One piece of offered advice in today’s heated political environment is to separate an individual’s politics from the person. You should respect them regardless of how their politics may offend or upset you. Easier said than done. If someone pulls out a match in a building with a gas leak, should I not be upset? Their reckless act endangers everyone, including me. That’s how I feel about voters choosing irresponsible candidates whose reckless behavior and proposed actions pose risks to us all.
In my 70 plus years of living and watching political debates this may have been the strangest claim by a candidate,” They’re (Haitian refugees) eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Artwork by AI; humor by MAGA
This is no longer a referendum on Donald Trump. It’s a referendum on the judgment and intelligence of the American voter.
Was anyone really surprised by the results of yesterday’s Presidential debate?
I did not watch the debate live. Why did anyone, particularly journalists and the press, expect anything different? There are outcries by many Republicans today that Trump was unprepared and did not have good debate management. Are you kidding?? Review any book written by a Trump administration insider and you will find that Trump does not read or prepare for anything. He “wings” it.
A word of caution to the Democrats. Hillary cleaned Trump’s clock in the 2016 debates and still lost. The MAGA mind is probably blaming ABC for their hero’s atrocious performance. It’s still not over…
I have been interested in presidential politics since I was eight years old when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon competed against each other in 1960. If eight-year-olds could vote, I would’ve voted for John Kennedy. However, it would not have disappointed or upset me greatly if Nixon had won. I always had respect for anyone who was nominated by their Party to run for President. That respect extended until 2020. Even in 2016, I understood there was an antipathy towards Hillary Clinton. I really didn’t understand it, but I could grudgingly concede a small rationale for some people voting for Donald Trump.
I certainly don’t feel that way today. There is absolutely no argument or rationale, politically, morally, ethically. or policy wise to vote for Donald Trump and for that matter, just about anybody in the Republican party. I consider Barack Obama a great president. However, if he had lost to either John McCain or Mitt Romney, I would have been disappointed, but not devastated. Both John McCain and Mitt Romney were certainly qualified to be president.
I was not a fan of the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney administration. But I never had the fear that they would try to overthrow our democracy and turn it into a dictatorship. Nixon, as crazy as he was in the last few days of his presidency, had no intention of becoming a dictator. He had at least a modicum respect for the democratic process, our laws and the institutions of government.
I honestly cannot conceive of one rational argument for the election of Donald Trump. It’s scary that between 45 to 50% of potential voters would select him for president. Some of his supporters that I have spoken with don’t even bother trying to justify why Trump should be president. What they normally do is just attack the Democrats and come up with all types of conspiracy theories on how Trump is being persecuted.
if Joe Biden had run, I would’ve understood why some people could not have voted for him. I was also concerned about his age and cognitive abilities. However, with the nomination of Kamala Harris, there are no reasons for Democrats, Independents, and even Republicans to stay home and not vote for her. I truly hope that the positive feelings and enthusiasm for her and the Democratic ticket will last until election day and hopefully there will be a landslide that will swamp Trumpism and fascism.
The Democrats are experiencing a bit of “irrational exuberance.” It’s the same feeling that Republicans were feeling about three weeks ago. It’s way too early for any self congratulations. Too many things and events can change. Economic events and the Middle East could change the campaign around. Don’t discount the possible influence and effect that Joe Biden will have on this election.
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If I was Kamala Harris, I would not debate Donald Trump. The man isn’t capable of discussing policy issues. There really isn’t much of an upside for Kamala – – she will be expected to clean the floor with him.
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How can there be any undecided voters for the Presidential election?
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Hard to believe that JD Vance may be a worse Vice Presidential candidate than Sarah Palin, and Dan Quayle.
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Is there anything more insulting to a person’s intelligence then the political commercials being run right now?
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Ideal Presidential Debate Media Team: Hosts: Dana Bash and Jim Acosta (CNN); Questioners: Rachel Scott (ABC) Chris Wallace (CNN) Bret Baier (Fox) and Kara Swisher.
I am a huge Bill Maher fan. I’ve been watching Politically Incorrect since it debuted in 1993. Maher could be considered the Will Rogers of today’s culture. But Maher is more cutting, dynamic, controversial and cynical than Rogers ever was. Plus Maher has met plenty of people he did not like. Maher’s style is more like H.L. Mencken. Maher and Jon Stewart are the rational minds and voices that Americans need badly.
I’d recommend Maher’s books of essays about politics, media, cancel culture, Trump, education and civil war etc. to anyone interested in current events, history and politics. But I understand that 40% of the country might prefer to listen to Greg Gutfield and The Five. Their loss! I find Maher to be a very fair interviewer on his show, civil and willing to give opposite views from him a fair hearing.
Read the varied essays at your leisure. Maher incorporates humor with his opinions and criticisms. Try it, you may like it…
I have posted some excerpts that caught my eye and mind…
A job in Congress is just so much better than racking the weights at CrossFit, which is what Marjorie Taylor Greene did before she set her crazy eyes on the prize. And once you get the gig, it’s yours for life. The re-election rate in the house for incumbents in 2022 was 95% – – that’s better job security than a pedophile priest has.
Everybody keeps asking, how could a guy (George Santos) like this happen?” I’ll tell you how: because no one cares anymore about substance. It’s all tribalism. The only thing that matters is “is he on our team?” Is he doing our schtick?” Santos is just the first one to realize you could do both sides’ schtick and get away with it because people have completely tuned out anything that doesn’t already fit their narrative.
Americans are far too dim and distracted to responsibly make a (voting) choice in just weeks or even months. Americans actually think it’s a brag to say that they’re cynical about politics and therefore don’t follow it. Don’t flatter yourself. Cynical comes when you know too much; you, on the other hand, haven’t bothered to learn anything.
This country simply has no education standards anymore – – they will let you out of a public high school and give you a diploma and you don’t have to actually know anything. Which used to be a mission of schools: knowing things.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok – – these are not places to read in the sense of garnering real and valuable information; they are what replaced reading so you’d have more time to take pictures of your dick. Sorry, but staring at your phone doesn’t make you a reader anymore than watching fireworks makes you an astronomer, or getting a tramp stamp makes you ass a museum.
Trump calls the Mueller report “the crazy Mueller report, “and in a way he’s right, because it’s over 400 pages detailing terrible crimes by a corrupt president, yet Mueller doesn’t prosecute. If Dostoevsky had written this report, it would be called “Crime and no Punishment.”
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump nicknamed his penis “Mike Pence” because it’s not hung like it should be.
Our economy no longer creates a middle class, it sucks it dry. Sometimes “middle class” just means you’re poor but you don’t do meth. And remember, this is the good economy, where 40% of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency expense and 50 million have nothing saved for retirement. Sorry, but it is not middle-class when your retirement plan is a lotto ticket.
When did the American business model switch from honestly selling you a product to tricking the consumer who doesn’t read the fine print? You ever wonder, “Why is my cell phone contract longer than a CVS receipt?” If you forget to turn off “data roaming” and you go to Vancouver for the weekend, Verizon gets to keep your children. This is the way we do business, and it’s all based on the cynical premise of you fucking up: that they can wear you down, confuse you or count on you to forget.
Before we tackle any of our daunting specific problems here in America, we have to figure out how a country can solve any problem if so, many of its people are so intractably,, astoundingly, mind numbingly stupid. And I’m not saying that as hyperbole or just out of frustration. I mean this country just might be empirically, verifiably too fucking dumb to continue as an ongoing enterprise.
Colleges have turned into giant, luxury daycare centers with overpaid babysitters anxious to indulge every student whim.
Every year at graduation time we witnessed the ritual of commencement addresses, when America’s overrated, gas bags, and wisdom-free celebrities are invited by star fucking universities to come to their school and tell a bunch of spoiled, stoned, debt laden brats things like “You’re only limit is your own imagination” and The world will be a better place for having you in it.”
Before the Internet, you only had to put up with your wingnut uncle on Thanksgiving. Now he’s forwarding you proof that Trump won Arizona and Epstein was murdered by the QAnon shaman. The street corner nut with the sandwich board used to be laughed at; now he’s linked to.
Do you know the reason why advertisers in this country love the 18 to 34 demographic? Because it’s the most gullible. A third of people under 35 say they’re in favor of abolishing the police – – not defunding, but doing away with a police force altogether, which is less of a policy position, and more of a leg tattoo. 36% of millennials think it might be a good idea to try communism.
Is there anything more self-defeating than not using old people as a resource? Not taking advantage of their accumulated knowledge? Everywhere else in the world elders are sought for guidance. In America, elders are sought for TikTok pranks.
Now, I get it, Christians love to feel persecuted – – it’s part of their origin story. But it’s been a long time since anyone was getting eaten by the lions in the Colosseum. 64% of the country is Christian, not to mention every president we’ve ever had, so please don’t tell me, in what universe does it make sense when Sean Hannity says, “The liberal media’s war against religion is alive and well.”
So I’m wondering next month at the Democratic national convention, whether Joe Biden will give his concession speech for the presidential election. Why wait till November? It sure looks like a large number of Democrats have thrown in the towel and are already conceding that Donald Trump will be our next president.
I have to admit that Trump and his supporters have been awfully lucky (?) the past few weeks. Not only does Trump survive an assassination attempt but his politically appointed judges have provided incredible cover for his various legal misdeeds. Three months ago, Trump was a convicted felon and established rapist. Now he is anointed as God’s chosen one with polls showing him pulling away from Biden in the presidential race.
But let’s not pass blame on the Democratic Party. They win the cocktail party arguments, get the media endorsements and favorable press coverage but given the political power they have, do not use it effectively. Republicans are ruthless in political power games. They take no prisoners! Democrats return GOP haymakers with gloved hand slaps.
You would think that Merrick Garland would be an inspired avenger against the GOP who blocked him from gaining a Supreme Court seat after being nominated by Barack Obama. However, Trump is largely winning on the legal battlefields. Yesterday, the case against him for hiding and destroying secret documents was dismissed. Even though Trump was found guilty in the Stormy Daniels payoff case, I seriously doubt that he faces any real punishment, especially jail. From my perspective, it looks like the prosecution of Donald Trump was done half assed with very little coordination of effort and timing between State and Federal authorities.
The Democratic Party is weak! They need a “killer” not a feeble old man to take up the fight in the 2024 presidential election. If they choose not to replace Biden with another candidate, I sense that a lot of Democrats and Independents are going to stay home on election day.
Donald Trump is a survivor. He has weathered indictments, impeachment attempts, business failures, deep-seated animosity from half the nation, a failed reelection bid, and now, an assassination attempt. This latest incident may not only cast him as a hero but could also bolster his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election.
The occurrence of such an event should not come as a surprise. The volatility, hatred, and intense partisanship that define contemporary American politics inevitably breed violence. The current climate makes such “craziness” almost inevitable.
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt, accusations flew, suggesting that Joe Biden or liberals, implicitly or otherwise, were responsible for the shooting. However, given Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, it could be argued that he was an accomplice to his own shooting. The political polarization pot has been stirred, and the maelstrom is just beginning.
This moment is critical in American history. We are in dire need of sound and rational judgment. Unfortunately, such judgment seems to be lacking among our national political leaders, the media, and, regrettably, within many of our citizenry.
Ah the NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs are ending. Baseball is in full swing. Caitlyn Clark is the new American heroine and Taylor Swift continues to captivate audiences on her worldwide tour. Millions of Americans are on or about to enjoy their well deserved vacations. Summer is here, full of festivals, concerts, community activities, fireworks, and music fairs. Americans are enjoying the extended sunlight by playing golf, pickleball or heading to the shore to swim and lie comfortably on blankets in the sand serenaded by the timeless tunes of War’s classic song:
Cause it’s summer
Summer time is here
Yes it’s summer
My time of year
The stock market continue to reach for new highs. Unemployment is low. The economy and job market have largely recovered from one of the great health and financial challenges in the history of the world. There are no American soldiers involved in active combat. Indeed there was a recent commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, where American soldiers braved heavy artillery and gunfire from German forces to start the last days of tyranny.
Amidst this idyllic picture, what could disrupt our enjoyment of the sun, warm nights, and the sounds of children playing in the park?
Discordant and rabid voices are baying hatefully at political rallies clad in red hats and clothing like SS troopers at a 1930’s Nuremberg rally. Clutching their flags, Bibles and sometimes guns, they pledge allegiance to an ideology of hate, revenge and promised retribution. Like their leader, they know little of history or truth. There is no discussion of compromise. They wish to destroy democracy by employing their ruse of democracy—-the people want a dictatorship!?
As we revel in the joys of summer, it is crucial to remain vigilant. The threats to our democracy are real, and they come from within. Hopefully people will not be complacent by the warmth of the season. The future of our nation depends on awareness, actions, and unwavering commitment to the principles of democracy and justice.
Esot-eric 