Years ago many people refused to believe that little tiny organisms cause a lot of disease and death. Germs, bacteria, microbes, viruses - something that cannot be seen cannot exist. Science advanced - yes, evolved - as people learned.

Today we face a global pandemic - that most of the rest of the globe has addressed much more effectively than has the United States. Many people have died who would otherwise be alive because of the ineptitude of the current occupant of the Oval Office.

trump eliminated anything started by or related to his predecessor, the last legitimately elected President of the United States. Now trump, and leaders of the GOP, are ill from the same disease that trump assured us would disappear.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution provides: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...” Provisions of States’ constitutions are even broader.

In Indiana “No law shall, in any case4 whatever, control the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of conscience.” Ind. Const. Art. 1, § 3. So, too, is the “natural right to worship” (Art. 1, § 2).

Indiana also proscribes maintenance of “any ministry” against consent of any person (Art. 1, § 4), religious tests for office (Art. 1, §5), public money for the benefit of religious or theological institutions (Art. 1, § 6), and religious tests or oaths for witnesses. (Art. 1, §§ 7, 8.)

Being free to worship as one chooses does not mean, however, that if a group that purports to hold the only “true” religious beliefs is able to grab hold of our country, it may do as it wishes. The World is not only 6,000, years old.

People are dying in large numbers in the U.S. because of idiocies spread, programs eliminated, or false cures hyped by trump. It is unfortunate he has taken ill from, and been diagnosed with, COVID-19.

Scientists and physicians have been shoved to the side in favor of the barkings of a two-bit carny huckster. I take that back - he apparently is about half-a-billion dollars in the hole to banks and parties unknown. He doesn’t have “two bits.” (Being broke sucks: I commiserate.)

U.S. Const., Art. I, sec. 8: “Congress shall have Power To ... promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts...” I doubt The Framers had Jerry Falwell, Jr., in a speed-o dictating to a pool boy principles of knowledge between trysts.

Former Vice President Biden, in this past week’s debate, should have apologized for calling trump a “clown,” but not because of any insult to trump. The former Vice President insulted clowns. (Clowns work really hard.)

We need learned, trained professionals with years of experience - the best minds - to be in government to address the crises we face. Instead we have Jared and Ivanka on a committee with VP Pence who advanced contagion in bungling of HIV in southern Indiana.

As importantly, we need people to understand “truth” is not the white supremacist hate mongering the current iteration of the GOP spews. Ignorance and hatred can be fatal. We are learning, again, lessons I thought we’d learned already.