5 More People Donald Trump Will Most Likely Pardon, Ranked

11 min readDec 11, 2020

His days in the Oval Office are numbered — who else might the lame-duck president set free?

5. R. Kelly

Sure, the singer released a statement back in 2017 assuring that he would not perform at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. But The Root once curiously called R. Kelly “the Black Donald Trump,” so there’s that. Then again, we’re pretty sure Trump doesn’t read The Root, so this one is a toss-up.

4. Bill Cosby

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: a onetime TV star with a pattern of predatory actions who would otherwise spend the rest of his days in prison. Not exactly a different world to imagine that Trump could see himself in the disgraced funnyman.

3. Jared Kushner

Sure, Trump could want to preemptively pardon the real-estate scion, pandemic response bungler, and treasurer of the Black Folks Just Don’t Want to Be Successful Society simply because he’s POTUS’ son-in-law. But he’d most likely do it so he could tell friends he got Kanye’s BFF off the hook, thereby finally surpassing Abraham Lincoln as the president most likely to get invited to the cookout.

2. Joe Exotic

https://iphone12promax.medium.com/facing-our-hardships-with-hope-lessons-from-viktor-frankl-31b458c3f35a
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I’ve been thinking about Viktor Frankl a great deal in recent days as I listen to people who are confronting fear and despair because of the coronavirus.
For many years, my students at Boston College have read Viktor Frankl’s sublime work Man’s Search for Meaning, a reflection on his experience at Auschwitz and a sketch of the psychotherapeutic technique he developed from that experience. I’ve wanted them to meet this remarkable man, and to learn something about how his experience of extremity forced him to confront the stark choice between despair and hope — and to choose hope. The quote above is a snapshot of how he responded: to retain what he describes as “the last of human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Frankl was a sober realist: he details the horrors of Auschwitz and the moral corruption of those who worked there. His philosophy was not about wishing away problems or pretending they do not exist, but rather to acknowledge them in their grim reality. Yet in spite of this realism, or rather because of it, he describes how holding onto hope was literally a life-or-death choice. Those who lost hope, he said, developed a certain look in their eye, a fatalism that inevitably ended in death. They experienced an “existential vacuum” — his term for a complete loss of meaning, a loss of hope, a sense that nothing really mattered any more.
Fight that, he says: and find that which is a source of meaning. Perhaps it is a relationship with a loved one, or perhaps it is a task which one is called to do. Whatever it is, he writes, live into that meaning, and discern what life demands of you. For in choosing to hold onto meaning, one’s life will (perhaps surprisingly!) unfold with beauty and purpose, even if the road is difficult.
If you have four minutes, listen to this rare 1972 clip.

In the clip, Frankl argues that human beings must believe that they are greater than they think they are: they must strive for great things. Even if they fall short, he argues, they will nevertheless have lived well.
I believe that we are in a Viktor Frankl moment. We must believe that we are called to greatness.
I do not mean this in the way you might learn at a leadership seminar, or under the tutelage of a professional coach or personal trainer. I mean rather that our greatness must be rooted in a profound commitment to love with generosity, serve with passion, and work together in solidarity for a common good. Now is the time for a spirituality that extols the unique gifts that each of us have to reach out to one another in care and concern.
Frankl developed his theory of life’s meaning in the most dire circumstances in modernity, the crucible that was Auschwitz. And yet it is a profoundly hopeful and forward-reaching philosophy of how to live in love. Life demands it of us. Yes, there will be suffering all around us, and we must never turn our eyes from the opportunity to love those who are hurting. Frankl himself served many in the camp, including countless souls who died. And yet in the midst of that horror, he retained the capacity to exercise the last of the human freedoms, to choose his own way. And he chose to love.
Here is how he reflects on such a choice. It is a reminder and an invitation. Let us not fall prey to what we fear, but rather live into the direction of hope.
A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth — that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.
WRITTEN BY

Tim Muldoon
Pastoral theologian, professor, author/editor of 12 books.
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Pastoral theologian, professor, author/editor of 12 books.
Mar 28
5 Hot takes on Pope Francis’ blessing
Yesterday’s extraordinary papal blessing Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) was a visually striking, moving reminder of the common destiny of the human family. Here are 5 points that Pope Francis made in the reflection he gave after his solitary walk through the middle of Saint Peter’s square.

1. We are all in the same boat.
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Christ and the Storm
Giorgio de Chirico, 1914
The text for his reflection was Jesus calming the storm, a striking image for humanity’s collective panic in the face of the coronavirus. He writes,
We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. …
Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is widely regarded as one of the most influential books of our time. He was also a Holocaust survivor, where he was subjected to horrific atrocities including torture, starvation, and the expectancy of hourly extermination. During this time, he lost everything, including his entire family who perished in the camps.
Nelson Mandela suffered a similar fate. Wrongly imprisoned in 1962, he was sent to Robben Island, a former leper colony, where the warder’s first words were: “This is the Island. This is where you will die.” Mandela spent most of his 27-year prison sentence here, where he was made to work under torturous conditions. His only refuge, a cell measuring 8 x 7 feet, contained nothing but a bucket and a straw bed.
Mandela, however, did not allow his ill-treatment to control his behaviour. Instead, he used reflective thinking, contemplation, and meditation to sharpen his mind.
Frankl used similar tactics to survive the abject misery of four concentration camps. Rather than reacting to his external environment, he continued to exercise the most important freedom of all, the freedom to control his own his inner-life, as he alone decided how he responded to the appalling conditions.
‘When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.’ — Viktor Frankl
Where Suffering Lies
Covid-19 is a challenge for everyone, much of which we have no control over. This might sound disheartening, but realizing this is not a weakness, it’s a source of strength.
Why? Because we always have a choice over how we respond to challenging events, even extremely difficult ones. What’s more, it is not the challenge itself, but our reaction to it that causes most of our suffering.
The first and second darts metaphor explains this best:
‘First darts’ are inescapable pains that life throws at us. It might be emotional pain, like a tough breakup, a lost opportunity, or the death of a loved one. It might even be physical pain, like stubbing your toe off the table. These unavoidable pains are the essence of human existence, and if you live and love, some of these will fall on your doorstep.
In reality, however, most of our suffering is not caused by first darts. It is caused by how we respond to them. ‘Second darts’ are the darts we throw at ourselves. These are our reactions to first darts, and this is where most of our suffering lies.
Consider our current predicament. Some weird virus creeps up on us from across the water. This is the first dart. Unfortunately for us, it’s a big fat juicy dart, and it throws the whole world into a spin.
Second darts — fear and anxiety — soon follow, triggering more second darts. Terrified that we’ll run out of essential supplies, people start panic-buying all across the globe.
The initial panic settles down after a day or two, but the second darts are relentless. Some people are angry, looking for someone to blame. Others are depressed, and can’t see a way forward. Fear and anxiety, however, are everpresent. These second darts are here for a while.
In the past few days, many people have been told to self-isolate. Relationships will be tested to their very limits, even the strongest ones, and that’s before bringing children into the mix. This is where second darts can get ugly. With tempers frayed and anxiety levels high, it’s easy to react without thinking.
Consider this scenario: Your partner is complaining that you’re not pulling your weight — first dart. You disagree, so the second dart — anger or retaliation — soon follows. You quickly realise that you stepped over the line, way over the line. You now feel guilty over your anger and sad about your guilt — more second darts. You’d like to take it back, but it’s too late — the damage is done.
This is the essence of suffering — secondary reactions to painful events, which are often more destructive than the original experience.
Increasing The Space
If secondary reactions are the essence of suffering, how can we let them go, or at least limit these second dart reactions?
Mandela and Frankl appear to hold the key to this timeless problem. How did they remain sane throughout their own personal nightmares, never mind doing so with a sense of calm and dignity?
Both of these remarkable individuals refused to let external circumstances control their actions. Instead, they focused on what they could control, their own inner-world.
So how did they do this, and more to the point, how would they cope with the current crisis?
Mandela and Frankl were big proponents of mindful self-awareness, and for me, Frankl named the fruits of this practice in one of his most famous lines:
‘Between stimulus and response, there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.’
By practising mindful self-awareness, especially self-observation, they increased the space between stimulus and response. So instead of mindlessly reacting to challenging events, they were able to respond in a rational and dignified manner.
This is not to say you should bury your feelings — I’m sure Mandela and Frankl both felt theirs — but it allows you to sit with first dart pain in mindful awareness. This might sound contradictory, but research shows that fully feeling your pain diminishes its power.
Lastly, by practising present moment awareness, you’ll stop obsessing about painful experiences. First darts open wounds, but second darts keep them open. So stop picking the scab, and let it heal. Thinking about what you could have or should have done won’t change a thing.
The Takeaway
Covid-19 is the greatest challenge of our times, much of which we have no control over. People will die. Many more will get sick. And even when it’s all over, our challenges will have only just begun.
It’s going to be painful. This much we know for certain. But if you focus on what you can control, you can limit those second darts. That’s what Mandela and Frankl would do, and if you take their lead, you don’t have to suffer.
What would you do if you had a second chance at life?
Having escaped from the depths of heroin addiction (see before-after addictions pics here), I decided to write a book about it. ‘Bonus Time: A true story of surviving the worst and discovering the magic of every moment.’

5 More People Donald Trump Will Most Likely Pardon, Ranked

His days in the Oval Office are numbered — who else might the lame-duck president set free?

LEVEL Editors

5 days ago·2 min read

5. R. Kelly

4. Bill Cosby

3. Jared Kushner

2. Joe Exotic

Written by Rubel Hoque