A Republican on Donald J Trump

Republican Steve Schmidt, who ran then Senator John McCain's 2008 campaign for the presidency, was recently interviewed and in response to a very general question regarding the Trump Presidency, he spoke for two  minutes and gave the most insightful and brutally honest response of what this GOP, Republican Party  Donald J Trump Presidency has done to our great nation.

“Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And, I don't say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And, he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And, there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.

When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don't use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We've never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.

It's just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he's the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he's brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale.

And, let's be clear. This isn't happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you're the most likely to die from this disease. We're the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are, because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk."

Vote, folks. Vote and vote blue.

#BlueWave2020

86 45

BYEDON

What Passes for Logic in America Today

 Leave it to Tom Tomorrow.

(Click on picture for easier reading)

God help us all.

86 45

BYEDON

Psychology Today Asks an Excellent Question

 I saw this headline of this article from the magazine Psychology Today and was taken aback.

Are Americans Just Stupid?

As I said, I was taken aback. My first response was a bit of shock. But then I got to thinking about it, which is what the author intended, without doubt.

Seriously. Think about it.

Think about what we've been through with this President.  Think about what he's taken us through. And our system, our systems, our political and electoral systems allowed it.

First, a bit from the article:

Be honest. As an observer of American society, the thought may have crossed your mind at one time or another – at least for a fleeting moment or two – that the nation's dysfunctional state of affairs is the result of widespread stupidity. The people, too often misinformed and poorly educated, are getting exactly the democracy they deserve.

Perhaps that thought arose last week as you watched the cringe-worthy presidential debate, which pundits have called "a disgrace" and "an embarrassment for the ages." Our public discourse has been in decline for so long that it was bound to come to this, right? Effective self-government requires an intelligent and engaged public, and it seems the American electorate falls woefully short. With large segments of the population brazenly rejecting facts and science – whether the issue is climate change, evolution, the coronavirus, or the latest conspiracy theory – it's no surprise that social and political dysfunction are rampant.

Seen this way, it’s tempting to chalk up the clown car of American democracy to the collective intellectual deficit of its population. In truth, however, there is little evidence to support the notion that the American people are stupid. Objective measurements of intelligence can be controversial, raising questions of true objectivity and cultural bias, but it is difficult to find any that suggest Americans are lacking in IQ compared to those in other countries.

The conclusion I come to is not so much that we're dumb or stupid but that money, big money is pushing and has been pushing our government and for far too long. It's what got us to this point with this terribly--stupid?--man in our White House. Instead of doing what's best for America, what's best for the people and nation, they give money in the form of campaign contributions--our legalized bribery--to their/our government representatives and lo and behold, they get what they want for themselves and for their companies and corporations. It's people last, if at all.

Where I think potential stupidity comes in, to me, is in our for-profit healthcare system in our nation. Consider the following 3 simple, fast facts about our American health care system:

--Most expensive health care system in the world, far and away

--Only nation where citizens go bankrupt for health care costs

--Number one reason or source for bankruptcy in the nation is bankruptcy at 40% of all bankruptcies

With all of this, way too many of us defend and support the system. It's insane. It makes no sense whatever.

I can't imagine what else you can call this support but stemming from pride.

Or stupidity.

Then there's our ignorant money paid out for defense spending.

And this Republican Party President's continued support. 

Wow.

Quotes of the Day -- On Dangerous Denial of Science

"Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity."

"Avoidable human misery is more often caused not so much by stupidity as by ignorance, particularly our ignorance about ourselves."

"One trend that bothers me is the glorification of stupidity, that the media is reassuring people it's alright not to know anything. That to me is far more dangerous than a little pornography on the Internet."

All from Carl Sagan.

It's as though he's still alive and speaking of this President and his supporters.

Thanks, Republicans.

TR45SON

I honestly do think and believe and feel this President Trump has now committed treason, yes, absolutely. But it's treason by ignorance and recklessness and even stupidity, not by design.  It's unbelievable this is where we are.

Thanks, Republicans.

Quote of the Day -- Prescient Version

Quote of the Day -- Prophetic Edition

'Stupidity and greed will kill off humans' 

Stephen Hawking 

What We've Come To

Where we are now, thanks to this Presidency.

And thanks fo the Republicans and those who voted for and supported this candidate. 

This petulant, unthinking, irrational, emotional, greedy dolt of a man-child.

Links:

Welcome to the "It's All About Me" Presidency

Republicans, The Next Four Years Are All On You

A Letter To Santa From Trump's America (guest post)

I saw this yesterday and thought it very true and pretty darned complete.

A letter to Santa from Trump's America

Dear Santa,

We've been naughty. We elected a woman-degrading, racist-appeasing, megalomaniac to be President of the United States. There are many reasons this happened some understandable, some vile. I wouldn't blame you for removing the United States from your Christmas Eve flight plan altogether this year, but just in case you decide we are worthy of a few gifts I'm sending you a Christmas list because there are a few things we really need:

• the wisdom to rediscover those truths that once seemed self-evident but have proven not to be: that we are all equal and deserving of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
• the courage to stand up for people who are mistreated because of their race, religion, gender, sexual-orientation, or country of origin;
• the confidence to stand up for ourselves when others wrong us;
• the foresight to nurture the foundations of our children's futures: education, the environment, and empathy;
• the strength to speak out against tyranny;
• the insight to discern fact from fiction;
• the self-awareness to admit what we do not know;
• the curiosity to never stop learning;
• the passion to make art or support those who do;
• the freedom to speak and write what is on our minds, including the freedom to rebut the statements of others no matter how powerful they may be;
• the humility to admit when we are wrong;
• safety in our homes and neighborhoods;
• protection from mass surveillance and other forms of oppression;
• food and shelter for those in need;
• health and longevity (particularly for Ruth Bader-Ginsburg);
• peace in our communities and around the world;

And if you are feeling really generous, a couple of tickets to Hamilton.

Sincerely,

An American who still believes

Donald Trump, Our Nation, the Future and Fear

I never feared for my nation, never feared our nation's future.

Until today.

Explaining America and Middle-Class Support for Republicans

I held off one day, in an effort for us all to maybe just simply enjoy Thanksgiving to post something about this terrific article I found yesterday.

Here’s how delusional nostalgia is killing the white working class

There's a great deal of good information here, backed by scientific, sociological studies but I'll just point out a few of the best highlights:

A new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute finds there are a few things you can count on about those who believe America’s best days are behind us. They are overwhelmingly white, and if you dig a bit deeper and examine the socioeconomics, often working class. Despite all evidence to the contrary, they stubbornly believe white people are subject to the same levels of racism as black and other people of color. They think the U.S. was a better place in the 1950s, when Jim Crow was law, immigrants were overwhelmingly European, women knew their place, and gay people were essentially invisible.

In tandem with the findings of another recent study revealing middle-age, working-class white Americans are the only group in the country whose health and mortality rates are worsening, the survey offers more than just a look at the ideas and attitudes that characterize a slice of the population. It provides a possible diagnosis for what ails, and may very well be killing, an entire demographic.

There have been previous indications—scientific, sociological, and anecdotal—of some of PRRI’s findings. A 2011 Tufts University survey showed white Americans believe they actually experience more racism than African Americans, and a Pew survey from the same year found non-college-educated, working-class whites are the least hopeful group in the country about the future. The rightwing rallying cry to “Make America Great Again” (a recycled political slogan that is now the property of Donald Trump) is proof that a decent portion of white voters think America was at its best when fewer citizens had civil and political rights, at some arbitrary point in this country’s rich history of morally indefensible state-sanctioned injustice, violence and oppression. One cannot avoid noticing that the current culture wars, full of incoming attacks from the right on nearly every civil and human rights gain of the last 60 years, are being fought with renewed vigor by those who want to turn back the hands of time.

Really, this explains so much.

It explains why some people from my own, very deeply middle-class family would buy off on the Republican Party, its platform and so many of the things that come out of the Right Wing. It's just sad. But additionally, it's frustrating, even to the point, at their worst, frightening. 

What's also scary and even odd is that these people of the middle-, lower- and working classes who hold these views and vote Right Wing and Republican are also so very deeply proud of their membership in the Right Wing and Republican Party and so proud of their views. And along with being proud, they're also very emotional about their views and opinions and that's where hate and disdain for others with opposing views and even racism can and do, too frequently, jump in.

Here's one part of the studies that's exceptionally disturbing, if not frightening:

The 2015 American Values Survey reaffirms the myopic outlook of an astounding portion of the country. Researchers, who polled nearly 2,700 adults from every state and Washington, D.C., found that 43 percent of Americans overall believe racial bigotry against whites has become a problem on par with discrimination against black people and other people of color...

It goes on:

On “reverse racism,” half of white Americans overall agree “discrimination against whites is as big a problem today as discrimination against blacks and other minorities.”

This certainly explains things I see even out of our own Kansas City and St. Louis and Springfield, let alone across the nation.

In all, it's stunning. What I don't know is how we change this. I don't know how we educate and inform people of how our nation actually is, today, let alone the total picture of our nation's history that got us to today, to where we are today. These people are adults, after all. They certainly aren't going back to any classroom to study American history they need to know, let alone any current events or civics or sociology classes that could get them up to speed with how things actually are, especially for people of other races in our country.

And in the meantime, Fox and Breitbart and Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh are out there spreading untruths and emotionalism and ugly opinions and racism and all kinds of ugliness and negativity. Making things worse--worst, really--there's a Right Wing, racist, hating nutjob, Donald Trump, who's in first place in opinion polls in next year's presidential race.

Usually, I can end these things with hope.

Additional link:  Why Does the (White) Lower Middle Class Vote Republican?

Why I Can't Bear To See Ignorant Racism

One of the reasons I most hate to see or read or hear blatant, ugly, ignorant racism is partly, furst, sure, because it's just ugly and wrong.

But the 2nd reason is because those racists in this country, usually white, have no idea of our own nation's history and the wide ranging scope of that racism and of our history and what mostly black Americans have gone through in this country nor, again, our own nation's history.

From the history of slavery in this country and how much it has influenced how we got to here, to today and to where we are but then, after slavery and after our Civil War. It's why people need to study it and be shown what took place. far too few know now as they ought.

Douglas Blackmon's "Slavery By Another Name" was illuminating for me and a lot of us who watched it.

Last evening, I saw this, "The Help."



Too many people just don't know. Too many people don't know our history.

And for a blogger in this city to allow ugly, ignorant, racist comments in his comment section just perpetuates that racism, that ugliness and that stupidity.

The blogger should know better.

Crazy Things Donald Trump Has Actually Said

At first, months ago, when Donald Trump was said to be running for president in the upcoming 2016 election, I thought it was merely funny, an amusement, for me and a lot of us out here in the nation. But the longer this goes on and the longer period of time Mr. Trump is in first place in popularity for Republicans and the Right Wing, frankly, the scarier and more ominous the situation and he become.

Here, then, to clear the air, are actual statements and quotes from The Donald, things he has actually said and believes. Because people need to know this clown:

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems...they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists."

“Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are little short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”

"He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured." –On Senator and Veteran John McCain

"When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time." –Donald Trump, on his diplomacy skills

"Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people."

“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me—consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”

"We need a leader that wrote The Art of the Deal." –Plugging his book in his presidential campaign announcement

"I have people that have been studying [Obama's birth certificate] and they cannot believe what they're finding... I would like to have him show his birth certificate, and can I be honest with you, I hope he can. Because if he can't, if he can't, if he wasn't born in this country, which is a real possibility…then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics." –Three weeks before Obama released his long-form birth certificate in 2011

"I have a great relationship with the blacks."

"When it comes time to default, they’re not going to remember any of the Republicans’ names. They are going to remember in history books one name, and that's Obama." –Urging Republicans to force a default on America's debt so that Obama wouldn't be reelected

"I don't like the crying." –On House Speaker John Boehner

"These are stupid people that say, `Oh didn't Trump declare bankruptcy? Didn't he go bankrupt?' I didn't go bankrupt." –On filing for bankruptcy on parts of his various businesses (And yes, yes he did: 

Donald Trump goes bankrupt. Four times)

"The man that wrote the second book ... didn't write the first book. The difference was like chicken salad and chicken s**t." -On President Obama's books

"I will build you ... one of the great ballrooms of the world." –On building a $100 million ballroom at the White House (because that's important)

“I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.” –While teasing a presidential run in 2000

"In life you have to rely on the past, and that's called history." –On Celebrity Apprentice (I'm glad he cleared that up)

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

"I don't think Ivanka would do that, although she does have a very nice figure. I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." –When asked how he would react if Ivanka posed for Playboy

"She really has become a monster ... I mean monster in the most positive way." –On his pregnant wife Melania

"You know the funny thing, I don't get along with rich people. I get along with the middle class and the poor people better than I get along with the rich people." 

“.@ariannahuff is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man- he made a good decision.”

"My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well been documented, are various other parts of my body."

"I'm not a schmuck. Even if the world goes to hell in a handbasket, I won't lose a penny." 

"You were born stupid."  --To very Right Wing columnist Michelle Malkin who, if she liked him could be a possible help to Mr. Trump and his campaign

"The beauty of me is that I'm very rich."

"Our leaders are stupid, our politicians are stupid, and the Mexican government is much sharper, much more cunning. [So] they send the bad ones over because they don’t want to pay for them, they don’t want to take care of them.” —GOP debate, August 2015

“Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest—and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure. It’s not your fault.” —Twitter, 2013

“It’s like in golf. A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.” —explaining his stance on, of all things, gay marriage in a New York Times profile in May 2011

Finally, at least today, because I'm sure there will be more, my personal favorite:

"Let me tell you, I'm a really smart guy."

On This Day, 1866

American history.

History they don't teach us.

Memphis riots of 1866

The Memphis riots of 1866 were the violent events that occurred from May 1 to 3 in Memphis, Tennessee. The racial violence was ignited by political, social and racial tensions following the American Civil War, in the early stages of Reconstruction.[1] After a shooting altercation between white policemen and black soldiers recently mustered out of the Union Army, mobs of white civilians and policemen rampaged through black neighborhoods and the houses of freedmen, attacking and killing men, women and children.

Federal troops were sent to quell the violence and peace was restored on the third day. A subsequent report by a joint Congressional Committee detailed the carnage, with blacks suffering most of the injuries and deaths: 46 blacks and 2 whites were killed, 75 blacks injured, over 100 black persons robbed, 5 black women raped, and 91 homes, 4 churches and 8 schools burned in the black community.

Modern estimates place property losses at over $100,000, also suffered mostly by blacks. Many blacks fled the city permanently; by 1870, their population had fallen by one quarter compared to 1865.

Public attention following the riots and reports of the atrocities, together with the New Orleans riot in July, strengthened the case made by Radical Republicans in U.S. Congress. The events influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to grant full citizenship to freedmen, as well as passage of the Reconstruction Act to establish military districts and oversight in certain states.

Investigation of the riot suggested specific causes related to competition for housing, work and social space between Irish immigrants and their descendants, and the freedmen. The white gentry also sought to drive freedpeople out of Memphis and back onto plantations where their labor could be exploited. Through violent terrorism, the white community at large sought to force blacks to respect white supremacy as the time of fully legal slavery was nearing its end.

Note there.

This wasn't the only time or place in American history this took place, either. It was, by no means, an isolated incident. It also took place in New Orleans.  And Tulsa. And Chicago. And I don't know where all. Again, it's history we don't like to teach, we Americans. It's history we don't really want to know. Or acknowledge. Or take responsibility for.

Why, if we took responsibility for all the things Americans have done to blacks in our nation, we couldn't blame them for being poor. And under-educated. And in poor jobs. And poor housing. And for having bad health. And for being in prison. Or for rioting.

Now could we?

Quote of the day -- Timely

True then, when he first said it.

Still true today.

Who Knew Missourians Were This Racist?

I gave my home state more credit.

Too much, it turns out.

First this:

Yet Another Police Force In Missouri Goes Ballistic Over Newly Elected Black Female Mayor (VIDEO)

Shameful.

The first town that had the issue recently, that had 5 of 6 police officers resign because the new police chief is black was bad enough. Now this.

Then this, today, from St. Louis:

White supremacists hold downtown rally; counter-protesters gather

What took place:

ST. LOUIS • About a score of white supremacists and about 50 or 60 activists against racism spent a while trying to out-shout each other early Saturday afternoon on the west steps of the Old Courthouse downtown.

There was no physical contact but plenty of yelling through a steady rain from camps separated by barricades put in place by National Park Service rangers. Some rangers and city police officers watched from the periphery.

But wait. It gets better.  Check this out:

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian-Aryan Nation obtained a permit to demonstrate at the landmark from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The "Church of Jesus Christ Christian-Aryan Nation.

Wow.

I love how they had to get both Christ and Christian,  both, in the name, just to make sure we all know who they're supposed to be about.

Supposed to be, anyway.

I have to wonder, though.

Who would Jesus discriminate against?

Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Andrew Hawkins' Statement

His response to his wearing a t-shirt about the Tamir Rice shooting and killing:

“I was taught that justice is a right that every American should have. Also justice should be the goal of every American. I think that’s what makes this country. To me, justice means the innocent should be found innocent. It means that those who do wrong should get their due punishment. Ultimately, it means fair treatment. So a call for justice shouldn’t offend or disrespect anybody. A call for justice shouldn’t warrant an apology.

“To clarify, I utterly respect and appreciate every police officer that protects and serves all of us with honesty, integrity and the right way. And I don’t think those kind of officers should be offended by what I did. My mom taught me my entire life to respect law enforcement. I have family, close friends that are incredible police officers and I tell them all the time how they are much braver than me for it. So my wearing a T-shirt wasn’t a stance against every police officer or every police department. My wearing the T-shirt was a stance against wrong individuals doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons to innocent people.

“Unfortunately, my mom also taught me just as there are good police officers, there are some not-so-good police officers that would assume the worst of me without knowing anything about me for reasons I can’t control. She taught me to be careful and be on the lookout for those not-so-good police officers because they could potentially do me harm and most times without consequences. Those are the police officers that should be offended.

“Being a police officer takes bravery. And I understand that they’re put in difficult positions and have to make those snap decisions. As a football player, I know a little bit about snap decisions, obviously on an extremely lesser and non-comparative scale, because when a police officer makes a snap decision, it’s literally a matter of life and death. That’s hard a situation to be in. But if the wrong decision is made, based on pre-conceived notions or the wrong motives, I believe there should be consequence. Because without consequence, naturally the magnitude of the snap decisions is lessened, whether consciously or unconsciously.

“I’m not an activist, in any way, shape or form. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I keep my opinions to myself on most matters. I worked extremely hard to build and keep my reputation especially here in Ohio, and by most accounts I’ve done a solid job of decently building a good name. Before I made the decision to wear the T-shirt, I understood I was putting that reputation in jeopardy to some of those people who wouldn’t necessarily agree with my perspective. I understood there was going to be backlash, and that scared me, honestly. But deep down I felt like it was the right thing to do. If I was to run away from what I felt in my soul was the right thing to do, that would make me a coward, and I can’t live with that. God wouldn’t be able to put me where I am today, as far as I’ve come in life, if I was a coward.

“As you well know, and it’s well documented, I have a 2-year-old little boy. The same 2-year-old little boy that everyone said was cute when I jokingly threw him out of the house earlier this year. That little boy is my entire world. And the No. 1 reason for me wearing the T-shirt was the thought of what happened to Tamir Rice happening to my little Austin scares the living hell out of me. And my heart was broken for the parents of Tamir and John Crawford knowing they had to live that nightmare of a reality.

“So, like I said, I made the conscious decision to wear the T-shirt. I felt like my heart was in the right place. I’m at peace with it and those that disagree with me, this is America, everyone has the right to their first amendment rights. Those who support me, I appreciate your support. But at the same time, support the causes and the people and the injustices that you feel strongly about. Stand up for them. Speak up for them. No matter what it is because that’s what America’s about and that’s what this country was founded on.”

This guy was never "on my radar", so to speak but he now has my respect, for what that's worth.

Quote of the Day -- the Real Problem

#Ferguson

White America/Black America

It's Not Just MIchael Brown, Not Just Ferguson

Michael Brown's situation isn't the problem. At least, by itself, it's not the problem.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the problem.  It's not one person. It's all the people who keep dying like this. And keep in mind, this is no way close to all the people who have died. Not even close.

It's that unarmed men keep getting killed. And it's that no one, time and again, is held responsible for it.

Meanwhile, across the country:

And then there's this:

Killing four people while white gets you probation

Crazy.

And we've got to stop this horrible insanity.