Campaign 2016

Trump’s Snotty Stab At Comedy Booed Mercilessly At Charity Event (VIDEO)

Posted by on October 21, 2016 at 2:31 pm. 4 Comments :

Just when you thought this election couldn’t get any more bizarre, it smacks you right in the funny bone. Thursday night Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met again on stage at the 71st Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. [Full video below] It’s an annual event hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. During presidential election years it brings together the two major party candidates for a night of friendly roasting.

Donald Trump

However, as with everything else this year, it was a different sort of affair. As might be expected, Donald Trump’s sour personality made it difficult for him to project the human quality of humor. He delivered his remarks while looking down at his speech nearly the whole time. It seemed as if he had never even read it before coming to the podium. His delivery was stilted and he stumbled with the pronunciation of common words. His attempts at self-deprecating jokes were mostly just whining.

Trump began with some stale material that even he admitted was corny. His initial jokes involved the size of his hands and his feud with Rosie O’Donnell. The biggest laugh he received was for a line about the speech his wife Melania gave at the Republican convention. Actually, it was a pretty good line:

“Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it. They think she’s absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case. And I don’t get it. I don’t know why.”

But it’s all downhill from there. For the remainder of the routine Trump descends into the bitterness that is emblematic of his standard stump speeches. The audience, mainly wealthy New York elites and Catholic church VIPs, were not impressed. In fact, for what many are saying is the first time ever, they booed the speaker – repeatedly. And this was Trump’s crowd. Here are some choice excerpts:

“Hillary is so corrupt she got kicked off the Watergate Commission. How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate Commission? Pretty corrupt.”

“We’ve learned so much from WikiLeaks. For instance, Hillary believes that it’s vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private.”

How do these “jokes” differ from his regular daily insults? No wonder he was booed. Demonstrating his utter inability to grasp the audience reaction, Trump asked in an aside “I don’t know who they’re angry at, Hillary. You or I.” We’ll give you two guesses, Donnie. Then he continued by stomping on the hosts:

“Here she is tonight in public pretending not to hate Catholics.”

But the single most awkward moment was when Trump made light of a human tragedy. That is something that any experienced comedian, or any public speaker, will tell you is off limits. Most people find it difficult to laugh at situations where thousands died and many more are still suffering:

“Everyone knows, of course, Hillary’s belief that ‘it takes a village.’ Which only makes sense, after all, in places like Haiti where she’s taken a number of them.”

Even the event’s host, Alfred E. Smith IV, recognized that Trump had misfired. He said the following day that Trump’s joke about Clinton “pretending not to hate Catholics” did not sit well with the largely Catholic audience. Furthermore, he said that:

“Donald had some very solid minutes early on and eventually he crossed the line and took it a little too far. Hillary, on the other hand, was able to laugh at herself and at the same time not underplay any of the serious things that Donald Trump has said or done.”

Speaking of Hillary, she did indeed have a much better night. Her jokes were well received despite Trump having poisoned the room. She spread her topics out to cover herself, Trump, the campaign, and many of the attendees. But perhaps her most potent shot at Trump was not aimed directly at him at all. In her more serious closing remarks, Clinton addressed some basic beliefs that one could not ignore as having an association with the campaign. She condemned the “appeals to fear and division [that] can cause us to treat each other as ‘the other.'” She also praised Pope Francis and his message:

“…of rejecting a mindset of hostility; his call to reduce inequality; his warning about climate change; his appeal that we build bridges not walls.”

Clinton closed by saying that:

I believe that for each of us, our greatest monument on this earth won’t be what we build, but the lives we touch.”

Condemning appeals to fear and division. Rejecting hostility. Building bridges not walls. What a clever way of highlighting precisely what makes Trump so abhorrent while exhorting the principles of her hosts. Clinton deftly noted that it is personal legacies that endure. Not giant golden testaments to ego that are plastered onto skyscrapers. And with that she illustrated the differences between her candidacy and Trump’s. Or more broadly, between humanity’s aspirations and Trump’s.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump’s Refusal To Accept The Results Of The Election Is Not ‘Suspense’ – It’s Treason

Posted by on October 20, 2016 at 9:55 am. 2 Comments :

The third and final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is now history and that’s precisely the place it will reside. Never before has a candidate outright refused to respect the will of the voters. However, Trump is not an ordinary candidate. From the outset of his campaign he’s taken every opportunity to express disrespect for American principles and for his opponents. And that was true during the Republican primary as well as the general election.

Donald Trump

There were many times during the debate that Trump embarrassed himself. He blatantly lied about his prior support for countries like Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, to acquire nuclear weapons. He defended Russia against charges that they hacked American citizens and institutions. And he denied insulting the women he’s accused of assaulting even though videotape exists to prove it. Trump even blamed Clinton for his failure to pay federal income taxes for nearly two decades.

But the most disturbing thing Trump said last night was that he was unwilling to accept the results of the election if he loses. His baseless assertion that the system is “rigged” against him is typical of his paranoid, narcissistic approach everything. His specific complaints were a cacophony of incoherence. Beginning with this:

“I’ll look at it at the time. What I’ve seen, what I’ve seen, is so bad. First of all, the media is so dishonest and so corrupt and the pile on is so amazing. The New York Times actually wrote an article about it, but they don’t even care. It is so dishonest, and they have poisoned the minds of the voters.”

Even if the media were biased against him, that would not equate to voter fraud or make the election invalid. And he praises the New York Times in the same sentence that he criticizes it. Then he insults voters for allowing their minds to be poisoned, but only if they don’t vote for him. For the record, studies show that Trump received far more favorable coverage in the press than any other candidate.

Trump continued his anti-democratic rant with more blathering that is impossible to translate into human:

“Millions of people that are registered to vote that shouldn’t be registered to vote. So let me just give you one other thing. I talk about the corrupt media. I talk about the millions of people. I’ll tell you one other thing. She shouldn’t be allowed to run. It’s … She’s guilty of a very, very serious crime. She should not be allowed to run, and just in that respect I say it’s rigged.”

First of all, the millions of people he’s referring to appear to be names that appear on registration rolls that may not be updated for deaths or relocations. Of course, there is zero evidence that anyone in those circumstances ever voter improperly. But what “serious crime” Trump has in mind is never mentioned. And in any case, he is not the arbiter of who is permitted to run for office. The Constitution doesn’t prohibit even felons from running. He is simply demonstrating his affinity for tyrannical rule. Just as he did when he promised to investigate and incarcerate Clinton if he should become president.

Debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News reminded Trump that his refusal to accept the election results contradicted pretty much everyone in own sphere of influence. Reince Priebus, the Republican Party chair, insisted that the election results should be respected. So did his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, his running mate Mike Pence, and his daughter, Ivanka. Nevertheless, Trump himself veered off to say only that “I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense, OK?” He still seems to think this a reality TV game show.

For her part, Clinton was appropriately appalled. She interjected to say “let me respond to that because that’s horrifying.” Continuing she said:

“This is a mind-set. This is how Donald thinks, and it’s funny, but it’s also really troubling. That is not the way our democracy works. We’ve been around for 240 years. We’ve had free and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election.”

Exactly. That is how an adult behaves in a democracy. It’s a question of valuing the principles and traditions that define a free people. And it isn’t an act of partisanship. When you have people like GOP strategist Steve Schmidt saying Trump’s remarks are “a disqualifying moment,” and Fox analyst Charles Krauthammer calling it “political suicide,” it’s safe to say that party affiliation is not involved.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

What Trump has done is to plant the seeds of doubt in the minds of his gullible followers. He is saying that American elections are untrustworthy and not to be respected. That’s a recipe for chaos and it encourages the most demented malcontents to take matters into their own warped hands. If Donald Trump had an ounce of patriotism he would immediately reverse course and pledge to honor the election. But knowing him that would be way too much to expect.

Desperate Trump Invites A Terrorist Supporter To The Final Presidential Debate

Posted by on October 19, 2016 at 1:42 pm. 1 Comments :

At the last presidential debate Donald Trump thought he was smooth by bringing a few of Bill Clinton’s accusers from the past to the event. He apparently believed that their presence would rattle Hillary Clinton and he would rise to victory. He could not have been more wrong. Clinton never even noticed the ploy and went on to prevail over the second debate in a row.

Trump/Malik

Now, in a move that can only be described as desperate and clueless, Donald Trump is reprising the stunt. This time he has descended even lower into irrelevancy and smut. His guest at tonight’s debate will be Malik Obama, President Obama’s half-brother. How Trump thinks this will have any effect on Clinton is a mystery. Malik’s relationship with the President is, to put it mildly, distant. Consequently, Clinton’s reaction will likely be a barely perceptible smirk, if anything at all.

Malik endorsed Trump months ago and has long nursed bitterness and jealously toward Barack. His reason for backing Trump is that Clinton and Obama had killed his “best friend” Muammar Gaddafi. He also opposes the Democratic Party’s support for marriage equality.

However, the most disturbing aspect of this is that Malik has shown support for the terrorist group Hamas. He posed for a picture two years ago wearing a Hamas scarf with anti-Israel slogans on it. The slogans “Jerusalem is ours, we are coming,” and “From the river to the sea,” are popular with the group. Hamas advocates for the abolition of Israel.

Trump often pretends to be a strong supporter of Israel. He panders to American Jews with promises he can’t keep, while throwing obstacles in front of plausible peace initiatives. His hostile rhetoric is counterproductive and insulting to Israelis, the United Nations, and every American with whom he disagrees. He has been especially disparaging of the President who he believes is “trying to destroy Israel with all his bad moves.”

There is simply no justification for granting access to this debate to someone who has exhibited camaraderie with an anti-Israel terrorist group. Trump is demonstrating that his bluster over crushing ISIS is as meaningless as a diploma from Trump University. If you are opposed to “radical Islamic terrorism” you don’t hobnob with terrorist sympathizers.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

As for the media, there has been virtually no mention of Malik’s abhorrent ties to Hamas. And this is the media that Trump asserts is “rigged” against him. Just imagine how the press would react if President Obama invited a terrorist supporter to the White House. It would be front page news for weeks. And Trump would be calling for his impeachment.

Thousands Raised To Rebuild Bombed GOP HQ – By DEMOCRATS – As Trump Blames Clinton’s ‘Animals’

Posted by on October 17, 2016 at 8:58 am. 3 Comments :

An explosive device was thrown through the window of a Republican Party office in Hillsborough, North Carolina yesterday. The perpetrators left a disturbing warning in spray paint saying “Nazi Republicans, leave town or else.” This act of violence is contemptible and indefensible. But the reaction to it has also highlighted the differences between responsible Democrats and the human firebomb, Donald Trump.

NC GOP

Immediately after the news broke, Hillary Clinton expressed her disapproval and sympathy. She tweeted that “The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.” By contrast, Donald Trump posted his own tweet with a somewhat different message. He said that “Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP.”

Trump’s approach to this crime is typical of his emotionally stunted relationship to the world around him. His first instinct is to insult and dehumanize his perceived enemies as “animals.” Then he assigns blame to them despite having no evidence of responsibility. And finally he politicizes the act for his personal gain. For the record, Clinton is leading in North Carolina in every recent poll.

The police are still combing over the crime scene and have not released any details of their investigation. But before drawing conclusions, people should ask themselves the old question in these circumstances: Who benefits? Clearly this sort of behavior would only be detrimental to Clinton’s campaign. So who would benefit from engaging in it? Certainly not Clinton. Nevertheless, Trump makes the illogical jump to condemn her rather than his own violence prone followers who stand to profit from the false implication.

But that’s not the only demonstration of how Democrats react responsibly when tragedy strikes. Within a few hours of the bombing there was a fundraising appeal posted to the website GoFundMe. Democrats sought to raise money to help the GOP reopen their office. The appeal condemned the bombing as “abhorrent” and declared that “this is not how Americans resolve their differences.”

The response was swift and inspiring. It took less than four hours to exceed their goal of $10,000. More than 500 people donated to the cause. Typical of the comments from donors was one that read “I’m a Democrat but I don’t believe in violence.” Another donor said “This act of terror was an attack on all of us. In moments like these, there’s no partisanship. We’re all Americans. We stand by you.”

That’s the proper way to address situations like this, especially before any facts are known. Americans generally reject violence as a political tactic. They come together to restore the victims and renounce the perpetrators.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Ironically, it’s Trump who regularly incites violence at his rallies. He’s currently making baseless charges of a rigged election that are roundly criticized as harmful to democracy and potentially dangerous. His response to this incident is in line with that and only encourages further animosity. Trump and his followers should take a lesson from the Democrats who promote peace and unity in the face of violence. Sadly, based on Trump’s response, they are not likely to do that.

Only 12 Out Of 22,000 Trump Employees Have Donated To His Campaign

Posted by on October 15, 2016 at 10:48 am. NO Comments :

From the beginning of his campaign Donald Trump has boasted about the thousands of jobs he has created. He uses that claim as evidence that he can stimulate job growth in the country as president. In fact, in his announcement speech he said that he would be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” That’s the sort of conceited and baseless self-appraisal that is typical of Trump.

Trump Employees Strike

One of his most frequent claims on the campaign trail is that African-Americans, Latinos, and others would flock to his candidacy specifically because he would be creating so many jobs for them. However, if providing jobs were an indicator of political support, Trump would have launched his campaign with a substantial base of about 22,450 supporters. That’s the current estimate of employees across the array of Trump’s businesses. The problem for Trump is that the vast majority of his employees have shown little interest in supporting him. According to a recent report:

“Only a dozen of an estimated 22,450 people employed at Trump’s companies have donated more than $200 to the celebrity businessman’s bid for the U.S. presidency, a Reuters review of federal campaign finance records through August shows. [In total those contributors] have given $5,298 to Trump’s campaign, a fraction of the $112 million Trump’s political operation has received from donors and joint fundraisers.”

That’s something less than a ringing endorsement from the very people Trump says will be his most grateful supporters. It reflects a striking rejection of his self-touted skills as a leader and ability to instill confidence and loyalty.

By contrast, Hillary Clinton has received $324,000 in donations to her campaign from her former employees at the State Department. The State Department has approximately the same number of employees eligible to donate to American candidates as Trump’s businesses. A spokesperson for Trump dismissed the comparison on the basis that Trump has self-funded the majority of his campaign. However, that isn’t true. To date Trump has loaned his campaign about $47 million, less than half of his total take in donations.

It’s no wonder that Trump’s employees are reluctant to back his campaign with their dollars. He has not been particularly concerned with the welfare of working Americans. He opposes any minimum wage. His branded merchandise is manufactured in China, Mexico and other foreign countries. He imports foreign labor for his resorts in Florida. His hotel employees are currently striking in protest of his unfair treatment and refusal to recognize their union.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

If Trump wants to exploit his status as an employer to boost his campaign he’s at a severe disadvantage. He had better satisfy the interests of his current employees before relying on them as proof of his leadership skills. And that’s going to be difficult when so few of them are willing to dip into their wallets to back him up.

Journalists’ Org BLASTS Trump As ‘An Unprecedented Threat’ To Press Freedom

Posted by on October 13, 2016 at 3:46 pm. 3 Comments :

The United States has never seen the likes of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. He has spent the last year and a half engaged solely in puerile insults and personal attacks. His victims have included women, minorities, veterans, and anyone he deemed less than reverential. However, the media has borne much of the weight of his manic scorn. When he isn’t “joking” about killing them, he is calling them scum, losers, dummies, and sleazy. He has revoked the press credentials of people or organizations he doesn’t like, including the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, the Huffington Post, Fusion, Univision, and more. For a couple of hours he even boycotted Fox News.

Donald Trump

Trump’s hostility toward the press is frighteningly intense. And his authoritarian attitude should alarm anyone who values free speech. Just last week two Pulitzer Prize winning journalists told NPR that Trump is a “clear and present danger” to the First Amendment. Now the Committee to Protect Journalists is weighing in with a statement “in response to Trump’s threats and vilification of the media.”

Here is the statement in full:

Guaranteeing the free flow of information to citizens through a robust, independent press is essential to American democracy. For more than 200 years this founding principle has protected journalists in the United States and inspired those around the world, including brave journalists facing violence, censorship, and government repression.

Donald Trump, through his words and actions as a candidate for president of the United States, has consistently betrayed First Amendment values. On October 6, CPJ’s board of directors passed a resolution declaring Trump an unprecedented threat to the rights of journalists and to CPJ’s ability to advocate for press freedom around the world.

Since the beginning of his candidacy, Trump has insulted and vilified the press and has made his opposition to the media a centerpiece of his campaign. Trump has routinely labeled the press as “dishonest” and “scum” and singled out individual news organizations and journalists.

He has mocked a disabled New York Times journalist and called an ABC News reporter a “sleaze” in a press conference. He expelled Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from a campaign press conference because he asked an “impertinent” question, and has publicly demeaned other journalists.

Trump has refused to condemn attacks on journalists by his supporters. His campaign has also systematically denied press credentials to outlets that have covered him critically, including The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Politico, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Univision, and The Des Moines Register.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has routinely made vague proposals to limit basic elements of press and internet freedom. At a rally in February, Trump declared that if elected president he would “open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.” In September, Trump tweeted, “My lawyers want to sue the failing @nytimes so badly for irresponsible intent. I said no (for now), but they are watching. Really disgusting.”

While some have suggested that these statements are rhetorical, we take Trump at his word. His intent and his disregard for the constitutional free press principle are clear.

A Trump presidency would represent a threat to press freedom in the United States, but the consequences for the rights of journalists around the world could be far more serious. Any failure of the United States to uphold its own standards emboldens dictators and despots to restrict the media in their own countries. This appears to be of no concern to Trump, who indicated that he has no inclination to challenge governments on press freedom and the treatment of journalists.

When MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough asked him in December if his admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin was at all tempered by the country’s history of critical journalists being murdered, his response was: “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country… Well, I think that our country does plenty of killing, too.”

Through his words and actions, Trump has consistently demonstrated a contempt for the role of the press beyond offering publicity to him and advancing his interests.

For this reason CPJ is taking the unprecedented step of speaking out now. This is not about picking sides in an election. This is recognizing that a Trump presidency represents a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history.

Nuff said.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

UPDATE: On October 13, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued an “unprecedented” statement declaring Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump “a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history.” And October 14, the National Press Club put out a statement condemning Trump’s anti-press tactics as “unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy.”

Russia Defends Torture-Loving Trump After Criticism By UN Human Rights Chief

Posted by on October 12, 2016 at 2:36 pm. NO Comments :

The continuing saga of Donald Trump’s long-simmering romance with Vladimir Putin is heating up. The Associated Press reports that Russia took to defending Trump after some harsh criticism at the United Nations.

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin

According to the AP, Russia filed a formal complaint last month in response to remarks by Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, was upset by Zeid’s inclusion of Trump in a coterie of known human rights abusers. Zeid had said that:

“In what may be a crucial election for leadership of this country later this year, we have seen a full-frontal attack — disguised as courageous taboo-busting — on some fundamental, hard-won tenets of decency and social cohesion that have come to be accepted by American society. Less than 150 miles away from where I speak, a front-running candidate to be president of this country declared, just a few months ago, his enthusiastic support for torture.”

Indeed, Trump has made his advocacy of torture a key focus of his campaign. Last February he promised that “I would bring back waterboarding, and I would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.” The U.N. has called for rescinding “any interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, that constitutes torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”

In criticizing state sponsors of torture Zeid included Trump along with Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders, Nigel Farage (UKIP), Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer, French nationalist Marine Le Pen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Czech President Milos Zeman.

Given recent revelations about Trump’s affection for the Russians, and vice versa, this should not come as a surprise. Just yesterday he was caught parroting the false claims of a Russian media outlet. He has appeared on Kremlin-controlled cable networks criticizing America and defending Russia. And his financial entanglements with members of the Russian oligarchy and government are well-documented.

The Clinton camp responded with a short but firm statement by senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan:

“This is not only strange — it’s scary. A major-party candidate for the presidency of the United States is being protected by the Kremlin. Wow.”

In addition to the frightening aspects of this, Trump’s campaign has embraced a broad array of pro-Russian policies and praise. He consistently has better things to say about the Russians than he does about America, which he has called “a hell hole.” Likewise, he has greater admiration for Russia’s leaders than any of those in the U.S. of either party. The AP addressed all of this saying:

“Trump has praised President Vladimir Putin’s strength and leadership, vowing to improve ties between Washington and Moscow if he defeats Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. He has questioned whether NATO, an alliance of Western nations formed to counter the Soviet Union, is outdated. He has suggested Russia hasn’t entered Ukraine although it annexed the Crimea region in 2014 and is supporting anti-government rebels in the east. And he urged Moscow to find emails that Clinton deleted from the private server she used while secretary of state.”

There really is only one question that comes to mind after observing all of this evidence. And that is: Whose side is Trump on? His open hostility to so much of what makes America great raises doubts about what the country would look like under his toxic leadership. He rejects the welcoming prose engraved at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. His policies violate domestic and international laws against human rights abuse. The bigotry he espouses is contrary to our nation’s quest for tolerance and equality. And his attraction to authoritarianism ought to chill the spine of every citizen.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

It is not incidental that the only country in the United Nations that felt compelled to stand up for Donald Trump was Russia. The two share a philosophy and an agenda for international affairs. And who knows what other incentives tie Trump to the Russians, including a vast web of indebtedness.

LOCK HER UP: Fox News Stands Alone With Praise For Aspiring Dictator Donald Trump

Posted by on October 10, 2016 at 12:24 pm. 2 Comments :

The second presidential debate is now a part of history, and that’s not just a figure of speech. In a campaign that has set ugly precedents and breached common standards of decency from its inception, Donald Trump has once again lowered the bar. He has let his inner dictator emerge in full view of millions of viewers and citizens.

Donald Trump Hillary Clinton

During a debate wherein Trump engaged in free-range falsification of reality, there was one moment that stood out. It was an exchange in which Trump took the extraordinary position that as president he would instruct his Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton.

TRUMP: “I didn’t think I’d say this but I’m going to say it, and I hate to say it, but if I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation.
CLINTON: It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law of our country.
TRUMP: Because you’d be in jail.

The “situation” to which Trump referred has to do with Clinton’s emails and the private server she used. Never mind that an extensive investigation was already completed by the FBI. While they found some room for criticism, they concluded that there were no actionable violations of the law.

Trump, however, doesn’t care about the law as evidenced by his prejudgment to jail Clinton before any investigation or trial. It’s a position that stands in stark contrast to every legal precept in a democracy. Former Attorney General Eric Holder noted that in a statement saying “In the USA we do not threaten to jail political opponents.” George Bush’s press secretary Ari Fleischer agreed saying that “Winning candidates don’t threaten to put opponents in jail. […] Trump is wrong on this.”

For the most part the media recognized the aberrant legal analysis that Trump was proposing. Like much of what he says on any subject, he demonstrated his pitiful lack of knowledge or even basic understanding. Here are a few examples of how the press views Trump’s ludicrous threat.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN: We got an excellent moment right now to discuss something I’ve never heard in any of these debates before between two presidential candidates […] One candidate says not only is he going to put forward a special prosecutor to investigate his rival, but he’s going to put her in jail if he’s elected president of the United States. That’s pretty extraordinary.

DANA BASH, CNN: What makes this country different from countries with dictators in Africa or Stalin or Hitler or any of those countries with dictators and totalitarian leaders is that when they took over, they put their opponents in jail.

JOY REID, MSNBC: We need to not speed past the point that an American candidate for president threatened to jail his political opponent. […] This happens in Malaysia, this happens in Uganda. This does not happen in the United States of America.

VAN JONES, CNN: A line was crossed that I don’t know has been crossed in my lifetime, maybe ever. He threatened to jail his opponent. […] He threatened to jail Hillary Clinton if he became president of the United States. That is something that I think is a new low in American democracy.

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC: Donald Trump also said, in one of the most provocative comments of the evening, he said that if he was president, he would jail his political opponent. He would put Hillary Clinton in jail. That is the sort of thing that we usually decry in other countries, in authoritarian countries.

PAUL KRUGMAN: Let’s be clear: a candidate for president promised to put his opponent in jail if he wins. Everything else is secondary.

JAKE HOROWITZ, MIC: A few politicians who have jailed their political opponents: Putin, Erdogan, Chavez, Mugabe, Pinochet. Noriega.

DAVID FRUM, speechwriter for George Bush: Who would consent to serve as Attorney General to a president who believed he could direct prosecutions of his political opponents?

By contrast, Fox News presented a somewhat different perspective. Their primetime star Bill O’Reilly gushed that “That’s the smartest thing he did all night because that, just that, coalesced his base back together.” And contributor Scott Brown said that “It was the line of obviously, I think, the election, the debate process. […] it was a home run. I thought he won the debate.” Nowhere on the “fair and balanced” Fox News was there a contrary opinion like that expressed by Clinton’s campaign spokesman Brian Fallon:

“That is the comment of a dictator that you expect to hear in a banana republic — the idea of jailing your political opponents.”

And that pretty much sums it up. Trump has presented himself as a narcissistic authoritarian from the outset of his campaign. His racist proposals to ban immigrants on the basis of religion; his incitement of violence toward protesters; his proclamations that “I alone” can defeat ISIS, or reform the tax code, or repeal ObamaCare, or end street violence. These are all indications of Trump’s belief that as president he can act unilaterally and impose his will the nation. And let’s not forget his open hostility to the media upon whom he promised to seek revenge.

These are the thoughts and actions of a budding tyrant. Anyone who can contemplate putting Trump at the head of the U.S. government and military is playing with fire. Trump has shown us who he is, and it’s a frightening picture of autocratic oppression. If he were to become president, Hillary Clinton would not be the only opponent he would throw in his gulag. Guantanamo would be packed with his critics and any random liberals who offend him.

Donald Trump Knows He’s Already Lost – Pulls Ads In Crucial Swing States

Posted by on October 10, 2016 at 8:47 am. 6 Comments :

For the next month the Republican Party, the media, and the Trump campaign are going to engage in a charade. It’s a farce that pretends the race for the White House is still winnable. It isn’t, and they know it. And the final act of the electoral play isn’t due to the devastating discovery of the now famous Trump Tapes. Although they certainly didn’t help. And it isn’t due to his creepy debate performance either.

Donald Trump

The best evidence of the fact that this long nightmare is over was unveiled in a little noticed news item last week. It’s significance was more profound than the attention it got would suggest. Not surprisingly, it was pushed from the headlines when more salacious news about Trump emerged. The report reveals the way Trump’s campaign is handling its own media strategy for the remainder of the campaign:

“Just weeks before Election Day, the Trump campaign has cancelled ad reservations in markets in several crucial battleground states.”

The startling thing about this disclosure is that the states where Trump is canceling their ads tells a tale of woe. They are not states where he has a comfortable lead and doesn’t need to waste the money. Nor are they states where he is trailing badly with no chance of success. Those are the usual explanations for media budget shifts in the waning days of a campaign.

However, the states where Trump is pulling back are swing states where polls show that either candidate could prevail. What’s more, they are states without which Trump cannot possibly build a path to a November victory. Here is a breakdown of the ad funding cancellations:

State $ Canceled
Florida 741,000
North Carolina 307,000
Ohio 263,000
Pennsylvania 179,000
Iowa 165,000
Maine 93,000
New Hampshire 53,000
Colorado 32,000

There are only two possible reasons for removing ad funds from these states:

1) The campaign is out of money. That seems unlikely because there has been little evidence that they have spent very much. Also, Trump has bragged for months that he would self-finance his campaign and provide as much money as necessary to win.

2) There is no plausible path to victory. That is a scenario that was becoming more evident in every new poll that’s been released for the past few weeks. And now with the revelations of Trump’s vulgarity and admission of sexual assault it is even more likely. Consequently, Trump might want to save these funds so he can reimburse himself for the loans he made to the campaign.

There are still some campaign events that could have an impact on the eventual outcome, including the final debate on October 19. However, debates are not generally regarded as opportunities for Trump to endear himself to anyone other than his current basket of deplorables. There is little time left now for either candidate to manufacture a large swing in voter preference. But when it’s all over we may very well be able to look back at this reallocation of funds as the moment that Trump conceded.

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‘I Never Said I’m A Perfect Person” Says Trump, Except That He Actually Did

Posted by on October 8, 2016 at 3:17 pm. NO Comments :

The world-class ego, narcissism, and arrogance of Donald Trump have been on public display for decades. He can hardly complete a sentence without exalting himself as the richest, smartest, biggest, and bestest at everything. There is absolutely no trace of humility in the non-stop parade of vainglorious self-promotion that he exudes.

Donald Trump Messiah

In the wake of his deplorable comments bragging about committing sexual assault, Trump’s delusions of grandeur come into even sharper focus. In the very first words in his non-apology apology video Trump makes a play for sympathy by mewling that “I’ve never said I’m a perfect person.” There’s just one problem with that. He has said exactly that both implicitly and explicitly.

In 2011, Republican “Word Doctor” Frank Luntz asked Trump if he had ever asked God for forgiveness. Trump answered “I am not sure that I have […] I don’t think in terms of that.” While that answer fits perfectly with Trump’s signature pompousness, it also reveals why he’s so reluctant to apologize for anything. That includes his blatantly offensive remarks about immigrants, minorities, veterans and women. If he won’t ask God for forgiveness, why the hell would he ask anyone else?

Then last year Trump played his Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free-Card again during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. [Note: Cooper will be moderating the next debate. Will he bring this up?] He was asked to revisit his previous comments and given an opportunity to refine them. He rejected that opportunity and, as usual, he doubled down on his immunity from needing to seek God’s grace.

TRUMP: Well, I like to work where I don’t really have to ask for it. I like to do the right thing where I don’t actually have to ask for forgiveness. Does that make sense to you? You know, where you don’t make such bad things that you don’t have to ask for forgiveness. I mean, I’m trying to lead a life where I don’t have to ask God for forgiveness. […] Why do I have to repent? Why do I have to ask for forgiveness if you’re not making mistakes?

Talk about your Original Spin. There is no other way to interpret an assertion that you never make mistakes than as a claim of perfection. So right there Trump has exposed the lie at the foundation of his apology. Furthermore, he’s effectively saying that a good Christian can avoid seeking forgiveness from God by simply never making any mistakes. Who knew it was that easy? Of course, to do that would require a level of virtue not seen in about two thousand years. And yet he argues that he has achieved this pinnacle of purity. But if you ask the Presbyterian Church, to which Trump claims to belong, they have a completely different interpretation:

“Presbyterians believe the Bible when it says that ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). Unlike crime, which involves the breaking of human law, sin is a condition of the heart or an expression of that condition where we are estranged from God and fail to trust in God.” […]

“Presbyterians believe God has offered us salvation because of God’s loving nature. It is not a right or a privilege to be earned by being ‘good enough.’ No one of us is good enough on our own — we are all dependent upon God’s goodness and mercy. From the kindest, most devoted churchgoer to the most blatant sinner, we are all saved solely by the grace of God.”

Trump seems to think that forgiveness is something that you request when you have told a lie, cut someone off in traffic, or cheated in golf. His understanding of religion is on the level of a four year old (no offense to four year olds). He has no concept of the tenets of his faith that regards all men and women as sinners. Trump doesn’t seem to think that his own mistakes (of which he has none) rise to the level of sins. That means his three marriages and serial infidelity are wholly virtuous in God’s eyes. His four bankruptcies that left thousands of creditors in the lurch were just divine accounting. His fraudulent Trump University that ripped off hundreds of “students” actually taught them a valuable lesson in dealing with charlatans. And these say nothing of his sins of greed, lust, pride, and his newly revealed admission of sexual assault.

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If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that The Donald doesn’t need the forgiveness of God or anyone else. That’s because he is his own deity with omnipotent powers to solve every problem bigger and better than mere mortals. His followers are likely to grant him the forgiveness he refuses to request. And these are the self-appointed paragons of faith who claim to represent America’s morality. By the way, they’re also the same people who have been calling President Obama the Anti-Christ for seven years.