joe-biden

Is it Really what we’re told it is?

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Trump and DOGGIE(sic) seem inordinately concerned with staging events, showing off fraud and waste. Wonder why?

A recent event was Musk Trumpeting the Social Security Administration (SSA) has over 18,000 listed citizens over 110 years old. Several over 150 years old.

“Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting social security,” he joked, reports the New York Post and Fox News.

Huh. Must be a real, true fraud if Fox is repeating it, right?

First, the database Musk was displaying as proof of fraud, is a list of all SSA numbers ever given out. It is NOT a list of everyone receiving SSA benefits. And numbers are only removed when SSA gets a certified death certificate. SSA knew about missing death certificates in 2015, by the way, and still has not cleaned the data base after Obama, Trump, and Biden presidencies. See? Republican tax cuts and attempts to hinder SSA activities worked!

Second, Musk used the standard “no-news” trick of not actually SAYING they were receiving benefits, but “suggesting” and then joking about it. Neat, right? Great Public relations trick.

But why do they need to do it?

Insecurity is the driving force in the MAGA movement. They are worried about EVERYTHING and lies help them cope. Since there are so many lies from the Insecure-In-Chief, it has to be made apparent to the rest of us that the lies are not lies. (See The Big Election Lie and how hard MAGA worked to support it. Specifically, Google “2000 Mules” and its legal history for an education in how far you need to bend over to support a Big Lie.) Oval Office events, with pomp and a captive press corps, are the best ways to look truthful when you lie, so we’ll see more of them.

But, again, why? The 77 million who voted for Trump are 22% of the American Population. That means Conservatives are a minority of Americans. The 75 million who voted for Harris are 21% of the population, another minority. My long-stated belief is that America is 30% Conservative, 30% Liberal, and 40% Independent. Both of our political parties represent a minority of the population. Independents have historically skewed to a liberal bias in presidential elections, however. That bias led to conservative crying and hand-wringing after Obama won a second term conservatives were sure he would lose decisively. The conservative lack of message and backbone was noticed by Trump and he seized the opening to become the Messiah of The Right.

But conservative insecurity still existed and they saw conspiracy everywhere, cranking up Q-anon, and building the Modern Republican Party Grievance Machine (MRPGM).

Trump and the MRPGM leaned into the heavy message of insecurity, and its partner, mistrust. Both Trump and MRPGM realized a message filled with anger and resentment has a greater impact than truth. Fox News got on board and the rest is history.

But conservatives are still insecure. Why does every employee in American government who does not kiss Trump’s large buttocks have to be fired? Even kitchen table psychiatrists know why. Same with MAGA. Their talk is about A Great America, but building it involves destruction, chaos, and pain. A true American Carnage, as Trump called it in his First Term Inauguration speech. Why?

The old, white American Male is threatened. I have never understood why males are so frantically against homosexuality, for example. One can guess.

And same sex marriage hurts who? And transgender life? You’d think those people were carrying monkeypox. So much was made of NCAA sports, when the truth is 40, 40, athletes out of 500,000, 500,000 were “estimated” to be trans athletes. 0.008 percent. But what a story for MRPGM, Trump, and Fox. And Nancy Mace. Wonder if there are any transgender MAGAns? If there are 77 million MAGA voters, times 0.008 equals 616,000 transgender Republicans.

Few American presidents worked well with the opposition party. But most American presidents have done the best they could for ALL Americans, while staying as true as they could to their own party ideals.

Except Number 47. Chaos and uncertainty for all!

The rush to action is another bow to insecurity. MAGA needs to get a lot done before the midterms when people (may) come to their senses. If Trump was so sure of 2026 Republican re-elections, he and Musk would take things slower, thinks things out, and install their new regime in phases instead of firing people willy-nilly. (Google “willy-nilly” for a laugh.)

2025 is proof insecurity does not lead to good decisions. AI says: “Insecurity and fear are the culprits behind five of the most common workplace missteps and missed opportunities.”

That AI is so smart. Must have been the Chinese one.

Some Funny things from 2025. Too soon?

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Trump wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Cool, but why is he ignoring the state of New Mexico?

He also wants to rename Mt. Denali, and–you have to think– any other name he doesn’t like. Real important stuff is it, for you Trump supporters?

Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show accidentally cost Trump one supporter. Klepper was asking MAGA patriots if they believed in the pardons and they all said yes. One MAGA man said “They didn’t do anything wrong.” Klepper showed the man photos from J6 day. Guess what? The man had never seen them, and didn’t know there had been that kind of activity. Where did he get his news from? “Conservative sources”, the man said. That’s not funny.

Now is a good time to point out all the Modern Republican Party Grievance Machine’s (MRPGM) pious complaints about “bias” in the liberal media being hypocritical. Fox News–and others–were set up to specifically to give the news a conservative bias. And then they used their tag line: “Fair and Balanced” If you read this and have any brain, you see the only way Fox News consumers would get “Fair and Balanced” news is if they watched both Fox News and then the liberal biased Lame Street news organizations. Watching Fox alone is watching a “biased” News Organizations. Any conservatives, besides the man Klepper interviewed, ready to admit their bias? No? Ha, see, that’s funny. PS same goes for liberals, too. Not so funny, now, is it, Karen? You must watch at least one hour of Fox for “balance”.

Trump has a chance in this second term to do remarkable things. To even become the Greatest President Ever. Seriously. But he has reverted to the lapse of logic which failed him the first time and led to Joe Biden setting a record for Presidential votes in 2020. Trump doesn’t know math. In 2016 Trump ballyhooed his skinny Electoral College win into a “Mandate”, even though he lost the popular vote by over 3 million votes. “Mandate” in Trump World means “do what I want. It’s what the American people want.” Kellyanne was so good about reminding us all of “The Mandate.” Only in MAGA world do you get a mandate from a minority.

In 2024, now, Trump won only 49.7% of the votes cast. Nearly 70 million votes were cast for his opponent, and nearly 90 million “Voter Eligible Voters” never even voted. Mandate? Only if you don’t understand math. Or need to make yourself feel better. A mandate is determined by the voters, but not just who voted for the president, unless someone needs to justify some actions that the 170 million who did NOT vote for him might not like. In MAGA world who cares about the losers? We’ll see. Might be hilarious 2026 midterms.

In all presidential elections there have always been large groups of “Voter Eligible Voters” who do not participate. Some do register and do not vote, while some never even register. Why? My guess is a lot of voters who do vote are not casting votes FOR one candidate, but voting AGAINST another, but others just don’t want to waste their time. Funny, right?

The two party system is too blame and it might be time for a more “Parliamentary” type of election. Modern America has no place, anymore, for decent human beings who want to do what’s best for the country. The style of the day is do what you’re told. It’s why the Majority and Minority Leaders in the House and Senate, have helpers called “Whips.” That is really funny if you think about it.

There is no place for Independents. Imagine, if you will, that Biden or Trump or Obama or Bush wins the Presidency with 30% of the vote, forcing the new President to accept another party(s) in to the new government.

Might be funny. We’ll never know.

Contentment…again…

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There was a debate this past week. A big, momentous, ballyhooed debate.

“Balleyooed”. Say it three times really fast and it will make as much sense as both candidates did in the debate. There is probably a drinking game where you take a shot after every “talking point” (TP) a candidate uses. Their faces scrunch up in reply to questions, searching for an opening for the TP(Toilet Paper?).

Question from moderator: “Is the sky blue?”

First Candidate: “It will be in my administration, as we ban all dark clouds due to our climate and environmental initiatives, including banning all methane activity and inventing cars that run on rhetoric.”

Second candidate: “Never again should this administration be allowed to leave our borders open, and put the lives of innocent dogs and cats at risk.”

There is a good chance someone reading this might think those were actual answers. They are not. But our political system (here he goes, again) is not built to get the best possible candidate. Stupid people from one party make sure their stupidest candidate is selected. Then the other party outdoes them with a stupider candidate. Then the nation votes. After that, excellent, un-selected candidates from both parties work tirelessly in the Senate and House to clean up the mess. Actually, it never gets cleaned up, just swept under the rug of the future. (Research Immigration, a subject never fully addressed since our founding.)

The cynic in me has to admit the candidates might not be stupid. They simply understand the game: get people to vote for me. It doesn’t take a genius to see the winner of a popularity contest (Prom King or Queen?) is not going to solve the world’s problems. But just once it would be nice to hear a candidate say: “I don’t know, but we’ll work on it”, which is really what they mean with every answer.

Over the years I’ve beaten this subject to death but the statement needs repeating: it is the VOTER’S fault. We need to DEMAND better so we can’t complain too much when the crown is placed on the other parties candidate

Can Someone Explain?

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While never enamored of any political candidate since 1960, when I was 8 and thought the world of JFK, I am deeply enamored of common sense. It should be noted common sense and politics are mortal enemies, so my position makes a little bit of sloppy sense: if you have common sense, you hate-and would like to ignore–all politicians.

But there has been such a glaring lack of common sense in politics over the last 30 years, it needs to be addressed and called what it is: Stupidity.

The Republican Party has for many years, at least since Newt Gingrich, trumpeted (yes, intentional pun) itself as the Party of the People, the Party that represents all the best of America, all the really good people. You listen to the Red supporters and believe they are the only, true-blue party of America: every non-republican is evil and horrible.

So. How does that True Party fare in Presidential Elections?

Since 1988, the Republicans, the True Party of America, has won the popular vote of the United State of America, once. In all other 7 elections,The Party of America was outvoted. George HW Bush lost, Robert Dole lost, John McCain lost, Mitt Romney lost, Donald Trump lost (twice), and George W, Bush won the only one time for the Republican Party in his reelection in 2004. He lost the popular vote to Al Gore in 2000. Even worse when Trump and Bush were elected by Electoral College Mischief, they were a MINORITY GOVERNMENT making decisions for the majority who did NOT vote for Trump or Bush. (Please do NOT say Mitch McConnell’s (sic) name.

Hm.

When Donald J Trump was running against Hillary Clinton in 2016 he was very astute in calling out the fraud that was “going” to be part of the election, He knew he’d never win the popular vote and he lost by over 3 million votes. But he got the Right Votes, and became President, where he and his blond assistant claimed, repeatedly, the Trump win was a “mandate for change” voted for by The American People. WTF?? Republicans have consistently run with the idea they are in the majority and are the only true people who can run America. In some states, the Repubs have used their recent victories to change laws, elections, and voting districts to ensure their statewide power. (See NC, a state split nearly 50-50 Dem to Repub, the Red guys have maneuvered their party into a Do-Whatever-We-Want super-majority in the law-making institutions supposed to represent the people of the state.) Trump, to his credit did what any self-respecting politician would do: lie about Fraud, and try to subvert the legally elected change in government.

And then? Republicans preach and blather about fraud and conspiracies, anything to keep the eyes of the electorate off issues, and get DJT reelected. Can he finally win the popular vote on his third try? Better question: is he all the Republicans have to offer in the last 8 years? They and Trump lost the 2020 election by 7 million votes. Common sense?

The point is this: Politically, America is split nearly evenly between Dems and Repubs. (Us Independents have no say, anymore, but our numbers are growing.) Even when the Dems won the popular vote all those times, it was never a blow out. So do we need more politicians being hyper-partisan, especially Republican politicians who have no common sense justification for such hubris?

Both sides, of course, are to blame but one thing is obvious: when the Republicans get Power they work it like a dog with a bone to make sure they don’t lose it. Does that help the American People?

The nice thing about our government structure, if it survives, is the checks and balances of three branches. Let’s make sure common sense prevails, or The United States might not.

And I said MIGHT not. Not WILL not.

J#$%# F*&@ING CH#$%^

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I waited patiently after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on July 13, 2024. Maybe we could get a week off from all the babble and bullshit of our modern politics. Even just a day of peace…

It is surprising. I was a counter-culture, anti-materialistic rebel in the late 60s and 70s and heard a lot of bad words for nothing more than the length of my hair. “Patriotic” Americans were the worst of all. Without talking to me it was “take your hippie shit out of here and leave the country of you don’t like it.” Once, the words were from the back end of shotgun, and if you want to end a conversation real quick, or get rid of annoying hippies, a 12 gauge was a good bet to get the job done in 1970.

Sadly, America still sounds like that but the AR-15 is the gun of choice, these days. An arms dealer/politician from somewhere in the Midwest is already sounding the alarm about AR-15s being taken away from citizens…if Biden is re-elected. Midwest guy wants you to buy yours now, and if you already have one, buy another. It is beyond ironic after Trump gets shot by an Ar-15, a Republican politician wastes no time in defending the weapon, and up-selling it.

So in 50 years we’ve made no progress. Why? Politicians have become Followers, that’s why. Donald, JD, and other Republicans know what their base wants to hear, and the Republicans give it to them. They’ve been that way for the many years after The Army-McCarthy Hearings. (Google it, young people.) The Grand Old Party has kept its ear to the ground for over 70 years and they learned how to shape political conversation. Most recently, the GOP (and Trump) tried to deligitimize Obama with false claims and lies, and conspiracies. None of which were true and have ever been substantiated, but the GOP base thinks otherwise.

Now, to make matters worse, the Democratic Party is trying to imitate the Republicans. Its a relativelt new concept since in the past The Blue Party did all their dirty work behind the scenes. (Young people google LBJ and enjoy.) Most of your successful Democratic politicians were sweet faced in the public forums and ruthless in the back rooms. But now that type of discourse and dirty tricks is out in the open for both parties.

Which leads me my favorite saying for the last 70 years: Why, why, why would any American become a cult member of any political figure? ANY POLITICAL FIGURE! Since about JFK, our presidential elections have been a choice between good and not so good, bad and not so bad, or really bad and okay. Do you see “Excellent” or “Very good” in any of those choices? (Both Carter and H.W. Bush were good, decent, honest men, and look what happened when they tried to get re-elected.)

Everyone, remember: each and every politician goes to great lengths to get you to like them, to vote for them. I can personally guarantee, without knowing any of you, that you’re making a choice for President based on the power of one (or maybe two) issues. One Concept. One Political view. And you’re doing this in a time when a multitude of complex and complicated issues facing us are not even on the front page. Donald’s lying is. Or Biden’s approaching senility.

If we want to elect good (or better) politicians, we have to expect more from them, not award the prize to the least objectionable candidate. If you see what I’m saying, bless you. We, as country, need to get better as people, as informed people before “The Followers” will ever do what is right and best for America.

From the 60’s but possibly pertinent: never trust anyone over 30. Sadly our presidential candidates are well passed that age, and even past their “Sell By” dates. Think about it and make us all better.