in office.  He will, but will fail because:
    • Anything he does will be illegal or frivolous.
    • The Senate will remain in Republican control, and could well be relieved that he now won't be able to totally compromise their patriotic principles.
    • It should be interesting how his immediate staff reacts.
You know what is scary?  He would have won a second term if any one of the following occurred:
  • There was no pandemic.
  • Even with COVID-19, he showed some leadership about testing, etc.
  • Nancy Pelosi had agreed to another relief package so millions of Americans could receive a check signed by Donald Trump.
  • He became more neutral about the environment.
  • Reduced his lying, bragging and conniving.
  • Now and then mouthed a few words of contrition and empathy.
  • Adjusted his attitude about American terrorists.
  • Any one of the dozen or so books that nailed him was not published.
The margins of difference in battleground states all were crucial.  Joe Biden did not do anything particularly effective, but he was the ideal safe candidate running against a warped mind.

In short, it seems that American Democracy has been preserved:
  • Joe Biden will be declared president by the media as soon as today, and certainly by the end of the week.
  • The country will further sink into partisan politics for two years, where Biden's more ambitious programs will flounder.
  • The USA will rejoin the Paris Agreement for climate change control.
  • Obamacare will be challenged by the Supreme Court and Rowe/Wade could be compromised.
  • A vaccine or two or three will be developed, and this pandemic should be under control by the end of next year.  Mind you, like the seasonal flu, COVID-19 will never just disappear.  More people will die from flu-like symptoms in the fall/winter periods to come, but society will make appropriate adjustments, like masks and the like.  
  • The Dow Jones Average will pass 30,000 in 2021.
  • For a while there will be controlled numbers in stadia, auditoria and theaters, but schools will be back to normal by next September.  Professional, college, high school and youth sporting events will return to almost normal, even as early as January of 2021.
  • The Tokyo Summer Olympics will be held, perhaps delayed to the Fall (August is a terrible month in that city), with crowds limited.  But everything is made for TV anyway.
  • Travel will begin to pick up in a year, and my around the world trip through Dubai for the World Expo returns to again looking promising.
The year 2021 will be a relief and show a return to a new-normal.  Life remains in euphoria for me, as I actually lost weight during this lock-down, have somewhat strengthened knees and ankles, will enter into a new relationship and have a few years left to enjoy life.

My favorite song #56 enters the Big Bang era, and today, I feature Jimmy Dorsey:
In the beginning there were the Dorsey brothers, Jimmy (left), elder, and Tommy.  In their early group was Rudy Vallee.  They joined Paul Whiteman in 1927 and in 1929 had their first hit.  In 1934 they signed with Decca, and a member of their band was Glenn Miller, who received a loan from Tommy to form his own band.  The brothers had a falling out, so in 1935 Tommy, who played the trombone, formed his own orchestra.  Frank Sinatra became a singer with him, then quit.

Boogie Woogie came in 1939.  Frank Sinatra returned from the Harry James band in 1940 and they made 80 records.  In 1940 I'll be Seeing You, written by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal made it to #4, but the Bing Crosby solo in 1944 reached #1.  Along the way, Nelson Riddle also played trombone with Tommy, and in his group were Jo Stafford and Paul Weston, where they got married.  Others included Doc Severinsen, Buddy Rich, the Pied Pipers, Dick Haymes, Connee Boswell, Gene Krupa (even after he was arrested for marijuana possession) and Connie Haines.

Even though he disbanded his band in 1946, he did record How are Things in Glocca Morra in 1947, so formed another band.  He and Jimmy reconciled.  The biographical film that year, The Fabulous Dorseys, was released.  That was the whole movie, but Rotten Tomatoes audiences only gave it a 28 rating. In 1953 Jimmy joined Tommy, and they did well on TV.  In 1956 they introduced Elvis Presley to the world.

He choked on food and died at the age of 51 in 1956.  All his works were destroyed by that 2008 Universal Studios fire.  

Tommy Dorsey had 286 Billboard chart hits, with 17 reaching #1.  The biggest was I'll Never Smile Again with Frank Sinatra, which stayed at #1 in 1940 for twelve weeks. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (1935) was his theme song and is my #56.  Haunting and sad, I get emotional.

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