Five days before the last of the three debates, I posted a satirical blog, "Drumpfy at the Bat". Now that the debate is over, I have a picture, courtesy of the Daily Kos, to go with the closing lines of that blog:
"
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere Explorables are laughing, somewhere Extremables shout,
But there is no joy in Drumpfville - mighty Drumpfy has struck out.
Strike three, Drumpfy! After striking out in his third and last debate, Drumpfy and his whole team look down with shame. There will be no joy in Drumpfville tonight, no bands will play, no hearts will be light. There will be no laughter, no happy shouts of delight.
The article by Jen Hayden that goes with this photo is entitled,
Donald Trump's deflated, defeated, low-stamina body language after the debate says it all.
At least his body and his team knew he lost. His mind disagreed by the next day. Get out and vote by or before November 8th, so that the final score will be incontestable.
In an interview aired today on CBS, Kellyanne Conway said she doesn't believe there will be voter fraud and that the 'rigged' election comments just referred to the ever-present few journalists that are biased for one candidate or another in their presentations. Good for her.
When asked how Trump would reply if asked about the steady flow of sexual assault allegations, she said she hoped he would 'pivot' away from that and speak about Topics and Policies that are more meaningful to the voters. Good for her, again.
Since Trump has been so predictable to this point, and none of us have our heads spinning from how Presidential he has become, I am willing to make some pedictions.
First of all, let me dispense with the hope that he might talk about Policies. He might say he'll 'fix everything' after a lengthy attack on Clinton for breaking everything. But he won't say how. Fixing global problems requires understanding the complexity of the problems and pursuing united diplomatic steps with other countries - not making unilateral 'deals'. Dictators make unilateral 'deals' and 'know more' than their Generals.
So let's say Hillary responds by hitting Trump with a question about Diplomacy - about Russia, and how he would handle bringing Russia around to working with us, instead of against us, in the Assad regime. Trump's response would predictably be to blame Hillary for starting the war, pointing out that also, by the way, her husband cheated on her. Harder and lower - but what would that have to do with the question? And we've all heard it dozens of times before.
BORING!
So let's say Hillary stays high and sticks to topics - but, since Trump has brought her husband's infidelity up, asks if he plans to apologize to the women that he has assaulted. Wouldn't that be the right thing to do?
Sadly, by now, we have all forgotten about the topic of how to solve the Middle East Crisis, and now we are tempted to plug our ears, knowing what is coming. Trump's 'pivot' will predictably be to claim absolute innocence and to blame Hillary for starting the war, pointing out that also, by the way, her husband cheated on her and she should be locked up for the war crimes she committed as Secretary of State during the Benghazi attack. Of course, we all saw that 'pivot' coming, too. Hit back Harder and Lower. Always. And always with the same, predictable, old moves.
B-O-R-I-N-G!!
I'm not going to descend any lower into how the night will probably continue to go. I don't think we'll hear anything new, no matter how new the question. No matter what question is asked, the same old "Boring Trump" will perform his few well-rehearsed attack lines, like a street fighter that only knows how to hit below the belt. We've heard them all so many times before - tweeted and re-tweeted and re-re-tweeeted.
B-B-O-O-R-R-I-I-N-N-G-G!!!
I thought Trump was an entertainer.
Last year, Warren Buffett gave over 2 Billion dollars to charity, but still paid 16 Million in taxes. He plans to give away all but 1% of his wealth before he dies. He says that 1% will be enough for his children to be able to do all that they want to do, but won't allow them to do nothing.
He has stated that it is unpatriotic (not smart) to pay no taxes. He thinks it's unfair that he pays a lower percentage of his income for taxes than his secretary.
He urges other Billionaires to give away more than they need, as he is doing. And he gives to real charities, very large ones with the highest ratings like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. He has also stated what is important to him is his health, and his friends.
Warren Buffett has shown love of family, the joy of giving, peace and patience in his business dealings, kindness and goodness to friends and strangers - and self-control stronger than the pull of power or wealth.
He has offered to make his taxes for the last several years public, if Trump will - pointing out that he, too is also currently under audit.
Trump declined to make his taxes public, for the same tired reason that he's being audited. But it's just a little audit compared to Buffet's much larger audit. Pretty obvious the audit isn't the reason.
We could give Trump the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he doesn't understand the tax laws very well - or maybe he feels intimidated because Buffet is worth about 16 times more than he is? Poor guy.
Judging by these pictures (courtesy of the Huffington Post) - which of these two looks full of good fruits, and which one looks like he's full of sour grapes? They say a picture's worth a thousand words...
Funny thing. Buffett looks happier about giving his money away than Trump does about keeping it! Maybe Buffett really does value people more than $$$.
If you seek the facts, they will come. Yesterday, we got a copy of "The Nation" magazine in the mail.
Hillary Clinton supporters will learn nothing new, but to have all the facts (or conspiracies, if you are a Trump supporter) in one place, was shocking to me. Here's some key points in each of the articles about Clinton and/or Trump:
Hillary Clinton for President, the first article is important, especially for Bernie Sanders followers to be comfortable with drifting Slightly South from the True North of Progressive Idealism. It reminds us that Donald Trump is undeniably, factually recorded and documented as being for:
-mass deportations;
-the creation of stool pigeons and informants to support the mass deportations - reminiscent of Communist Russia's reign of fear fueled by neighbor reporting on neighbor, during the Cold War;
-national stop and frisk;
-the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, with no plan for replacement; Been sick lately? RU Rich?
-thinking it's "smart" to not pay taxes - but Warren Buffet thinks it's unfair - and, of all things - he's wealthier by far than Donald Trump;
-the logical conflict between Buffet and Trump results in only one conclusion - in Trump's world, it's "dumb to be fair". Been cheated lately? How'd it feel?
-hobbled unions;
-evaporating, disappearing pensions;
-the cutting back of "already too high" wages;
-defunding planned parenthood, abandoning care for the mother and her unborn child or children;
-the denial of climate change and the need for alternative sources of energy;
-the burning of more fossil fuels;
-strangling incentives for renewable/solar energy development;
-the removal of protections for air and water purity; (been to Hong Kong, Bei Jing lately?)
-building the wall! wall! wall! wall! wall! wall! wall! wall! wall! wall!
-targeting families of suspected terrorists (guilty before proven innocent) essentially 'locking them up' without a trial;
- the idea that, "We're going to have to do things that are unthinkable" (waterboarding is gentle fun?)
-consistently setting the stage for Religious hatred, strife and wars;
-sharply increased military spending (To the Joy of the Military/Industrial complex)
-promises to keep Guantanamo open and to load it up with "Bad Dudes" - but I think Trump looks like a "Bad Dude" - does that count? (refer to the cover after this boring, long list of crazy ideas);
-expanding use of drones in overseas conflicts, (prelude to control of internal conflicts);
-reneging on normalization of USA/Cuban relations;
-unraveling the Nuclear deal with Iran;
-greatly and grossly promoting the insulting of women;
-questioning the patriotism of Mexican and Muslim Americans - even though they ARE Americans;
-inciting the hatred of refugees;
-mocking a handicapped journalist;
-stating that election is "rigged"-unless he wins;
-praising strong leaders like Putin and Hitler? Good Dictators "kill" their opposition or lock them up.
-coming up with the "what have you got to lose?" idea.
There's much more. It's obvious that voting for hope and change doesn't always deliver hope and change - I think we all can agree on that! What we have to lose is at the very least, time. This is a partial list. If you got the magazine in the mail like I did, I challenge you to wade through the articles I'm listing here. If you're a Trump supporter, you'll be better prepared to counter the opposition after reading them. Likewise for Clinton Supporters. Independents - you're out of luck. Not much here for you. The rest of the articles about Trump and/or Clinton are listed below.
The Debate We Need is an article that objectively seeks and finds a few of Trump's ideas that may have merit. There are two. Read the article.
The Case for Hillary is an article stating Hillary is more than the "Lesser Evil" of the candidates.
She is actually for a number of good things, and has some policies. For instance, she is for:
-reproductive rights (a woman has some choice and control over her own body and what it has to go through);
-health care;
-voting rights;
-immigration;
-children and families;
-education;
-criminal justice (the end of profiling);
-worker's rights (discriminatory practices and protections for pre-existing contracts);
-raising taxes for the Rich, instead of the Poor;
-diplomacy and peace through foreign Policies, the result of learning in the college of experience;
-appointment of Supreme Court justices that are objective and qualified;
-gun control;
equal pay for women;
-taking actions globally to combat global warming and provide clean air for our children's children.
The Hillary Effect is a brief article noting the resurgence of unhinged sexism, currently being effectively sponsored by Trump' who is sexism's current mouthpiece.
A Poem by Calvin Trillin. It's brevity is elegant.
"A Blowhard's ID is revealed by one sign;
How quickly the boasting turns into a whine.
Vandal in Chief is an article by Adam Haslett that touches on some of my 'hot buttons'. The article points out that:
- the problem isn't Trump; it is that there is anyone that will support him;
-"Whether Trump wins or loses, the purposeful degrading of our political culture will intensify";
-unless Democrats are clear-eyed about what is happening, they are as doomed as a boxer at a knife fight;
- Trump's style is to make shame into a weapon, then stab away with careless abandon.
The Making of Donald Trump - an article by Cay Johnston, states that his success is that "of a business career built on breaking, ignoring, or making up rules."
The full scope of the articles is too long to cover, but the graphic below, taken from the October 24th cover of "The Nation" , comes close to showing the number of topics discussed. Read about it. Get informed. Above all, vote, especially if you've never voted before. This might be your last chance ;).
Personally, I like to think he's nicer than this. Read the facts, and judge for yourself. Vote.
A Political Satire of "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Drumpfy team that day:
The score stood none to three, with but one debate to play,
For Pencey died at first, and Drumpfy twice did the same,
A pall-like silence fell on the media recording the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Putinski would help him hack back at that -
We'd put up more money then, if he'd help Drumpfy at the bat."
But Malicia Zachado stomped on Drumpfy, then Dancey O'Nell hit the brake;
The former was now heavier, and the latter he could not take,
So Upon the stricken Extremables grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Drumpfy surviving that.
But Pencey let fly many more lies, to the wonderment of all,
And Zachado was cast as a foreigner, just a complainer full of gall;
And when the dust had lifted, and the crowd saw what had occurred,
Drumpfy was safe after another debate, glaring ahead toward the third.
Then from twenty thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the microphones, it rang the rafters of Hell;
It pounded on the microphones, and speeded Drumpfy's gait,
For Drumpfy, mighty Drumpfy, walked into the last debate.
There was ease in Drumpfy's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Drumpfy's bearing and a smile lit Drumpfy's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he tipped his bright red hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Drumpfy at the bat.
Forty Thousand eyes were on him as he looked for a way to flirt;
Twenty Thousand tongues applauded as he blew kisses to every skirt;
Then as the squirming moderator held her mic in a vise-like grip,
Defiance flashed in Drumpfy's eye, a sneer curled Drumpfy's lip.
And now the first speedy question came hurtling through the air,
And Drumpfy stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the question unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Drumpfy. "Strike one! The moderator said.
From the benches, thick with Explorables, there went up a muffled roar,
Like beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill her! Kill the moderator!" shouted someone at the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed her, had not Drumpfy raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Drumpfy's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult, he bade the debate go on;
He signaled to the moderator, and once more a question flew;
But Drumpfy still ignored it and the moderator said, "Strike two!"
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud"
But one scornful look from Drumpfy and the Extremables were awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Drumpfy wouldn't let another question fly by again.
The sneer is gone from Drumpfy's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his fist upon the plate;
And now the moderator holds the mic, and now she lets the last question fly,
And now the air is shattered with the force and weight of Drumpfy's lie.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere Explorables are laughing, somewhere Extremables shout,
But there is no joy in Drumpfville - mighty Drumpfy has struck out.
A few days ago, I posted that in High School locker rooms, and even in the Marine Corps, that Trump's comments were NOT "Locker Room Banter", or even "Marine Corps Banter". When real men get together, despite Trump's disgusting claim, they talk like men - not like candidates trying out for a porn flick.
Many Professional Athletes were so disgusted and insulted by Trump's "definition" of "Locker Room Banter" that the only cesspool that was overflowing with that kind of language was the one that Trump poured his heart and soul into... Remember Kaine's biblical quote? "For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45). Yes, that really is in the Bible - and it's true, too. Think about it. What is Trump's 'banter' about women like, in any room or any situation?
To find out what real locker room banter is like, according to real men, click on any or all of the following rebuttals.
- Pro Athletes Offended by Trump's 'Locker-Room Talk' Defense (US Weekly)
- Professional athletes disagree with Trump's caricature of the locker room (Time)
- Not 'locker room' talk: Athletes push back on Trump remark (CNN)
- Pro athletes deny Trump's 'locker room' banter (USA Today)
- Athletes on Trump's 'locker room banter': that's not how we talk at work (The Guardia)
- Pro Athletes Say No One Talks Like Trump In Locker Rooms (The Huffington Post)
So. are Trump's comments "just locker room banter". Nope. It's the real Trump speaking from the abundance of his heart. Make your own list of what Trump talks about. Do you like what you see? I don't.
I hope you'll vote, but not for Trump.
I'm going to vote. I'm voting for Hillary.
Trump's trash talk, disrespecting and demeaning women, is NOT "Locker Room Banter". In High School, I played first string Football. I was on the Swim Team and the Track Team, never missed a practice and took part in every game or event. I spent a lot of time in Locker Rooms.
Locker Room Banter was about who could jump the highest, run or swim the fastest. Since I was one of the shortest of each team, I would sometimes be teased about how short my legs were. I wasn't teased much in the Football locker room, since I made about 80% of the tackles in every game, according to the coach.
Teasing was good-natured and rare. Most of the 'Locker Room Banter" was about how we could do better the next time. Sometimes it was heated, sometimes friendly, but never mean-spirited or negative. The idea was to show appreciation (in a "guy" way) for the effort of each, and was to help us do better as a team next time.
I was also in the Marine Corps. Due to some SNAFU at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Center, our platoon (385) had our date for start of training delayed a week. We sat on our upside down buckets in our Quonset Huts, talking most of the day - in between marching to meals and standing at attention. That was the D.I.'s favorite way to deal with us. Standing at attention for an hour or so can be pretty boring, so we were all ready to sit on our buckets and talk. We were told to "sit and wait" and that's what we did. For a week.
There we were, about 30-40 guys in one hut (our 75 man platoon required 2 huts) - one big space, with 30 or 40 guys aching to talk about anything, after standing still and silent for hours each day. What was our "Quonset-hut Banter" like? We talked about where we were from, sports we liked, and why we were in the Marine Corps. After a week, we really got to know each other. Nobody talked about their girl friend, unless asked, and then the response was more likely to be, "What's it to you?" than an exaggerated tour of somebody's body. In those days (the '50s) girl friends were respected and potential marriage partners.
Mail call was the most exciting moment of each day. I got a letter from Patricia, the daughter of a Doctor in San Francisco, every mail call. I was the envy of every guy there, due to her consistency. When asked what she was like, I just replied, "Pretty and Smart" - which drew approval and smiles. Nobody poked for sordid details. That would have been creepy.
"Locker Room Banter" is not what it's Trumped up to be. Normal, decent men don't talk about the girls that they love as if they were an animal. In fact, if anyone talked about abusing even an animal the way that some people these days talk about abusing women, they would have been "pillowcased" (a pillowcase is thrown over the head of the guilty party to provide anonymity for the participants) and beaten to a pulp!
The notion of Locker Room Banter being about physical and emotional abuse of another human being is a sick lie - and it makes me sick to think that anyone would believe that normal men behave that way. Every locker room and every Marine Corps conversation that I ever heard was about winning, playing by the rules, and respecting ourselves and others.
What kind of a room would you have to be in, to hear men talk about women as objects? It turns my stomach to even think about it. It also makes me want to find a pillowcase.
Have you ever been in a locker room after or before a game? If so, you know what I'm talking about. Don't be fooled by liars.
Talking about women as objects is "Porn Room" banter - period.
I watched the Vice Presidential Debate last night. I watched part of it twice, since it was available for replay immediately on one of my Roku channels. Much has been said by many more qualified than myself about the quality of the moderator and about the very different styles of Kaine and Pence.
I was interested in substance. During the debate, Kaine asked Pence to explain or defend statements that Trump or Kaine had made during the campaign.
My interest is in the truth, but the answers from each were as different as their styles.
Kaine asked Pence to explain Trump's ideas. Why does Trump want to create a "deportation force" to forcibly deport 16 million illegal immigrants? Why should more countries have nuclear weapons? Why should women that had an abortion be punished? He also asked why Pence had supported Putin. Why had he said that Vladimir Putin was a better leader than Barack Obama?
I spent about 2 hours listening to the debate, which included watching some parts twice, and learned nothing new. Kaine's rapid-fire questions and facts received little response by Pence, who calmly pushed previously recorded, well documented reality aside with a dense fog of long-winded, shameless denials.
Today, CNN put together an interesting 2 minutes and 14 seconds video that fact-checked the debate using campaign trail recordings.
Kaine asks a question, Pence answers - and than a clip of Trump himself speaking, recorded months or weeks earlier, is inserted.
For me, it was a new and interesting kind of "fact checker". In each case, a relevant, undeniable recording of what was really said, finished the back and forth of fiction mixed with fact in the debate with the undeniable truth of the recorded past.
Do you care about the truth and what is fact and what is fiction?
If so, and if you have 2 minutes 14 seconds to spare, go to this website page and find and select the clip under the large viewing frame at the top that is titled "Actually Mike Pence, Trump really DID say that". (This should be the 2nd from the left when the page first loads, as shown below.) Click on it. You'll be glad you did.
If you only have 1 minute and 10 seconds, go directly to a shorter YouTube Video replaying Trump's comments about the release of his tax returns, punishment of women for abortions, proliferation of nuclear weapons and Vladimir Putin as a great leader.
Whether you recoil from, or embrace Trump's views is up to you. Being reminded of Trump's core beliefs at this point is necessary clarification for all of us. A successful Democracy is founded on a voting public aware of the real facts.
If you have about 5 minutes, watch both. You'll get more substance than I got in over 2 hours!
Are you thinking about this election in terms of finding candidates with answers that are substantive, based in reality, fair - and that can stand up to fact-checking? I am.
I'm voting for Hillary and Kaine!
Mark Cuban, a Clinton supporter and Billionaire recently blasted Trump's Patriotism in an article by CNN. Cuban said,
"After military service, the most patriotic thing you can do as a wealthy person is pay your taxes. That keeps the roads paved, the military paid, and kids going to school, and he (Trump) obviously doesn't understand that concept,"
According to CNN, Cuban, who is a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said he often gets offered tax breaks as a fellow billionaire, but avoids taking them. He called on Trump to release his returns.
Why? A possible reason given by Mr. Cuban shows he's no dummy when it comes to the tax law.
"If Donald is taking tax shortcuts, maybe he bought an insurance policy as opposed to doing something in real estate and he took a huge tax write-off to offset income -- we don't know. And that's the inherent problem: there's no transparency and he is so ashamed of what he's done," Cuban said.
No transparency is a fact. Shame? I think fear of being exposed for corrupt and foolish business ventures is more likely. To be exposed as a lousy, incompetent businessman would hurt his "Trump" Brand, and make it harder to get loans so he can use or lose other people's money in the future.
Is losing other people's money by going Bankrupt Smart or Dumb? Is not paying any taxes Genius or Greed?
You decide.
