In the midst of what can only be called a non-traditional presidential campaign, Joe Biden might want to consider breaking another political tradition, by releasing a very early shortlist of possible nominees to his cabinet. Such a move is not without risks, of course, which is one of the reasons why traditionally it just isn't done. But the benefits may outweigh such risks in this particular campaign.

Let's start with the possible drawbacks of releasing an early shortlist. In the first place, it has always been considered "unseemly" to do so before the election is won. It smacks of overconfidence, of counting unhatched chickens. Or, to use a more apt political metaphor, it would be seen as prematurely "measuring the Oval Office drapes" in anticipation of an upcoming redecoration.

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I have to admit I am seeing the protest movement across America from a rather strange viewpoint. I live in one of the most liberal areas of one of the most liberal states in the country, and here the citizens are deeply grieving... a police officer who lost his life. You can see why this is a rather unique lens through which to view what is currently going on.

The officer in question was a sheriff's deputy who responded to a call about a white van filled with dangerous weapons. He was ambushed and killed by a member of the U.S. Air Force who, after being apprehended, was charged not only with the deputy's murder but also with the earlier murder of the only federal law enforcement officer killed in the recent unrest anywhere in the entire country. This happened during one of the first nights of demonstrations, up in Oakland, California.

Now, my county doesn't see police officers killed very often. The news reported that the last sheriff's deputy to die in the line of fire happened in the 1980s. So this was a big event, and the populace has been memorializing the slain officer ever since -- despite (as mentioned) being an area that could honestly be called "ultra-liberal." We've seen heaps of flowers laid in honor and public mourning by just about everyone, for a brave local police officer.

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Conservative Republicans just chalked up another big defeat in their continuing losing streak in the culture wars. The Supreme Court ruled today that L.G.B.T. rights are indeed included in Title VII, which mandates equal treatment for all "on the basis of sex." Discriminating against someone because they are gay or transgendered (by firing them, for example) is just as unconstitutional as it is to discriminate against all women (or all men, for that matter). To put it another way, what could be called the final battle of the Sexual Revolution just ended, and the counterculture has now absolutely routed the field of conservatives.

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President Donald Trump seems to have settled on a theme for his campaign, as he doubles down on blatant racism. Think that's too strongly put? We don't. Consider the following, from just the past week:

Trump announces his first rally since the start of the pandemic, in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19. Here's why that's a monumentally insensitive place and date: "In 1921, that city was the site of one of the worst race massacres in U.S. history. A white mob descended on an affluent black neighborhood. As many as 300 people died. The June 19 rally also happens to coincide with Juneteenth, a holiday widely celebrated in the black community to mark the day that the last American slaves were freed." As one late-night comic joked, it's like Trump told Stephen Miller to pick the most offensive place and date possible (since Trump wouldn't know beans about either historical reference).

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While the overall news on the coronavirus pandemic has gotten better on a national scale, we could be seeing the very beginnings of a second wave developing in individual states. This is worrisome, but what is even more concerning is that we may be about to repeat the mistakes of the first wave all over again. The process of closing down the economy and sheltering in place was painful, and the reopening and lifting of restrictions got very political, which adds up to an enormous reluctance by governors to go through it all over again. Which, if true, would mean that the second wave may prove to be worse than the first.

Now, none of this is certain at this point. A real second wave may never even develop, at least not on the scale the first wave did. It may be isolated to certain states or regions, while other states and regions don't see a resurgence. Anything is possible.

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Is anyone else out there ready for some cheerful and perhaps even downright rosy-tinted optimism? I for one certainly think it's time to write a column filled with positive vibes, and I've got just the subject. While triple crises rage throughout America (medical, economic, and injustice-based) and while Donald Trump's poll numbers continue to sink like a stone, there have been some interesting developments in another important political arena. The Senate is now not only "in play" for Democrats in November, the possibility now exists that they won't just win back the chamber, but win it back in a big blue wave that puts them firmly in control.

Realistically, or even pessimistically (at this point), the worst-case scenario for Democrats this November seems to now be losing one seat. Currently, the Senate stands at 53-to-47 Republican. If only a single state flipped parties during the election, it would likely be Alabama. Doug Jones was a fluke (remember cowboy-suited Roy Moore?) which will probably not last. So chalk Alabama up for the Republicans no matter what else happens, because even in a wildly-optimistic big-blue-wave situation I still doubt Jones would hold onto this seat (my glasses just aren't sufficiently rosy to see that one, in other words). That starts the Democrats at a net loss of one seat, down 46 seats to the Republicans' 54.

But then let's swing the needle all the way from pessimistic to optimistic, just to see what that scenario would look like. Hold onto your hats folks, because if Democrats won all the states that already seem solid for them and all the states which are currently tied or close to it and all three longshots, then they would flip a whopping eleven Senate seats. Add in a Jones loss in Alabama, and you'd wind up with a 57-to-43 Democratic Senate.

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I wrote the following article nine years ago. It has never been as relevant as now, however, which is why I felt the need to repost it today.

To be blunt, the one consistent truth in all of the horrific scenes of police brutality we've all witnessed recently (and in the past) is that it was caught on video. If it hadn't been, then it effectively would not have happened. We would only have a police report about a protester "tripping and falling" rather than an image of the cops shoving a peaceful 75-year-old man to the ground. There would be nothing to run on the evening news, outside of the small slice of the protests that the professional camera crews caught on film.

To put it another way, if "Little Brother" video didn't exist, you would not now know the name George Floyd. That is the power the following article was written about.

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I know we all have plenty to worry about these days, so I apologize in advance for adding another possible item to the list. But we could be heading for a very worrisome situation indeed, because contrary to how Americans have experienced past presidential elections (well... other than in the year 2000...), we may not actually know who won on the night of the election. There are a combination of factors which have set up this rather unique situation, and it may not even come to pass if a few of these variables change by November. But the possibility now exists that we won't know for days -- or even weeks -- who won the Electoral College and thus the presidency. Which, obviously, could lead to chaos, especially considering what Donald Trump will be saying and tweeting in the meantime.

What is especially worrisome is what is happening now in Pennsylvania. The state held its primary election last Tuesday, but as of this writing several of the races have not been called yet, due to the overwhelming increase in the number of voters casting their ballots by mail.

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This week, an American president ordered the violent removal of peaceful protesters -- who were doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights to assemble, speak, and petition the government for redress -- from a public park so that he could then walk across the park and hold up a borrowed Bible for a photo opportunity with both the Secretary of Defense and (clad in battle fatigues) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Afterward, the Trump White House immediately issued a propaganda video of the event. Later that evening, a military helicopter clearly marked with a red cross took offensive action against the protesters (which is banned by the Geneva Conventions, and is now under investigation). Later still, the president and all his enablers in the White House lied through their teeth about the entire incident, repeatedly. At week's end, we learned of another affront to the Constitution by the Trump administration, when it was revealed that federal law enforcement had unconstitutionally seized a shipment of cloth face masks created by a Black Lives Matter affiliate, and the only possible reason they did so was that the Department of Justice apparently didn't like the messages displayed on the masks (which read: "Stop killing black people," and: "Defund police").

We can't help but think of an old bumpersticker, which used to be popular a few decades ago: "If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention."

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General James Mattis has broken his silence on the presidency of Donald Trump -- in a big way. Current Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has also noticeably broken with President Trump on the need for active-duty military personnel to be deployed to American cities in response to the mostly-peaceful protests which continue around the country. Other military leaders, both retired and still serving, are speaking out about what their oath actually means. To be blunt, protecting the United States Constitution does not mean violently attacking Americans who are merely exercising their First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, and petition the government for redress. Quite the opposite, in fact -- the military is supposed to support and defend such activities, not subvert or quash them. And there's one very important step the Pentagon could take right now to show solidarity with the people protesting the treatment of African-Americans in this country, and that is to remove the names of Confederate military officers from Army installations.

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