Gary Johnson's brain fart yesterday on "Morning Joe" illustrates the fundamental flaw in libertarian ideology. Like adolescents, they are completely unaware of the world beyond their little sphere of tantrums and rebellion towards authority. They refuse to see how problems that happen across the world affect us here in the US. The ignore or outright dismiss the very concept of globalization, pretending that we can wall ourselves off from the rest of the world and comfortably live our lives.
The video below shows a child playing in an adult world. The fact that we have so many other people that think like him should now be the focus of the conversation. What can we do to get these people to grow up?
Friday, September 09, 2016
Thursday, September 08, 2016
The (ahem) Commander in Chief Forum Post Mortem
Like many in the media, I thought last night's Commander in Chief forum was a fucking joke. Neither candidate was asked very serious questions about the issues of the day, in particular, foreign policy. Most of Hillary Clinton's time was spent on her email server. Donald Trump was asked about his love for Vladimir Putin. How about a question that called for specifics about Syria? Or climate change?
Last night brings up a larger issue which is most troubling. As Heather Parton over at Slate notes, most Americans believe a cartoon version of Hillary Clinton that bears no resemblance to reality.
Follow Chris Cillizza ✔ @TheFix This election is about voters choosing the least worst candidate. That's where we are in our politics. 10:43 AM - 4 Sep 2016 89 89 Retweets 194 194 likes
That tweet from Chris Cilizza of The Washington Post’s The Fix blog is cleverly framed to be about the voters’ view of this campaign. Both candidates do have high unfavorable ratings among the public (as does the Congress and pretty much every other institution, including the press.) That jaded comment by a member of the media, however, illustrates something important. Some members of the press are not just commenting on a reality; they are pushing the theme of two equally unpalatable candidates and it just isn’t true.
Indeed. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are not equally unpalatable. Trump is the most unqualified candidate to every run for office. He's mentally unstable, filled with anger-hate-fear, and views the presidency as a monarchy. Hillary Clinton was careless with her emails as Secretary of State.
Even though Clinton is still the likely winner, we, as a country, need to stop with this fairness bullshit, not just for this election but for the future. When Trump offers zero specifics on his plans, the media needs to keep pressing. He, and all other candidates, need to be asked specific questions and held accountable for their lack of detail.
Enough with the Cult of Both Sides. Donald Trump and the people that support him are an imminent danger to our country. Their ignorance, fueled by anger, hate and fear, needs to be called out over and over again from now until November 8th.
Last night brings up a larger issue which is most troubling. As Heather Parton over at Slate notes, most Americans believe a cartoon version of Hillary Clinton that bears no resemblance to reality.
Follow Chris Cillizza ✔ @TheFix This election is about voters choosing the least worst candidate. That's where we are in our politics. 10:43 AM - 4 Sep 2016 89 89 Retweets 194 194 likes
That tweet from Chris Cilizza of The Washington Post’s The Fix blog is cleverly framed to be about the voters’ view of this campaign. Both candidates do have high unfavorable ratings among the public (as does the Congress and pretty much every other institution, including the press.) That jaded comment by a member of the media, however, illustrates something important. Some members of the press are not just commenting on a reality; they are pushing the theme of two equally unpalatable candidates and it just isn’t true.
Indeed. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are not equally unpalatable. Trump is the most unqualified candidate to every run for office. He's mentally unstable, filled with anger-hate-fear, and views the presidency as a monarchy. Hillary Clinton was careless with her emails as Secretary of State.
Even though Clinton is still the likely winner, we, as a country, need to stop with this fairness bullshit, not just for this election but for the future. When Trump offers zero specifics on his plans, the media needs to keep pressing. He, and all other candidates, need to be asked specific questions and held accountable for their lack of detail.
Enough with the Cult of Both Sides. Donald Trump and the people that support him are an imminent danger to our country. Their ignorance, fueled by anger, hate and fear, needs to be called out over and over again from now until November 8th.
The Media's Five Unspoken Rules For Covering Hillary Clinton
Reprinted here from this very much spot on piece from Jonathan Allen.
1) Everything, no matter how ludicrous-sounding, is worthy of a full investigation by federal agencies, Congress, the "vast right-wing conspiracy," and mainstream media outlets
2) Every allegation, no matter how ludicrous, is believable until it can be proven completely and utterly false. And even then, it keeps a life of its own in the conservative media world.
3) The media assumes that Clinton is acting in bad faith until there's hard evidence otherwise.
4) Everything is newsworthy because the Clintons are the equivalent of America's royal family.
5) Everything she does is fake and calculated for maximum political benefit.
I'd like to see them apply this standard to Donald Trump.
1) Everything, no matter how ludicrous-sounding, is worthy of a full investigation by federal agencies, Congress, the "vast right-wing conspiracy," and mainstream media outlets
2) Every allegation, no matter how ludicrous, is believable until it can be proven completely and utterly false. And even then, it keeps a life of its own in the conservative media world.
3) The media assumes that Clinton is acting in bad faith until there's hard evidence otherwise.
4) Everything is newsworthy because the Clintons are the equivalent of America's royal family.
5) Everything she does is fake and calculated for maximum political benefit.
I'd like to see them apply this standard to Donald Trump.
Consumed By Right Wing Bloggery
Like most Americans, I used to find Scot Adams' Dilbert cartoon amusing. His take on the modern office space was fun and irreverent. But lately, he has been letting his ideological slip show and I'm sad to report he's bought in to the right wing blogger ideology, hook, line and sinker.
This recent post about Donald Trump really says it all. It's basically one long diatribe about how Donald Trump really isn't all that bad because our modern political system is a disaster and we should just nuke the site from orbit. Like I said, classic right wing blogger mentality. Let's destroy all the poopy stuff I don't like that makes my head hurt with all the stoopid rules and stuff that mom and dad make me follow (stomp...stomp...stomp...SLAM!)
Adams' fundamental premise is flawed. Fear of Trump isn't the same as fear of the dark. Donald Trump is a shining light of ineptitude, buffoonery, and massive incompetence. He's a con man, plain as day, so we should absolutely be afraid that he might be president. The notion that everything is so fucked up with politics that Trump wouldn't be any different illustrates just how fucking ignorant people can be. Ironic, because Adams attempts to push his own confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance on people who are "afraid of Trump."
Who's really the ignorant one here, Scott?
This recent post about Donald Trump really says it all. It's basically one long diatribe about how Donald Trump really isn't all that bad because our modern political system is a disaster and we should just nuke the site from orbit. Like I said, classic right wing blogger mentality. Let's destroy all the poopy stuff I don't like that makes my head hurt with all the stoopid rules and stuff that mom and dad make me follow (stomp...stomp...stomp...SLAM!)
Adams' fundamental premise is flawed. Fear of Trump isn't the same as fear of the dark. Donald Trump is a shining light of ineptitude, buffoonery, and massive incompetence. He's a con man, plain as day, so we should absolutely be afraid that he might be president. The notion that everything is so fucked up with politics that Trump wouldn't be any different illustrates just how fucking ignorant people can be. Ironic, because Adams attempts to push his own confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance on people who are "afraid of Trump."
Who's really the ignorant one here, Scott?
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
Crooked Hillary and Crazy Donald
As this election season enters its final phase, it's become painfully obvious there is a double standard in terms of candidate bashing. This piece from Olivia Taylor-Young sums it up quite nicely.
1) The most benign, run-of-the-mill stuff is automatic cause for suspicion.
2) Bad faith must always be presumed.
3) Regardless of source, every vicious, outlandish accusation warrants headlines and intense investigation.
This is, of course, what happens when you deal with a group of people (conservatives) who behave as adolescents. And a media that gets very high ratings when Clinton scandals are front and center.
Certainly, Trump has been the target of media bashing as well. But the story that sells the best with him is the "Trump is a crazy asshole" meme, not "Trump is crooked and broke the law." Today, I'm wondering why and calling bullshit.
Let's take this step by step. Remember this?
This was just one in a series of comments in which Trump bragged that he paid to play, something he is now pillorying Hillary Clinton for doing. The New York Times has an extensive article up today about how Trump has clearly violated campaign law.
In the 1990s, the Federal Election Commission fined Mr. Trump for exceeding the annual limit on campaign contributions by $47,050, the largest violation in a single year. And in 2000, the New York State lobbying commission imposed a $250,000 fine for Mr. Trump’s failing to disclose the full extent of his lobbying of state legislators. For the most part, Mr. Trump has seemed unrepentant. Testifying in 1988 about a $50,000 bank loan he had first guaranteed, and then repaid, on behalf of Andrew J. Stein’s successful campaign for New York City Council president, Mr. Trump made no bones about the move. “I was under the impression that I was getting my money back,” he told the New York State Commission on Government Integrity.
Imagine if this were Hillary Clinton. There would be calls for jail time, public floggings and a town hanging. But for Trump? He's just a businessman...that's what they do...and now he's calling attention to a broken system.
Except not really.
In the Florida case, Mr. Trump is accused of using a large and timely political donation in 2013 to ward off a potentially thorny investigation by Ms. Bondi’s office: Days before the donation was made, The Orlando Sentinel reported that the New York State attorney general’s office had sued Trump University and noted that Ms. Bondi’s office was weighing whether to join in that litigation.
A political aide to Ms. Bondi told The Associated Press earlier this year that the attorney general had solicited the donation in a conversation with Mr. Trump weeks before The Sentinel’s article. But Mr. Trump made the donation from his charitable foundation, in violation of tax regulations, and paid the penalty, as first reported by The Washington Post last week.
So, here we have Donald Trump behaving like...a politician? That really does not fit with his image as an outsider who wants to change politics as usual. Worse, and unlike the Hilz, there is clear evidence that violated the law.
The question now is...will all of the media cover this because it's not a "Crazy Donald" story?
1) The most benign, run-of-the-mill stuff is automatic cause for suspicion.
2) Bad faith must always be presumed.
3) Regardless of source, every vicious, outlandish accusation warrants headlines and intense investigation.
This is, of course, what happens when you deal with a group of people (conservatives) who behave as adolescents. And a media that gets very high ratings when Clinton scandals are front and center.
Certainly, Trump has been the target of media bashing as well. But the story that sells the best with him is the "Trump is a crazy asshole" meme, not "Trump is crooked and broke the law." Today, I'm wondering why and calling bullshit.
Let's take this step by step. Remember this?
This was just one in a series of comments in which Trump bragged that he paid to play, something he is now pillorying Hillary Clinton for doing. The New York Times has an extensive article up today about how Trump has clearly violated campaign law.
In the 1990s, the Federal Election Commission fined Mr. Trump for exceeding the annual limit on campaign contributions by $47,050, the largest violation in a single year. And in 2000, the New York State lobbying commission imposed a $250,000 fine for Mr. Trump’s failing to disclose the full extent of his lobbying of state legislators. For the most part, Mr. Trump has seemed unrepentant. Testifying in 1988 about a $50,000 bank loan he had first guaranteed, and then repaid, on behalf of Andrew J. Stein’s successful campaign for New York City Council president, Mr. Trump made no bones about the move. “I was under the impression that I was getting my money back,” he told the New York State Commission on Government Integrity.
Imagine if this were Hillary Clinton. There would be calls for jail time, public floggings and a town hanging. But for Trump? He's just a businessman...that's what they do...and now he's calling attention to a broken system.
Except not really.
In the Florida case, Mr. Trump is accused of using a large and timely political donation in 2013 to ward off a potentially thorny investigation by Ms. Bondi’s office: Days before the donation was made, The Orlando Sentinel reported that the New York State attorney general’s office had sued Trump University and noted that Ms. Bondi’s office was weighing whether to join in that litigation.
A political aide to Ms. Bondi told The Associated Press earlier this year that the attorney general had solicited the donation in a conversation with Mr. Trump weeks before The Sentinel’s article. But Mr. Trump made the donation from his charitable foundation, in violation of tax regulations, and paid the penalty, as first reported by The Washington Post last week.
So, here we have Donald Trump behaving like...a politician? That really does not fit with his image as an outsider who wants to change politics as usual. Worse, and unlike the Hilz, there is clear evidence that violated the law.
The question now is...will all of the media cover this because it's not a "Crazy Donald" story?
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
50 State Poll
The Washington Post's recent 50 state poll is a veritable treasure trove for political junkies like me. The first thing that jumps out at me is how the electoral map has shifted quite a bit based on the candidates themselves. The race is much tighter in rust belt states which is good news for Trump. Yet Hillary Clinton is within the margin of error in places like Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and Arizona. What does all this mean?
Well, this was a poll based on 74,000 REGISTERED voters, not likely voters. This makes a huge difference and probably means that Trump is safe in Texas and Mississippi for example. Conversely, this means that Hillary Clinton is safe in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as well. This poll does, however, show that Hillary Clinton does have a substantial lead over Donald Trump and is basically a couple of states away from 270. Hillary has 244 and Donald has 126 in the solid and leaning category. That's pretty bad.
Here's the video that breaks it all down.
Well, this was a poll based on 74,000 REGISTERED voters, not likely voters. This makes a huge difference and probably means that Trump is safe in Texas and Mississippi for example. Conversely, this means that Hillary Clinton is safe in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as well. This poll does, however, show that Hillary Clinton does have a substantial lead over Donald Trump and is basically a couple of states away from 270. Hillary has 244 and Donald has 126 in the solid and leaning category. That's pretty bad.
Here's the video that breaks it all down.
Monday, September 05, 2016
The Biggest Challenge For Hillary Clinton
With the final stretch of the 2016 Election about to begin tomorrow, Hillary Clinton's biggest challenge is convincing the American public that she is more trustworthy than her image is currently showing. Today's piece in the Times is most illustrative of this.
The first debate presents her with a moment to make amends, as best she can, for all of this and show the country that she has the moralistic fortitude to lead this country. Donald Trump is going to attempt to make this his moment as well and I think he may surprise some people. He may very well chuck all the personal attacks, which is what Hillary and her people are preparing for, and merely talk about how great he is and what he will do to help people less fortunate than himself. There may even be a touch of humility in some stuff he says. His "unpredictability" could be being more normal. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this and he will simply go on with his anger, hate and fear.
Regardless, she needs to answer the email question the way she did when she was interviewed recently by the Morning Joe team.
"Every time I attempt to explain my email server, I end up sounding like I am making excuses. So, no excuses. I made a mistake and I was careless. I apologize."
She could add on to this by saying the following.
"I make no excuses and have learned that, as president, I will have to be more careful to handle sensitive, government material, classified or not. And I promise you that I will."
When she is asked about her foundation, her response should be as follows.
"Though our foundation helps many people around the world, myself and my family can help many more if I become president. So, the foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative will be folded into the Gates Foundation and they can continue on with our work. All documents relating to the foundation and my meetings as Secretary of State will be made public, if they haven't already, for anyone to pour over."
Throughout the entire debate, she should also explain how she learned from her mistakes and how that reflection made her a stronger and more solid person. After all, Trump isn't going to admit any of this so the contrast will be clear between the two candidates. People tend to identify more with leaders who are like them.
Everyone makes mistakes. If Hillary shows us that she is like the rest of us, she eliminates the perception that she is above common folk and that talking point evaporates.
“What am I supposed to do if I don’t like him and I don’t trust her?” a millennial black woman in Ohio asked. “Choose between being stabbed and being shot? No way!”
“She was part of the whole problem that started sending blacks to jail,” a young black man, also from Ohio, observed about Mrs. Clinton.
“He’s a racist, and she is a liar, so really what’s the difference in choosing both or choosing neither?” another young black woman from Ohio said.
And this is from black millenials, a group she will likely carry over Donald Trump. Not good at all. So what does she need to do?The first debate presents her with a moment to make amends, as best she can, for all of this and show the country that she has the moralistic fortitude to lead this country. Donald Trump is going to attempt to make this his moment as well and I think he may surprise some people. He may very well chuck all the personal attacks, which is what Hillary and her people are preparing for, and merely talk about how great he is and what he will do to help people less fortunate than himself. There may even be a touch of humility in some stuff he says. His "unpredictability" could be being more normal. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this and he will simply go on with his anger, hate and fear.
Regardless, she needs to answer the email question the way she did when she was interviewed recently by the Morning Joe team.
"Every time I attempt to explain my email server, I end up sounding like I am making excuses. So, no excuses. I made a mistake and I was careless. I apologize."
She could add on to this by saying the following.
"I make no excuses and have learned that, as president, I will have to be more careful to handle sensitive, government material, classified or not. And I promise you that I will."
When she is asked about her foundation, her response should be as follows.
"Though our foundation helps many people around the world, myself and my family can help many more if I become president. So, the foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative will be folded into the Gates Foundation and they can continue on with our work. All documents relating to the foundation and my meetings as Secretary of State will be made public, if they haven't already, for anyone to pour over."
Throughout the entire debate, she should also explain how she learned from her mistakes and how that reflection made her a stronger and more solid person. After all, Trump isn't going to admit any of this so the contrast will be clear between the two candidates. People tend to identify more with leaders who are like them.
Everyone makes mistakes. If Hillary shows us that she is like the rest of us, she eliminates the perception that she is above common folk and that talking point evaporates.
Sunday, September 04, 2016
Saturday, September 03, 2016
Latest Election Map
Here's my latest map based on the polls and various resources.
As we can see, Hillary has fallen off a bit in terms of her monumental lead. Now we have more of a modest lead with Iowa trending towards Trump. North Carolina has move more back to Trump as well. In many ways, North Carolina represents the struggle to shift out of the chains of the past and into the progression towards the future. It's almost there, just not quite yet.
Click the map to create your own at As we can see, Hillary has fallen off a bit in terms of her monumental lead. Now we have more of a modest lead with Iowa trending towards Trump. North Carolina has move more back to Trump as well. In many ways, North Carolina represents the struggle to shift out of the chains of the past and into the progression towards the future. It's almost there, just not quite yet.
Friday, September 02, 2016
Good Words
From First Read: “More than two months before Election Day, it’s already happening: Downballot Republicans and top GOP leaders are dumping Trump. There was no public memo or major announcement in August — just actions…”
“But here’s the bad news: After Labor Day, almost every single Democrat in a House and Senate race will be tying their GOP opponent to Trump. So up and down the ticket, hundreds of millions of dollars in Democratic messaging will be ‘Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.’ And when there’s been that kind of disparity in messaging when one party is talking about one thing and the opposition is talking about everything else — see 2006 and 2008 (‘Bush, Bush, Bush’) or 2010 and 2014 (‘Obama, Obama, Obama’) — there’s been a wave. November is going to go one of two ways. One, this kind of GOP separation from Trump is going to work like we saw in 1996. Or two, the bottom is going to fall out for the Republican Party.”
I'm thinking it's going to be the latter...:)
“But here’s the bad news: After Labor Day, almost every single Democrat in a House and Senate race will be tying their GOP opponent to Trump. So up and down the ticket, hundreds of millions of dollars in Democratic messaging will be ‘Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.’ And when there’s been that kind of disparity in messaging when one party is talking about one thing and the opposition is talking about everything else — see 2006 and 2008 (‘Bush, Bush, Bush’) or 2010 and 2014 (‘Obama, Obama, Obama’) — there’s been a wave. November is going to go one of two ways. One, this kind of GOP separation from Trump is going to work like we saw in 1996. Or two, the bottom is going to fall out for the Republican Party.”
I'm thinking it's going to be the latter...:)
Thursday, September 01, 2016
Trump's Position on Immigration
If someone can explain to me Donald Trump's position on immigration, I'd be grateful. Oh wait, Steve Sack just did...
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Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Debate Prep?
The Times has a very interesting article up about how the respective Trump and Clinton camps are preparing for the first debate. It looks like the Donald is going to wing it. Can't wait!
This was my favorite bit from the piece.
“Trump has severe attention problems and simply cannot take in complex information — he will be unable to practice for these debates,” said Mr. Schwartz, who was the subject of a New Yorker profile last month that portrayed Mr. Trump as a charlatan. “Trump will bring nothing but his bluster to the debates. He’ll use sixth-grade language, he will repeat himself many times, he won’t complete sentences, and he won’t say anything of substance.”
All of the words I've bolded perfectly describe pretty much every right wing blog and right wing blog commenter out there. He's definitely their guy!!
This was my favorite bit from the piece.
“Trump has severe attention problems and simply cannot take in complex information — he will be unable to practice for these debates,” said Mr. Schwartz, who was the subject of a New Yorker profile last month that portrayed Mr. Trump as a charlatan. “Trump will bring nothing but his bluster to the debates. He’ll use sixth-grade language, he will repeat himself many times, he won’t complete sentences, and he won’t say anything of substance.”
All of the words I've bolded perfectly describe pretty much every right wing blog and right wing blog commenter out there. He's definitely their guy!!
The Colin Kerfuffle
I don't get the outrage over Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand during the National Anthem. This is his right and his view is justified. This isn't Game of Thrones or Germany in the 1930s. We don't bend the knee to the flag or our nation. They serve us and are supposed to represent equality. Clearly, they still don't.
I'm further perplexed by Donald Trump's attack on Kaepernick.Hasn't Trump been going on and on about how awful our country is... how awful it is for black people? It seems to me that they are essentially saying the same thing. At least Kaepernick is taking a principled stand and putting himself at considerable risk.
Kaepernick is using his celebrity status to take a stand on an issue that is still a deep wound in our country's soul. We are not doing a good job of addressing the fallout from slavery...even in the year 2016. I hope he is the first of many to let his voice, or silence in this case, be heard.
I'm further perplexed by Donald Trump's attack on Kaepernick.Hasn't Trump been going on and on about how awful our country is... how awful it is for black people? It seems to me that they are essentially saying the same thing. At least Kaepernick is taking a principled stand and putting himself at considerable risk.
Kaepernick is using his celebrity status to take a stand on an issue that is still a deep wound in our country's soul. We are not doing a good job of addressing the fallout from slavery...even in the year 2016. I hope he is the first of many to let his voice, or silence in this case, be heard.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Referendum on Right Wing Bloggers
Now that Stephen Bannon has taken the helm of the Trump campaign, we can officially have a national referendum on what America thinks about right wing bloggers. Many of my posts from the last few months during this election have shown how the theme of the Trump campaign is most reminiscent of the comments sections of right wing blogs. But with the Brietbart chief running the tiller, it's official. Let's take a look at some of their best headlines, shall we?
Hmm...seems like they have a little hostility towards women. Probs because they and their readers look like this...
It's going to be pure joy watching them get their asses handed to them...by a woman!!!
It's going to be pure joy watching them get their asses handed to them...by a woman!!!
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Climate Cognitive Dissonance
As Chris Mooney has pointed out many, many times, nothing will likely get through.
On the off chance that it might, here's that link again for those of you that have requested the handy list of denier arguments and how to bury them with the peer reviewed science.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Thursday, August 25, 2016
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