Friday, September 30, 2016

Funiciello Vows to Become a Perennial Candidate

Like I didn't already know this.

Funiciello has a strategy, one that involves edging Democrats out of the race altogether in 2018.

He says that's because of their weak showing with Aaron Woolf two years ago and the similar outcome he expects with Derrick this year. 

And if Derrick does well? I'm sure he'll be back anyway. I'm torn between comparing him to Jason from Friday the 13th or Lyndon LaRouche. We'll go with the scarier choice.

Due to lack of time and interest, I'm not going through the beliefs of LaRouchites. Yikes! It's bad enough being subjected to the beliefs of the Funicielloites. Its' probably safe to say there is some overlap.

Oh No, Not USA Today, Too

Yes, USA Today, too.

In the 34-year history of USA TODAY, the Editorial Board has never taken sides in the presidential race. Instead, we’ve expressed opinions about the major issues and haven’t presumed to tell our readers, who have a variety of priorities and values, which choice is best for them. Because every presidential race is different, we revisit our no-endorsement policy every four years. We’ve never seen reason to alter our approach. Until now.

They're not endorsing Clinton. They're just saying Don't Vote For Trump. The reasons given are the ones that any sentient being already knows. Sorry if that leaves out Trump supporters. 

Let It Go, Dude

How easy is it to make Trump lose his mind? Thanks Betty Cracker.

The D-list political operatives in the Trump organization who are capable of comprehending voter demographics must have been begging their asshole boss to zip it about Machado. But he just can’t shut the fuck up about her. He waited until his handlers fell asleep and then went on a rage-tweet tear. 

Ms. Cracker has a great suggestion for the Clinton team.

Maybe Clinton can set him up to denounce infants, puppies and kittens next.

The beauty of this scenario is that Trump seems determined to flail around and make things worse for the next week and a half. Then he’ll stomp into the October 9th debate loaded for bear, a serial adulterer and documented sexist itching to tear into Clinton for her husband’s behavior.

Yeah, that's what Samantha Bee and I are waiting for. 

And it is a town hall-style debate with questions coming directly from voters, so chances are he broaches that subject with maximum ham-handedness. Popcorn futures are sky-high.

I don't think that town hall thing is going to serve Trump well. I'm sure he and Sean can find a conspiracy embedded in there somewhere.

Here's yahoo on the "twitter tirade."

In tweets posted a little after 5 a.m. on Friday, Trump brought up reports indicating that Machado was once accused of driving a getaway car from a murder scene in Venezuela. (Earlier this week, CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Machado, who was never charged, about the allegation. She admitted to not being a “saint girl” but said the real issue at hand was Trump’s attempt to “destroy my self-esteem.”) Trump also suggested that the public “check out” Machado’s “sex tape and past.”

What time does he get up, that he's tweeting at 5 a.m.? Wow, he really needs to get more sleep. And BTW, I have no doubt that Trump has "checked out" that sex tape. It's likely overdue at this point. It does seem odd that a Republican candidate for president is encouraging people to watch porn.

UPDATE: Bad news for all you nihilist porn hounds. There may not be a Machado "sex tape."

In quick succession, Mr. Trump has repeated his critique that Ms. Machado gained a “massive amount of weight” after she won the Miss Universe crown in 1996; suggested that former President Bill Clinton’s infidelities are fair game for campaign attacks; and urged his followers to “check out” a sex tape that may not exist. (Ms. Machado appeared in a risqué scene on a reality television show, but fact-checkers have discovered no sex tape.)

This is as bad as finding that "Who's Nailin' Paylin?" did not actually feature Sarah Palin.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Great Minds

Gotta link to this because Eugene Robinson says just what I was thinking this morning.

Donald Trump just got roughed up, and badly, by a girl.

Yes, he got beat by a girl. How's that feel, Don? Bet Carly Fiorina even raised a glass to it. 

They were laughing at you, Donald, not with you.

How's that stamina thing working out?

This was after he charged that Clinton "doesn't have the stamina" to be president. But she looked fresh as a daisy throughout, while Trump wilted before our eyes.

Second Amendment Assholes

Not much I can add to the post title.

A North Carolina gun rights group is raffling off an AR-15, 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a portrait of Hillary Clinton to raise money for Republican congressional candidates, CBS News reported Thursday.

"Well, Mission Accomplished"



And good job with those mean girl super powers, Megyn Kelly.

BTW, could there be dumber looks on the faces of anyone than the ones on the faces of the Fox and Friends folks?

Yes, he really should bring up Bill's affairs

“When a man leaves a woman, especially when it was perceived that he has left for a piece of ass—a good one!—there are 50 percent of the population who will love the woman who was left,” Trump told Vanity Fair around the time.

That's class!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

So Much Stupid Going Around

First, it's Trump saying at the debate that only stupid people pay taxes. Then there's Guiliani saying Hillary is too stupid to be president.

Hillary Clinton’s decision to stand by her husband and attack former White House intern Monica Lewinsky when news of a sexual relationship between the two broke in 1998 prove that the former secretary of state is “too stupid to be president,” Rudy Giuliani said Monday night.

Yeah, how did Rudy do running for the position?

Et Tu, Arizona Republic?

So another member of the liberal, mainstream media has jumped aboard the Clinton Express and abandoned the Trump Train.

Since The Arizona Republic began publication in 1890, we have never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president. Never. This reflects a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles.

This year is different.

The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified.

OK, maybe not that liberal. Thanks AZ Republic.

For the Love of God Call Sean


Sean Hannity does certainly not have an "expensive wine lifestyle."

According to a 2015 Forbes profile cited by the Washington Post, Hannity earned $29 million in 2015.

He also owns a private jet, which he notably used to fly former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to a meeting with Donald Trump as the GOP nominee vetted vice presidential picks in July.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Better Call Sean

You really have to ask?


And here are 10 insane Trump quotes from the debate that amazingly don't include a plea to call Sean Hannity. Apparently, Josh liked it, too.

"Sorry, Mr. Hannity is on the phone with Cliven Bundy."

Monday, September 26, 2016

Bookmarking Monday Continues

Thank you, NYT

Nice list.

Presidenting is Hard Work

According to Matthew Yglesias anyway.

It’s a big, difficult job in which mistakes can have catastrophic consequences for the lives of millions of people, and where you don’t get to declare bankruptcy and start over again if you mess up. You don’t have to walk into the Oval Office knowledgeable about every issue under the sun on day one to be successful — nobody’s ever met that standard, and nobody ever will — but you do need a credible team, and you need to be able to get up to speed.

Trump's the guy for those people who the Chinese saying"May you live in interesting times" as something to be wished for. 

And to the extent that you are primarily hoping for a president whose term of office will feature lots of crises, scandals, surprises, tension, and drama, with the attendant persistently high cable news ratings that implies, then Trump will be an excellent president.

Legalizing Murder

So far this is not yet legal. The NRA is working on that, though.

 A gunman opened fire on morning commuters in Houston on Monday, injuring at least six people before being fatally shot by police, authorities said.

Several of the victims suffered gunshot wounds to their extremities and a couple of the injuries was more serious, Fire Department spokesman Richard Mann told reporters.

But, are they playing their music too loud or is there some other technicality

Nick Julian IV lived with his parents next door to Ayala. He said he first heard the loud music while watching car shows with his father. Julian's girlfriend and her daughter were spending the night, and he didn't want the music to wake them.

Then Stand Your Ground.

"And this was all because he was playing music too loud?" the operator said.

"No, ma'am," Julian answered.

He later said: "I was completely scared for my life. I've never been in this kind of situation. I didn't know what to do, other than try to protect . . ."

"So you went over there with a gun in your hand?" the operator said.

"No, ma'am," Julian said.

"How did you have your gun on you, sir?" the operator said.

"He made threats," Julian said. "And I always have a gun on me."

Don't worry. The gun industry has your back.

A 2012 Tampa Bay Times investigation showed that the law has been applied unevenly and in unforeseen ways. People have escaped prosecution for taking a life while involved in criminal activities, for firing on unarmed persons, even when they started the confrontation that led to the shooting.

"Stand your ground" caught on. Similar laws spread to more than 30 other states.
Now it's an industry. There are subscription services that offer to advise gun owners before they have to make a life-or-death decision and provide immediate legal and financial support afterward.

If that shooter in Houston had lived, he might be on the phone to them right now.

Boston Globe bookmark. Some facts that are good, mostly not.

Good

Although, it apparently wasn't painful enough to refrain from doing it.

After Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) endorsed Donald Trump on Friday in a stunning reversal, the Texas senator said on Saturday that his decision to back the Republican nominee was "agonizing," according to the Washington Post.

Rude pundit says it all better, though.

11. Honestly, this act of pure cowardice couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Birther in Chief


And a palate cleanser:



Elsiegate: Day 7

The latest, greatest crime of the last half century occurred a week ago when a supporter of Mike Derrick's made a lame attempt at humor.

Ernie LaBaff, speaking at the grand opening of Derrick’s campaign office in Pottsdam on Sunday, said, “We do not need a congresswoman like Elsie (sic) Stefanik, or Elsie the Cow, whatever you want to call her,” according to a video of his remarks.

I've written a letter to the Post Star responding to one supporter of Stefanik who is likely still supine on her fainting couch. Today's edition of the paper featured two more letters on the whole imbroglio. John Sharkey wrote a pretty level-headed letter.

If someone can’t think quick enough to retract something like that at a time when women are especially sensitive to those kinds of remarks, then maybe Mr. Derrick needs new friends.

Then there is Peg Jasinski. She disappoints me as well by not going into full Humorless Harpy of Hate mode. 

I am happy to support her and to stand up against the sexism displayed by the Derrick campaign. 

I do have to take issue with this. I don't believe it can be accurately called the Derrick campaign when an outside supporter says something stupid. 

Friday, September 23, 2016

Charles Pierce on the Third Party Options

Damn, the title said it all again.

Between Johnson on climate change, and Jill Stein's conviction that a Republican congress will obstruct a Republican president, the argument for more political parties in this country is not faring well.

And wow.

Response to Stefanik Supporter

Another instance of the post title saying it all:

     I'd like to join Ms. Ramant and Mr. Derrick in condemning the remarks made by a Derrick supporter about Congresswoman Stefanik. Mr. Derrick stated, "My campaign does not condone any language that disparages women." Don't know what's "weak and phony" about that. Alright, the comments were deplorable, too.
     Here's what Megyn Kelly said about Donald Trump, "You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals." On Carly Fiorina, he said, "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?" This is necessarily a small sample. Can you imagine what he's said about Ms. Clinton in private?
     In public he's said, "I think her bodyguards should drop all weapons. I think they should disarm. Let's see what happens to her. Take their guns away. It'll be very dangerous." And, "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people - maybe there is."
     I've never heard words of contrition from Donald Trump over misogynistic comments, assassination fantasies or for seven and a half years of Birtherism. Ms. Stefanik is supporting him without a discouraging word. Won't Ms. Ramant and her candidate join me in denouncing the hideousness of Donald Trump?

In my new kinder and gentler mode, I'm not even going to use the Humorless Harpies of Hate label, mostly because she wasn't one. Another step toward sainthood.

UPDATED: Sainthood will have to wait. I'm going to upgrade Ms. Ramant to triple H status. Upon re-reading her letter I rediscover this line:

Should Derrick be allowed to let this slip through the cracks with his latent position of these words that were said at his own event with a weak, phony “apology?” Man up Derrick!

That is certainly adequately humorless, harpyish and hate-filled. Congratulations Kathi Ramant!

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

If It Says Trump, It's Crap

Great article at Newsweek telling what an absolutely shitty businessman Trump is. He's reduced to a brand now that Daddy is gone and not around to bail him out anymore. How stupid are his supporters?

Do rhetorical questions get a question mark?

Here's a link to a WashPo article that I have yet to read on the Trump Foundation. Just printed it out. Looks really juicy.

David Schanzer on Trump's Secret Plan

No, he doesn't really know what it is, but he's guessing it's bad.

Governments are often duped into overreacting to terrorism, causing more harm to themselves than a terrorist group ever could. 

Donald Trump has demonstrated over and over again this campaign season that he is an easy mark. 

Now I didn't need a professor from Duke University to tell me this. Lots of people, who aren't going to listen, do though.

Trump's secret plan to defeat the Islamic State. We have been assured it will be tough and it will quickly destroy the group. The only way to achieve both of these objectives would be a huge insertion of American military on the ground to defeat IS in Syria and Iraq, which is exactly what the terrorist group has been pining for. 

Donald Trump: Best friend of Putin and ISIS.

Trump has also responded to attacks like the ones in New York, New Jersey and Minneapolis this week by calling for a ban on immigration by Muslims to the United States. This overt religious discrimination against the world's second largest religion would inflict a huge wound on the United States that IS, on its own, could never dream of perpetrating.

Can Trump do worse than that?

Lastly, Trump has responded to attacks by calling for law enforcement to conduct surveillance of Muslims based not on suspicion that they are engaged in criminal activity, but solely on their religion. 

But, of course.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Seth on Trump's Birther Bullshit


And Christie is a marvelously bad bullshitter, too.

And not just Trump and Christie.

"And the stage is falling apart behind us."

Monday, September 19, 2016

Can't Believe the Green Party Has Neglected This

It was certainly news to me.

Citizen journalists have recorded no credible sightings of the Loch Ness Monster since 2011, the very dawn of the era of superior undersea mapping, but they did notice the concentrated discharges of “aquatrails,” i.e. chemtrails of the sea.

Why? You might ask. Go ahead, you know you're dying to. 

Most disturbing of all, 2011 happens to be the exact point in time when Hillary Clinton cemented her authority over the Department of State, banishing her critics and forming extraordinary alliances at NSA and CIA. In addition, the Clinton Foundation gave her access to the clubby world of international capital markets and put her in the same room as Rockefellers and Rothschilds. 

The plot thickens like a good Mornay sauce.

The reason these events are so crucially important is that many well-respected cryptozoologists from Dr. Kent Hovind to Dr. Stephenson Billings believe that Scotland’s “Nessie” is actually a plesiosaur dinosaur and that her existence proves much of leftist Darwinian “theory” entirely wrong. In fact, the survival of this dinosaur would validate the Biblical timeline of a 6,000-year old earth and the Great Flood.

Yet global elites like Hillary Clinton will do everything to stop the reawakening of faith that a living Loch Ness plesiosaur would inspire.

Well, maybe the Greens are into that whole leftist Darwinian theory thing. Tough call.


Another victim of the Clinton Crime Family.




Nice Collection of Trump Trivia at the Daily News

Wow, I guess the title said it all. There's too much good stuff to pick out one or two. It's the "which is your favorite child" syndrome. Consider this a bookmark.


Michael Gerson on Deplorability

Damn! I was sure deplorability would be a word. Screw you, spell check. I added it to the dictionary. That makes me feel really omnipotent that I can just unilaterally add words to the English language. Oh yeah, Michael Gerson.  

Asked recently whether he considered former KKK leader David Duke deplorable, vice presidential nominee Mike Pencesaid he was "not in the name-calling business." Earlier this year, Donald Trump was posed a similar question and claimed, incredibly and repeatedly, "I don't know anything about David Duke." In a particularly revealing campaign moment, Trump was asked to repudiate the anti-Semitic death threats made by some of his followers against a reporter. "I don't have a message to the fans," Trump said.

It's all good, the Dude abides, just chill and all that.

For some of us, this raises the hardest moral and emotional issue of the current campaign. The Republican nominee came to prominence feeding fears of Mexicans, migrants and Muslims. He refuses to engage in the normal moral and political hygiene of repudiating extremism. I don't believe that anything close to half of Trump supporters are motivated by racism. But they are willing to tolerate a level of prejudice that should be morally unacceptable in a presidential candidate.

See, Trump and his supporters are just way more tolerant than Hillary. Bring it on home, Michael.

No presidential candidate is responsible for the views of all their supporters. But at least since the 1960s, conservative leaders have felt a responsibility to actively oppose and discredit those elements of the right that identify Americanism with ethnic purity and spin conspiracy theories of Semitic control. Opposing these long-standing tendencies of right-wing nationalism is part of what conservative intellectual and political leadership has meant for decades. The current vacuum of such leadership at the top of the Republican ticket is taken as a cultural signal by both the perpetrators and objects of prejudice.

Or so I would argue. Other Republicans I know and like find my viewpoint morally problematic, because it helps enable the election of Hillary Clinton and the nomination of liberals to the Supreme Court, which would result in irreparable harm to the country. It is a dispute causing a crisis of self-definition among conservatives, straining and rupturing friendships across the movement. That is another legacy of Donald Trump, who will be known for the wounds he leaves behind.

"The Secret is, He Has No Plan"

Here's Hillary Clinton talking about the attacks of the past few days. I have no idea how someone can listen to her speak intelligently and rationally, then turn around and support the boob.

Josh Marshall:

Worth noting these two messages this morning.

Clinton Message: Be vigilant, not afraid.

Trump Message: Be afraid, also give me credit.

And Obama/Clinton have all your polices


Sunday, September 18, 2016

Is Truther in the Green DNA?

Jill Stein doesn't shy away from the occasional conspiracy theory anymore than Funiciello. She seems to be saying something completely different.

And thank you, Charles Pierce. Yes, Jill Stein sounds exactly like Funiciello here. They must have "a script that they read from."

But her contempt has a more cutting quality when she talks about Clinton. She mocks Trump as braying menace; Stein thinks he's, at heart, a bumbler who will be neutered by his own party after being elected. But it's Clinton who poses the greater threat, in Stein's estimation, because she knows how to move the levers of Washington. 

Yeah, it would be really great to have her at the debates.

A Couple of Good Videos at Pinku Sensei

Colbert and Meyers taking a closer look at the Trump Foundation than the real media. Though, props to them for immediately calling bullshit on Trump when he tried to elide from one conspiracy theory into another a few days back.

Arigato, Sensei.

Link to Paul W. on the same beat.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Here's a Real Editor Opining on Trump

Thanks Josh Marshall.

Frost and King

Yeah, I know I get obsessed. Anyway I was at LGM reading about the blathering of Brooks. Capital B, the small b kind babbles. Well, I suppose that's true of both. And there was a link to a criticism of Drew Brees who plays some kind of game with an oddly shaped ball. The criticism focused on one of Martin Luther King's letters from a Birmingham Jail.

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

Since the Frost article has been on my mind the past few days I kinda fixated on that quote underlined. The trouble is, I'm not even sure that he shares the goal of ensuring Trump doesn't reach the White House. Does he agree with criticizing white supremacists, racists and punchers in the face of 69 year old women? I would hope he does. It's just that Hillary doesn't do it in a genteel enough manner for him? Who knows?

That whole piece is great. It's worth putting up in any case. And there's this.



Way To Man Up, Donnie

Yesterday, Donald Trump bravely stood up and said, "It Wasn't Me. It Was Hillary." I want to give a shout out to real journalists like Jill Colvin and Jonathan Lemire.

Even as Donald Trump sought to close the door on the false conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States, he peddled another lie by claiming that his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, was behind it. There is no evidence that is true.

Would it be so hard for other pseudo journalist/opinion/analysis people with a soapbox to show that same level of journalistic ethics

Here's a few that I believe might be appropriate for Mr. Frost to look at:



        Oh yes, that one especially. Please don't Hannitize.




And I saw this comic in the paper today and just can't resist putting it up for lil Donnie:



Friday, September 16, 2016

Doremus Jessup He Ain't

He probably would fit right in as Buzz Windrip's press secretary, though. Hey, at least I'm not comparing Trump to Hitler. Anyway, I've gotta put up some comments on Mark Hannity's Frost's latest screed against Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately I have no way of linking to it. The piece I'm referring to is titled "Hillary the Hateful." Do you see where it's going? And, of course, she's hateful for calling deplorable people deplorable. Trump can say anything nasty thing he wants, but she has to walk on eggshells.

So, here's the portion of the speech MHannityF prints in his paper.

(Y)ou could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?

If you go to the link, you'll note that's a mighty small sample. so, let's start the process I like to call de-Hannitization. It's so new spell check doesn't recognize it. OK, here's what precedes that quote.

You know, to just be grossly generalistic,

OK, I'm going to admit that generalistic is not a word. I believe it's not too much of a stretch to intimate she was going for the idea that she was generalizing, which is a word. If that was included though, it would have been harder for Frost to say,

"If Trump is polling at, say, 40%, Hillary thus trashed about one in every five American voters." 

So let's put up some more of HRC's speech that didn't fit into the Chronicle. 

The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic -- you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people -- now 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks -- they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America."

It's not really that long. It does seem to indicate why she might be referring to some of Trump's supporters as deplorable. Let's meet some of them. WhiteGenocideTM, come on down

The account, @WhiteGenocideTM, tweets obsessively about white women allegedly raped by various minority groups. “Africans and Muslims rape more than anyone else,” reads one of the user’s retweets. “Don’t let them in.” Many of the tweets are accompanied by the hashtag “#rapefugees,” apparently a combination of the words “rape” and “refugees.”
The account also dabbles in support for Nazi Germany. “Hitler SAVED Europe,” reads another tweet. 

Could just be one bad apple, though. Nope.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday retweeted an apparent white supremacist, something he’s done multiple times this election.

"@keksec__org@realDonaldTrump Your policies will make this state and country great again! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/SWxV3YCbqb"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2016

The user, who goes by the name Jason Bergkamp, writes for an online publication called Vanguard 14. According to its website, the publication covers issues like “white nationalism and genocide.” Bergkamp’s bio on the site says he is a “Dutch based journalist writing about European, American and South African events.”

Then there's the made up data suggesting a massive crime wave by blacks against whites. He got that from a Twitter user named "CheesedBrit" whose avatar is a swastika and who says we should have listened to "the Austrian chap with the little moustache."

Far from the last I could put up is the Star of David obtained from a white supremacist message board. 

"The image was previously featured on 8chan's /pol/ — an Internet message board for the alt-right, a digital movement of neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and white supremacists newly emboldened by the success of Trump's rhetoric — as early as June 22, over a week before Trump's team tweeted it.

Having beat the stuffing out of that horse, let's move on with the rest of the quote which Frost commented on, but did not actually provide for his readers.

"But the other basket -- and I know this because I see friends from all over America here -- I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas -- as well as, you know, New York and California -- but that other basket of people are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they're just desperate for change. It doesn't really even matter where it comes from. They don't buy everything he says, but he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won't wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they're in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well."

And what does he have to say about that? 

"As for the other half of Trump's adherents, she said they deserve 'empathy and understanding.'

OK, so when did empathy become a bad thing. I suppose it helps when you gloss over her actual comments. 

Not respect, but pity.

Oh, I see. You take the word empathy which is difficult to spin in a negative way and translate it into pity which in some lights can be seen as a negative. Very clever. 

In one fell swoop, Hillary revealed both the intolerance and the condescension that so puts off so much of the electorate. 

So, he's criticizing Clinton for not being tolerant towards out and out racists. Shame on her. And I would really love to know where the condescension is found in there. For old times sake (2 years back) Mark Frost is the guy that endorsed a man who said, "We need guns to defend ourselves against tyranny. If you don't understand that, you're not paying attention." I have no problem seeing condescension there. Also over the top wingnuttery. 

Where is the mission to represent everyone, to respect us all. 

It's in the part of the speech you didn't present to your audience so they could make up their own minds. 

But, you say, what does he have to say about Trump?

But Trump is so much worse, they'll counter. 

This is me countering, yes he is!

In Honor of the End of Birtherism


The Appetizer

I've been meaning to put these pics up for awhile. Gonna do so before moving on to the wingnut main course.


These are Blue Beech plum tomatoes that I got from Fedco Seeds in Maine. BTW, their catalog is literally filled with works of art. And yes, I know what literally means. These tomatoes are clocking in at probably around 10 ounces apiece on average. I will absolutely be growing them again next year. Fedco gets them from a supplier in Vermont who has been growing them forever (not literally). I forget the specifics. 


This is the Blue Beechs' purpose in life; to become salsa. The peppers are Bangkok Thai that I believe came from Johnny's Seeds, also from Maine. They're between a Jalapeno and a Habanero in Scovilles. Apologies for the missing tildes. Believe I'm up to 30 pints of salsa now.  

Thursday, September 15, 2016

James Fallows on Clinton vs Trump

Mostly just putting up the link. I read it in the magazine because I'm old and like holding a magazine in my hand while I read.

Here's a bit on Trump weakness:

At only three points during the primary campaign did Trump look less than fully in command while on camera. His expression is the crucial part, not simply because images determine public impressions of most debates but also because of the nature of Trump’s dominance politics. For him to look taken aback, he must have registered internally that someone had gotten the better of him. His obvious falsehoods, from “Build a wall” on down, plainly don’t register with him as false while he’s saying them. It is significant that his face and carriage signaledI’m being owned at three moments during the primaries, only one of them during a formal debate.

The first was in late March, at a town hall in Wisconsin where he appeared alone onstage with Chris Matthews of MSNBC. Matthews asked him about his position on abortion, and Trump said, as if to dismiss the question, “I’ve been pro-life.” Matthews asked and asked again what exactly that meant. If abortion should become illegal, then who exactly would be breaking the law? And if the woman seeking an abortion is the criminal, what exactly should her punishment be? The structure of the primary debates had kept any of the candidates or moderators from drilling in this way. Thus almost never in the debates did Trump’s face go through the changes it did while he was onstage with Matthews, as he recognized that he was talking himself into a trap. The trap was coming right out and endorsing, as Trump found himself doing, the implicit but rarely stated logic of a strict pro-life view: that women who seek abortions should be subject to criminal penalties. (Later the campaign released a statement retracting that view, and saying that any criminal penalties should apply to the person performing an abortion, not the woman it was being performed on.)

The second was in an encounter with Megyn Kelly of Fox, but not the famous showdown of the very first debate, which she led off by asking why he had referred to women as “fat pigs” and “slobs.” (This was the basis for his later complaint that she had “blood coming out of her wherever.”) Instead it came nine months later, in May, during the debut of Kelly’s prime-time interview show on the Fox broadcast network, which has a vastly larger audience than the cable-based Fox News. The interview as a whole was generally panned as being too chummy and smarmy. But at one point Kelly asked Trump to explain the personally insulting tweets about her that he had written himself or that others had written and he had retweeted. He tried to laugh it off—“You’d be amazed at the things I don’t retweet”—but she did not laugh back.

She interjected, “ ‘Bimbo’?”

He replied, “Did I say that?”

“Many times,” Kelly said, staring right at him. Eventually Trump broke and said, “Okay, excuse me!” as a joke. She then switched, after a beat, to a laugh herself, but he didn’t look in control.

The final case was the only one to occur on a debate stage, and again involved a showdown with an unamused woman. This debate, in September at the Reagan library, was the first one in which Carly Fiorina joined Trump, Bush, Ben Carson, and others for the main event, rather than being consigned to the undercard. Moderator Jake Tapper asked Fiorina to respond to Trump’s saying about her, in aRolling Stone interview, “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?” Fiorina memorably said, “I think women across the country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.” Trump, at a loss, made things worse by saying, “I think she’s got a beautiful face! She’s a beautiful woman.” The split screen showed Fiorina turned away from Trump but looking daggers. Trump was saved as CNN cut to a commercial break.

Here was my favorite part of the article, on how Hillary should debate Trump:

Instead she could mock him on his other point of greatest sensitivity: that he may be a fake billionaire and phony business success. From history’s perspective, the most damaging moment for Trump from the Democratic convention was when Khizr Khan spoke about the death of his son, Captain Humayun Khan. For Trump himself, I would imagine it was the moment when Michael Bloomberg, unquestionably richer than he is, said, “I’m a New Yorker, and New Yorkers know a con when we see one.” When Comedy Central hosted a roast of Trump five years ago, he didn’t seem to object to jokes about his hair, about his weight, even about his lecherous remarks regarding his daughter Ivanka. The one subject he nixed, according to Aaron Lee, a writer for the roast, was “any joke that suggests Trump is not actually as wealthy as he claims to be.” So this is a scab Hillary Clinton should deftly pick.

Obviously, I've already started and did it before reading this. I say if you belittle his wealth, he has no choice but to brag about it. His pride won't allow him to do otherwise. 

While Trump has lied about a great many things without serious repercussions, the revelation that his net worth is not what it appears could be extraordinarily damaging. His tax returns could also reveal that he keeps money in offshore bank accounts, or that he pays an insultingly low tax rate, but neither strikes at the core of the brand Trump has worked to build for decades. At the heart of Trump’s White House bid is the promise that he cannot be bought by Wall Street interests, and that he has the business acumen to be trusted to bring jobs and prosperity back to the United States. Winning is central to Trump’s appeal, as is the seductively lavish lifestyle he has sold to the American public, full of gilded columns and penthouses full of beauty queens and the tremendously classy Trump Steaks. If Trump is unmasked as anything less than “really rich”, as he likes to brag, it could be the one untruth that his supporters could not forgive—or, at the very least, the one lie that causes the rest of his house of cards to come tumbling down. (Hillary Clinton, aware of this possibility, has been preparing similar lines of attack against Trump, and plans to use them against the billionaire all summer.)


Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Powell E-Mails

Another Never Trumper.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a retired four-star general who served under three Republican presidents, slammed GOP nominee Donald Trump as “a national disgrace” and an “international pariah,” according to his personal emails seen by BuzzFeed News.

New and Improved and Sparkly Letter

Here's the revised and, hopefully, improved letter to the Post Star:

     I agree with Mr. Collins that Trump will not be Hitler. Also, folks on the right; Obama is not Hitler. You on the left; Bush wasn't Hitler either. No word yet on Cheney as Rasputin.
     However, the subject of my letter is what a petty swindler Trump is. Of that, there's little doubt. It's astonishing to see someone who's supposedly a billionaire, crookedly misappropriating such piddling amounts. Does he just play a rich guy like Jim Backus did (much better)? Let Barbra Streisand ask it in song: "Is he that rich? Maybe he's poor? Til he reveals his returns, who can be sure."
     Recently we learned that Trump scammed the state of NY out of $150,000 meant for businesses hurt by 9/11, which his wasn't. And there was Trump U, where he conned people into spending what would be substantial sums for them, not for an alleged billionaire, on worthless "degrees." Then there was the veteran's benefit he held to duck a debate. The Donald generously pledged a million dollars. It took him four months to fulfill it, then only when shamed into it by the Washington Post.
     This is a man who can't get loans from American banks because he's such a poor credit risk. He has to go to Russian "financiers." I hope for his sake these pals of Putin's have the same forgiving policies on bankruptcy he's encountered (frequently) in the past. In any case, some voters seem to have forgiving attitudes toward crystal-clear fraud. Would you buy a used car from him?
     And Mike Pence, if you can't call the David Dukes of the world deplorable, what can you call them? Uncouth? Boorish? Indelicate? They is what they is. Use proper words in proper places. They do have meanings.

The readership of the Post Star is roughly 35,000. Would Wiki lie? The readership of my blog is roughly zero to 2 (on a good day). That's why I write letters to the editor. And for this guy:

I would prefer you leave the comments and eliminate the Letters To The Editors! I understand that writers are limited to number of words and number of submissions within a certain period of time. You continually print letters by the same people; perhaps no one else is writing or perhaps you just are printing letters that rarely call the Post Star out. There are letters that are well written and some are clever. Many are ridiculous and poorly written. However it is the letters by some of those who submit over and over which are written in a manner that indicates that they believe they are journalists submitting articles for readers who are anxiously waiting for their next essay. I would vote for you to stop printing these letters. They are not journalists and if you stopped continually printing their drivel, you might have enough space to print many of the other letters you decline.

This drivel is for you, Stuckhere (if that is your real name).

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Mike Pence:"David Duke Not Deplorable"

OK, so that may not be an accurate quote. Close enough for journalism 2016.

If you won’t say the KKK is deplorable, you have no business running the country. -Hillary Clinton

Because we always like to double check our definitions here in Hometown:

deserving censure or contempt

Yeah, I think if you can't say that about David Duke, then who can you say it about?

His supporters aren't deplorable. They're just spirited.

As several protesters were being escorted out by security, a man in the crowd grabbed a male protester around the neck and then punched him. He then slapped at a woman being led out. The 

Trump supporter was not ejected by security.

The celebrity businessman talked through the scuffle but cracked after the disturbance, "Is there any place more fun than a Trump rally?"

Monday, September 12, 2016

22 Million

Really!

Between 2003 and 2009, the Bush White House “lost” 22 million emails. 

I'm sure everyone on the right will be aghast to hear this. Not that sure, of course.

Very Rough Draft of a Letter to the Editor

I’d like to agree with Mr. Collins from Glens Falls who says that Donald Trump will not be Hitler. Also, I’ll point out to the folks on the right that President Obama is not Hitler. To those on the left, President Bush was not Hitler either. The jury is still out on whether Vice President Cheney was Rasputin.

What I wanted to write about, though, is what a petty crook Trump is. It’s surprising to see someone who’s supposedly a billionaire swindling such petty amounts. Does he just play a rich guy on TV like JimBackus did? Much better, by the way. Let’s let Barbra Streisand say it song: “Is he that rich? Maybe he’s poor? ‘Til he reveals his returns, who can be sure.”

Recently we learned that Trump scammed the state of NY outof $150,000 meant for businesses hurt by 9/11, which his wasn’t. There was Trump U, where he conned people into spending what would be big money for them, not for an alleged billionaire, on worthless “degrees.” Then there was the veteran’s benefit that he held in order to duck a debate. The Donald pledged a million dollars. It took him 4 months to fulfill it, only because the Washington Post shamed him into it.

This is a man who can’t get loans from American banks because he is such a poor credit risk. So, he has to go to Russian “financiers.” I hope for his sake these friends of Putin have the same forgiving policies on bankruptcy as he’s faced in the past.

Many voters seem to also have forgiving attitudes toward fraud. Come November, when you enter the voting booth, remember we don’t grade on the curve in selecting a president. 

If only you could put links in LTTE. 


And you tube clips.



Where Does It End With Trump?

On November 8th, hopefully. Here's a link to Esquire with Trump bragging about 40 Wall Street now being the tallest building because of the destruction of the Trade Towers.

"40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest. And then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second-tallest. And now it's the tallest." 

What is really ironic is that it sounds as though there was no damage to that building. And yet, Donald got $150,000 from a state of NY program designed to aid businesses that were hurt by 9/11.

Donald Trump’s tale about why he took $150,000 in 9/11 money is as tall as the Downtown skyscraper he says he used in recovery efforts, according to government records.

Though the billionaire presidential candidate has repeatedly suggested he got that money for helping others out after the attacks, documents obtained by the Daily News show that Trump’s account was just a huge lie.

Records from the Empire State Development Corp., which administered the recovery program, show that Trump’s company asked for those funds for “rent loss,” “cleanup” and “repair” — not to recuperate money lost in helping people. 

Fifty six days until we can be sure this clown is not elected president.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Reasons I Don't Watch TV Number Gazillion


And a good reason to watch Colbert on You Tube.

More Victims of the Second Amendment

I can't record everyone of these incidents, but that's what the Gun Violence Archive is for. Some stand out more than others, though. When a 14 year old girl shoots another student and then shoots herself to death it stands out.

During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, authorities said a 14-year-old female freshman student, whose name hasn't been released, turned the gun on herself after shooting another student, possibly a 16-year-old student, in the lower extremities. That student was taken to the hospital and was released.

I'm sure the college students in Texas, who are now able to walk around strapped, will be much more mature and will not commit similar acts. In my own state was another recent victim.

An upstate Assemblyman who was supposed to turn himself in to the FBI on Friday morning instead shot himself to death in a cemetery.

Bill Nojay's apparent suicide took place in front of Rochester police officer who had responded to a call to “check the welfare” of an individual in the area.

I'll give him credit. He talked the talk and walked the walk. And at least he didn't take any innocent people with him.

One year after the passage of the SAFE Act, Assemblyman Bill Nojay (R,I) is reminding his constituents to remain steadfast in defense of their Second Amendment rights. The fight to restore the right to bear arms in New York is far from over, as the legal challenge to the law is working its way through the courts, and those who voted in favor of the law have yet to be held accountable.

Condolences to the families of all victims of gun violence, self-inflicted or not.

Friday, September 9, 2016

WashPo Calls Bullshit on the E-mails

Along with Bernie, I am so sick of hearing about the damned e-mails. And of course, we'll have 4 years of it beginning in January, God willing.

Judging by the amount of time NBC’s Matt Lauer spent pressing Hillary Clinton on her emails during Wednesday’s national security presidential forum, one would think that her homebrew server was one of the most important issues facing the country this election. It is not.  

And in a story of a nouveau riche guy who dislikes the idea of Trump being elected and is not Jeff Bezos.

A billionaire Facebook co-founder says he is giving $20 million to help defeat Donald Trump, calling the Republican presidential candidate divisive and dangerous and his appeals to Americans who feel left behind “quite possibly a deliberate con.”

The good that money can do in the right hands.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

People Who Hate Trump More Than I Do: Michael Gerson

As a bonus, he also hates Fox and Right Wing Radio. Hate may be a strong word, I'm in that kind of mood, tho.

The political universe of conservative talk radio does not constitute anything close to a majority of voters in the general election.

In fact, this cartoon version of conservatism tends to alienate key groups of voters, including minorities, Republican women and the college educated.

Much (not all, but much) of the new conservative establishment feeds outrage as its source of revenue and relevance. It is a model that has been good for Rush and Fox, but bad for the GOP.

I'm no fan of Gerson, but enemy of my enemy and all that.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Daisy Two


And at least some 88 generals love him. No, I didn't miss this.

At the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, John Allen marched on stage to martial music with a formation of other veterans behind and encouraged active-duty servicemen and women to vote for his candidate. 

The end of empire is in sight for us, if the planet lasts that long.

Part of the reason the U.S. military is venerated by the American public is that they are considered apolitical. The trust on which our system of civil-military relations relies is made much more difficult when veterans engage in blatant partisan politics as they have this election. It doesn’t matter who lines up behind which candidate. The near-term gain of public support for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton may result in a long-term erosion of the military’s standing with the American public. And that could be more dangerous than either of them.

Here's Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling saying that Trump is a moron. Slight paraphrasing there. This is on Trump's proposed order to the military to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS in 30 days.

The former commanding general decried Trump, calling his orders "simplistic" and insulting to individuals working to defeat ISIS.

"It shows a complete lack of understanding of the threat and the ways to fight it," Hertling said. "It's a sophomoric approach to elements of national security policy because if he's just calling in the military, he's missing the point that there are several other elements of national security that will help defeat ISIS."

I still believe that off the record he called Trump a moron.


Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The GOP Now Stands for Nothing

According to the Dallas Morning News anyway.

What does it mean to be a Republican?

For generations, the answer had been clear: A belief in individual liberty. Free markets. Strong national defense.

But what does it mean to be a Republican today? With Donald Trump as the party's new standard-bearer, it's impossible to say.

Yes, the Republicans are on their way to losing Texas. Not this year, but soon they will start presidential elections without the electoral votes of NY, California, Florida and Texas. 

Friday, September 2, 2016

Wrong Way Jill

This is not reassuring in a presidential candidate.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was scheduled to speak at Capital University in Bexley at noon today but it looks like she's running a little late.

That's because instead of flying into Columbus, she accidentally went to Cincinnati instead, according to the Capital University Greens Student Organization who is sponsoring the event.

Maybe I should suggest to Matt that he send her a map

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is expected to return to the area in September to campaign with local Green Party candidates, Green Party congressional candidate Matt Funiciello said Monday.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

The World's Greatest Negotiator Goes to Mexico

And does he come back with a check to pay for The Wall?

Following their meeting on Wednesday, Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, insisted he told Donald Trump, during their meeting in Mexico City, that Mexico would not pay for a border wall between their two countries.

“At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall,” Peña Nieto tweeted. A spokesman for the Mexican president later told the Guardian that there was no discussion of paying for the wall because Trump did not respond to Peña Nieto’s statement. “The president told him clearly and the matter was not discussed further.”

But, you knew that was coming, didn't you? Awesome negotiating skills, Amnesty Don!


More Important Than the Tax Returns