We talked about this a while back, as the current round of scandals was playing out as “new news.” It is hard to keep track, but I do my civic duty as I can, without leaving the farm, maintaining social distance when I have to and masking if I happen to be at home on a Zoom conference and want to display civic responsibility.

It is complex, but I think you have heard of one of the latest cause celebs,the one where the President is using his authority to screw up the Postal Service and thus scramble the results of the coming election. I was previously not aware that the USPS was a paragon of Federal efficiency.

In order to best support the current line, I have to insert one of my usual disclaimers and cement my virtue: “Our Letter Carrier Sherlee is a Great American, as are the weekend people who manage the route on her days off. My faith in these dedicated people trying to do the right thing is well founded in the health crisis, where the mail has been augmented to serve as the last delivery link of the Amazon network. My heart goes out to the folks who have to deliver the big boxes many of us have come to rely on during the period of absolutely necessary enforced mass house arrest. We provide water and sustainment where necessary as postal patriots, since Sherlee’s role in our future is critical.

It is actually funny, an event so vast in scope and importance being thrown together at what is literally beyond the last moment. As a minor point, there have been contested elections in Michigan, New Jersey and New York just since the primary season started this year. The idea that a national enterprise based on mail-in ballots will perform flawlessly on the first try is as absurd as the Affordable Care roll-out. That one provided months of high humor. This will be great fun, and I am sure whatever happens to either the Biden or Trump campaigns will be treated with good will and understanding in the interest of the people of the United States.

There are other possibilities, of course. I have been accused of using the “train wreck” term about what is about to happen to us all. I recall a few years back being pleased here in Virginia that an actual photo ID would be a necessary adjunct to voting, or for requesting an absentee ballot. The countervailing opinion was that such a step was unnecessary, that no problem existed, and requiring actual identification was actually an attempt to suppress the vote by citizens who cannot leave their homes to participate.

I am nearly in that category of prospective voters. Still, I am required to have identification to purchase cigarettes, cash a check, buy alcohol, drive a car, secure a passport or board a plane. Government-issued identification is already needed to receive Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits, which are vital to many Americans. But one has to observe that all of these routine activities are purely secondary in importance to the ballots that will determine all of these things and our collective futures.

The current scheme of sending ballots to every voter strikes me as hilarious, and well in tune with the jovial continuing coup against the Administration. Our Governor here in Virginia has stated he is happy with careful review and correction of mail-in ballots. By whom he did not say- Sherlee, maybe? I would trust her, since she cares about the people on her route. But as far as verifying ballots from routes that are considered too dangerous to walk even during the day, let me suppress a burst of spontaneous laughter.

The participants on one side of the election decided to conduct a War Game to examine possible outcomes. It is not an uncommon event, and widely used in business and government. The game- Zoom, of course- was conducted in mid-June of this year. Among 67 participants, the redoubtable John Podesta played the “Biden” role, and two outspoken Republican critics of Trump, David Frum and Bill Kristol, portrayed the role of the current President. Despite the gravity of the issue at hand, you will recall the password to Mr. Podesta’s work computer in the 2016 campaign was “password.” Among other games, in Defense, we sat through multiple variations of the process to determine the possible consequences of our planning efforts. Some of the results of the recent game was the focus of news. Remember, this was just a game, and intended only to simulate something that could happen, just to be prepared.

The thesis of this one was “what would happen” in a variety of circumstances involving an entirely new means of conducting a national election. Six states already conduct mail-in ballots, and are well prepared. I am sure the other forty-four will perform flawlessly, right? The most colorful outcomes resulted from the consequences of a “narrow victory” by either side. As a Democrat-selected panel, it was not surprising that a Biden victory would be accepted and celebrated. Then the country would run on as scheduled. A narrow Trump win would be problematic, and naturally another coup attempt would be necessary as a public duty.

I have the choice of being alarmed, or compliant with whatever our betters have decided as an outcome for our national future. One of the more significant possibilities the game turned up was the possibility of secession by the West Coast states. I am reminded frequently that California by itself would be the fifth largest economy on earth.

Did I tell you this was going to be spectacular, or what?

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com