January 25, 2024

Can Nikki Haley contribute to Trump's loss in the general election?

She sure as hell took a great shot at it Tuesday night.

After Trump beat her by 11 points in the New Hampshire primary, she gave a brief speech that she knew would piss him off. And, of most importance to him, she didn't join all the other defeated candidates in kissing his ring/ass.

This drove him over the edge and his "victory speech" was a really ugly sight to behold. He has no grace, and he demonstrated that to the maximum. He put her on his shit list, and he let two former opponents make fools of themselves by kissing his ass during his "moment of victory." And they were more than happy to humiliate themselves for their "Dear Leader."

Nikki isn't dropping out, and I suspect she will push Trump into many more demonstrations of what an incredible, mean--spirited prick he is.

I was never a big fan of Nikki Haley, but at this moment, she's helping remind people what a horribly unhinged creature Trump is. In short, Trump will be the candidate, but Nikki's needling him seems to be helping Joe Biden in the general election.

Keep going Nikki. Right now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

January 23, 2024

What if everyone on Earth was white, Christian, and spoke English?

Would that be "The Perfect World?"

Would that end all wars?

Would that unite humanity?

Not likely. There would still be those who desire power over others. There would still be those who desire to be worshiped. There would still be those who want it all. And once they have it all, they would want more.

Color, religion, nationality, and so many other differences are useful and convenient divisions for such people. And if those divisions didn't exist, they'd make up others. What others? Well, try things like emotional temperament, height, weight, eye color, physical build, -- Hell, the differences between us are endless. And are fodder for those who want to own us.

Our differences, any differences, make it easier for would-be tyrants to turn people against each other. It makes it easier for them to apply the tools of fear and hatred. It makes it easier for them to justify their "leadership" of the masses.

It's really no deeper than that. Yet, the vast majority of human beings on this planet don't get it and never have. It's why we live in a blood-soaked world. Our technology advances. But our sense of humanity is barely out of the caves. It's why tyrants have existed throughout history and it's why they still exist today.

Donald Trump wouldn't understand one concept that I've stated in this post. Nor does he need to in order to get what he wants. Him, and those like him just want it all. They care nothing for, or about, others and they will do anything imaginable to own us. If you get nothing else from this post, get this: Donald Trump wants it all. And if he gets it all, he'll want more.

January 21, 2024

The great American myth is that bullies always lose.

Some wimp steps out and, of course, beats up the bully. We've seen it in countless movies and TV shows. And we all believe it because it's part of our faith in humanity and human decency. -- Except that it's bullshit. -- Most of the time, the bully keeps on bullying and no one steps forward to end it. Yet it's one of our most enduring myths.

Donald Trump, is a bully (in addition to his countless other human flaws). Yet, few have stepped forward to beat him. And yes, Joe Biden defeated him at the polls in 2020. Yet, the bully has not gone away. Rather, he's become one of the greatest dangers to humanity in the present era.

Trump the bully doesn't play by rules. Democrats do. Trump the bully wants to be King Donald. Democrats want to prevent this. Trump the bully wants absolute control over humanity. Democrats want him gone from public life. Trump the bully doesn't want to be held accountable for anything. The rest of humanity doesn't want him to be our owner.

I've listened to many pundits tell us why Trump can't win the next election. It's all bullshit. No one knows who's going to win the next election. However, given the Electoral College and the corruption in red and many purple states, the next election sure as hell can be stolen.

All I've done here is state the obvious. I've stated what many millions of voters already know, and what may come to be. But here are my questions. Why are we Dems always playing defense? Why are we Dems always the ones trying to prevent disaster? Why are we Dems the only ones who must protect our Constitution? Why don't our domestic enemies, the enemies of all of our freedoms and our country, fear us Dems as much as we fear their total control of us?

The answer is because we're playing by the rules. Let me state this as clearly as possible. It's time for us to bend the rules, and perhaps even break some. Why are we hobbling ourselves with rules that those who wish to dominate us completely ignore?

Just as a guess, whoever figured out how to make fire may well have been burned to death. Whoever figured out how to take shelter, may have been sealed into a cave. Seems that progress always comes with a price.

Well, we humans have already paid a high enough price to every dominating prick that came along over the thousands of years of existence. Time for us to stand together and say NO. And given that we now live in a nuclear world, this may be the last chance of those who can reason to take a stand. And (at least for now) put an end to the barbarians.

January 20, 2024

The world has always had its Donald Trumps.

Brutal conquerors, sadistic dictators, malicious tribe leaders, cruel emperors, mad kings, fuhrers, "Dear Leaders," and whatever else they called themselves, all wanted total power, and more often than not, they got it. And they then used it to do anything they wanted to do. And, depending on the historical era, their "leadership" always resulted in thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of deaths.

Virtually all historic dictators had one or more specific skills/talents that let them attain or keep power. Some of them were probably bugshit insane, but they possessed the knack and knowledge of how to maintain their power over the masses. Some of these despots were talented military men. Some had exceptional organizational skills. A few were natural and charismatic leaders that others willingly followed. Others inherited their positions of power, but were schooled in the use of fear and terror to keep the peasants in line. But what they all had in common was their savagery and their willingness to do whatever was necessary to hold onto power.

But, it seems to me that Donald Trump is unique. Yes, he has the required cruelty and brutality. But he is uneducated, incurious, lazy, and incredibly stupid. And as much as he may believe he's in charge, he has always been surrounded by people who knew how to manipulate him and steer his ego and cruelty toward achieving their own ends that usually coincided with his.

During his occupancy of the White House, most of those around him were really shitty human beings, but most seemed to have a line they wouldn't cross. If he wins/steals the election this November, those who can control him for the most part, (The Federalist Society, various billionaires, etc.), will see that he's surrounded by ruthless people who will do what he (or they) tell them to do. And thus, democracy won't die with a bang. It will die with a whimper.

Most despots of the past didn't have nuclear weapons at hand. And if they did, they weren't crazy enough to use them. Trump, however is a different kind of creature. And regardless of his handlers behind the scenes, he would still be the person who could issue the orders to nuke some country that had pissed him off for some minor reason. Hell, he could wake up one morning and decide to nuke San Francisco, believing it to be the LGBTQ "Capital of the World." (After all, if a president has "total immunity," why not?)

Would humanity survive an angrier, more deranged Donald Trump if he comes to power again? And even if he didn't use nuclear weapons, his winning/stealing the election means that American democracy would end on January 20th, 2025.

January 19, 2024

Why would he stop at assassinating his enemies?

He's told us, as clearly as possible, what he intends to do if he wins/steals the presidency. He says he's going to be a dictator for the first day. What he doesn't tell us is that it will be a "day" that will come to an end only when he dies. And that means he intends to be dictator for life, whether the courts or congress approve or not. And if you think the Republicans would go along with impeaching him, you're living in a fantasy land.

Once in power, he will declare absolute immunity from any "line he crosses." So let's be clear what that means:

* He can issue a blanket pardon to all the January 6th "hostages."

* He can deport any and all immigrants he wants to.

* He can do away with the IRS, the FBI and any other government agency.

* He can bring the Dept. of Justice under his absolute control.

* And yes, he can order his "enemies" assassinated.

But does anyone really believe he would stop there? What else could he do?

* Well, for starters, he could declare martial law for some made-up reason.

* He could order all Blacks, Browns, Jews and LGBTQ's be put in "camps."

* He could order all Democrats, and anyone else, be sent to those "camps."

* And when the "camps" became too costly, he could find another "solution."

* How long do you think it would be before he arrived at a "final solution?"

If you think all of this is too far out, you haven't been paying attention. The "Orange Would-Be Jesus" cares about nothing in this world but himself, his own needs and wants, and his crazed impulses. I suppose hard-core MAGA's would stick with him through any and all of his depravities. And, when he decided he didn't need them anymore, there would be no one left to save them.

For anyone who doesn't yet get it, here's the bottom line. He should never again be allowed near any position of power. He is a threat and a deadly danger to our country and the rest of the world. And he must be stopped no matter what it takes.

January 13, 2024

Chicago has as many people as Iowa and New Hampshire combined.

Yet, these two small states have tremendous influence on who will be a candidate for president.

By the time big population states have their primaries, their preferred candidate(s) may already have dropped out.

As usual, a small minority has more of a say in American government than the countless hundreds of millions of voters in our country. But then, America is so screwed up, I guess this particular inequity is just one more way to ensure that democracy can't prevail.

January 11, 2024

Dear President Biden: You've given two really good speeches. Don't stop.

Joe, every time Trump is in front of a camera, he attacks you, democracy, and anyone or anything else that has pissed him off at the moment. He's relentless and his attacks/lies never stop coming.

Those last two speeches you gave, which attacked him and his ideology directly, were great. The main stream media didn't give them the attention they deserved, but that doesn't mean you should stop. You're now fighting fire with fire and you are on the right side of history. -- As well as being on the right side of individual freedom and decency.

Your advisors have probably told you that Trump has little chance of increasing the size of his voting base. And that leaves countless voters out there who either haven't been paying attention, or don't usually vote, or who need to be made terrified enough that they want to run to the voting booth.

Fear is the main tool in Trump's and the Republican's bag of tricks. However, they are selling "made-up" fear. Or, if you'd rather, they're selling total bullshit that was cooked up at one of their "think tanks."

You, on the other hand, have the opportunity to present America with the real thing. What human beings need to fear is Donald Trump and his party of zombies called Republicans. Keep pounding away at them. The more speeches you deliver, the more the media will be forced to pay attention. Face it. They can't keep ignoring you and what you have to say from now until election day. And it's not just TV and newspapers. Blogs, podcasts, interviews with respected people, and so many other means of human communications will make you heard loud and clear.

And stop focusing on what you've accomplished in your first term. People want to know "What have you done for me lately?" or "What are you going to do for me?" Tell Americans you will guard their Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, children's school lunches, the freedom to read any book they want to read, and everything else that Trump and the Republicans want to end. All of these are truths. And they are truths that America needs to hear. They are truths that will scare the shit out of the vast majority of Americans and make Trump and Republicans toxic, dangerous, and people to be kept away from power of any sort.

Keep going out there and attacking Trump and the enemies of everything that Americans want and believe in. Trump is selling hate. Stick with selling love for what Americans have and should have. And keep telling them that Trump et. al. want to take it all away from them.

And, you may also add that, if Trump wins/steals the presidency, there won't be any more elections in America.

January 10, 2024

Does Trump dream of submissive sheep?*

After the insane arguments his lawyer made yesterday regarding, "A sitting president is immune from criminal prosecution no matter what he does," the above headline is a fair question.

After all, if a president can commit murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, treason, and anything else you want to add to that, why might he not have fantasies of a herd of submissive sheep? A world in which everyone bows before him and calls him "Dear Leader?" A world of sheep with himself as the "Shepard." A world in which everyone does as he says. A world of people who are his "flock" and to whom he can do anything he wants to do.

Donald Trump is a dangerous, deadly, and mentally sick man who should never again be allowed near any lever of power. Given his vindictiveness, his lust for revenge, his personal hatreds, his total lack of empathy, or his not giving a damn about anything or anybody in the world aside from himself, makes him the most dangerous man imaginable.

How can anyone doubt that another Trump presidency would produce a dystopian world? -- Which brings me to what that headline of this thread refers to.

*With apologies to Philip K. Dick for that headline. He was a science fiction writer and one of his books was titled, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" It was made into the movie "Blade Runner." It's about a dystopian world that none of us would want to live in. '"Blade Runner" has become a classic film. And if that's the world you want to live in, go ahead and cast your vote for Trump. Guaranteed he will bring about a living hell. It's probably the one thing in his life he could succeed at.

January 9, 2024

Why is any court listening to the crap Trump is peddling?

I mean, really. The basic argument I heard this morning from Trump's lawyers is that "The president can do anything he wants to and not be held responsible."

Why isn't this argument considered ridiculous and laughed out of any court in America?

According to this argument, a president is allowed to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. -- That's it. There's no other argument there.

How are these judges listening to this shit with a straight face? Why don't they just show Trump and his lawyers the door?

And we know this is going to go to the Supreme Court. Will Trump's appointees shred the Constitution for "Dear Leader?" Given the nature of the pricks he appointed to the court, who knows.

Nonetheless, the basic argument that "... a president can't be held responsible for anything," is insane. And it should be treated as such.

Past time for the judicial branch of government to bring the gavel down on Trump and his crimes. And if they don't, America is over.

January 8, 2024

In case you didn't know it, "God Made Trump"

And in case you didn't see it, here's a fan-made video by that name. Trump posted it on his own website, Truth Social, and it crashes through insane into some demented fantasy land that some of his fundamentalist followers actually believe/live in.

Until seeing this, I'm not sure that I fully grasped the world in which some of his "Christian" followers dwell. But this video shows a slice of their beliefs which, if you had made it yourself, would probably get you institutionalized. It runs about three minutes. If you haven't seen it, take a few minutes and watch it. And trust me on this. It can't be described, it has to be seen.

I'd appreciate your posting your thoughts about this.

(Sorry if this has been posted already. Today is the first I've become aware of it.)