The Killing of Roe v Wade

Today's Supreme Court bombshell killing Roe v Wade was the culmination point of the goddam Trump Presidency. At least, for most of his goddam supporters. The minority of 'em – what was once the goddam fringe but is not the mainstream – the misogynistic, homophobic racists who had been hiding in the dark waiting for Trump all their goddam lives – don't give a fuck about Roe. But the majority of his supporters, those classic Republicans who typically only care about themselves (and therefore, gas prices and the stock market), but for some reason are obsessed with millions of fetuses (including whose which have yet to be produced), who cringed when marking their goddam ballots for the treasonous Trump … they got what they wanted today; they won. For now, anyhow. I remember that feeling. I remember well the last week of June in 2015, fondly – the relief, the joy … two decisions – one in favor of keeping Obamacare on the books despite those who wanted it gone just because they hated Obama. Thousands – fuck, millions – of Americans (certainly many here in Missouri) could have been helped by Obamacare. Didn't matter. They wanted that goddam law GONE. And that wanted HIM gone. Both for the same goddam reason – 'cause they hated "that fucking nigger." (I heard it many times.) Then came the gay marriage decision when John Roberts actually had some balls. They wanted that gone, too. Those that hated it weren't affect by it; they just didn't want gays to have the same civil rights as them 'cause they hate "those fucking queers." (Heard that one a bunch, too.) Now the shoe is on the other foot and I'm the one not feeling so great. Except this is different. The decision on gay marriage in 2015 didn't affect others, except those goddam busy bodies who clint to some antiquated notion of love as defined, they claim, in the book that, in truth, doesn't even MENTION gay marriage. These goddam boneheads need to mind their own goddam business. Right. So, unlike that decision seven years ago, this goddam decision today could affect anyone and everyone. As the saying goes, it's a goddam slippery slope. And now the goddam coast is clear; nothing is off the table, now that the Judicial Branch has entered the political arena. How about a "Republican tax" for stupidity? Bring it on! How about an executive order from Biden abolishing the 2^nd Amendment? Goddam right. Ha! I can hear those bastards now – "don't take away our guns!" Oh, those goddam guns! (And by the way, the 2^nd Amendment, as conceived by Madison, was to ensure funding in the new nation's first budget for a government-sanctioned militia for each state. NOT for every Tom, Dick and red-necked Harry to roam the country wielding weaponry.) So now the Court's resident moron, Clarence Thomas, thinks we should look into the validity of a bunch of other goddam laws that spell freedom for people, though no goddam mention, of course, of invalidating interracial marriage. Huge fucking surprise. Yep – a year and a half after we got rid of Trump, we witness the zenith of his presidency. This is what they put him in to do, because he said he'd do it and he did it – he put in those three nutball judges. He had some help, from McConnell and others who, in truth, don't give a good goddam shit about any goddam fetuses; just about controlling women. Hence, the idea that any declared exceptions for rape, etc., is a joke. Then there are the justices themselves, four of whom now qualify for impeachment under Article II of the Constitution. As for you who voted for Trump just for this day, well you'd better goddam hold on when they come for you and/or one of yours. If you can live with that, and live with your goddam self after the past six years, then more goddam power to you. And oh yeah … FUCK YOU.

Calling Joe Biden ...

Dear President Biden,

As your VP sweepstakes comes to a head (and not a moment too soon for those on the edge), let me offer some advice: You'd better start thinking STRATEGICALLY and stop toying with the idea of catering to (1) the black vote and/or (2) the progressive vote. Both groups are, unfortunately, non-entities in the long run. The black community in this nation has displayed their voting prowess exactly twice since gaining the power full-on in the middle 1960s. First, in 2008, to contribute to the election of Barack Obama and second, in 2018, as part of the blue wave that swept through the U.S. Congress. (Hell, they didn't even come out to re-elect Obama in 2012.) Then there are the progressives, aka the youth vote, who, this past spring, proved to Bernie Sanders that they are every bit as lazy when it comes to voting as they are relative to other parts of their life.

But back to your choice. First, we eliminate those on either coast, not because four of the six are black but because of the critical need to re-focus on the Midwest, specifically the states in that area that Hillary should've won but neglected during her campaign – Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. So ... goodbye to Harris, Demmings, Bass, Bottoms, Raimondo and Hasson, and on to the Midwest – Baldwin and Whitmer – two good candidates, but simply too white. Not that, as stated earlier, color matters in the long haul, but the non-choosing of a non-white will draw too much attention away from the idiot Trump at a time when a whole lot of attention needs to be placed on Trump by you and your running-mate-to-be. New Mexico governor Grisham is tempting, but (a) you've got the white problem and (b) the Dems are going to get New Mexico anyway. Moving on …

- Stacey Abrams – a rising star but too young and too inexperienced and more often than not, it shows.

- Susan Rice – too much baggage from her Obama years; the Republicans will have a field day.

- Elizabeth Warren – please … she's been out of her league from day one and will cause nothing but trouble for you.

This leaves one more possibility: A very smart veteran from the Midwest who also happens to be a badass and already has a bit of a national following.

Your VP candidate, Mr. President, is Tammy Duckworth – if you want to have a chance to win.

Sincerely,
Mad Bomber

Bye, bye Bernie? We'll see.

This week's news was hardly a shocker: "Bernie Sanders kicks off 2024 Presidential Campaign!"

This was lost in the announcement by Sanders that he is ending his 2020 campaign. But, as usual – like 2016 and long before 2024 – Bernie Sanders is not going to go gently into that good night. Besides repeating his stump speech, he said that he would continue to collect delegates between now and the convention for the purpose of power; to "exert significant influence;" and that he would "work" with Joe Biden. (There was no mention of an endorsement or even "support.") Yep – this was Sanders' signal to his supporters to cast a vote for ANYONE but the Democratic candidate.

Remember 2016? When Sanders harangued Hillary Clinton all the way to the convention despite the forgone conclusion that she would be the nominee weeks and weeks BEFORE the convention? Well, get ready for a repeat performance. That is unless, of course, Sanders decides to jump the Dems boat and run as an Independent, which would have made more sense in the first place given that he has presented himself as an independent for something like 35 of his 40 years in public service. But that probably won't happen and we'll continue to witness this phony insist that he's the one who should be on a national presidential election ballot as a Democrat-Socialist. Democrat-Socialist. Jesus. Think about that. That's a goddam contradiction in terms if there ever was one, anyway; it's like somebody asking you your favorite ice cream and you responding "chocolatevanilla."

Unfortunately, Bernie can't have it both ways. If he wants state institutions to give away their college educations, he's got to go full-blown Socialist. (Free college in a democratic society? That doesn't work.) Of course, the first thing he'd have to do as President/Comrade would be to shred that democracy-driven U.S. Constitution and start over, creating a document that sets the rules Socialist style – when the government runs the show rather than (ideally in a democracy) the people. This would align Sanders with Trump, who also wants to run the show. Of course, this isn't the only thing these two loud-mouthed New Yorkers have in common. Since he ran for President in 2016, Bernie has called for a revolution – a "major change" in the White House, as he said recently. Sound familiar? Right. So much for change.

In truth, Sanders and Trump are very much alike. And by the way, I first made this claim long before Trump was elected in one of the biggest surprises of the last half-century, going back to the fall of 2015 when I compared them BOTH to William Jennings Bryan. Both Trump and Sanders had tapped into a lunatic fringe of society by delivering promises that would never – COULD never – be kept.

At the beginning of March, things looked pretty good for Bernie. But it's different now. And he'll spend the rest of his life trying to figure out just how he didn't get those votes, blaming everyone but himself. (Doesn't THIS sound familiar? An out-of-sorts, self-serving, fantasy-filled New Yorker who refuses to accept blame for any problems that surround him.)

First, Bernie remains perpetually pissed at Big Media and the Democratic Establishment (of which, incidentally, he's been a part of for four decades.) And for weeks now, he's been unhappy with his principal constituency – the youth vote that he has not only coveted, but has been boasting about for five years. They just didn't show up.

Despite all the warning of the problems inherent in a scrambled, elongated process caused by supposedly too many candidates, the Democrats have their nominee. And they could do worse than Joe Biden. Mostly because we now have the contest that Trump has feared most: Joe vs. The Donald. Now if Bernie can just keep from fucking it up for the Democrats. Again.

Admittedly, Bernie didn't screw things up all by himself four years ago – he had a lot of help:
- Those righteous numbskulls who hated Trump but opted to cast a vote for one of the third-party yahoos
- The black vote which didn't show up like it did for Obama in 2008
- Hillary's poor campaign strategy
- The Russian interference
- The Trump Phenomenon

They all combined to put Trump in the White House. And in 2020, there will be no Sanders Phenomenon. The power has been consolidated; the alliances have been formed; and the Democrats now have a consensus candidate, much to the anger of Sanders and his minions.

[Quick side question: If Biden had been the lone moderate, would Bernie still be blaming the establishment? Probably.]

Many have been surprised to see Joe Biden end up as the nominee, claiming he ran a poor campaign. Did he? In truth, he seems to have gotten it just about right. And despite Bernie's claim during their lone solo debate that "I've got your back" should Biden get the nomination, don't count on it. We've already heard that one, Bernie, and we're not gonna buy it this time around.

The struggle continues, indeed.

Little Lindsey

I got a big bang out of Donald Trump's recent comments about the relationship – some sort of pseudo love affair, to hear the idiot Trump's accusation – between Mueller and Comey. Hell, at different points in time, Trump has been equally smitten with each of them. But what really makes the accusation interesting is that it's been voiced by a guy with his own dubious sexual history, both distant and recent.

Currently – and this is no big secret – there is clearly something special between our current President and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, whose infatuation with Trump goes beyond professional admiration or mere party loyalty; it's obviously a deep-seated, very personal love.

Think about it: Here's Graham, the life-long bachelor without a proclaimed love in the world. He's always longed for someone to look up to in politics, but in his nearly three decades in public office, has really never had anyone. George W. Bush, the only Republican president during his time before Trump? Give me a break. John McCain? Well, they served as senators together, but were clearly cut from different cloth. McCain was the outspoken, self-proclaimed maverick, whereas Graham, heretofore, was the soft-spoken, quiet one. However, it seems that Trump has brought out the bitch in Little Lindsey, and not a moment too soon; Trump needs someone to back him up. And who better than his doe-eyed golf partner?

Even if poor, innocent Lindsey didn't know about Trump's past life of roaming the underbelly of New York city in the late '70s and early '80s with one of the most notorious closet queens ever, it doesn't matter now. Trump has given Graham something he never had – someone to love.

You get the idea.

Before Lindsey, Trump had Roy Cohn, the vicious attorney who railed against homosexuals then proceeded to die of AIDS in the early days of the epidemic. And it WASN'T because Cohn was an intravenous drug user. Cohn claimed at the time that liver cancer was taking him, but that was a lie.

By now, two-plus years into the Trump presidency, it's been discussed to death how Cohn was Trump's business/political mentor. But given the personal nature of the two men – hell, each is the only friend the other ever had – theirs was surely more than a business relationship, right?

In the immediate wake of Trump's association with Cohn all those years ago, with all of those voices a'waggin', Trump needed to do SOMETHING to protect what image he had and decided to go straight for the Trophy Wife. And, of course, has continued this habit for longer than any of the three women would like to remember, despite the rumor that has been floating around New York City for decades. Thankfully for Trump (and Cohn, who never really did come out of the closet, as it were), they were in a place – New York City – where people just really don't care about such things.

But throughout Red-state America, they do. And considering the conservative notions that pervade this nation of ours, one has to wonder how Trump's core constituents would feel if they knew what he REALLY likes to do when the lights go out.

Stormy Daniels is the least of it.

The Hateful Hypocrites of Cole County

Today's front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch features not one, not two, but THREE stories – all above the fold – on the recent anti-choice/anti-freedom/anti-women legislation that's sweeping portions of this sin-inflicted land of ours. Here in Missouri, over the long holiday weekend, the wise guys in Jefferson City passed their own such law. And by Jesus, they almost got it right, so to speak, ("right," that is if your mindset aligns with that of the He-man Women Haters Club), but they felt compelled to include an exception. What hypocrites.

This reminds me of my own macabre respect for none other than former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum. While we stand on opposite sides of the political spectrum, I've always admired his conviction when it came to his anti-choice stance: NO EXCEPTIONS. Not for rape or incest, not in the event of a diagnosis of a physical or mental abnormality, not for a victim of human trafficking, not even in the case of a medical emergency concerning the mother. NO EXCEPTIONS! NONE!!! A tough stance, and one that very few anti-choice politicians have the guts to take. That's because these politicians really don't give as much a damn about "protecting human life," as they do about controlling women. And by offering up certain "exceptions" to their anti-choice legislation, they're playing politics with the very embryo they claim to be protecting.

The Best of Intentions

There is probably no politician about whom I have been so conflicted over the past 25 years than George H. W. Bush. His death last week reminded me of this conundrum.

There have been a lot of knee-jerk reactions to Bush's death; not uncommon in such a situation. Typically, I extend my usual 24-hour waiting period by a number of days in the event of such a high-falutin' death. This allows time for a reality check after the initial sorrow. Hell, both Nixon and Reagan were remembered as choir boys in the hours after their death. However, as the "death week" wore on, we remembered that one was kicked out of office for his attempt to undermine the goddam Constitution while the other came within an '80s megabite of being put on trial for giving guns to the enemy. (Somehow, Reagan weaseled out of that one.) Anyhow, I like to give these things REAL time before commenting. In the case of Bush, the wait is over.

Amazingly, Bush the Elder escaped the taint of both of these political scandals – two of the biggest in American political history. His low-key demeanor and his talent for flying under the radar helped. And even when he bore ultimate responsibility – the choices of the idiot Quayle and the thoughtless ninny Clarence Thomas, as well as the decision to have Lee Atwater run his campaign – he rarely bore the brunt of blame. Even when he compromised his inherent principles and changed sides on the abortion issue in 1980 to secure a place on the Republican ticket as VP, there just wasn't much of a noise made. And this was AFTER he'd called out Reagan for the sham that was Voodoo economics, proving that he could be ahead of his time.

George was never the win-at-all-cost political monster that Nixon was, but he knew how to PLAY THE GAME. He was both a ferocious fighter and, at times, remarkably diffident. He never lived down looking at this watch during a '92 debate as a sign that he was "out of touch."

Bush was always an affable fellow and a gentle soul, his intermittent overgrown frat boy humor notwithstanding. He's certainly a retroactive breath of fresh air, given the loudmouthed peckerwood currently wasting space in the Oval Office.

It's always been hard for me not to like him, even though I never voted for the man; there are many things I admired about him. Certainly, his Navy service; his willingness to partner with Clinton on humanitarian relief initiatives; his ability to admit a mistake. This ability came to the fore in '92 when he reversed his "no new taxes" promise because he knew it would be good for the nation. He also knew it would cost him the election. He did it anyway. VERY admirable.

I even admired his efforts with regard to Iraq and Saddam. It was the right thing to do and he did it in the right way. Bush's speech on that January night in '91 announcing the war – complete with the details of the strategic thinking he and his team conducted, and the decision he had made – remains a masterpiece of SERIOUS political communication, as opposed to some "shining city on a hill" crap.

Of course, Iran Contra is where George and I part ways. We may never know the degree to which he was involved in the decision making on that one. And it remains a significant demarcation point in the quest to define Bush either as a devious co-conspirator or an innocent bystander.

In the end, thought, I'm convinced that some 90% of the moves he made – right or wrong, good or bad – were done with the best of intentions for the nation rather than himself. And for a politician, that's pretty rare.

Dishonorable Discharge

"My task which I am trying to achieve is … to make you hear … that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask." 

-       Joseph Conrad, "The Condition of Art"

A headline in a recent edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – front page, above the fold – reads "Senator, ex-POW driven by code of honor."

In terms of the service to country rendered by John McCain, there may be no more apt description. His decision to deny offers to be released in deference to longer-detained prisoners was impressive.

Unfortunately, despite the onslaught of accolades in the past days in the wake of his recent death, his service days were where the code of honor ended. As he shifted into political life, he became, well, a politician.

Just into his first senate term, he was stained with the stench of scandal when he emerged as one of the Keating Five.

When he ran for President in 2008, he was set to go with his gut and pick Joe Lieberman as his Vice President, but, instead, at the last minute and for the purpose of political expediency, he took some very poor advice and chose the unknown Governor of Alaska.

He worked hard to hone a reputation as a maverick, and in doing so, emerged as some sort of grand statesman. Maverick? Ha! This is one of the great fallacies in modern politics. He may have shouted, but when it came down to voting, though he battled Bush and harangued Trump, he voted with each of them better than 90% of the time. And it’s the votes that count. He prided himself on delivering "straight talk," but ultimately, he was still a party man.

On occasion, he would make up for his political phoniness, such as his correction of some boneheaded woman while on the campaign trail who was boohooing about Obama being a Muslim, which remains one of the more noble gestures I've witnessed in 44 years of following politics on a daily basis. And the showman in him came to the fore just last year with his dramatic thumb-down to Trump's and the Republicans' attempt to kill the Affordable Care Act.

But in the end, he was just another politician who wasn't always what he seemed to be. Which isn't very honorable at all.

The End of The Line

Glory, hallelujah, the day has finally arrived.

After eight long years, we's finally gonna git rid of that foreign-born Muslim nigra-feller that's been livin' in OUR White House. Now we can finally git our guns back. (He did take 'em away, right, like ever'body said he would?) And we can go back to being kind and lovin' Christians like we used to be before that Obama guy started makin' us all wear those damn overgrown doo-rags and bowin' to whatever direction 10 times a day like he made us do. (He did make us do all that like ever'body on Fox News said he would, right?)

And now we can get that daggum stock market back up to eight or nine thousand where it belongs. (I ain't sure how all that works, but Mama says we can't retire early with the Dow Jones sittin' in the sixes like it was in 08 – whatever that means. 'Course now she tell me it's closin' in on 20,000 – been up high for a long time now! Ha! Who knew?)

At least I'm ready for them new Republicans to make that Affordable Care Act even better, like they said they would. Man, that thing sure saved Mama's ass! And while they're at it, now they can finally get rid of that Obamacare stuff, like they said they would.

Best of all, we can get more jobs in this country like Mr. Trump is talking about. Maybe even more than the 11 million that black guy added.

Oh, yeah … now we can start sending them illegals back to where's they belong and build that wall to keep 'em out! 'Course, Mama says that Obama deported more illegals than all the other presidents before him combined, but what does she know … she don't even LIKE Trump! Ha! What is there not to like?

Here's a guy with a sense of humor – hell, he mocks cripples! Don't we all?

Here's a guy with the smarts to know that Obama was a foreigner from day one – right?

Here's a guy who believes in war crimes. Hey, who doesn't?

He's judges women the way they oughtta be judged – for their looks! Don't you? And he's not afraid to take a situation like a hot babe into his own hands, if you know what I mean! Don't ya love it?

He knows that all them brown people from the Middle East and from Mexico are bad – hell, we can all agree on that, right?

So the sooner we git him in there and send 'ole Obama back to Kenya or Hawaii or Chicago or whichever one of them foreign places he's from, the better!

I'm with Trump on all of this stuff – and I guess if you voted for him, you are, too!

Right?

Riding the Trump Train

This week finds us at the halfway point between the day when this woeful nation elected Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States and the date next month when he is actually sworn in on Inauguration Day, aka, Doomsday. 

What has this clueless spitball given us so far, even before taking control?

- An already disturbing pattern of confusing his personal business practice with his presidential duties. (And you were worried about the Clinton's foundation? Ha!)

- A series of security breaches via unsecured phone calls to foreign leaders. (And you were worried about Hillary's emails? Ha, again!)

- The embracing of corporate cohorts for his cabinet. (And you were worried about Hillary's "Wall Street connections?" Hahaha!)

- An unprecedented breach of protocol with his call to Taiwan. (For you hardcore Trumpers, "unprecedented" means it had never happened before – and, arguably, should not have ever happened period.)

Let's have a look at some of those beauties Trump has picked for his administration ...

- Scott Pruitt – Environmental Protection Agency administrator – staunchly against any regulation.

- Andrew Puzder – Labor secretary – has an anti-labor record.

- Rex Tillerson – Secretary of state – has the connections to sell us out to Russia.

- Rick Perry – Energy Secretary – who once tried to promise in a debate in 2012 he would eliminate the Department of Energy – except he couldn't remember it.

- Ben Carson – HUD Secretary – who once proclaimed he wasn't qualified for any cabinet position (he was right), but thought he was qualified to be president. (He was wrong.)

- Tom Price – Secretary of Health and Human Services – like so many in D.C., an opponent of Obamacare; and like so many in D.C., has no alternative plan.

- Betsy DeVos – Secretary of the Department of Education – the woman charge with shaping up our public education system doesn't believe in public education.

- Nikki Haley – U.S. ambassador to the United Nations – oh, Lord, now we're in Palin territory.

- Jeff Sessions – Attorney general – your basic, run-of-the-mill racist.

- Steve Bannon – Chief strategist and counselor – enough said.

- Reince Priebus – Chief of staff – the smartest one of the bunch. This guy's career was OVER – until he jumped on the Trump train.

And let's not forget that Trump was actually considering David Petraeus for Secretary of State – IF Petraeus could get approval from his parole office to attend the interview.

Ah, yes … some bunch – your U.S. cabinet – choices made by the self-proclaimed Smartest Guy in the World …

- Smarter than the CIA. ("They're wrong about the Russians!")

- Smarter than the intelligence community. ("I don't need briefings; I've got a great brain!")

- Smarter than just about every theater attendee on the planet. ("Hamilton is overrated!")

Yep, we Americans – at least, an electoral plurality of us – think he's a smart guy. And why not? He's been on TeeeeeVeeeee! (How would you feel about Honey Boo Boo or Flavor Flav being the president?)

So here we stand, all of us on edge to discover what kind of president Trump will be; in essence, what kind of country WE'RE GOING TO BE. Because, he's going to pivot, right? Start acting presidential? HA! Dream on. I have news for you Trump voters waiting for the pivot: THIS IS IT.

Remember all those times Trump was going to pivot?

"When the primaries begin, he'll start acting Presidential." WRONG.

"If he gets the nomination, he'll start acting Presidential." WRONG.

"At the convention, he'll start acting Presidential." WRONG.

"Come Labor Day when the race REALLY starts, he'll start acting Presidential." WRONG.

"During the debates, he'll start acting Presidential." WRONG.

"If he's elected, he'll start acting Presidential." WRONG.

"Once he's in the White House, he'll start acting Presidential."

There will be no pivot. This is it. In five weeks this lunatic will possess the nuclear codes. And you can kiss your ass goodbye.

Totally Staged. Totally Trump.

Did Donald Trump really pick a Twitter fight with a theatrical troupe?

Did Mike Pence really walk into that place NOT thinking he'd be hassled in some way?

Does anyone actually think this little performance by the Trump team wasn't as staged as Kim Kardashian's "robbery" for the purpose of further perpetuating – as part of the overall Trump strategy – an "us against the world" scenario?

If Pence's attendance of the play "Hamilton" was as authentic as he'd like you to think it was, then YES – I do happen to believe that in what we have left of a decorous society, certain people warrant certain respect. But ours is not the America it once was; hell, it's not even the America of eight years ago. That went down the toilet the night that asshole from South Carolina, U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, yelled "you lie!" during an Obama State-of-the-Union address.

That little exclamation by Wilson was the spark that lit the Trump fire. The Donald recognized something that night – that the nation was ready for a vulgar, lying pied piper to take them down a path of insanity. And he succeeded. Yet in his messy wake float poor saps like Mike Pence, who would have been happy to stay under the radar in his home state of Indiana keeping his people happy with suggestions of Gay Conversion Therapy.

So … Mike Pence – the man who obviously hates outsiders – willingly attended a play centered on the idea that EVERYONE should have a chance at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Right.

If you're naïve enough to believe that, then you probably voted for Trump.

Welcome to Trump Nation

What can America expect from President Donald Trump? Hold on to your ballot:

• The elimination of the Affordable Care Act. Those with pre-existing conditions (heart attack and stroke victims, those with cancer history, those with chronic ailments of any type such as migraines or back pain, may well never be able to obtain health insurance again. This has long been the goal of insurance companies; the abolition of the ACA will now make it a reality. If you think insurance rates are high now, just wait until the insurance companies – in cahoots with the Republican Party – begin operating unfettered.
• An expansion of gun rights. Trump likes money more than his own children and the NRA has lots of it – and they, too, have no regard for children.
• The elimination of a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions – which is ironic since sexual abuse will, no doubt, increase under the Trump regime, given that this crime has his endorsement.
• Marriage equality will be eliminated as the Bible replaces the Constitution as the Law of the Land – in direct contrast to the will of the Founding Fathers.
• While Trump may not logistically be able to send 11 million Mexicans to Mexico or keep Muslims out, rampant and random physical and verbal abuse of these two groups of people will increase dramatically – encouraged and approved by the President of the United States.
• Pollution of all types we haven't seen since the early '70s will return. Any sort of regulation of industry will be history. You think businesses, in general, are good citizens? Think again – we live in a nation in which a law is needed to tell people not to litter.
• Prepare for the eradication of the First Amendment and the concept of a Free Press.
• Federally-funded "Gay Conversion" therapy will be instituted across the country – supervised personally by their creator and long-time advocate, Vice President Mike Pence. (How do you Republicans calling for the defunding of Planned Parenthood feel about this?)
• Drilling for oil in National Parks and other environmentally sacred lands will be initiated and supervised by Department of Energy Secretary Sarah Palin.
• The Department of Education will be eliminated as part of the continuing dumbing down of America.

Of course, this may all turn out to be moot given that under nuke-crazy Trump, this planet probably won't see the Summer of 2017. Remember: Trump's own people took away his Twitter account, yet think the nuclear codes are safe in his hands.

Amazing.

The End of The Road for The Donald

Today, the tidal wave known as the Trump Phenomenon will crest and roll back, falling short of its objectives; to the betterment of mankind, according to most.

Sixteen months after Donald Trump made that now-famous elevator ride, his third wife in tow, 14 months after I explained for you in two simple words the reason for his rise ("Duck Dynasty"), four months after receiving the nomination of the Republican party for President and one month after the conclusion of a series of debates which proved once and for all that Trump is not only temperamentally unfit for the office, but mentally unprepared, the day has arrived.

Election Day. Hallelujah!

Yes, the "temporarily unfit" part we're well aware of – but he was going to change! When the Republican debates began, he was going to "pivot" and get serious. (He didn't.) Then after he secured the nomination, he was going to pivot and act like a respectful, real candidate. (He didn't.) Then his handlers said, "just wait until Labor Day when the REAL campaign starts …" but again, he refused to pivot. Proof that a leopard can't change his spots.

But in addition to his volatile, child-like temperament, Trump showed in these last two months that he doesn't have the knowledge or the mental capacity to run the big show. Simply put, he's out of his league; a true mental lightweight. And why wouldn't he be? He's had no need, as it were, to be smart.

As youths, most of us are not given $1 million to play with (like Trump), so we pursue knowledge in an area that interests us so that we might make a living. We continue to pursue the knowledge of things around us that may or may not affect us for the purpose of ever growing said knowledge. But in Trump's case, he had no need to learn anything in the first place, even the need for any knowledge about his enterprises. If one of his businesses fail, shut it down and file bankruptcy. If he runs out of money, just don't pay contractors. This has been his life for 40 years and now that he has run for president, we're all familiar with the pattern. He has proven to be a shallow little man with a small brain containing zero real ideas for our nation. During more than one moment in the third and final debate, I was reminded, once again, of Marlow's discovery of Kurtz in the jungle in Conrad's Heart of Darkness: " … he could not have been more irretrievably lost than he was at this very moment …"

However, for me personally, the lack of intelligence is the least of it. Beyond this, even beyond the specific personal jibes, the disparaging of entire cultures and myriad other sectors of society, there's an overriding cloud that hangs over Donald Trump.

He's an asshole.

Not a troublemaker, per se, for the sake of righteousness in the classic political, cultural or even journalistic sense; not a muckraker; not even your basic shit-disturber. He's just a plain asshole. That said, I understand that many in Trumpdom may like these qualities in the guy, or even in their friends or themselves because they think it's time somebody stirred the pot. And when you do so for a good reason, well, that makes you a muckraker. But when you do something with no factual basis or no sincere cause, but merely for the sport of it, that makes you an asshole.

Unfit to be president? Given his professional history of red ink, bankruptcies, legal problems and stiffing contractors, Donald Trump is unfit to run a business.

Given his personal history of playing the victim in virtually every challenging situation he's been in, Donald Trump is unfit to be a human being.

Holt The Dolt

It seemed that last night's debate moderator, Lester Holt, had neither the guts nor the political inclination to put the screws to 'ole Donald Trump when the moment called for it. So, for the purpose of clarification, I'm happy to ask the questions that Holt The Dolt should have asked:

"You, Mr. Trump, say that we shouldn't let jobs leave our shores; do these include the jobs you shipped overseas to manufacturer your extensive line of "Trump-wear?"

"Do you really think, Mr. Trump, that income tax evasion makes you look smart – or just criminal?"

"Maybe you're right, Mr. Trump, that it may be time that this country was run by someone who knows something about money. Considering that you've lost more money than you've made over your lifetime … can you recommend someone?"

"Would it really be possible for you, Mr. Trump – the king of debt – to lead us out of the 'debtor nation' status you say we're in?"

"Mr. Trump, you say you have the right temperament to be president … just for clarification, could you please repeat that statement with a straight face?"

There was no relief in sight this morning amid the talk shows, in particular when Trump's Campaign Manager, Kellyanne Conway, expressed relief that Trump was able to "show restraint" last night. Which was great – first time for everything. But what happens when at some point he DOESN'T show restraint and the provocateur is not Hillary Clinton, but instead one of the nuke-toting, hot-headed dictators from around the globe?

Just wondering.

One Less Nut

An editorial in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch on anti-feminist gadfly Phyllis Schlafly who died yesterday at 92, said that she was, among other things, a successful businesswoman.

But doesn't a successful businesswoman or businessman actually make money? Ha! Not Phyllis – she went to her grave proud of her oft-stated swank that she never had a paying job after she married – that she didn't need to – that the men in her life were willing to provide for her.

Which is great when you come from a perfect family with plenty of money (or at least as much as is needed to get by without worries) or even marry into such an arrangement. Or, as in Schlafly's case, both.

'Course, the fact is, not every family is perfect like Phyllis'. Some people – some WOMEN – have to WORK for a living. Not every woman is born with a silver spoon in her mouth, enabling her to run off on any crazed, half-cocked endeavor, political or otherwise, no matter how looney such endeavor appears to be. And the case of The Woman Who Said Housewives Should Stay in The House But Didn't Do So Herself was pretty looney. But it was really more than that – it was absolute hypocrisy.

And that was Phyllis Schlafly in a nut- (and I do mean "nut") shell – your classic far right, holier-than-thou hypocrite.

They hate gays until one springs up in the family.

They hate abortion until their 15-year-old daughter is raped.

They hate guns until a loved one is a victim of our too-loose gun laws.

Phyllis Schlafly most likely had plenty of hate in her, with most of it, obviously, reserved for women – that is, women besides herself.

Given that at the height of its potential power in the 1970s when the push for equal pay for both sexes could have taken root, it could be said today that Schlafly – who fought AGAINST this idea at the time – was instrumental in pushing the movement BACK four decades. Appropriate enough for the woman who thought that the best thing to happen to a woman during her lifetime was the invention of the clothes dryer; who once said, "by getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape;" and in a final act of insanity, jumped on the Trump bandwagon. Pretty pathetic. They'll bury her later this week, along with her antiquated ideas about women, work and American culture in general. In Phyllis Schlafly's world, Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly and the rest of ladies at Fox News would just have to take it.

A sad legacy left by a despicable human being.

Hope

Throughout every election year there seems to be a recurring outcry: "Is this the best we can do?" Now that both party conventions have been completed, that plea takes on a more official, albeit more ominous sheen for this election year of 2016. Except that this year, I'm confident in my answer of "NO – it's NOT the best we can do." 

Let me take you back to June 22^nd of this year – just a few weeks ago – to the Democrat party's sit-in/protest over gun control legislation (of the lack thereof) that took place in the U.S. House of Representatives. Agree with the maneuver or not, agree with the politics or not, we saw and heard a series of 5-minute spiels from one seemingly smart, honest, passionate, capable politician after another. And I'd be willing to bet that on the Republican side of the house, there are also plenty of smart, honest, passionate, capable politicians – with no name recognition and no money – certainly not for the kind of high-powered financial run that a presidential bid requires.

Which is why I give Bernie Sanders a lot of credit, despite my general disdain of him. Sanders didn't have the name or the money, but he had the balls. One might instinctively say the same thing about Trump, but the fact is that Trump HAD the money and the name – which makes it pretty easy to have the balls.

Maybe there's a chance we'll wake up from the current nightmare to find Martin O'Malley and Paul Ryan at the top of their respective ballots – a couple of decent guys who, despite their own requisite faults, represent the mainstream interest of their parties with sincerity and passion. But they – or some heretofore unknown – will have to wait until next time. For now, we're stuck – with Hillary and Trump.

The Real Donald Trump

Belieeeeeve me, as Donald Trump likes to say, when I tell you that I'm still struggling with getting my head around the idea of Trump as the Republican nominee. Not because he actually made it this far – in a nation of morons consumed by Reality TV, this was bound to happen eventually. But more so out of fear for the future – the ultimate threat that a Trump presidency brings to the world – that on any given day, in his turret-syndrome like state of mind, he could blurt out something that might piss off some nuke-abled foreign dictator enough to cause said dictator to commence to firing, as it were. Sure, it probably won't be Russia's Putin, given the love that has sprung up between the two, but in the realm of national security, nothing is a sure thing.

So who, in truth, is this Trump guy?  The crowning affirmation of Fox News' 20-year mantra of "hate, hate, hate?"

He's a guy who flits about in his own 757 who claims the problems of America seem to stem from the elite. Really. He said this. And he's probably right. And he's one of them.

He's a guy who fancies himself a rebel, yet, with his first political decision, did the most politically expedient thing of all in naming Mike Pence as his VP candidate.

He's a guy who, I believe, has come to think that, thanks to his psychotic delusions, he is truly indestructible as a human being as well as being untouchable politically.

He's a guy whose juvenile, blustery behavior was, I'd long thought, that of a simple buffoon. But over this summer of our discontent, I've come to realize he's truly a psychopath who has no business being near that Red Button, despite any perceived business acumen.

Oh, yeah … his business acumen …

Fact: He's lost more money than he's made in his life.

Fact: 90% of his businesses have failed.

Fact: His father gave him $1 million to play with when he turned 18. Currently he's worth just under $5 billion, putting his net gain to date at around 5,000%. Sounds pretty good, right? However, I started at 18 with about $1 (like most people, probably), and I can tell you that my total assets, while not in the seven-figure range, are worth more than $5,000. (Many others, too, I bet.) Which makes many of us better business people than Trump.

And, by the way, rumor has it that early on, his father set him up with a lawyer who knew how to manipulate the tax code and bankruptcy laws to favor Trump. (Yes, Donald, you're right – the system IS rigged – and you're the biggest benefactor.)

That's the real Donald Trump. And now the Republicans are stuck with him.

"Exterminate all the Brutes."

It's been a long and painful wait, but after seven years of trying, following a proclamation early in the Obama presidency that his singular duty as a U.S. Senator would be to block the new president at every turn, 70-year-old Mitch McConnell may get his way. McConnell's vow to and block Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court may just succeed – much to the detriment of our nation, our democracy and the Constitution itself.

Hard to believe, but not everyone is enamored with the inclusive, progressive leadership Obama has delivered – old dinosaurs like McConnell are more abundant than you may think. And the truth is that there are factions in this nation who would take us back to a time when women couldn't vote, blacks were slaves and we had prohibition. Hell, we've had three presidential candidates in this current campaign cycle who would, on Day 1, shred the Constitution and rule by the Bible – a fine book for day-to-day personal guidance and inspiration, but not (so far) The Law of The Land. Incidentally, one of those revisionists is still in the hunt for the White House. But more on that later. Right now, Mitch McConnell and the old-timers have another problem, which could derail his attempt to stymie Obama.

Earlier this year, as this unbelievably horrid campaign for president really began to take shape, I figured Ted Cruz for the True Nut; that Donald Trump was just a buffoon who wanted nothing more than to bury China, or even own it. Yeah, the trade deficit with Mexico bothers him, too, but the easy solution to that would be to just make the damn place the 51^st state and OWN all those "brown ones," as George H. W. Bush so infamously referred to them. In a Trump administration, the so-called "social" issues would just fade away. Abortion? Second Amendment? Immigration? To hell with that boring stuff – it's time to make a deal, baby! That's Trump – and I've been counting on him.

Not Cruz, of course – the social agenda is at the top of his list. It's been clear as long as we've known of Cruz that this freak has been hell-bent – much like his long-disposed cohorts, Huckabee and Santorum – to shred the U.S. Constitution, hold the Bible aloft as the Law of the Land and, in doing so, take us back to 16^th Century England. And I still believe Cruz would do that.

That said, Trump revealed himself yesterday to be something more of a concern than first anticipated. His latest rantings about abortion and women and doctors are frightening, and one comes to realize that it's more than China that Trump wants in his back pocket. It's the whole world. If he could flip a switch and eliminate everyone on the planet except for a few choice requisite Trumpettes, he would. It's now obvious that Trump wants to be an undisputable king, even if there's nothing left over which to reign.

As his rants have risen to a new level, though, it's become more and more obvious that Trump may well, indeed, be out his element. Of late, his verbal meanderings have reminded me of the passage from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," at which point Marlow realizes that Kurtz "could not have been more irretrievably lost than he was at this very moment, when the foundations of our intimacy were being laid – to endure – to endure – even to the end – even beyond."

Ah, yes … the intimacy. It was a disillusioning moment for Marlow when he discovered just how far around the bend Kurtz had gone. And it must be equally so for Trump disciples. Have they reached the tipping point yet? Or perhaps, the boiling point? Who knows? It seems as if we've been in this place before, only to see the madman escape. But now? As I ponder Donald Trump's fate, I must say that I'm torn.

On one hand, Democrats need Trump to enter the convention in Cleveland this July with enough primary votes to already have the nomination locked down upon arrival, given that polls show Hillary Clinton wiping the floor with the poor slob come The General in November. But on the other hand, I feel a macabre sensation about the upcoming GOP convention; a strange anticipation to witness history, what with the real possibility of an open convention.

Of course it helps that it's not my party. My party has its own share of troubles, but certainly not like they had back in '68 when the streets of Chicago became a war zone. And maybe that's why I'm filled with such curious anticipation – because I missed it the first time and always wished I could have been there, but that never again would we as a country witness such chaos. Though this year, we may – in Cleveland.

And that will disappoint about half of Trump's followers who actually believe the crap that spews from his mouth about abortion and the Bible and immigration and guns. But the other half … ah, the other half! They're going to be tickled, right down to their Klan-monogrammed underwear. They don't care which country The Donald buries, as long as he buries SOMEBODY.

Either way – open convention or not – there's a good chance Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee, and perhaps even president. Sad as that seems, there's consolation knowing that under a Trump regime, the survival of our U.S. Constitution – and the concept of a Land of Laws – is much more assured than it would be in the hands of backwards bumpkins like Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell.

The Reagan Era Finally Ends

"The evil that men do lives after them … "

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

The news hit at five o'clock last night like an anvil dropping. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was dead – suddenly – overnight, in his sleep, while visiting friends in Texas. Perfect. In Texas. Where all used up, washed up, past their prime and past their time Republican dinosaurs should go to die. With the swiftness and suddenness of the Citizens United decision, which Scalia championed, unashamedly – and has changed the course of elective politics in this nation of ours – the Court's judge who sat furthest right, as it were, was gone. Within hours, the jockeying began, initiated by Republicans with the announcement from Mitch McConnell that the "vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president." But let's set that aside for just a few minutes and think about the man and what has just happened.

Through the night and certainly this morning on the talk shows, there was weeping from both sides of the aisle about how beloved the guy was, even if you disagreed with his politics … what his hobbies were, how he was a such a man-about-town, with his wife in tow on the social circuit … everything you'd expect from those who live in the cesspool of shallowness that is Washington, D.C. Well, at this point, I'm less concerned with Scalia's hobbies than I am the damage he did to this country over three decades.

He was a "traditionalist" they've said. Maybe he was – like George Wallace was a traditionalist – a self-proclaimed constitutionalist until he wasn't, always and only for the purpose of satisfying his own personal opinions. As an "originalist" he claimed that his method of constitutional interpretation was to look into the meaning of words and concepts as they were understood by the Founding Fathers. But if that was true, he wouldn't have written the 2008 opinion which overturned Washington D.C.'s handgun ban, freeing up individuals to own a gun for private use – and not just in connection with service in a militia, as stated in the 2^nd Amendment and as intended by the Founding Fathers.

One could go on and on about the evil that Scalia did which will live after him, but if we toss aside everything else, it's impossible to toss aside the fact that it was Scalia, conspiring with his right-wing brethren on the Court, who gave us George W. Bush – a brutal vestige of his time on the bench.

And now, according to a whole herd of elephants, he's not to be replaced until after the election this November when, God willing, a Republican is elected – and the more conservative, the better, by which to properly fill Scalia's place, right? Hell, in last night's Republican date, 'ole Donald Trump called for delaying the process, as if the business of this branch of the government was going to come to a screeching halt for a year-plus. Hey Donald, this may be beyond your abilities of comprehension, we're trying to have democracy here!

There are so many reasons to be joyous about the death of Antonin Scalia. But most of all, this occasion finally and officially marks the end of the Reagan Era; a finale that has been 35 years in the making. Reagan initiated and presided over one of the most despicable chapters in this country's history, defined by a shift to the right that included an unprecedented hatred for minorities, women and gays. In naming Scalia to the Supreme Court in 1986, Reagan ensured that such a legacy would continue, at least for a while. But now Scalia is gone. And the era of Reagan is – thank the Lord – finally over.

Scalia was said to remark to those who complained about his role in the ascension of George W. Bush to the White House, to "get over it." Well, to those who are saddened by the death of Scalia – an unmitigated, unflinching, hypocritical asshole – I would simply laugh, and say, "get over it."