“Are you sure these facts are reliable?” Frank asked.
“As to the underlying facts, that the son hitched a free ride on Air Force Two for no public purpose that you or I couldn’t have done, that Sullivan says he never discusses his son’s business with his son, that the son introduced his father, the then Vice President of the United States, to the Chinese individual who became the president of the U.S. private equity fund capitalized with $1.5 billion dollars out of China, that the son became an owner and director of the fund, yes. Whether Sullivan and his son ever discuss the son’s business or whether the father used his federal government position to garner business for his son, and how much the son made off of this venture, and whether any of that directly or indirectly found its way to the father, no. Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported the underlying facts, but the Journal put an anti-Sullivan spin on it and the Times put a pro-Sullivan spin on it. Who knows what the truth is, but it sure looks bad. And it segues into the issue I related about the media being a serious part of the problem.”
“How so,” Frank asked.
“The Journal and the Times virtually never see the same story in the same light,” Leah said.
“Well, that doesn’t seem like a bad thing,” Frank replied.
“I’m not so sure. All this talking has made my sweet tooth kick in. The dishes are done. Give me a couple of scoops of ice cream and I’ll explain my concern about the media.”
“Deal,” Frank said.
“Bob Woodward, The Washington Post’s syndicated columnist of Woodward and Bernstein, All The President’s Men, Watergate, and “Deep Throat” fame, just released his latest book, Rage.”
“The book reporting on some eighteen hours of taped interviews with POTUS recorded with POTUS’s consent?” Frank asked. “I’ve skimmed it. What’s wrong with it?”
“Woodward presents himself as an objective “reporter” of the facts, but I don’t believe that’s true. Aside from “reporting” that Baker is not fit for the office, Woodward is guilty of precisely what he accuses Baker of doing.”
“How so?” Frank asked.
“In a February 7 recording, Baker admitted that he knew COVID-19 was much more dangerous that he let on to the public. He said it was because he didn’t want to create panic among the American public. Whether that was the reason or the reason was that Baker thought being candid might hurt his reelection chances, Woodward said that Baker should have trusted the American public to handle the news.”
“So?”
“So why didn’t Woodward use his branded syndicated column to do what he said Baker should have done?” Leah asked. “When asked about that, Woodward said he thought Baker’s taped admission spoke only to the pandemic as it existed at the time, only in China. That might explain Woodward’s silence in February, but not in March by when the pandemic had spread all across the U.S.”
“Good point. Why do you think Woodward didn’t come forward in March, if not February?” Frank asked.
“For me, the answers are obvious. One, the publisher of Rage didn’t want the news to break until they were ready to release the book on September 15. It would have been yesterday’s news by the time the book came out if Woodward were the objective reporter he claims to be and had told what he knew back in February or March. That looks like greed, plain and simple. The publisher’s greed and Woodward’s greed. Two, Woodward does not appear to be an objective reporter as he claims. He strikes me as clearly anti-Baker as does his employer, The Washington Post.”
“Interesting. You’ve downed the ice cream I gave you. What’s the answer to my original question, how do we resolve and diffuse all the social unrest?”
“Unravel the greed factor and pave the way for integrity, both in the media and in politics. If we can reduce the greed factor, then both the media and our politicians will have less temptation to stray from integrity.”
“Won’t that take an amendment to our Constitution?” Frank asked.
“Yes. The amendment has already been written. It appears in a novel I think you know something about. It’s titled The Amendment Killer. You can find it on Amazon.”
#2
The 2020 Political Agenda Of The Democratic Party (The 2020 Political Agenda of the Republican Party Is The Baker Agenda, Which Is Difficult, At Best, To Identify)
CONFIDENTIAL 2020 CONVENTION AGENDA
Presidential Nomination
Vice Presidential Vetting, Selection and Nomination
Convention Considerations
Pandemic
Party Platform
Social Unrest
# Me Too
BLM
Police defunding
Baker
Tax Returns
Cronyism
2016 Election Fraud
DACA
2020 Election Fraud
“Let’s skip the selection of Sullivan as our nominee. It’s done and beyond our control at this point. He might not be a strong candidate, but we’re stuck with him. As to the procedural details, we can leave those to staff. Let’s focus on the substantive subparts of the agenda.
Bianchi ran through the list. “Let’s take them one at a time. The first one I wrote down is Hashtag Me Too.”
“That’s simple, Betty. We all know that. We’re on the right side of the argument. Baker has to agree, which makes him look weak to his own core, but the more he might resist, the weaker he hurts himself.”
“I agree. Besides, his core will forgive him. Like he says, he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and his core would still vote for him. The next subpart is Black Lives Matter.”
“Much trickier,” one of the committee members said. “This is a much more difficult issue than it appears to be on the surface. When people are cornered publicly, they all speak out for BLM because it’s so politically correct. That doesn’t mean that everyone feels that way privately. All those rioters breaking into stores and stealing everything in sight isn’t really helping the cause. And all them damn athletes taking a knee every time the national anthem is played is alienating a lotta people. So are our wuss local officeholders who are so willing to pander to the protesters and support defunding the police. Personally, I think that’s outright nonsense. That’s how I also feel about the protesters who are rallying in front of the homes of local politicians 24/7, playing loud music and shining bright lights in the front windows of those homes to intimidate local politicians to do whatever the protesters want, no matter how absurd.”
“Maybe so, but pandering to the protesters is exactly what we have to do,” Betty said. “It’s a numbers game and we need those black and brown votes, as well as those white votes who feel they’re racist if they’re not anti-racist.”
“I’m not so sure, Betty. I think we may be more at risk regarding these extremists than we realize. Again, what people say and how they really feel may be more different than we realize.”
“You get no argument from me, but the die is cast.”
“What about defunding police, Betty?”
“That’s largely just a subset of BLM.”
“Agreed. Right or wrong, we have to push it, because that’s what our core supporters want.”
“This brings us to the final social unrest subpart, which is Baker himself, and which I actually have four sub-subparts, at least today. Baker gives us new items every single day. As of today, we’re talking about Baker hiding the ball on his tax returns, the 2016 election fraud, all of his cronyism and then his latest for now, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA.”
“Let’s be sure we’re on the same page here, Betty. We don’t want any screwups of our own, and we don’t want Logan botching up any of this.”
“Sure thing. Baker’s tax returns issue is simple. The more he digs in and resists disclosing what every other president has basically disclosed, the more it looks like he’s got something to hide. I hope he keeps stonewalling us.”
“What’s the play on the cronyism
? The fact that some of his supporters have crossed the line doesn’t mean that he has.”
“The cronyism is another subject for us to play up. No president has had more cronies convicted of crimes than Baker. We need to continue to press this and the fact that he and his Attorney General lackey are interfering with the legal process in order to put all his crooked friends above the law. It’s just another example of Baker making clear that he thinks he’s above the law, and entitled to do whatever he wants.”
“And the 2016 election?” asked one of the committee members.
“The 2016 election fraud is pretty much the same as the tax returns. It’s clear the Russians messed with the 2016 election to help get Baker elected. They deny it. So does Baker. No one believes either of them. Baker’s own intelligence community says this is beyond question. We have to just keep making all the hay out of this we can, especially as Baker keeps pressing not to have mail-in voting, so the Russians have an easier time to come to his rescue again.”
“What’s your point on DACA, Betty? I thought the Supreme Court ruled against Baker on DACA and he jumped on the bandwagon and said he’d respect their decision.”
“Typical Baker bullshit. That’s what he said, but that’s not what he’s doing. The damn Supreme Court left him somewhat of an opening, and he’s driving a Mack truck through that opening. The Supreme Court actually sent the case back to the lower courts for some more specificity, and Baker is still opposing relief for the DACA youngsters, even though he talks out of both sides of his mouth and denies it.”
“Hey, Betty, we know that Russia’s going to try to control the election in Baker’s favor even more than it did in 2016. How do you plan to deal with that?”
“One word, ‘mail-in,’” Bianchi answered. “It will be hard for the Russians to manipulate the vote if we keep it off the internet from start to finish.”
“Isn’t that two words, Betty?”
“Very funny. I used a hyphen, so it’s only one word.”
“More seriously, how are we going to deal with everything that Baker is going to do to sabotage a massive mail-in vote? Won’t he try to completely destroy the election?”
“He can make a lot of noise, but what’s he really going to do? The Supreme Court won’t back him—even if Baker gets to appoint another member of the Court before the election—and the Constitution makes me the next president if the election is still in doubt on January 20. He’ll step down before he lets me become president.”
“Gee, Betty, is that why you’re pushing for a mail-in vote? Tell the truth now.”
“Haha,” was all that Bianchi answered.
Geez, Betty, you sure you don’t want to raise a bunch more points and keep us here all night?” someone asked. “We have July 4th family plans.”
Don’t shoot me, folks, I’m just delivering the mail. We have an election to win. We have to do whatever it takes, the merits and the best interests of the Happy Fourth.”
#3
Shareholder Capitalism And The Dirty T Word, Taxation
“OKAY, BUT AMIR QUESTION different.”
“Oh, sorry.” Jake paused long enough to hit “Go” on the GPS. “All right, what’s your question?” he asked Amir.
“Read news story to practice English while you in meeting. About expected Democratic candidate for president, Mr. Logan Sullivan. He make big speech against shareholder capitalism. Not sure understand. Sounds more like yesterday Russia than today America. You can explain?”
“Sure. Maybe this is another subject for you to learn for when you take the exam to become a U.S. citizen.” Jake knew this was a complicated subject. He thought about how best to explain it in simple terms. At least it would help take his mind off things while they drove. Maybe Amir’s too.
“Let’s say you want to start a restaurant business. Maybe to cook and introduce Kazakhstan food to Americans.”
“Okay,” Amir nodded. “Good idea. Like.”
“Say you rent some space in a mall and put a kitchen and appliances in part of the space, and tables and chairs for customers in the remainder of the space. You hope customers will pay you more money for the food you prepare than what you have to pay for rent, equipment, and the food you will cook for your customers. If you earn more than you spend, the difference is called profits. Understand?”
“Mr. JK. English bad. Business thinking okay. Many businesses in Kazakhstan. Have friend with good restaurant business in Kazakhstan. Had business in Kazakhstan. Made profits. Brought to America with me.”
“Sorry, Amir. I know you understand. But what if you don’t have enough money to pay your beginning expenses before you have customers?”
“No problem. Go to rich uncle. He loan money to begin.”
“Okay. And when do you pay him back, and how much do you pay him?”
“Depends on how smart uncle is. Pay back loan plus something extra, maybe share of profits from restaurant. Uncle smart man.”
“But what if your restaurant does not make profits? What if instead the customers don’t pay enough to cover your expenses, and you have losses instead of profits? Who has to pay the unpaid bills?”
“Amir must pay.”
“What about your uncle? Must he pay the unpaid bills too?”
“No. Uncle loaned certain amount of money. Not have to pay more.”
“Now, we are coming to the question you asked me and what the Democratic candidate for president said that you read. In America, if your uncle loaned you money in exchange for a share of any profits your restaurant business might earn, he would have to pay unpaid bills like you, unless special steps were taken to assure otherwise.”
“What steps, Mr. JK?”
“Special documents prepared that say the restaurant is owned by a business organization. Usually the organization is called a corporation. You and your uncle receive ownership of some portion or shares of the corporation instead of direct ownership of the restaurant business. You and your uncle are then called shareholders. In that case, unless you or your uncle agree otherwise, you may lose what you originally invested, but nothing more. This is called limited liability, and it’s intended to encourage investment in businesses, both large and small. You might agree to pay any losses if the restaurant business fails and closes and has unpaid bills, but your uncle would not.”
“Amir understand. Same in Kazakhstan, but not need corporation.”
“Okay. So now I can try to answer your question. In America, as elsewhere in the world, governments charge their citizens—both individuals and business organizations, such as corporations—fees to raise money in order for the government to provide services to its citizens.”
“What kind services?” Amir asked
“Many kinds. For example, providing schools for our youth, building and maintaining roads and airports, creating militaries to protect our country from foreign enemies, and medical and living expenses for our elderly.”
“Understand. Same in Russia and Kazakhstan.”
“We have two major political parties in the U.S., Republicans and Democrats. They each compete in elections to control our government. They have very different economic and social philosophies.”
“Read about Democrats and Republicans, but not understand well.”
“The Republicans generally like less government services and less taxes. They feel the citizens should keep more of what they earn and provide some of the services that might otherwise be covered by the government. The Republicans want to impose less taxes on corporations, and believe that the money corporations make should go only to their shareholders. That is called shareholder capitalism. The Republicans believe the shareholders and other wealthy individuals who are taxed less will spend more of the money that is not taxed in ways that will benefit our society.”
“And Democrats?”
“The Democrats generally like the government to provide more services, and therefore want more taxes. They believe the government will do a better job of benefitting
our society than our individual taxpayers will through the voluntary spending of their capital. The Democratic presidential candidate you read about wants the money corporations make to go not only to their shareholders who invested in the corporations but also to cities and needy people in general and not just shareholders.
“Which better, Mr. JK?”
“I don’t know, Amir. I understand computers, not government. Besides, both political parties seldom speak truthfully. It is very difficult to understand what they genuinely want. For example, the word taxation is often thought to be a negative word so politicians avoid saying that word whenever possible. The Democratic candidate running against President Baker to be elected POTUS—President of the United States—in November, former Vice President Sullivan, says shareholder capitalism is no longer a good thing instead of saying what he really wants to do—which is to raise taxes on corporation. Republicans think this is just a hidden way of reducing limited liability which will discourage investment. If your uncle couldn’t limit his liability, and the taxes on his profits, he might not be willing to invest in your Kazakhstan restaurant.”
“Very difficult subjects, Mr. JK. Amir has seen Democrat style in old socialist Russia. Not work well. Think government should charge taxes only enough to make necessary services and help individuals unable to work to support themselves because old or ill. Have headache thinking. Is time eat? Know good Kazakhstan restaurant in this town?”
Jake agreed politics was a very difficult subject. He registered as an Independent because he didn’t think either the Republicans or the Democrats really served the public interests. He also wasn’t sure his remarks were particularly helpful to Amir, but at least it made the drive less boring, and it took Jake’s mind off what always seemed to be on his mind at the moment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WRITERS DO THEIR THING in what can only be described as a “lonely place.”
Fortunately, there are some exceptions. I’d like to thank a few of them, whose support means more to me than I can express (writer that I purport to be).
JK's Code (Brooks/Lotello Thriller Book 4) Page 30