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In 2019 I was wrongfully accused of “mistreatment of an elderly dependent.” However, as Susan Thacker, Editor-in-Chief of The Great Bend Tribune, pointed out, “J. Basil Dannebohm had one of those cases that never made it to trial before it was dismissed.”
The incident was the result of a poorly contrived retribution attempt aimed at tarnishing my reputation as a public political figure. However, the facts of the case spoke for themselves. Prior to seeking legal counsel, I contacted investigators and voluntarily sat down to answer their questions. Moreover, I insisted on being given a polygraph test. Similarly, I insisted that investigators extract all data from my mobile phone, tablet, and personal computer. This included call logs, documents, photographs, text messages, apps, emails, and social media. I had nothing to hide and knew that the truth would ultimately prevail. I was prepared to fight the charges, retaining one of the leading attorneys in the State of Kansas. However, the case proved too weak to hold up in a court of law and all charges were later dropped. The expense of the charade fell on the taxpayers, and I was never required to enter a plea.
To say that I’ve done my research on elder abuse would be an understatement.
Kay Granger, a Republican congresswoman from Texas, has not cast a vote in the US House since July 24th, 2024. The 81-year-old has represented Texas’s 12th congressional district since 1997. For six months House GOP Leadership claimed they had no idea why Granger was noticeably absent from the halls of Congress. Then in December, after the election, a Dallas media outlet figured out that she was grappling with “dementia issues” and residing at a senior living facility.
Let’s talk about mistreatment of the elderly, shall we?
It doesn’t take Lieutenant Columbo to figure out that Speaker Johnson knew exactly why Congresswoman Granger was missing. The Speaker also knew that Republicans held the House majority by a slim margin. After the departures of disgraced Congressman George Santos and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Johnson couldn’t afford yet another vacant GOP seat. Hence, the man who makes a spectacle of himself praying and flaunts his family values lied to the American people.
Republicans aren’t the only ones complicit in elder abuse.
It’s been obvious that President Biden has been hiding his own Easter eggs for much of his presidency. In early July, two damning reports surfaced detailing how White House staffers concealed Biden’s mental decline. In late December, Jan Crawford, CBS' chief legal correspondent, blasted media outlets for their failure to cover his decline until the topic became 'undeniable' during his trainwreck debate against Donald Trump. In fairness, I didn’t see CBS covering the 800lb gorilla in the White House, either.
While I’m addressing the subject of Presidential Sundown Syndrome, I would be remiss not to point out that President-elect Trump isn’t exactly a stellar example of mental clarity. There were many times on the campaign trail when the 78-year-old’s remarks were rambling and largely incoherent. During one Town Hall, Trump decided he didn’t want to answer questions, preferring instead to sway silently to music for close to 40 minutes while Governor Kristi Noem stood beside him with an awkward grin. The mainstream media was similarly silent and awkward.
In May 2023, The New York Times reported that Senator Dianne Feinstein suffered more complications from illness than were publicly disclosed. It was frankly tragic watching as the 89-year-old announced her retirement from the Senate, only to forget she made the announcement less than a week later. Since early December, Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Republican leader in the Senate, has been working from home after he fell at his office in the Capitol, suffering minor injuries. Additionally, the 82-year-old senator from Kentucky has been freezing up for prolonged periods during public remarks. December wasn’t much better for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The 84-year-old congresswoman had to undergo hip replacement surgery after falling while in Luxembourg.
Politicians in Washington have been complicit in elder abuse since the Reagan Administration. Yet nobody – not members of the party, staffers, nor the family, possess the moral fortitude to step up and take the keys away from Grandpa Joe or Grandma Nancy until it becomes a public disgrace.
Plenty of individuals should be charged with mistreatment of the elderly. However, proving once again that justice is hardly blind, they will never see the inside of a courtroom. Voters are complicit too. We continue to elect the infirm.