“Going Viral” was not something I heard of growing up. Either was “car” or “Television” (I’m really old). But in modern life, the phrase has come to represent a post, image, video or news story that gains a rapid influx of national or world-wide attention. This phenomenon wasn’t even possible until recently in human history. Abraham Lincoln had to wait days to learn he had won the Republican nomination for president in 1860. Lincoln is known for many acts of courage. But living an entire life without once exploding on TikTok is perhaps his finest achievement.

Members of my immediate family have “gone viral” three times in the last four years. Once it was me and twice our daughter Brennan. After sharing the basic facts of these three strange moments in time, I will offer some observations on what viraling (I invented this word. Maybe it will go viral!) is like and how it affects one’s life. …

Trump’s Call to Georgia Proves We Can’t be Surprised by Anything his Enablers do Over the Next Two Weeks

Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any weirder, or that Trump couldn’t get any more transparently corrupt, we have another “perfect” Trump phone call to listen to.

There are many parts of the President’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that are surreal. if I had to pick a favorite, it’s when Trump said to Brad (that’s what he likes me to call him) “There’s nothing wrong with saying that you miscalculated” as an excuse to reverse the results. I guess Brad could say “I forgot to carry the 2 when I added up the votes”. Or, “My calculator was on the fritz!”. Plus, you have to admire the specificity of Trump saying, “I need you to find me 11,780 votes”. …

On January 6th, a small group of US Senate employees will carry the already-cast electoral votes into the House chamber to be formally counted in a joint-session presided over by Vice-President Mike Pence. If I may take a brief moment of parental pride, one of those carriers will be my daughter. So, don’t be surprised if I unexpectedly carry Utah.

This ceremony is as old as the republic, and usually as routine and perfunctory as singing the national anthem at a Phillies game (by which point they are usually losing by 4 runs). But this year is obviously different in that President Trump is unwilling to accept the result and promises to disrupt the proceedings with the hope of overturning them. Towards this end, he keeps vomiting out conspiracy tweets and filing endless, baseless lawsuits (58 and counting. Oh! Hold on. …

I’ve recently found myself becoming increasingly agitated by the propensity of the media to treat Trump’s attempted Coup d’etat (is there another type of coup? Or another type of d’etat for that matter?) as if it were a thing we’ve defeated and is now in the past. This is wishful and dangerous thinking.

I’ve read the stories about how “our institutions held” and “if the election were just a bit closer, we may not have been so lucky”, etc. Anyone who thinks that Trump is done, or that he won’t use every means at his disposal to remain in power, hasn’t been following Trump. …

To Prosecute Trump or Not to Prosecute Trump. That is the Question.

By this point in my life, I have a fairly well-developed sense of where I stand on most things. Finding money = Good! Unbearable pain = bad! And so it goes for most issues from what clothes I look good in (none) to where I stand on auditing the Fed (aggressive indifference).

But I have found myself torn on one issue recently. I keep going back and forth, yet whenever I feel I’ve arrived at a position, I can’t shake the nagging feeling that perhaps the other side has a point. …

If You Think the Coup is Over, You Don’t Know Trump

It is clear that over the past month since the election, our democracy has undergone a bit of a stress-test. It’s sort of like a cardiac stress test, but with fewer treadmills and more Rudy Giuliani press conferences in parking lots. Despite losing decisively, Trump has defied all traditions and norms by not conceding. But this was only the Phase I of a continuously ratcheting-up assault on our democracy.

Phase II involved lots of (approaching 50 now) frivolous lawsuits. I happen to believe that in the context of lawsuits, the word “frivolous” is used frivolously. Very few lawsuits without a good-faith basis are actually ever filed. Mostly the word “frivolous” has evolved into meaning “lawsuits that I don’t like”, or “lawsuits in which I’m a defendant”. …

I have a suggestion for President-Elect Biden. Actually, I have about 400 of them. But since I don’t want to be the first person “blocked” by the new president (in time…), I’ll start with one.

I believe that the incoming Biden administration would be well-served by creating a discrete Office of Cannabis Policy (“OCP”) to help them make intelligent choices in this complicated and consequential area of public policy.

For those who don’t know me (which I’m told is, shockingly, most of the world), I’ve been very involved in this issue for the past decade or so. I am the author of PA’s Medical Marijuana law (Act 16 of 2016) as well as the author of the only comprehensive Adult Use (recreational) Cannabis bill (SB 350) currently pending in the legislature. I’ve also spent much of the past several years traveling around the country (when that was still possible) attending and speaking at conferences on various aspects of cannabis policy. I’ve also been working with leaders in the industry as well as law enforcement, and those focused on social justice, to create a national set of “best practices in cannabis”. …

Emily Murphy has blood on her hands.

That is very harsh and I don’t say it lightly. But a review of the facts reveals that assertion to be inescapable.

Ms. Murphy is the administrator of the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and, by virtue of that position, the person tasked with formally “ascertaining” the winner of the presidential election. As most of America, the world and parts of Mars now knows, her signature on the documents of ascertainment is what triggers the start of the presidential transition. Emily Murphy’s “John Hancock” (or “Emily Murphy” depending how she spells it) allows President-Elect Biden to access funds for his transition. …