There's hope-a duo of predictions for Donald Trump's resignation or impeachment

Allan Lichtman

Michael Moore was right when he predicted Donald Trump could win last July. But this is what he said on Huff Post re. Trump's staying power: “Here’s what’s going to happen, this is why we’re not going to have to suffer through four years of Donald J. Trump, because he has no ideology except the ideology of Donald J. Trump." What have we seen that the President-elect has either said or advocated that wasn't connected to the well-being of Donald Trump? Nothing.

Interestingly enough, Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington, D.C., also forecasted the win. But, then, he has predicted nine consecutive presidential election results based on a model he created that consists of 13 factors. He doesn't believe in polls and kicks sand at all the data mining fanatics that depend entirely on numbers. At the same time. Lichtman also felt that Donald Trump would be impeached.

Nate Silver's 538 Blog, which has called several presidential elections correctly, picked Hillary Clinton for a win right up to Nov. 8, 71.4% to Trump's 28.6%. Others foresaw the actual outcome which you can see here. Allan Lichtman had 13 true false statements but Michael More decided based on just 5 reasons. They are:

 Midwest Math, or Welcome to Our Rust Belt Brexit; The Last Stand of the Angry White Man; The Hillary Problem; The Depressed Sanders Vote; and The Jesse Ventura Effect.

Each is an interesting look at election psychology, and you can read them here.

Could Donald Trump surprise us all and turn out to be a fine, upstanding President? But, with very limited thought, little chance.

Protesters against Donald Trump election everywhere

Donald Trump election protesters

Thousands hit the streets from San Francisco to Washington, DC, as well as Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Seattle. And, it's not letting up, entering the fourth day of demonstrations. CNN reported, "One college student showed CNN a sign that said, 'I still can't believe I have to protest for civil rights.'" Is it fair to say that we have a relatively large proportion of the public unhappy with Donald Trump?

It's bad enough that we have a flawed election process where several people are chosen as electors by the two political parties--but not Independents--sometimes with no relationship to the will of the public. Electoral votes put George W. Bush in office in 2000, and Donald Trump in 2016. In both cases the popular vote elected Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. If you're interested an Electoral College explanation here, why we don't get rid of it here.

On the other hand, Donald Trump talked in extremes during his candidacy saying he would repeal Obamacare, put Hillary Clinton in jail, and send all of the illegals back home. Just to garner the votes of the racists, bigots and radicals in general. It worked. And he added a few others who voted simply for change. I would like to know the percentage of his supporters who voted blind, with no clue to the issues of the Trump campaign.

Had they looked, they still wouldn't have found any. And now these poor souls have learned that that their idol for change is already reversing himself on Obamacare, Hillary Clinton and immigration. One might wonder if these people will have the gumption to stand up to the man who is letting them down. I've said it before and will say it again, it is this kind of profile that rushes to the voting booth with their double-digit IQs, voting accordingly.

The election outcome protesters of the last few days knew the issues of their candidate, Hillary Clinton, and even though many had rather have had Bernie Sanders on the ticket, they voted in protest to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. It didn't work. Or rather it did, but the Electoral College undercut their efforts. Progressives have a lot to do to get this country back in shape.

Latino Chants of "¡Si se puede!" as Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio loses big

The Hispanic community of Arizona can rest easier after the decisive defeat of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Tuesday's election, at least until January 20, 1917. I talked to one Latino as he finished grooming our yard, ready to ask him if he voted but he asked me first. I said, "Yes, did you?" His answer was a quick "Yes." I didn't ask him who he voted for but I'm betting as far as the Sheriff's race is concerned, it was probably Paul Penzone, Arpaio's opposition.

Don't know how my guy voted in the Presidential election either but Hispanics accounted for 11% of the total vote and favored Clinton by better than two to one. In 2008 Obama received 67% of the vote but the Latino turnout was only 9%. Once again this ethnic group did not step up to the plate. They also offered no help in the Arizona legislature where the stupid laws like the 2010 immigration bill that was eventually gutted.

I am more inclined to believe the white population of Arizona was finally fed up with Joe Arpaio, sick of the grandstanding to feed his ego, and at least $55 million in lawsuits against him and his department. And recently he was personally indicted on contempt of court charges he will have answer without his shield to back him up. Not sure what state's position will be on paying future legal bills. Knowing this state, anything is possible.

Hillary Clinton was supposed to ace the Hispanic vote but she barely held on to Obama's 2008 numbers. Either the Dems just aren't approaching the Latino community right, the latter just don't give a shit about their future, or it's all Hillary's fault. The future of the Democratic Party is significantly in question right now. Where are you Bernie?

World doesn't agree with U.S. election of President

Trump's supporters may be in ecstasy right now but the rest of the world is in a state of disbelief over the outcome of the election. Here's a quote from the Pew Research poll taken last June:

"In seven of 15 countries outside of the U.S. polled by Pew Research Center, Trump’s ratings are in the single digits. Large majorities in 11 of the countries have little or no confidence in the prospective Republican presidential nominee ability to manage international affairs. That includes 92 percent of Swedes, 89 percent of Germans and 82 percent of Japanese."

He's going to have to come out more than just running to overcome that; a sprint probably won't even do it. NBC News describes it as follows: "Disbelief, horror and downright mockery." And we have to live with these people as a nation unless we plan to become isolationists. You must take a look at the above underlined NBC News article and marvel over the front pages of newspapers worldwide.

As when Trump started his campaign, we are the laughing stock of the world...again.

Opinion to chill out over Trump only partially right

Timothy Stanley's headline, "Liberals, chill out about Trump victory," sounds comforting but he goes way too far. He's right about the courts holding Donald Trump in line and the fact that the 2018 election will certainly take into consideration how the President-elect fares in his first two years. And also the rights of the LGBT community. But he is dead wrong about him cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare, and his choice of Supreme Court justices.

Good God man, have you forgotten the disaster of the Geo. W. Bush fiasco, a fact that 20 million people are now covered by health care plans that weren't before the ACA? And for my money, we are only headed for some disastrous years with the addition of Trump's Court nominees. Conservatives won't admit it but the Citizens United decision has made a mockery of the election process and there is no way we will repeal that under Trump.

There is some contradiction to the above, considering that all of Hillary Clinton's massive ad buys in the millions didn't help her. But in the end it only proves that the Democrats nominated the wrong candidate. Most of us knew all along that it should have been Bernie Sanders.

Did 82% of Bernie Sanders supporters vote for Hillary Clinton?

I am not sure and here is why.

Everyone is saying a disgruntled "rural" population is what elected Donald Trump, one that claims they are always overlooked. But the question is, what is the "rural" population?

According to the U.S. Census Dept., "Rural encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area." 

Further, "To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according to criteria must encompass at least 2,500 people, at least 1,500 of which reside outside institutional group quarters."

My contention is that many of Bernie Sanders supporters came from the suburbs of urban areas like Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and the list goes on. Are they mistakenly included in this rural identification and, if so, what are their numbers. My reasoning is that the farm population is only 2% of the total U.S., the rural population only 19%, but maybe it is only a matter of semantics.

It's one thing for 82% of Bernie's people to "say" they were going to vote for Clinton. The question is,did they? Remember, according to Politico, back in November, 71% of GOP insiders said ..."the polls understate Trump’s support because voters don’t want to admit to pollsters that they are backing the controversial Republican nominee." But when Democrats were asked this, only 26% agreed.

We may never know but one thing is for sure, 2016 will go down as they most bizarre election to ever take place in the U.S.

Bernie Sanders will be a thorn in Donald Trump's behind

Bernie Sanders

It isn't sour grapes since Bernie Sanders didn't have a chance at beating Donald Trump. Had he, he would have. It's just that Bernie recognizes and isn't afraid to verbalize his concerns about the potential of a Trump administration. One of the last major politicians to release a statement, this is what he said:

"Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids — all while the very rich become much richer."

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but it is almost as if the inference is that Donald Trump's rants of change may have picked up some of the Revolution's supporters when Bernie was beaten by Hillary Clinton. He added this to the above:

"To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environmental policies, we will vigorously oppose him."

It is obvious that Bernie Sanders, The Revolution, and staunch Progressives will cautiously eye the movements of the President-elect. This blog will be devoted to that mandate in the future.

Hillary Clinton baggage lost the election for her

Thank God it's over and it's time for us Progressives to face the facts and regroup to make sure the Donald Trump administration doesn't wreak havoc. It will be hard with the WH and Congress in the control of the GOP.


Hillary Clinton carried the baggage that obviously defeated her on Nov. 8, spawning a situation we will have to live with for the next four years. Has everyone forgotten all the things Trump said over the period of the campaign? Things like:

"undocumented immigrants will be deported en masse, Arab Americans will be racially profiled and the United States will "bomb the s--- out of ISIS."

 There's more:

"In Trump's America, foreign Muslims will be banned from the US, Syrian refugees sent back to their war-torn country and free trade agreements torn to shreds. And, of course, the US will build a 'great wall' on the US-Mexico border, which Mexico will have to pay for."

And even more in the article underlined above. These are not Presidential comments and it is hopeful that the tone of the President-elect reported by Pres. Obama, in their personal conversation today, will prevail in Trump's governing of this country. I am not yet ready to predict a George W. Bush comeback but the next few months will determine that.

OMG! Donald Trump is President

Michael Moore

Michael Moore said it could happen. Donald Trump said it would happen. It did. He was elected President of the United States in a cliff-hanger that played out to the bitter end. My wife and I watched it but gave up in disgust at 2:30 AM ET. It was a classic example of how conservatives have taken over this country...again. I guess memories of the George W. Bush eight cataclysmic years have faded into the combination of I hate Obama and the establishment.

I didn't really want Clinton; Bernie Sanders would have suited me much more, and apparently the other progressives out there. Not certain, but would bet that many of Bernie's supporters voted for Trump because both stood for change, although the former's revolution makes tons more sense than whatever the Donald's idea of make America great again is. But now we have him and we must do the best with what the rural U.S. has given us.

I do think we have to give the man a chance even though thousands like me do not agree with anything he espouses. You can bet that Bernie sanders and Elizabeth Warren will form a duo of oversight for the Trump administration, with an eye on every move he makes. Considering the number of Republicans that failed to support the new President-elect, this should be a very interesting next few months in the Congress, considering its favorability rating is only 20%.

Hillary Clinton Issues: Equal Pay

"Fighting for equal pay."

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Issues: Overturn Citizens United

"We will do everything we can to overturn Citizens United."

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Issues: Health Care/ACA

"Stand up to Republican-led attacks on this landmark (health care) law—and build on its success to bring the promise of affordable health care to more people and make a ‘public option’ possible."

Hillary Clinton Issues: Immigration

"Pass comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship that keeps families together."

Hillary Clinton Issues: College Tuition

ON COLLEGE TUITION

"For families making less than $125,000 a year, we will eliminate tuition" for in-state students at public colleges.

Don’t miss my FREE GIVEAWAY for WITHOUT THE LAMPSHADE on Goodreads to September 21

Did you ever wake up under a chicken coop covered with overnight droppings? I have. Have you ever barbecued yourself on a hot stove? I did. Have you ever come home smashed, ending up the unintended clown for your daughters’ sleepover? I did. Were you ever so hungover you forgot your own name? I was. I once went with my brother-in-law for a haircut, an excuse to go to a bar, and lost him for three days. I almost fell off the roof of the Peabody Hotel, smashed, looking for the famous ducks.  

WITHOUT THE LAMPSHADE - How I Learned to Love my Brown Martini is my tale of boozing through roughly twenty-five years of my life, performing some hilarious antics that defy belief. In a quarter century I made it my job, a career, if you will, to pursue hard drinking in lieu of becoming the typical working stiff. It was more important to get to the bar for the first drink than work late for advancement. But I was still lucky, mostly finding people and companies that drank as much as I did. I was a happy drunk that has one hell of an adventure to relate.

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Thanks and good reading!

Booze, fun and sobriety

WITHOUT THE LAMPSHADE-How I Learned to Love my Brown Martini has just been published and is available at Amazon.com. You can enjoy it in both Kindle and the paperback edition.

During the period covered in my new memoir of some crazy drinking days, my expectations were that I would not live past the age of fifty-five based on the amount of booze I drank and the number of cigarettes I smoked. When I shared this with friends and relatives, and they saw me in action, they agreed. Somehow I made it to eighty-four and decided I was meant to chronicle these hilarious years of inebriation. 

If you are looking for a few hours of laughs (incidents like, after boozing all night waking up under a chicken coop covered with overnight droppings) with a vignette here and there of sheer reality, take a look at, WITHOUT THE LAMPSHADE-How I Learned to Love my Brown Martini. Buy it at Amazon.com. 

Thanks for reading!

Letter to the President on gun control

Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. President:

You have tried to stop gun violence on several occasions and I realize you have combated a GOP Congress that vowed from the beginning of your first term in office to stop any legislation you proposed. Any legislation. That in itself proves that you are dealing with a group of individuals that have put their ideologies, and I must sorrowfully say, Mr. President, their hate for you, before their country. You have always placed our country first and most of us appreciate that.

It seems to me that to deal with this kind of mentality you must prove to the American public, and those who would block this legislation, the nature of those who are against reasonable gun laws, those who put guns before the safety of innocent victims. I think the way to do this, and, it is my wife's idea by the way, is to lower all U.S. flags to half-mast at government facilities around the world and keep them there until Congress passes meaningful laws for gun control.

Then you, Mr. President, can be instrumental in convincing large and small business, plus individuals who fly the flag, to lower their flags to half-staff until Congress addresses and does something about gun violence. When American citizens realize the reason for doing this, and the fact that it is an on-going event, hopefully that will make them better comprehend the gun slaughter that takes place on American streets every day.

I thank you for your consideration, Mr. President, and my wife and I stand ready to help in any way we can in this matter.

Jack and Barbara Dunning
Cave Creek, AZ

Flags at half-mast until more gun control

Yesterday I introduced the concept of lowering all the flags to half-staff until the U.S. Congress addresses the problem of gun violence. On government facilities, private residences, commercial buildings, just anywhere that flies the American flag. Right through the evening hours,all the next day and on and on and on. Until we get acceptable gun legislation that will stop these mass gun killings and all the day to day bloodshed.

The Orlando LGBT club is only the latest of a string of mass murders by guns which already numbers 141 just in 2016. I read the comment just after the Florida devastation that from Sandy Hook (where 20 children age 6 were slaughtered with an assault rifle) to Orlando, the public's attitude toward more gun control has not changed measurably. They're still against it which is completely dumbfounding to me.

This can all be traced back to the cowards in Congress (Democrats and Republicans) who refuse to pass the reasonable gun control bills that would have saved many of the lives in those 141 mass shooting, and the day to day shootings on the streets. And this can be attributed to Congress' fear of retaliation from the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) and its head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. Grown men who allow this sleaze bag to run their lives.

It's pathetic but if people woke up each day looking at flags everywhere at half-mast, after a while maybe this whole dilemma could be solved.

Think about it.

Here's an idea to make the gun control issue work

Fly the American flag at half-staff until Congress passes new gun control laws that will help curtail gun violence. This is not my idea. It is my wife's idea and she isn't even as close to the gun control movement as I am. But it is time that we realized the current loose gun laws and open availability of any kind of weapon that anyone wants is not working.

The National Rifle Assn.'s head, Wayne LaPierre, and his NRA minions can spout off their mouths all they want about the 2nd Amendment, but it is clear that their way has failed miserably. There have been 141 mass shootings in 2016. With 6,171 total deaths, 1,577 of them under the age of seventeen, 260 under eleven. If the American public can't understand this, there must be something wrong with their priorities.

So, how about lowering the flag to half-mast and leaving it there until we get some results on gun control legislation. I have researched this and it is legal to fly the flag at night as long as it is illuminated. The President can order this for government facilities but I am also talking about all those flags that are on display around the country, commercial and private, and around the world at other U.S. possessions. If we lead this movement here, maybe other countries hopefully will join in the cause and lower their flags to half-staff.

The purpose is to shame Congress into doing something about gun violence. So think about this over the weekend and follow my blog for more information. And please leave your comments that can be shared with others, particularly if your home or business agrees with the idea.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Donald Trump

I think Donald Trump’s views on immigration and his slurring of the Latino community is not something that should be going on in the year 2015, and it’s to me an embarrassment for our country.

Why Clinton should not be Democratic nominee

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Huff Post has come up with a list of a 10-point plan being executed by the Democratic Party to lose the 2016 Presidential election. I would like to cover them a couple at a time.

Number one: Assume that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee, when it is clear he will not. There's some pretty good reasoning and not too shabby math in this conclusion but Trump, like Bernie Sanders, has had his share of surprises in this race that has kept the former in the lead and the latter in a very strong contender's position.

Number two: The Dems attempt to nominate the only one of the two Democratic candidates who is almost guaranteed to reunite the Republican Party. You think Mitch McConnell hates Barack Obama, there is nothing that will bring the GOP together quicker than its hatred of the Clintons. Huff Post says, "Hillary Clinton is one of the least popular major-party politicians in America, and her disapproval rating is not just sky-high among Republicans..."

We can thank Debbie Wasserman Schultz for the direction of the Democratic nominating process, something she has clearly steered to favor Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. Sanders ratings against Trump and Cruz are better than Clinton's but due to Schultz' close ties with her and the fact that the Bern is an Independent, the DNC Chair is hell-bent on pushing him out of the race. 

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Do the elected officials in Washington stand with ordinary Americans - working families, children, the elderly, the poor - or will the extraordinary power of billionaire campaign contributors and Big Money prevail? The American people, by the millions, must send Congress the answer to that question.

Clinton campaign whines on and on and on...

Hillary Clinton had just won 58% of the New York Primary vote to Bernie Sanders 42% when the Clinton talking heads started grumbling over the fact that Bernie is not playing fair. Seems that at the time exit polls gleaned from respondents that 46% felt the Clinton campaign was more unfair, only 34% for Sanders. In added comments, "...66% of Democrats said the primary contest is 'energizing' the party," according to CNN.

Chief whiner, Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton's communications director, says that "...the Sanders campaign 'has been destructive' to that point that he is 'not productive to Democrats' and is 'not productive for the country.'" What she is really saying is that the Bern is an Independent, not a Democrat, and the fact that he has won so many primaries against Hillary is embarrassing the party. What she fails to mention is the fact that Bernie Sanders is consistently committed.

But the numbers are that Sanders won 106 delegates in New York to Clinton's 139 for a total of 1,199 pledged to 1,452 respectively. Clinton has 489 superdelegates to Sanders 41, a hefty lead that could be whittled down with the upcoming primaries. Bernie's position, and it is a reasonable one, is that superdelegates will start changing their mind if he continues strong in future primaries, starting with Connecticut on April 26.

Another superdelegate factor includes states whose delegates have voted for Clinton where Sanders was the choice of the popular vote. Sanders adviser Tad Devine said, referring to the Clinton campaign whining, "I hear what they're saying, but what they're saying is being refuted by the voters themselves." One thing is clear, Bernie Sanders has started a revolution that the American public has connected with, and it has upset the Democratic Party process.

Bernie Sanders Sayings

Here is what the practical impact of Citizens United means. What Citizens United means is that corporations call hundreds of millions of dollars into television ads, radio ads, and other forms of advertising to defeat those candidates who stand up and take them on.

Clinton favorability the pits and polls show it

The latest Huff Pollster national poll shows Bernie Sanders has shot northward to 45.4% while Hillary Clinton has gone south to 48.3%. She was at 52.2% on March 6, Bernie at 39.7%. And on April 9, Ipsos/Reuters found the Bern ahead at 49%, Clinton 48%. Go figure, because these differences prove that polling hasn't yet reached a scientific or technological level where it can't be challenged. But there is one poll that should be confusing to any Bernie Sanders supporter.

Favorability. How is it that Hillary Clinton with a net favorability rating of -24--higher than Ted Cruz at -23--is ahead in national polls when Bernie Sanders' net favorability is a +9? That's a spread of 32 points and a significant number which may turn  superdelegate heads even more toward the Bern, especially if he does well in New York. A lot of people don't like the candidate they vote for but do so because he or she is best qualified. Bernie is well liked and he's qualified.

I detest mentioning the name but a Republican candidate with the initials DT is a poll of another color. Since these pollsters are the same ones that do all the polls, you have to wonder if the whole thing is actually a colossal sham...or could it just be  the stupidity of the American conservative public?