Michael Bloomberg debate debut at best a disaster...

Elizabeth Warren lit into Michael Bloomberg on the debate stage like a firestorm and wouldn't let go. My wife observed that he looked like a deer in the headlights and didn't recover until well into the evening. Bloomberg never answered Warren's question of whether he would release his female employees from their non-disclosure agreements, rather, he went on to justify their legality. And then this shows up in the media this morning...

"Billionaire Mike Bloomberg‘s performance at Wednesday night’s Democratic debate was by most accounts at best terrible, but that didn’t stop the campaign from pushing out a fake, doctored, and highly-edited clip suggesting the other candidates on stage were silenced by a claim he made."

Mike Bloomberg has done too many good things like fighting gun violence and climate change to be crucified and hung out to dry. Questions: 1) Will he get a sympathy vote over his treatment? and; 2) Will Bloomberg's demeanor appeal to Trump supporters who are disenchanted with his actions? There are still eight months left.

Massive blue wave coming for November...???

How long have the Progressives sat on their butts when it was time to come out and vote to support their party? At least as far back as Barack Obama, and then for several years before. That's why we are currently saddled with a GOP Senate, and having just won back the House. I call them apathetics, those who hug the couch when it comes time to do their duty. But they may be waking up. In a recent extensive poll by Reuters they found...

"that interest in voting in 2020 is surging in urban areas dominated by Democrats faster than in Trump-supporting rural areas."

There's more in this AlterNet article...

"voters’ interest in going to the polls appears to be growing faster among those who disapprove of Trump than among those who approve of him. The advantage in urban political engagement extends deep into the most competitive battleground states that Trump won by razor-thin margins four years ago.”

Would anyone be surprised? Probably not, but it's comforting to see it in print with solid facts to back it up. The left is finally completely fed up with Donald Trump and his corrupt administration with the urban areas coming alive with Progressives committing all across the country. Nicholas Valentino, a political scientist at the University of Michigan commented...

“Democrats are very angry. Many see this administration as an existential threat to the constitutional order. They’re standing ready to participate to try to change the course of this country.”

One of the biggest issues for the November election could be health care, more likely than not, and although the Oval Office lunatic trumpets his support for this issue...

"the Trump Administration is very much on board with a Republican lawsuit that seeks to abolish the protections of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare — including coverage of preexisting conditions — and rip health insurance away from millions of Americans by arguing that the law is unconstitutional."

According to journalist Daniel McGraw, this could be a major obstacle for T-rump who needs the rust belt this November, and where polls are reporting his loss of support in this region. Without this area, the White House maniac is probably dead meat. Bill Kristol, a very right conservative, and Charlie Sykes founded the Bulwark in late 2018, a "passionately anti-Trump" organization. But they are in favor of Obamacare. Go figure.

The RawStory article McGraw cites another study, the Baldwin Wallace University’s Great Lakes Poll in rust states Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, with this comment...

“One question in the poll was especially relevant to health care, and unlike the questions in most previous national polls, phrased very directly: ‘Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling health care policy?’ The results show Trump and the Republicans have a big problem in these key states.”

Many of the pundits aren't giving Bernie Sanders much of a chance against Donald Trump, although he holds a commanding lead in the Democratic Primary. My gut tells me with a 70% U.S. approval rate for Medicare for All, there are more supporters for the Bern than we think.

How many breaches of the law like this does it take to make a new impeachment?

Assange lawyer claims congressman offered pardon on behalf of Trump in exchange for absolving Russia in WikiLeaks DNC case

READ MORE...

Looks like Bernie Sanders was right about Medicare for All and with the support of 70% of U.S....

MEDICARE FOR ALL WOULD SAVE $450 BILLION ANNUALLY WHILE PREVENTING 68,000 DEATHS, NEW STUDY SHOWS

READ MORE...

New polls show Bernie Sanders in double-digit lead

Bernie Sanders is up 9% in the polls to 31% nationally with Bloomberg second at 19%, then Biden 15%, Warren 12%, Klobuchar 9% and so on in the new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. It is this poll that qualifies Bloomberg for the Nevada debates, which should determine his competition with Bernie going forward. There are two problems here: the Bern must increase his base to win this election; Bloomberg must address the accusations of women’s allegations of profane, sexist comments. READ MORE...

I am not talking about the Primary when it comes to Bernie, he can probably win that with his base due to the "fragmented" support of other candidates, according to Politico. Here's the scenario...

"While few expect that Sanders can carry more than a third of the vote in Nevada, nearly everyone believes that will be enough to win in a field where the moderate vote remains splintered. It is becoming a source of celebration for Sanders' supporters and an urgent problem for those who want to prevent him from claiming the nomination."

The Washington Post reports the Vermont Senator "is powered by a loyal base, but results in Iowa and New Hampshire show the movement has limits." Here's the thinking...

"A core base of young, liberal and working-class voters inspired by the Vermont senator's calls for a political revolution powered the self-described democratic socialist to an effective tie atop the Iowa caucuses and an outright win in this week's New Hampshire primary.

"Yet the early returns show that Sanders's loyal army represents a limited slice of the party, accounting for just over a quarter of the vote in each of the first two states. And one of the central premises of his campaign — that it is built to activate legions of new voters and spur record turnout among young people — has not been realized."

And that isn't good for the Bern. But the accusations of Bloomberg's conduct are also not good, and the two questions remain if Bernie can get his act together and widen his support outside the far-left and if Bloomberg can clear up this mess he has created. Something must happen, because, without these two, Democrats are way up the creek without the paddle. This would mean four more years of Donald Trump and a vast number of Americans don't want that, including some Republicans.

There is one more angle when it comes to Michael Bloomberg's candidacy, his close connection to Wall Street, which, both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are fighting against. But CNN says "the billionaire is nonetheless vowing to crack down on the financial industry." Some might say that the self-made billionaire would be reluctant to go against his former cronies but look at the gun control issue. He is a leader with his Everytown for Gun Safety group.

And, that may not be exactly apples and apples, but it does show that Bloomberg is willing to buck the system and do the right thing. His attacks on Donald Trump so far have been right on and seem to be getting under the Oval Office lunatic's skin, which is just more heat to drive Trump over the edge. As I said earlier, these two (Bernie and Bloomberg) are a must for the Dems in November when it comes to beating the White House maniac. Nevada debate February 19, on NBC/MSNBC.

This kind follows Donald Trump...

Paula White

"Trump ‘spiritual adviser’ tells followers to skip paying monthly electric bills so they can send her church more cash"

READ MORE...

Donald Trump: I am the king...

Here's a headline you cannot pass by without literally throwing up: "Trump says he has the ‘absolute tight’ to tell the Justice Department what to do." It obviously came from the office of the Oval Office lunatic and really shouldn't surprise anyone. Unfortunately, it has now gotten to the point, following T-rump's exoneration in the Senate from impeachment, that he really believes he has these powers and is about to explode into complete totalitarianism. Here's the scenario...

"President Donald Trump says he has the 'absolute right' to direct the Dept. of Justice in who and how it prosecutes, but claims that he didn’t, despite his furious tweet overnight attacking the DOJ and calling prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation of Roger Stone a 'miscarriage of justice.'”

It is Trump's reaction to the 7 to 9 year recommendation of jail time for Roger Stone, his former buddy, confidant, and former campaign adviser. The White House maniac denies ordering the turnaround in sentencing, but stated, “I’d be able to do it if I wanted I have the absolute right to do it.” READ MORE... This may not be illegal, but it has caused a furor in Justice prompting four prosecutors to quit, thus, eliminating more barriers for the emperor.

This whole thing is akin to the Ukraine conspiracy and reeks of the same kind of cover-up and fraudulent manipulation of, this time, a U.S. figure, namely Atty. General William Barr. CNN claims...

"The Stone affair has also added to evidence that Attorney General William Barr is acting more as the President's personal lawyer and less to ensure the neutral administration of justice."

But Donald Trump never learns, and apparently neither does a Republican Congress that is supposed to be the primary check on the executive branch. It may have something to do with the fact that every time he bucks the Washington machine, his double-digit followers go all out for him. And that is the dominant aspect in T-rump's support, except these people don't realize that this idiot does not have the mentality to successfully carry out this kind of maneuver.

This is a tragic statement from CNN...

"Trump's pattern of behavior relies on an indifference to the health of US political and judicial systems on the part of the President and a willingness to destroy trust in institutions that could take decades to recover from his power plays."

And how many times has the United States warned certain foreign countries who have shown "the stigma of justice corrupted by strongmen leaders" to allow it to come home to roost in free America? Here's another shocker to apparently everyone, including the Washington establishment...

"The President's decision not to even wait a week after his impeachment trial -- an event that some Republicans said they hoped would teach him a lesson, despite voting for acquittal -- to expand his power has stunned Washington. That's even following three years of Trump-triggered shocks."

Here's a comment from Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-New York...

"My fear is that Donald Trump is going to succeed in numbing the American public to his transgressions. We cannot let this happen. He has to be held accountable," Rice, a member of the House Homeland Security committee, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

This country sure is, and I suspect the whole world is numbed by the radical misdeeds of Donald Trump.

Lisa Murkowski dumbs down again ...

Here's a headline from AlterNet: "Lisa Murkowski admits Trump didn’t learn his lesson after reporters confront her with evidence president has gotten worse since acquittal" Is she dumbing down to protect the Oval office lunatic or just plain stupid? Any fool could see what was going on...oh, that's right, she's a GOP congresswoman.

READ MORE...

Mike Bloomberg-Hillary Clinton: Could they beat Trump?

Bloomberg - Clinton

This pair may be proven research, but it looks to me like a train wreck going somewhere to happen. When you Google "Hillary Haters," you get 7.4 million hits. But, when you do the same with supporters, you get 22.6 million, so maybe I am wrong. My initial reaction comes from blogging during the 2016 election, seeing the ire from so many commenters and across the board when it comes to profiles. But Bloomberg's research team does appear to have credibility.

On the other hand, RealClearPolitics says, "Bloomberg May Be What Democrats Need." RCP continues that the 77-year-old, former Republican, billionaire is probably not what the Dems want, at least Progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The Bern does say that Mike Bloomberg is trying to buy the election, which, if you look at the mechanics of Bloomberg using his money only to fund his campaign, might vaguely qualify for the accusation.

RCP considers Buttigieg and Klobuchar, but lacking the experience and a strong following, rules them out. Democrats need Bloomberg for four reasons...

"First, the former New York mayor has done real things. Building a multibillion-dollar business from scratch and ably managing New York City for 12 years are concrete accomplishments. Making speeches and sitting in committee hearings – the core tasks of being in Congress – are no match for what Bloomberg has done."

"Second, Bloomberg is not a left-wing ideologue."

"Third, competence. Bloomberg knows how to make things run."

"Fourth, Bloomberg guarantees a first-class campaign. He can fund the entire general election out of petty cash. Two billion? Three billion? Four billion?"

 With the favored candidate, Joe Biden, in a downward spiral, recoiling from being originally "available, acceptable and electable," here's the latest scenario...

"a recent Quinnipiac poll shows his once-powerful support among black and moderate Democrats nationally has taken a tumble since Iowa."

Warren is fairing no better, and all this considering Bloomberg skipped campaigning in the first four states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. The experts thought he was crazy, but turns out he made a smart strategic move with the demise of Biden. The Buttigieg/Klobuchar profiles are fairly similar and I can see their followers going to Bloomberg, should they drop out of the race. But here's a possible obstacle that could throw everything into chaos.

Based on a recent release, Michael Bloomberg may be considering the selection of Hillary Clinton as a running mate. Now that may show strength to his strategists, but I can see it as pissing off Klobuchar and Buttigieg, if, in fact, as I have surmised earlier, each is now not running for president, rather, for vice president. Depending on how the two react, they could stay in the race, which, of course would siphon votes from Bloomberg.

As far as electability goes...

"On November electability, which was Biden’s calling card, Bloomberg is now doing better than other Democrats. The most recent Quinnipiac poll places Bloomberg ahead of Trump by a sizable nine percentage points. The latest Fox News poll has Bloomberg beating the White House occupant by eight points. Even polls that show narrower Democratic margins place Bloomberg in a relatively strong position for November."

On the Progressive side, haven't seen any recent polls for the Bern against T-rump, but in the past Sanders has been in the lead. For what it's worth the BBC says, "US election 2020: Could it be Bernie Sanders v Donald Trump?" This should be a very interesting fall.   READ MORE...

AG William Barr must go!

Over 1,100 former DOJ officials demand

Barr’s resignation in scathing letter

READ MORE...

Friday afternoon news bytes...


"Here are 20 of the most racist things Rush Limbaugh has ever said" ie...

"You just gotta be who you are, and I think it’s time to get rid of this whole National Basketball Association. Call it the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association, and stop calling them teams. Call ’em gangs."

"Joe Walsh pulls plug on presidential run and goes scorched earth on GOP: ‘It’s not a party — it’s a cult’"  

Quote from Walsh...

"the conservative Walsh admitted he would rather see a 'socialist' in the White House rather than Trump whom he called a 'danger to democracy.'”

"Lev Parnas hands Democrats a new treasure trove of photos and videos that go far beyond Trump impeachment: CNN"

The question, of course, is what will they do with it??? So far, the party has been totally ineffective in after-impeachment action. These are...

"unseen photographs and videos that bear out his contention that he was working closely with Donald Trump’s attorney despite disavowals."

 "Trump’s Jobs Record Is Weaker Than Everyone Thought"

Compare the job figures under Barack Obama with that of Donald Trump...

"In the end, the economy has added fewer jobs in every year of his presidency than it did during Obama’s final one. There never was much of a Trump bump."

"These 3 charts show how Trump’s ‘blue collar boom’ is more of a bust for US workers"

The latest data, adjusted for changes [in nominal growth] in the cost of living reveals...

"the picture changes drastically. And far from representing a 'blue collar boom' – as the president put it in his State of the Union address – the real, inflation-adjusted data show most U.S. workers have not benefited from the growing economy."

READ MORE... 

"Betsy DeVos’ approval rating is 28 percent as voters back investigations into student debt scandal: poll"

Trump's village idiot, Betsy DeVoss appears to be in trouble, that is in addition to her low approval rating by the public...

"A majority of voters support congressional investigations into Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ handling of student debt programs, according to the results of a new poll, which exposes how deeply unpopular the Trump Cabinet member is across the country."

"Democrats’ ‘worst nightmare’? Here’s the truth about the freakout over ‘Bernie or bust’"

The moderate Dems must get used to Bernie Sanders popularity among voters and stating riding with it...

"The take-away from all of this is that in every election cycle, a small share of primary voters won’t vote for their party’s nominee unless it’s their preferred candidate, and that’s true regardless of who wins the nomination."

Aside from the Bernie's surging ratings, he also has a considerable base...

'There are 71 million millennials in the United States ages 24 to 39. 26 millennials voted in 2018. Bernie Sanders is ahead in the Iowa Caucuses and he leads in the New Hampshire Primary. So, what does this say for the Bern.'

 Happy Valentine's Day!

A vengeful Donald Trump will spiral out of control before November

How do I know this? I don't, but if this maniac continues his attack on those who were against him in the Senate impeachment trial, he will have no time to campaign for re-election. However, there is a 'yeah, but,' which is the question of whether his fight against his adversaries will satisfy his mentally challenged followers to the extent that they will be even more solidly behind him. There are more than enough voters left to beat him in November.

Vox reports, "Bernie Sanders leads Donald Trump in polls, even when you remind people he’s a socialist." I have also heard that, yes, people are comfortable with The Bern's Socialism now, but if Trump should choose to use this as a campaign issue, say, calling Sanders a dirty Socialist, or even get nastier and call him a Communist, how would that affect their attitude? We know how the T-rump cult would react, since that is already one of their favorite charges.

Here's a headline for you, "Trump’s acquittal has unleashed the most ‘corrupt, unfit, demented and malevolent president’ ever," from Tom Boggioni of AlterNet. Here's the scenario...

"In a scorching column for the Daily Beast, David Rothkopf accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Attorney General Bill Barr of standing by while President Donald Trump purges anyone who crossed him with their testimony during his impeachment trial, with the columnist saving most of his vitriol for Republicans who are letting the president continue to break the law."

Each of these two Donald Trump minions have been standing by, Moscow Mitch since the beginning of this administration, and Bill Barr since he has selected as Attorney General. The sadness of all this is that at least McConnell is supposed to be one of the checks on the Executive Branch. These two, plus others, have provided the platform from which the Oval Office lunatic is able to spew his perpetual hate and corruption. And there is no sign of this ebbing.

David Rothkopf in the Daily Beast provides two examples of T-rump's "Friday Night Massacre," just two days after he was acquitted of abuse of power charges...

“'Donald Trump unleashed a Friday night massacre at the end of the week the Senate acquitted him, one that reveals yet again not only who Trump is but how he intends to act thanks to the carte blanche to abuse his powers handed him by the Senate and his attorney general,' Rothkopf writes while noting the firings of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, his brother and EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland."

Travis Gettys headline in RawStory, "‘The gloves are off’: Trump hell-bent on revenge for impeachment — and ‘everything is out in the open’" really says it all but he adds...

"President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani are hatching revenge plots with help from Attorney General William Barr."

And he continues by saying that Trump has...

privately asked Giuliani to keep investigating Joe Biden and his son’s activities in Ukraine, and Barr acknowledged that the Department of Justice would evaluate the information Trump’s personal attorney turned up, reported The Daily Beast."

The problem with this is that Joe Biden is fading in the polls miserably with Bernie Sanders surging to a double-digit lead over all the candidates, and it is highly unlikely the White House maniac will be able to dig up much dirt on the Bern. If he does, it will certainly be fake news. Daily Beast reports a senior administration official said...

“I think he feels like the chains are off now. It’s like things have taken a turn. The gloves are off, and everything that used to be hush hush is now just … out in the open.”

So, my premise that Donald Trump will involve himself in the impeachment vindication so heavily he will literally forget November, probably also so cocky now he feels there is no way he could lose an election, is perhaps a credible concept. And, if so, provides the perfect podium for Bernie Sanders to launch his election bid. It should be very interesting.

"Rush Limbaugh: ‘Mr. Man’ Trump Will ‘Have Fun’ With ‘Gay Guy’ Buttigieg Kissing His Husband"

Donald Trump cult programmed to adore and follow him

The Trump gang of loonies are definitely in a cult state. They are even proud of it, wanting all to know they support the Oval Office lunatic. When you Google the definition of cult there are three answers that come up. I chose this one...

a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
"a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"

The key word here is "Misplaced," which indicates to me that these lost souls are either mentally retarded, or are in some way unable to think for themselves. An AlterNet commentary describes it this way...

"a lifestyle that can be adopted by anyone in any arena, at any scale, for any reason, in any culture, disguised as serving any goal. It is an attempt at a unified theory of what makes some humans particularly dangerous company, the product of 25 years of psycho-proctological study..."

To carry this further, it is simplistic people worshiping a simplistic cause delivered by a simplistic person. The leader, Donald Trump, is the biggest simpleton, followed by his gang of puppet minions who regularly eat up his bullshit, spewing it out to others who simply think they are...simpletons. I did a blog post recently on "What Trump supporters really look like," that asked this question...

"Have you ever tried to convince a Donald Trump follower that he is a tyrannical despot scraping the bottom of the political barrel?"

I have and they are as spacey as someone freaked out on crack. They look at me like I am the crazy one, which only compounds the fact that these people are living on another planet. But here's a fact from another of my posts, "Under 50% of Trump supporters like him. In  a June-July 2016 Pew survey," the findings were...

"Very few consider him well-informed or admirable. Only a minority expected that he would be willing to work with those he disagrees with, that he could unite the country, and that he is honest."

Good God! Trump followers think he is dishonest, yet they would follow this man off a cliff? It shows you the level of mentality that exists in at least parts of this country. And it is this kind of supporter that makes Donald Trump the scam artist he is. Referencing the White House maniac's 4th of July performance, here's an example from a July 10, 2019 headline: "Trump’s fake patriotism was sophomoric and insulting — so of course his supporters loved it."

This came from Salon's Lucian Truscott, in an opinion piece...

"Donald Trump’s Fourth of July speech was sophomoric. The fly-overs were anemic. The pairs of Bradley fighting vehicles and M1-A2 tanks were practically invisible. Everyone was soaked to the skin. They even played the hoary redneck anthem, 'I’m Proud to Be an American.'”

 "But the crowd loved it."

Here's what Steven Hassan, author of a new book, “The Cult of Trump,” said...

“[What] really made me think of Trump as a cult was the way the groups who supported him were behaving, especially religious groups who believed that God had chosen Trump or was using Trump."

Hassan adds...

"Trump uses 'very sophisticated mind-control techniques' through various media to push a “black-and-white, all-or-nothing, good-versus-evil, authoritarian view of reality that is mostly fear-based.”

Hassan believes that not all Trump followers are actually cultists...

“but those who buy everything he says, who think he’s some kind of savior or a gift from God, whose loyalty is both unquestionable and irrational, I do think they’re behaving more or less like cult members.”

The question is not only how long will it take to get rid of Donald Trump, but also how long it will take to convince the T-rump cult that their adoration was so tragically misplaced. 

Trump demands Justice Dept. reduce his buddy Roger Stone's sentence

The Justice Dept., headed up by AG Bill Barr, is forcing the prosecutors of Roger Stone, one of Donald Trump's closest associates, to reduce his sentence. It's called the White House as usual.   READ MORE...

Can Michael Bloomberg push Trump over the edge with his campaign ads touting the Oval Office lunatic's business failures?

I have spoken in several of my posts how well-known psychiatrists keep coming to the conclusion that Donald Trump is mentally unbalanced to the extent he shouldn't be running this country. These esteemed medical professionals, even though they have not personally examined the Oval Office lunatic, are fully confident their diagnoses are right on target. Their reasoning, there is plenty of his daily bizarre rhetoric in the media to pinpoint T-rump's problems.  

Vanity Fair asked the question recently, "WILL NEW IMPEACHMENT EVIDENCE PUSH TRUMP OVER THE EDGE?" It didn't. And now some are even talking about the possibility he has some built in resiliency that is keeping him from the men in the white coats, which many of us have felt would have been at the White House long before now. Maybe Michael Bloomberg has found the answer, a massive ad campaign attacking Trump's business failures.

There are many, as you can see in the above illustration. Hillary Clinton had a similar strategy in 2016 calling out...

"Trump’s tendency toward bankruptcy, highlighting every opportunity Trump had to increase his father’s money for a higher profit. But investment after another failed, as Trump was forced to file for bankruptcy six times for five different companies."

Bloomberg is among the top 10 richest people in the United States. Trump ranks 275th. That alone must piss Trump off every day. The election would be billionaire against quasi billionaire. Here's the scenario...

"Thus far, Bloomberg’s challenges to Trump has prompted Twitter meltdowns, rally rants and name-calling in interviews. If Bloomberg manages to take Trump down, mentally and emotionally, with ads targeting the president’s failed businesses and inability to make the 'deals' he promised, it could prompt the next level of a knockdown drag-out fight."

Vanity Fair also says Bloomberg's tactics are working when Trump reduces himself, again, to use the nicknaming insult, calling the former New York city Mayor, “little Michael Bloomberg,” instead of countering with issues of substance. And that is the big problem in this matter, Donald Trump has no substance...zero, zilch, nada. To depict just how close the White House maniac is to the brink, on February 6, RawStory posted this headline:

• "Trump just had a weapons-grade crazy post-impeachment tantrum — here are the most insane moments"

The tirade included...

"attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), and also featured some bizarre off-the-cuff ramblings about his Republican allies."

Here is one of his off-the-wall comments that seems to confirm the psychiatrists' belief that Donald Trump is coming off the spool...

"Trump says that Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) wife really loves him because she was visibly upset after he got shot."

What the hell has this to do with the subject at hand??? But RawStory sort of clarifies...

"For unexplained reasons, the president gave a recap of the 2017 shooting at a congressional softball game practice that put Scalise in the hospital. Trump said he was impressed at how emotional his wife, Jennifer Scalise, got when visiting him in the hospital."

That's all well and good, but who gives a shit. Especially considering it is the lowlife Steve Scalise. There's more you can read in this article mentioning Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and a jab at Mitt Romney and his Mormon religion. And I have to mention here that during all of the ranting and raving, congressional Republicans were cheering this idiot along. Beyond pathetic!

The Clinton-era expert speaks out

Sporting a new bow tie but brandishing the same political philosophy as earlier, this liberal icon of American political commentary is fired up and telling the Democrat Party off. “We’re losing our damn minds,” he exclaims, with the urgency of someone about to be pushed over the edge. Carville is the epitome of strategists, making Republicans look like crooks in a mediocre way by keeping his tactics, and those around him, principled and honorable.

He says the Dems must be "Majoritarian," a word I have missed, if a part of the current liberal jargon. Here's the definition...

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Majoritarian democracy, as opposed to constitutional democracy, refers to democracy based upon majority rule of a society's citizens. Majoritarian democracy is the conventional form of democracy used as a political system in many countries."

What worries me most is his opinion of the current tribe of 2020 Democratic candidates; he's not impressed with any of them, including Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg. All this amid a chaotic Iowa Caucus that it isn't clear is settled yet. In the middle of this article, there is another piece, "Bernie Sanders leads Donald Trump in polls, even when you remind people he’s a socialist," and Carville has this comment...

"But back to Sanders — what I’m saying is the Democratic Party isn’t Bernie Sanders, whatever you think about Sanders."

And he's right, Bernie Sanders is where the liberals, call them Progressives or Democrats, are going for the future. Hillary Clinton screwed up 2016, ably assisted by the conniving of then DNC head, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, leading to an Electoral loss but a huge margin in the popular vote winning by over 3-million. Carville thinks Bernie could win the electoral--and I believe the popular vote in larger numbers than Clinton--but we won't regain the Senate.

And, of course, there is no way a Democrat/Progressive would get anything done in the White House with Moscow Mitch McConnell heading up the Senate, even though the Bern would probably hold on to the House. David Faris outlines his plan to fix all this in his book, "It's Time to Fight Dirty." This is how James Carville would fix it...

"The Democratic Party is the party of African Americans. It’s becoming a party of educated suburbanites, particularly women. It’s the party of Latinos. We’re a party of immigrants. Most of the people aren’t into all this distracting shit about open borders and letting prisoners vote. They don’t care. They have lives to lead. They have kids. They have parents that are sick. That’s what we have to talk about. That’s all we should talk about."

But when you look at the other Democratic candidates, it is clear that their focus is on those people above with programs like Sanders' fight against inequality, Bloomberg's gun control, Biden's appeal to the blacks, to name a few. James is right on racism; the only one in the campaign who really emphasized this issue was Corey Booker, and he is no longer running. And surprisingly, the ragin Cajun doesn't support free education for fear of pisssing off those who had to work their way through school.

Another thing I don't understand is his inability to grasp the fact that liberals are, in fact, slowly moving farther to the left and there is a quiet revolution of those of us who are fed up with the overall inequities between the elite wealthy and us normal folks. James Carville is looking for a "winning message," as he describes it, and I am not sure his reasoning here when Bernie Sanders has a hold on millennials numbering 71 million; that's a hell of a base to start with.

Carville closes with...

"I think the other side wants us to think there are no swing voters, that we’re doomed and it doesn’t even matter if you have a message because you can’t reach anyone. I think that’s bullshit. I think that’s a wholly incorrect view of American politics. But look, if no one’s persuadable, then let’s just have the revolution.

"Falling into despair won’t help anyone, though. I mean, you can curse the darkness or you can light a candle. I’m getting a fucking welding torch. Okay?"

You have to give the ragin Cajun his due, successfully steering Bill Clinton to wins in two presidential campaigns. I think the point here is to temper what he has said with the solid push to the left, which long time Democrats can't seem to get their minds around and come up with the winning combination. Not only to just win big in 2020, but to carry the left ahead in the future with solid issues there affect not only the left, but the right as well.   A MUST READ HERE!

Saturday news catch-up...

Racism dominated the end of the New Hampshire debates last evening, initiated by a statement from presidential candidate, Tom Steyer, to the effect that no one had talked about racism. Then everyone did. Here's something to think about, from UK's Guardian, "How to fight racism using science," claiming, "prejudice that has a longstanding relationship with science."   READ MORE...

And then the Guardian reports again of the "Montana Republican rebuked for saying socialists should be 'jailed or shot.'" Being a Democratic Socialist, and having personally experienced this exact kind of behavior here in Arizona from another Republican, it is easy to see how the GOP is going down the tube with its supporters with it.   READ MORE...

RawStory exclaims, "Why Fox News viewers are so ignorant," because they listen to and believe the garbage spewed out by hosts like Sean Hannity. This idiot was still defending Trump after the impeachment by "accusing Democrats of supporting 'abortion after birth.'” There is no such thing as any non-conservative and sane individual knows.   READ MORE...

Still feeling sorry for Rush Limbaugh and his medical problems? Here are 9 things this maniac said about women in the article, "." Rush Limbaugh’s 9 most appalling comments about women." Here's an example...

"Rush imagining that women secretly want to be sexually harassed. 'The sexual harassment crowd. They’re out there protesting what they actually wish would happen to them.'”

This gives you an idea of the mentality of the listeners this fanatical bigot appeals to.   READ MORE... 

I've heard numerous comments in the media, and actually following last night's debate, of how Donald Trump hopes he is up against Bernie Sanders in the November election, since he will be so easy to beat. The Bern raised $25 million in the month of January alone. With an average $18.80 contribution, that is 1.4 million loyal voters as a solid base. Once he wins the Primary, he is certain to garner most of Elizabeth Warren's voters.

And I did a blog post recently, "Looks like millennials could put Bernie Sanders over the top," pointing out the 71 million millennial voters out there, of which 26 million voted in 2018, and my expectancy that this figure will increase significantly in November.   READ MORE...

Here's a grabber, "Trump’s acquittal is invalid because he was not mentally competent to stand trial," a RawStory headline prompted by a letter sent by the World Mental Health Coalition, urging Congress to "invalidate President Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate until his mental competency to stand trial is evaluated." I have done several posts on the Oval Office lunatic's mentality you can see here.   READ MORE...

About time anti-vaxxers put in their place

A mother from Colorado had four children with the flu, took them to the doctor, he prescribed Tamiflu, which she did not give them. Instead, she went to Facebook for an answer and the group, Stop Mandatory Vaccination, which advised her against using the medication, instead, recommending a bunch of snake oil preparations to use. One of her children, a four-year-old boy. died. Undaunted, she asked for more advice from the organization and this time they suggested...

"breastmilk, thyme and elderberry, none of which are medically recommended treatments for the flu."

I did a post on this earlier today, "Anti-vaxxers responsible for death of 4-year-old Colorado boy," but felt impelled to do this follow-up to illustrate what an imbecile this mother is, and apparently continues to be. Here's the scenario...

"A search by NBC News uncovered the mother’s engagement with an online group called Stop Mandatory Vaccination. The group of nearly 140,000 members, also called anti-vaxxers, is known for peddling false health information and discouraging parents from vaccinating their children."

"The boy’s mother, Geneva Montoya, admitted in a Facebook post that she refused to fill the doctor’s prescription for Tamiflu, the most common antiviral medication prescribed to treat the flu."

Maybe the Colorado authorities will look into this particular incident as a flagrant violation of law and prosecute this mother and the group, Stop Mandatory Vaccination, to help discourage future tragedies like this one. 
READ MORE... 

Marie Yovanovitch labels Donald Trump administration a dictatorship

Marie Yovanovitch

The former American ambassador to Ukraine was a career woman in the U.S. government, a member of the senior ranks of the United States Foreign Service. Unfortunately, her high standard of ethics and service to her country did not agree with those of Donald Trump, who fired her recently. "Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and his henchman Lev Parnas worked to spread false stories about her work to destroy her reputation."

Well, they didn't, and Ms. Yovanovitch has come out on top swinging at the Oval Office lunatic and his henchmen in "a scathing editorial for the Washington Post that raises fears about the future of American democracy." Here's some of what she says...

“I have seen dictatorships around the world, where blind obedience is the norm and truth-tellers are threatened with punishment or death,” she writes. “We must not allow the United States to become a country where standing up to our government is a dangerous act. It has been shocking to experience the storm of criticism, lies and malicious conspiracies that have preceded and followed my public testimony.”

The former ambassador warns how Trump is discouraging anyone in the foreign service, or who might be thinking about it by actions such as those toward her. She says, “Our public servants need responsible and ethical political leadership.” However...

“This administration, through acts of omission and commission, has undermined our democratic institutions, making the public question the truth and leaving public servants without the support and example of ethical behavior that they need to do their jobs and advance U.S. interests.”

How many people like this will it take to convince the American public in November that, since we were not able to impeach the White house maniac, we must vote him out of office. Can we count on you to help produce the landslide?  READ MORE...

Anti-vaxxers responsible for death of 4-year-old Colorado boy

The anti-vaxxer issue has been quiet of late, probably because they haven't killed anyone. They just did. Facebook has many anti-vaxxer groups it refuses to police for the truth, so the killings go on. “Stop Mandatory Vaccination” is one of those groups who spews propaganda to unknowing families who, for some very dumb reason, go to social networks for their very technical answers. People soak up this crap and respond back and forth with their problems...

"One recent post came from the mother of a 4-year-old Colorado boy who died from the flu this week. In it, she consulted group members while noting that she had declined to fill a prescription written by a doctor."

"She added that two of her four children had been diagnosed with the flu and that the doctor had prescribed the antiviral Tamiflu for everyone in the household."

 “The doc prescribed tamiflu I did not pick it up,” she wrote.

 Aside from the fact that this was just stupid. it was dangerous as hell and resulted in the death of an innocent child who had an idiot for a mother. Listen to this, it is frightening...

"A study by the American Academy of Family Physicians found that 59 percent of parents said their child had missed the flu shot at least once due to 'misinformation or misunderstanding.'”

Here's more confirming this mother's mentality, or lack thereof...

"The mother also wrote that the “natural cures” she was treating all four of her children with — including peppermint oil, Vitamin C and lavender — were not working and asked the group for more advice. The advice that came in the comments included breastmilk, thyme and elderberry, none of which are medically recommended treatments for the flu."

 “Perfect, I’ll try that,” the mother responded.

Any mother, or father, who refuses to vaccinate their child, especially when the flu season is as bad as it has been this year, should be arrested for child abuse, and that also includes objections for religious reasons. There is no justification for killing a child!   READ MORE...

Former judge, Andrew Napolitano, speaks: "Trump guilty as charged in impeachment trial"

Judge Andrew Napolitano

You have a combination of factors here starting with the fact that Napolitano is a respected retired jurist. He is a conservative. And he works for the news network known for skewing its reporting solidly to the right, telling a lot of lies, and always, always promoting Donald Trump. The judge may work for Fox, but he tells the truth, unlike another Fox personality, Sean Hannity, who accused Democrats of supporting "abortion after birth."

Andrew Napolitano really lowered the boom on Senate Republicans for closing the impeachment trial without witnesses. He commented...

"The former New Jersey Superior Court judge said a trial should be a search for truth, but the Fox News contributor wrote in his new column that GOP senators instead turned the impeachment into “a steamroller of political power” by blocking witness testimony."

He added one of my favorite quotes from George Orwell's 1984...

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

The jurist questioned Alan Dershowitz’s argument against impeachment, explaining how Republican Senators ate it up when almost no legal expert would confirm it. Napolitano says it almost looks like states have ceded power on the impeachment issue refining its language to...

"permit a president to engage in high crimes and misdemeanors so long as he believes that they are in the national interest and so long as his party has an iron-clad grip on the Senate.”

The judge went on to say...

"that House investigators had made their case that Trump had abused his power in office, committed bribery and broken campaign finance law — all of which could be defined as high crimes."

He said the evidence was "overwhelming and beyond a reasonable doubt," with numerous government officials confirming Trump's bribe, and the meter is still running. In a parting comment...

"Napolitano warned that Trump and his GOP allies had established a dangerous precedent and irreparably damaged the Constitution."

The latter is pretty much true of everything Donald Trump and his administration has done from the inauguration. Add to that a cowardly and clueless Congress backing him all the way, and you have the chaos we live with today. 
READ MORE... 

It's official: New York will prosecute NRA for violating insurance laws, deceiving members

Wayne LaPierre

New York state has been working on a case they have just filed against the National Rifle Assn. for "acting as an unlicensed insurance producer and deceiving its members with misleading marketing practices." NRA head, Wayne LaPierre and his gang of gun nuts have apparently screwed their membership by...

"having worked with insurance broker Lockton Companies to offer insurance products such as the NRA-branded “Carry Guard” to the group’s members without a license."

Lockton was fined $7 million by the New York regulator in May 2018 over its involvement with Carry Guard. The New York’s Department of Financial Services states...

"the NRA misrepresented to its members that the products were being sold at the lowest possible cost, when in
fact the group kept “substantial” royalties, sometimes exceeding 20% of premiums paid."

"The NRA sued the regulator and Governor Andrew Cuomo the same month, accusing them of illegally trying to pressure banks and insurers to stop doing business with it, in what it called 'blacklisting.'” And, a recent NRA lobbyist took a job at the US interior department in the Donald Trump administration in 2017, currying favor with LaPierre and the NRA. One can only hope this all puts Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Assn. where it belongs, out of business. 

READ MORE...

Trump State of the Union took a 21% drop in TV viewers from last year

It looks like Trump supporters are either getting tired of his bullshit or have just decided that, even though they love him beyond a sane person's realizations, they clearly grasp now that he is a pathological liar. Almost 16 thousand lies to date since entering office. They have a right to feel that way with his performance in the 2020 State of the Union speech. Here are seven lies from his SOTU...

• 1. “We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions.” This is the way it is: "despite claiming credit for President Barack Obama’s achievement at passing into law protections for people with pre-existing health conditions, are in fact backing a lawsuit that seeks to dismantle those protections."
• 2. “Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the #1 producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far.” Here's the truth: “The US became #1 in 2012, under Obama, though its advantage has grown under Trump.”
• 3. "Trump claimed credit for the low unemployment rate and ending the “failed policies” of the Obama administration." The truth: The unemployment rate was on its way down significantly in the Obama administration.
• 4. “We will always protect your Medicare, and we will always protect your Social Security.” Truth: "Trump recently suggested that cuts to entitlements will be on the table in his second term, though he tried to walk that back. And Trump’s previous budgets have already pushed for cuts to the programs."
• 5. “We will never let socialism destroy American health care.” Truth: "Right after promising to protect Medicare — which is a socialized health insurance system for the elderly — Trump had the audacity to suggest that socialism destroys health care."
• 6. "Trump claimed he has confirmed a record number of judges to the federal bench." Truth: "Trump has not confirmed a record number of judges; 187 is not a record.” 
• 7. “In America, we celebrate faith. We cherish religion. We lift our voices in prayer and we raise our sights to the Glory of God.” Truth: "Trump embraced the rhetoric of 'religious freedom' that Republicans like to use to protect Christian dominance in American society. But the idea that the Trump administration cherishes religion and celebrates faith in the abstract — rather than just Christianity in particular — is clearly nonsense in the wake of the expansion of the Muslim ban."

Thanks to AlterNet for the compilation of this information.

Sorry, but I say don't bleed for Rush Limbaugh

No, a cancer diagnosis is never something to celebrate, but AlterNet says at the same time...

"Limbaugh’s illness doesn’t mean he should be deified or put up on a pedestal, and President Donald Trump was clearly pandering to the extremists in his far-right MAGA base when he chose Limbaugh for the 2020 Presidential Freedom Award."

The far-right talk radio host has Stage 4 lung cancer. Never Trump conservative and GOP strategist Rick Wilson exclaimed...

"no one should be celebrating his illness no matter how much they despised his politics. Wilson tweeted, 'I’m going to show you how this should be done: I wish Rush a speedy and complete recovery from his cancer. Human being pro-tip: don’t wish cancer on *anyone*…even on your adversaries.'”

But AlterNet returns to Limbaugh, the man, and a not-so-decent characterization. "Limbaugh has an abysmal track record when it comes to health care. Here are some of the most appalling, idiotic things he has said about the health care and wellbeing of others."

• Number one: "Limbaugh mocked Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s symptoms." The radio show host's remark: “He’s either off his medication or acting. He is an actor, after all.”
• Number two: "Limbaugh championed mass incarceration for addicts." In the 1990s and 2000s he repeatedly insisted that addicts deserved to be thrown in prison. "It turned out that the hypocritical Limbaugh was seriously addicted to painkillers and was abusing OxyContin and hydrocodone in violation of the drug laws he had been applauding."
• Number three: "After being hospitalized in Hawaii for chest pains in 2010, Limbaugh showed his cluelessness about the state of health care in the U.S. when he declared, “I don’t think there’s one thing wrong with the United States’ health system.” And he was lambasted for overlooking the fact that while the health care system in the U.S. was working well for millionaires and billionaires, it wasn’t working well for all the Americans it left bankrupt and all the Americans who died because they couldn’t afford treatment."

I still hope for a full and speedy recovery, but at the moment cannot raise one ounce of sympathy.   READ MORE...