Czar Donaldov is now learning the harsh lesson that California Gov. Jerry Brown experienced the hard way in his 1970s incarnation: There are some problems that press releases can't solve.

Jerry Brown, the former governor's kid, set the template for modern executive leadership. When presented with a problem, the correct response is to ignore it and hope it goes away. Kinda like Trump hoping that the Coronavirus doesn't like warm weather.

Much of the time, that works. Once a CEO, a governor or president validates a problem by looking into it, the press has a story. Ignoring it for underlings to worry about often achieves the desired result: solution or institutional drift. Either way, the boss retains plausible deniability should something blow up.

Jerry Brown spent so much of his time writing press releases that Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" comic strip had a character go to work for Brown as his director of symbolism. The PR approach to governing, which Ronald Reagan did so well, served both of them. Their biographers have noted that they learned media symbolism from each other.

Brown's superficial style was good enough to make him a serious contender for president in 1976, when he beat Jimmy Carter by more than two-to-one in the Nevada primary, among others.

He easily won a second term in 1978 but failed to learn a lesson taught by no less than United Farm Workers leader César Chávez: Sometimes, you actually have to do something.

Chávez marched hundreds of dedicated workers from central California to Sacramento demanding rights for agricultural laborers. César Chávez would not accept symbolism and came away with the California Farmer-Laborer Act.

Then came the medfly, a threat to California's entire agriculture industry. Brown shilly-shallyed, wanting to try any and everything including press releases but not pesticides. Finally, the critter got out of control and folks all over California awakened on many mornings to find their homes and autos coated with sludge that would make Rachel Carson cringe.

Brown was defeated for U.S. Senate by San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson in 1982.

Donald Trump has gone a long way as a TV entertainer but now with people dying, he hasn't a clue. You can't stop a virus with a press release or presidential executive order. The legendary hypochondriac has gotten one message: Avoid people. He usually has rallies in states scheduling Democratic primaries. Not this week.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd recently related having dinner with Trump some years ago. He kept a squeeze bottle of hand sanitizer next to her salad between the two of them. He was so worried after someone came up to him and shook his hand that he could not eat.

So he's sent Vice-President Pence out as front man against his own personal medfly and has denied any worry that the virus might get to the White House. The Republican Party can retire its elephant mascot and ordain the ostrich.

I wonder if Trump knows that if both he and Pence die, or become otherwise incapacitated and unable to perform their duties, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman president of the United States.

That may be the Donkeykongs only shot this year. Right now, it looks like instant replay of the old saw that Democrats don't win elections, Republicans lose them.

So the jackasses are apparently kicking toward Hillary with Hair Plugs.

Nay.

YAY FOR THE RGJ. Maximum kudos to the Reno Gazette-Journal for exemplary public service journalism for its coverage of Coronavirus issues in the region, a perfect example of why every community needs a major newspaper. They have been kicking some serious ass. I'm a fan.

BEN FRANKLIN'S CRYSTAL BALL: The founding father said he "did not entirely approve of this Constitution at present," but that "the older I grow, the more I am apt to doubt my own Judgment, and to pay more Respect to the Judgment of others..." (Any form of government) "may be a Blessing to the People if well administered and I believe farther that this (Constitution) is likely to be well administered for a Course of Years, and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other."

Look in the mirror, fellow citizens.

Andrew Barbano is a 51-year Nevadan, executive producer of Nevada's annual César Chávez Day celebration, first vice-president and political action chair of the Reno-Sparks NAACP, superannuated labor/consumer/civil rights advocate, member of Communications Workers of America Local 9413/AFL-CIO and editor of NevadaLabor.com and BallotBoxing.US and SenJoeNeal.org and DoctorLawyerWatch.com and Protect Our Washoe.org and ChantalCoalition.org/ He is a withdrawn-in-good-standing member of Culinary Local 226. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. E-mail barbano@frontpage.reno.nv.us. He has lived in both northern and southern Nevada during his half-century+ in the Silver State. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Sparks Tribune since 1988 and received its 10th Nevada Press Association award (6 of 10 first-place) at the 21 Sept. 2019 NPA annual convention in Ely. In 1996, he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for a six-month investigative series. His multi-media road construction zone safety campaign for Laborers' Union Local 169 won a first-place award from the National Safety Council in a nationwide competition. (Such ephemera and about six bucks will get you a Latte Mocha Cotsafracas Chingade at just about any Starbux worldwide, guaranteed.) His work has appeared on CNN, in The New York Times, The Guardian of London/UK and more important publications.

WEB XTRAS & SMOKING GUNS —>

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[4-20-2019] — About 100 demonstrators from almost all the region's unions, local community service organizations and political activists joined Culinary Union members picketing Circus Circus in the late afternoon of April 18. A couple of CC suits came out to see what all the fuss was about, as if they didn't already know. In addition to the familiar union "contract now!" chants came calls for a strike against the Carano jocks. ¡Viva Huelga! ¡Sí se puede!

REAL NEWS DEPT. In January 2019, Culinary Union Local 226 defeated an attempt by Circus Circus-Reno to decertify (terminate) the union's representation of its workers. No word on whether management plans to appeal the result to the National Labor Relations Board which was recently put out of business for 35 days. Thank you, Czar Donaldov.