2020. What a year!
Fortunately it is almost over. Almost four awful years with Donald Trump as President. Almost a year of Covid 19 pandemic.
A backdrop of civil unrest due to longstanding racial strife including riots and toppling of statues involving the Civil War/slavery and indigenous peoples/Christopher Columbus.
Further, there is the longstanding artificial predominance of the two party political system in the U.S. due to Duverger’s Law. With political polarization and government gridlock.
Now there is the coming two part Holiday season, Thanksgiving and Christmas, involving a lot of travel. Travel has been not recommended by the CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However it has no legal enforcement authority.
And the Constitutional transition of power after the Electoral College vote in December and Inauguration on January 20, 2021.
There is an almost perfect storm of inevitable spike in the pandemic, continued economic consequences and delay in government action.
And a lost opportunity to conduct fair and representative elections with Top Six, the proposed remedy to Duverger’s Law.
A remedy for the economic hardship, a second Stimulus package, is held up in Congress.
A military solution would be timely and decisive. All that would be needed would be a legal, Constitutional rationale. At issue would be the malfeasance of Mr. Trump as President and the resultant injury to the American people and economy.
The military has already provided a partial solution wioth its vaccine program Operation Warp Speed. Private industry is close behind with Moderna’s vaccine and others. The FDA has approved the Regeneron antibody plasma treatment also. Personal note: I wonder if the plasma could be more widespread and used as a general prophylactic, a de facto vaccine. The goal of vaccine is to achieve herd immunity as soon as possible. Every case of Covid produces antibodies.
The military also conducted a study of Covid spread in airliners with a favorable finding i.e. it is not as bad as generally feared. Personal note: Perhaps airports could be more of a “health hub” by mandatory temperature taking and other measures.
A military takeover could take various forms. If the military installed a military leader or committee, it would be a military coup or junta. If it installed a civilian government until January 20, it would be more consistent with the US Constitution.
The military could order a national mask use mandate. It could order the governors to in turn order the National Guard to enforce state health orders. It could order the Governors to order state and municipal police to enforce state and municipal health orders. It could order Congress to pass a second stimulus package.