More Americans Need to See and Hear This

If you don't already follow Matthew Cooke on YouTube, I can't recommend it or him enough. Time and again, as here, he addresses national situations and issues extremely clearly and spot on, both with our problems as well as with solutions. Enjoy. I think this video and his logic and intelligence is especially poignant now, with CPAC meeting this weekend and none other than Donald Trump set to speak today. Let's get to this, America.

Quote of the Day -- Former President Edition

David Rothkopf @djrothkopf "Trump has never won the popular vote in an election, lost the House, lost the Senate, impeached twice, lost more than 60 court cases challenging last election, lost in Supreme Court trying to hide his taxes, lost while actually owning casinos, lost 500K lives to COVID." Quite the guy you got there, Republicans. Thanks, y'all. So much.

CPAC, Already, Today

In just one morning, today, so far, at CPAC, Ted Cruz laughed about his Cancun debacle while Texans literally froze to death, they did a tribute to racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynist Rush Limbaugh and they wheeled out---no kidding here--a GOLD STATUE of none other than Donald J "Jenius" Trump that looked for all the world, not like they were honoring him but that they were, instead, mocking and laughing at him. You know, the way all the rest of us do. Check it out for yourself.

Seriously, y'all, when you're done with that, could we use that at Democratic National Committee gatherings? That's fantastic. "The Onion" and SNL can't write stuff this good. If only they, the Republicans, weren't actually serious with all this. Wow.

Donald J Trump Legacy, Part II

Thanks, Mr. President. Again, thanks. So much. 

(click on picture for easier reading)

Thanks, Republicans.

That's quite the guy you got there. Quite the guy you foisted on us all, on the nation.

The Donald J Trump Legacy, Part I

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, what he did. And what he most certainly didn't do.

Thanks, Mr. President. Thanks, Mr. Trump.

Thanks, Republicans.

For nothing.

Because that's what good we got from this guy. 

Nothing. 

Literally nothing. Zero.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You Donald J Trump

Herewith, Donald J Trump:

~Got his own birthday wrong when trying to vote.

~Got his own father's place of birth wrong.
~Got his own wife's name wrong.
~Called his own son "Melania's kid" (he does get credit for getting her name right that time).
~Repeatedly wandered away from Melania because he forgot she was with him.
~Waddled away from signing ceremonies forgetting to have signed anything (at least twice).
~Asked where Giuliani was when Rudy was sitting right in front of him.
~Thinks he talked with "Tim Apple".
~Thinks his own Secretary of Defense is named "Mark Esperanto".
~Thinks people need to have an ID to buy groceries (at least twice).
~Thinks tariffs are paid to the federal government (numerous times).
~Thinks people don't know that President Lincoln was a Republican (which, of course, means he didn't know).
~Thinks he met the president of the Virgin Islands (he is the (so-called) president of the Virgin Islands).
~Thought he was in Fairfax when he was in Fredericksburg.
~Thought there was a mass shooting in Toledo when it happened in Dayton.
~Thinks we have a "Marine Core".
~Has a Russian Soyuz spacecraft depicted on his official Space Farce coin.
~Thinks Nambia, Nipple, and Button are all countries.
~Waddles around in public stuck to toilet paper (at least twice).
~Waddled away looking for a gigantic limo that was parked right in front of him.
~Thought he got "beautiful letters" from the Boy Scouts and the NFL (both of whom denied sending any).
~Called Detroit a "titty".
~Referred to the USA as the "United Straits of America" (maybe it will be by the time he's done).
~Thinks there were airports during the Revolutionary War and that we rammed the ramparts.
~Thinks he invented the phrase "priming the pump".
~Had Kellyanne Conway try to convince people "covfefe" is a word and his supporters would know what it meant.
~Thinks injecting people with light bulbs and disinfectant might be a viable medical procedure.
~Talked about the attacks on 7-Eleven.
~Thinks Colorado is building a wall.
~Can't even spell "coronavirus," much less, mitigate it.
~Thinks we can nuke hurricanes.
~Tried to pass off a hurricane map he altered as official.
~Thinks there's a "Noble" prize.
~Doesn't exercise because he thinks people have a "battery" that will get depleted.
~Thinks he personally redesigned naval warships to be "more beautiful" and "less expensive," like "yachts with missiles on them".
~Considers being able to waddle down a ramp at a snail's pace without falling over ("Look, Ma! I didn't even use the handrail!" and drink water with one hand are major accomplishments that he should brag about.
~Refers to himself in the third person so he can praise himself on the extremely rare occasions when he actually does his job.
~Uses pseudonyms like "David Dennison," John Miller," "John Baron," and "John Barron" to praise himself.
~Thinks increased testing spreads Donnie's Covfever.
~Brags about passing a cognitive test given to people suspected of having serious mental deficiencies.
~Thinks he visited "Paradise" California. There is no such place.
~Wanted William Barr to determine the "oranges" of the Mueller investigation (twice).
~Thinks astronauts travel in "capsicles".
~Thinks windmills cause cancer.
~Thinks we have a national park called "Yo! Semite!"
~Thinks there's a country called "Thighland".
~Thinks stealth fighters are literally invisible.

Now that we've covered senility, lets move on to creepiness:

~He said he would like to date his own daughter.
~He told a minor he would probably date her someday.
~Let Princess Nepotisma sit on his lap long after it was appropriate.
~Told Howard Stern he could call her "a piece of @ss".
--Speculated on Tiffany's future breast size when she was an infant.
~Walked in on teenagers, including minors, intentionally, in their dressing rooms because he thought owning the pageants made it OK for him to be a lecherous, leering old man.
~Has been accused of sexual impropriety by about 2 dozen women, at least one of whose lawsui is currently working its way through the legal system.
~Bragged about grabbing women by the genitals. Cavemen didn't even do that.

Thanks, Republicans.

Quite the guy you foisted on us all, pushed off on the nation.

You must be so proud.

So much winning.

Links:

Coronavirus: US surpasses 5 million confirmed cases

Trump on Americans Dead From COVID-19: 'It is what it is'

America has more coronavirus deaths than other countries

Coronavirus: Why America Has More Deaths Than Any Other

Question For Trump Supporters

Seriously...

Thanks, Republicans!!

Who Is Donald Trump?

Just who is Donald Trump, exactly?

• The “billionaire” who hides his tax returns
• The "law and order" President who, again, hides his tax returns
• The “genius” who hides his college grades
• The “businessman” who bankrupted 3 casinos, lost over $1B in 10 years and took 6 bankruptcies, to date. So far
• The “playboy” who pays for sex
• The “Christian” who doesn’t go to church
• The "Christian" who cheated on his first wife--with his second
• The "Christian" who cheated on his second wife--with his third
• The “philanthropist” who defrauds charity
• The “patriot” who dodged the draft five times
• The “innocent man” who refuses to testify
• The “President” who takes no responsibility
• The “tough, strong” man who wears makeup and hairspray
• The “deal maker” who has yet to close a deal

Thanks, Republicans.

That's quite the guy you got there.

Quite the guy you foisted on us all, on the nation.

Quote of the Day -- Donald J Trump, In a Nutshell

Someone on Quora asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response: 

A,few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.

But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created? If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.

Trump 2020, America!

An Open Letter To Republicans and the Entire Republican Party

Dear Republicans,

If you get someone elected President again anytime soon--God forbid--could they please only be as bad as Richard Nixon? At worst?

Please?

Sincerely,

The American People

No. Seriously. We mean it.

We're begging here.

Great, Breaking Presidential Election News Today!

I just saw this news, breaking today, out on social media. Fantastic.

Get Republicans to Vote Against Trump? This Group Will Spend $10 Million to Try

A new organization, Republican Voters Against Trump, is testing the premise of whether there are really any persuadable voters left.

Yet another group of Republicans who see this man, this President for who and what he is.

I tell you, folks, it's enough to give a person hope. Think good thoughts.

Enjoy that sunshine out there. 

Have a great day.

The SNL Hall of Presidents

You would never have thought we'd--meaning Republicans--would do worse, and so very much worse, than Richard M Nixon, would you?

Or Ronnie the Raygun with his very illegal Iran-Contra arms sales?

Or Dubya'?  Clueless Dubya' with his evil, heartless, waterboarding leader in the Vice President's office?

And yet here is Donald J "Don the Con", "Don the John" Trump.


Thanks, Republicans!

On This Republican Party President, A to Z

Why are people so hostile 

towards President Donald Trump? 

The question was asked on Quora. Chris O'Leary, former 10 years of Active Duty at U.S. Marine Corps (1989-2000), responded.

I’ll take a stab at this. Before you pass my answer off as “another Liberal snowflake” consider that 

1) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and 

2.) if you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (and not-so liberals) are against President Trump

A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B.) He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F.) He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G.) He behaves unethically and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H.) He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I.) He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J.) He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L.) He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him.

M.) His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right? *Crickets*) An Interim AG after Firing his First AG who’s appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N.) He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is thin skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P.) He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q.) He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds and left it alone.

R.) He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters matter.

S.) He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips, or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military, yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T.) He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U.) Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V.) He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W.) He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X.) He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump Supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y.) He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking The free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z.) I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late 60’s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been?

'Nuff said.

It's amazing he became President.

It's stunning he's still there.

Quotes on a President-- To a Congress

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 

―Edmund Burke.

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

--Elie Wiesel

I Have Great Neighbors

Check that out.

I've no idea who they are and they don't know me but these are some great neighbors, that's all I can say.

Smart. Educated. Intelligent.

Heck, I bet they're even good-looking.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone.

The Ugly American

You can't get any uglier than that.

In so many ways.

Links:

Trump is back to racist rhetoric

Do we need any more proof that Trump is a misogynist? 

30 Sexist Donald Trump Quotes About Women

Trump tweets anti-Semitic, conspiracy theorist website 

Trump ready to apologize for retweeting anti-Muslim videos 

There's No One Quite Like Our President Trump, Is There?

Richard Nixon has nothing on this guy.

Jefferson City Republican Lawmakers: WTH??

What do these hillbillies down there think with?

Child Marriage Is A-OK, 

Say 50 Missouri Lawmakers 

Missouri Republicans, You're Killing Us Out Here

Seriously depressing news out of our state today and lately.

First this, from the Star:

Senate candidate wants daughters to be homemakers

More on this Right Wing, Republican clown:

Senate candidate Courtland Sykes, a Missouri Republican, says feminists have 'snake-filled heads'

Missouri Senate Candidate Sykes: 

Women Are Here To Cook My Dinner

And this wouldn't just be for wives, either, with this guy.

Republican Senate candidate is slammed for calling feminists 'she devils', saying his  daughters will be homemakers and that he expects his fiancée to cook him dinner every night

This would all be marvelous, sure, if maybe companies and business owners paid a good, true,fair living wage but in 2018 America, presently, that's not happening. Besides, this would only be great if it's an option. It shouldn't be commanded, as Mr. Sykes seems to want it.

Republicans, not done there, what we get from them and their philandering Governor:

Greitens’ budget speeds up Missouri’s slide to mediocrity

As so frequently happens with Republicans, as we saw in the last few years in Kansas, they want to slash taxes for the wealthy and corporations--because, hey, they just don't have enough--they also, then, cut education budgets, rather mindlessly.

Again, this is what we get with Republicans, folks.

Keep it in mind this coming November.

Please.