Category: Commentary

News Ticker Shock

Nikki Haley supporting Trump…”I will be voting for Trump.”

Justice Alito caught flying another flag outside his home supporting insurrection

60% of Americans think that we are in a recession (poll)

“United Reich” wording posted to a video on Trump’s Truth Social media account

RFK Jr. VP pick Nicole Shanahan profiled as drug user and adulterer in NY Times article

Putin ‘launches space weapon’ while his forces carry out nuke drill near Ukraine

Daily marijuana use outpaces daily drinking in the U.S., a new study says

RIP Democracy?? 11/5/2024

  1. Democracy may be dead. 50/50 that this November’s elections results will not be accepted by the losing party.
  2. Donald Trump, MAGA, Fox News and the Republican Party are holding the bloody knives in democracy’s demise or in Kristi Noem’s case, the smoking gun. There is also huge crowds cheering this on.
  3. My sense is that our current political culture and craziness could not have taken place 50 or 60 years ago. Back then, anyone who had a whiff of scandal would not be electable and would not have a political future.
  4. To have a viable and working democracy, there needs to be a majority of smart people, large enough to suppress dumb people. That does not exist today. Not even a majority of reasonable, intelligent voters can offset the rising number of dumb ones.
  5. The end of democracy actually started after the election of Barack Obama when the Republican party decided to strictly become a party of obstruction. They were determined and largely successful in stonewalling Obama’s agenda for eighth years. Remember when the Republican party blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland as a Supreme Court Justice in 2016?
  6. The Democratic Party shows absolutely no spine. There are times you have to fight as dirty as your opponent and the Dems have failed to do that.
  7. Most of my intellectual life, I have been a student of Nazi Germany. I have been fascinated by the rise of Hitler and how the German people largely supported him. Maybe soon I will get to experience a similar government and dictatorship here in the U.S. that existed back in 1934 Germany.
  8. There is too much influence of religion in politics. Religious people tend to believe almost anything, especially those claims not grounded in fact, truth, or science. Easily manipulable, religious people are the least tolerant and the least likely to be persuaded by evidence or reason.

“Have you no sense of decency…”

I was thinking about this complaint directed at senator Joseph McCarthy, about 70 years ago by Joseph Welch, who was an attorney for the Army during Senate hearings. I was reading and listening to some of the testimony by Stormy Daniels in today’s trial. I understand that the former president Trump was quite agitated while listening to the testimony of a porn star regarding his rendezvous and sexual affair with her.

I never understood why Trump, his lawyers, his family, and any supporters that he may have, did not try to work out a deal with the Attorney General. I don’t understand why the Republican party would not try to work out some type of exit plan as they did for Richard Nixon in 1974. It just seems to me that some type of deal could be worked out that Trump would plead guilty to certain charges, pay fines and apologize for his misbehaviors. In return for a pardon, Trump would no longer be involved in politics, specifically running for any political office. Trump would be “exiled” to Mar-a-Lago.

Instead, his wife, family, and the country are subjected to a circus, ill behavior, misdeeds, criminality, early dementia, and sexual misconduct. Why would any decent man put his family through this? Does he really want to be president that badly? I guess the answer is yes.

I understand that there were gallows humor among the press corp about what they made experience if Trump is elected president this November. I do not think it is so far-fetched that he will seek revenge on those who have mocked him and attempted to put him in jail.

There is so much talk about the potential ramifications and possible violence if Trump was ever put in jail. I wonder if people considered how things might go if he is not.

I am so tired of all this. We have so many challenges and we are wasting precious time dealing with the delusions Donald Trump.

For God sakes, please somebody make a deal and end this national nightmare…

How to Fail a Job Interview(s)

Just when I though Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene had locked up the crazy vote, then comes along…

Tim Scott, the Republican senator from South Carolina, was asked five times on a national news broadcast, if he would accept the election results this November. Five times, Scott, obfuscated, spun, and flat out refused to give a yes or no answer. I think there is a huge character flaw in anyone who wants to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate. However, give it to Scott, he gave a great audition to Trump on how little personal integrity he had and would do and say just about anything to be on the Trump ticket. However I question whether hard-core MAGA supporters would vote for a black man, no matter how many times he prostrates himself in front of his leader.

Another reputed candidate to be Trump’s running mate is South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem. Kristi is already in hot water for her admission in a book she wrote that she killed a puppy because she felt it was untrainable. She has stumbled publicly in trying to justify her abhorrent behavior. This weekend, she was also asked on a national news program, whether she ever met with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un as she claimed in the same book. Again, Miss Noem, spun, swerved, and refused to answer the question after being asked it a number of times. Miss Noem makes Sarah Palin look like Condoleezza Rice in comparison. There are already Saturday Night Live and comedic skits about Miss Noem, and there would certainly be a lot more if she was the vice presidential nominee.

No News is Good News

Every local newscast starts off with stories of violence, shootings, stabbings, murder…I wait till the second half of the telecast to catch Sports and Weather.

No matter how wrong or warped your vision of the world is, there is some venue or fool that will feed you misinformation and further your delusions.

We are verbally and visually assaulted by lies, exaggerations, and rampant stupidity that we have become inured to them. You can’t shock me anymore by a news host or politician saying something incredibly stupid.

A President of the United States has the right to assassinate his or her rivals?? This craziness was actually discussed as a serious matter in the Supreme Court!

2020 may have been the last Presidential election that was legitimate. And despite its proven legitimacy, maybe a 1/3 or more of this country’s voters still feel that it was rigged., based on nothing but an old man’s rants as he faces prison.

On CNN: Kaitlan Collins interviewing Bill Barr about his support for Donald Trump.

KAITLAN COLLINS: “So just to be clear, you’re voting for someone who you believe tried to subvert the peaceful transfer of power that can’t even achieve his own policies, that lied about the election, even after his attorney general told him that the election wasn’t stolen. And as the former chief law enforcement in this country, you’re going to vote for someone who is facing 88 criminal counts.”

Running in Flow

“My favorite athletic moment wasn’t part of any competition. I must have been around 30 years old when I went out for a long run. At that time, my running pace was probably around eight minutes per mile. I didn’t have a particular route or distance in mind; my usual runs were between 3.0 to 3.5 miles. I remember how, if I missed a few days of running, I didn’t feel like myself—I became anxious and discontented.

Then, one Saturday morning, something remarkable happened. I set out and ended up running about 10 effortless miles. It was as if I was in a state of flow; I had no idea I could run that far. I even felt like I could have gone another 2.5 to 3 miles if I had wanted to. I tackled uphill and downhill segments, varying my pace effortlessly. My body, mind, and spirit were completely aligned. It was a rare moment of synergy that I’ve seldom felt in any other activity.

If I had a time machine, I would gladly go back to that moment, that place, just to experience that level of health, happiness, and contentment again.”

No Debate about No Debates

Reports suggest that the five major broadcast and cable news networks are advocating for televised debates between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump ahead of Election Day. However, it’s time to reconsider the value of such debates, particularly involving Trump.

Let’s be frank: a debate featuring Donald Trump tends to resemble a WWE event promo more than a substantive political discussion. His approach lacks preparation and substance, often devolving into insults and misinformation. The 2016 debates between Trump and Hillary Clinton showcased this stark contrast in demeanor and knowledge. While Clinton demonstrated a grasp of issues, Trump stumbled through with little coherence.

The 2020 debate between Trump and Biden was a debacle, failing to offer meaningful insights into policy or voter concerns. In fact, it only served to highlight the degradation of presidential debates into spectacles of theatrics rather than platforms for informed discourse.

One might argue that the last truly substantive presidential debate occurred between JFK and Richard Nixon in 1960. Since then, debates have become increasingly staged, manipulated, and divorced from genuine discussion.

In today’s political landscape, debates are marred by handlers, opportunities for misinformation, and outright falsehoods. It’s understandable why networks may view them as entertainment, but for voters seeking genuine insights, they offer little substance.

(Idea and initial content drafted by Eric Burleigh, edits suggested by AI)