Wishing All The Very Best Of The Holiday Season and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In...

Something the GOP seriously ought to do. Cause it sure ain't good!

America's Biggest Liar...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Millions realize that Donald Trump is nothing more than a wealthy billionaire and gaseous blowhard who excels at being great at lying . Another of his top talents is getting millions of other gullible people to believe his lies.

Hopefully as more sources expose this lying unethical politician the sooner he will sink into political oblivion where he belongs. Right alongside Joseph McCarthy and other discredited demagogues.

It’s the trope on Trump: He’s authentic, a straight-talker, less scripted than traditional politicians. That’s because Donald Trump doesn’t let facts slow him down. Bending the truth or being unhampered by accuracy is a strategy he has followed for years.

"People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That's why a little hyperbole never hurts," Trump wrote in his 1987 best-seller The Art of the Deal. "People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion."

PolitiFact has been documenting Trump’s statements on our Truth-O-Meter, where we’ve rated 76 percent of them Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire, out of 77 statements checked. No other politician has as many statements rated so far down on the dial.

In considering our annual Lie of the Year, we found our only real contenders were Trump’s -- his various statements also led our Readers’ Poll. But it was hard to single one out from the others. So we have rolled them into one big trophy.

To the candidate who says he’s all about winning, PolitiFact designates the many campaign misstatements of Donald Trump as our 2015 Lie of the Year.

CONTINUE READING

Via: Memeorandum


UPDATE: 12/22/15

An Analysis of Donald Trump's Tax Plan (click on the link)

Wasserman Schultz To Go?...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Time for some DNC housecleaning perhaps?

`Tis nearly the night before Christmas and not a creature is stirring, what with everyone out at a party, multiplex or mall. What better time for a presidential debate?

That at least is the view of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the Clinton campaign, from which she takes her cues. They wanted the fewest possible voters to see the fewest possible debates. So we went from 26 debates in 2008 to six debates in 2016, three of them on weekends. It’s called the Democratic Party, but no one other than Clinton and Schultz had any say in the matter.

On Thursday, the DNC told the press a contractor inadvertently breached a firewall in a software program exposing data files of presidential campaigns and that a Bernie Sanders staffer (Josh Uretsky, with the campaign three months) took the opportunity to sneak a peek at Hillary Clinton’s files. Sanders’ campaign instantly sacked the staffer but Schultz still cut off its access to data, a punishment she seems to have made up on the spot, thus bringing crucial outreach and fundraising efforts to a halt. Schultz didn’t even nod to due process, pronouncing the death penalty without so much as reading Sanders his Miranda rights.

On Friday, Sanders’ campaign filed a federal lawsuit alleging breach of contract. It sought a restraining order and money damages that, assuming the facts set forth in the complaint, exceed a million dollars a day. It was a strong case. Uretsky may have behaved unethically but there was no malice aforethought– the forbidden fruit fell in his lap—and from the moment the campaign learned of his possible malfeasance, it acted honorably and swiftly. Schultz, conversely, appears to have acted without color of authority under law, contract or party rule.

The contract required written notice of termination and a 10-day grace period to cure any alleged default. Clearly the DNC was in violation, not Sanders. Because the contract put the onus for securing data on the DNC, it was liable for the breach as well. But the issue was bigger than mere contract law or political dirty tricks. In suspending the vital operations of a presidential campaign, Schultz trespassed on the right of all citizens to free and fair elections. Democrats could ill afford to be seen condoning her actions. Nor could they afford to pay her bills. If she acted without authority she’d be liable for damages, but only if the party was as swift and honorable in dealing with her as Sanders was in dealing with Uretsky. The party also had to ponder the sworn depositions Sanders might now take regarding such delicate matters as who Schultz spoke to about her decision to impale him.

The long dormant Democratic base should have stopped her Schultz when she squelched debates. Now party leaders had to, or else hop on board her runaway train. But Thursday and then Friday passed with the leaders silent save for the sound of Schultz spewing venom at Sanders. Then a miracle happened. For the first time since the dawn of the Obama era, and arguably since the end of the Viet Nam War, progressive rose in mass protest of party elites. Petitions poured in to the DNC by the tens of thousands demanding that Sanders access to his data be restored. Shortly after midnight Saturday morning, the DNC caved to the pressure, albeit so gracelessly as to ensure ongoing recriminations.

Schultz must go. Her subversion of due process puts one in mind of her fellow Floridian, Katherine Harris, who back in 2000 saw no conflict between her roles as chief state elections officer and campaign chair for George W. Bush...

(emphasis mine)

SOURCE

Via: Memeorandum

trumpf Says Republicans Are Jealous Of Putin's Praise For Him...

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Purveyor of Truth

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Saturday that anyone who criticizes the warm compliments he has swapped with Russian President Vladimir Putin is simply "jealous as hell." Although Putin has been accused of a lengthy list of human rights violations, Trump has maintained that Russia could be a powerful partner for the United States -- and one that could help the country save some money.

"You know, he feels good about me. I feel, frankly, good about him. I think that we can do things with Russia that are to our advantage... It's a mutual advantage," Trump said during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday afternoon. "Now, they're jealous as hell because he's not mentioning these people.

If true it says a great deal about the republican candidates specifically and the republican party in general. How far they've fallen.

SOURCE with video.

Via: Memeorandum

Trump Has No Problem With Putin's Apparent Human Rights Abuses: "at least he's a leader"...

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Purveyor of Truth


This site was seriously thinking about turning its spotlight off Donald Trump. That is no big deal because FOX Snooze, rightwing radio, and the rightwing blogs constantly afford him almost 24/7 exposure. However, after The Donald opened the gaping hole in his head called his mouth and came out with the following on on Morning Joe it was determined another "point out the sordid mentality and flawed character"of Trump was most definitely in order. After all, every decent, ethical, and liberty loving American should being doing everything possible to ensure Trumps bit for the presidency is a dead end road. Shouldn't they?

Brzezinski: Do you like Vladimir Putin's comments about you?

Trump: Sure. When people call you brilliant, it's always good, especially when the person heads up Russia.

Scarborough: Well, I mean, also, it's a person that kills journalists, political opponents, and invades countries. Obviously, that would be a concern, would it not?

Trump: He's running his country, and at least he's a leader, you know, unlike what we have in this country.

Scarborough: Yeah. But, again, he kills journalists that don't agree with him.

Trump: Well, I think our country does plenty of killing also, Joe, you know.

Scarborough: What do you mean by that?

Trump: There's a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now, Joe. A lot of killing going on. A lot of stupidity. And that's the way it is. But you didn't ask me the question. You asked me a different question. So that's fine.

It's not really surprising that someone who voiced support for shutting down mosques, forcing all Muslims to register with the government, and banning Muslims from entering the US wouldn't care much about Putin's human rights record. But seemingly shrugging off another country's alleged human rights abuses — especially when the country in question is a rival like Russia — is still very strange for a presidential candidate.

SOURCE

Via: Memeorandum

Trump Proud To Be Complimented By Putin... Considers It A Great Honor

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Purveyor of Truth

Hm, The Donald considers it a great honor to be complimented by the ex KGB strongman Putin while at the same time advocating actions that are not only anti civil liberty but most likely unconstitutional as well.

THE HILL - Donald Trump said on Thursday it was a “great honor” to be complimented by “highly respected” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond,” the GOP presidential front-runner told supporters at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.

SKIP

“I would get along with him,” Trump said in September. “I would get along with a lot of the world leaders that this country is not getting along with.”

He's also said Putin does not respect President Obama.

Via: Memeorandum

Can Chris Christie Win The 2016 GOP Nomination...

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Purveyor of Truth

Say what you will about New Jersey Governor Christie but he has been steadily impressive in the GOP debates. Not great, but impressive. He is articulate, informed, connects with the viewing audience by speaking directly to therm, and arguably has been an effective republican governor in a state whose legislative branch is controlled by democrats. Christie, just like republican governors of Massachusetts who have had to work with a democratic legislative body, has shown the ability to run a state with divided government and yet get things accomplished.

Whether or not Governor Christie can get the traction necessary to mount an effective campaign overturning Trump, Cruz, or Rubio is a long shot. Some, like Edward Morrissey, believe it in the realm of possibility. In any case, if your preference is for a republican that views pragmatism and the ability to work effectively with the opposition party it might be worth your time to consider him. If nothing else he isn't Trump, or Cruz. Candidates who very likely will be easily beaten by Hillary Clinton.

The Fiscal Times... Staring directly into the camera, the governor from New Jersey said, “If your eyes are glazing over like mine, this is what it’s like to be on the floor of the United States Senate. I mean endless debates about how many angels on the head of a pin, from people who’ve never had to make a consequential decision in an executive position.”

Christie then reminded viewers, not for the first nor for the last time that the legislators on stage did not have to assume personal responsibility for securing the safety of constituents. “They continue to debate about this bill and in the subcommittee,” Christie argued, and “nobody in America cares about that. What they care about is are we going to have a president who actually knows what they're doing to make these decisions?”

SKIP

This moment captured the essence of the debate perfectly, however. A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows confidence ebbing in the Barack Obama administration to protect the nation from terrorist attack. A majority of 56 percent now says they have less confidence in the government stopping a large-scale terrorist attack – and 77 percent worry more now that the US is not ready to stop “a lone-wolf attack.” This atmosphere of frustration and disillusion prompted the national-security focus of the debate.

Christie leveraged the opportunity into a platform that highlights his executive experience, specifically on terrorism. Christie reminded viewers that his administration “stopped Fort Dix from being attacked by six American radicalized Muslims from a Mosque in New Jersey because we worked with the Muslim American community to get intelligence…. This is the difference between actually been a federal prosecutor, actually doing something, and not just spending your life as one of hundred debating it.”

So Christie seized the moment. Can he run with it? That question becomes complicated by his current lack of traction in national polling, but his single-state strategy may pay off.

At one point, Christie had been a favorite of conservatives for his blunt, no-apologies style and aggressive approach to reform in New Jersey. He lost favor by figuratively embracing a more moderate approach on gun rights, and by literally embracing Barack Obama the week before the 2012 election during Hurricane Sandy. Christie has emphasized a more pragmatic approach to governance – a necessity for a governor whose legislature is controlled by the opposing party – that rankles an anti-establishment electorate already inclined to reject current party leadership.

Yet Christie’s strategy over the past few months has focused on New Hampshire almost exclusively. While he polls within the margins of error nationally, Christie now challenges for second place in the Granite State and their first-in-the-nation primary, thanks to considerable time and organizational effort spent in the state. Even without the raised stakes in national security, Christie’s pragmatic approach to governance will appeal to New Hampshire voters.

Pragmatism was a continuing theme among voters I interviewed for my upcoming book on the 2016 general election...

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

CISA, Calling It What It Is...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Congress, with its ignorance of cyber security as well as encryption is in the process of making CISA, an already essentially lousy bill, considerably worse. Certainly as it relates to privacy protection.

With Congress dropping all pretense that CISA isn't about surveillance can we expect that the spectre of Big Brother Security State will continue to grow and steadily strip us of what little privacy we have remaining?

Remember CISA? The "Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act"? It's getting much, much worse, with Congress and the administration looking to ram it through -- in the process, dropping any pretense that it's not a surveillance bill.

As you may recall, Congress and the White House have been pushing for a "cybersecurity" bill, for a few years now, that has never actually been a cybersecurity bill. Senator Ron Wyden was one of the only people in Congress willing to stand up and directly say what it was: "it's a surveillance bill by another name." And, by now, you should know that when Senator Wyden says that there's a secret interpretation of a bill that will increase surveillance and is at odds with the public's understanding of a bill, you should to listen. He's said so in the past and has been right... multiple times.

Either way, a version of CISA passed the House a while back, with at least some elements of privacy protection included. Then, a few months ago it passed the Senate in a much weaker state. The two different versions need to be reconciled, and it's been worked on. However, as we noted recently, the intelligence community has basically taken over the process and more or less stripped out what few privacy protections there were.

And the latest is that it's getting worse. Not only is Congress looking to include it in the end of year omnibus bill -- basically a "must pass" bill -- to make sure it gets passed, but it's clearly dropping all pretense that CISA isn't about surveillance. Here's what we're hearing from people involved in the latest negotiations. The latest version of CISA that they're looking to put into the omnibus:

1. Removes the prohibition on information being shared with the NSA, allowing it to be shared directly with NSA (and DOD), rather than first having to go through DHS. While DHS isn't necessarily wonderful, it's a lot better than NSA. And, of course, if this were truly about cybersecurity, not surveillance, DHS makes a lot more sense than NSA.
2. Directly removes the restrictions on using this information for "surveillance" activities. You can't get much more direct than that, right?
3. Removes limitations that government can only use this information for cybersecurity purposes and allows it to be used to go after any other criminal activity as well. Obviously, this then creates tremendous incentives to push for greater and greater information collection, which clearly will be abused. We've just seen how the DEA has regularly abused its powers to collect info. You think agencies like the DEA and others won't make use of CISA too?
4. Removes the requirement to "scrub" personal information unrelated to a cybersecurity threat before sharing that information. This was the key point that everyone kept making about why the information should go to DHS first -- where DHS would be in charge of this "scrub". The "scrub" process was a bit exaggerated in the first place, but it was at least something of a privacy protection. However, it appears that the final version being pushed removes the scrub requirement (along with the requirement to go to DHS) and instead leaves the question of scrubbing to the "discretion" of whichever agency gets the information. Guess how that's going to go?

In short: while before Congress could at least pretend that CISA was about cybersecurity, rather than surveillance, in this mad dash to get it shoved through, they've dropped all pretense and have stripped every last privacy protection, expanded the scope of the bill, and made it quite clear that it's a very broad surveillance bill that can be widely used and abused by all parts of the government.

There is still some hesitation by some as to whether or not this bill belongs in the omnibus bill, or if it should go through the regular process, with a debate and a full vote on this entirely new and different version of CISA. So, now would be a good time to speak out, letting your elected officials and the White House know that (1) CISA should not be in the omnibus and (2) that we don't need another surveillance bill.

In the meantime, if Congress were actually serious about cybersecurity, they'd be ramping up the acceptance and use of encryption, rather than trying to undermine it.

SOURCE

Trump, The Right's Entertainer...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Yup, and Trumpf's subliminal message is bigotry, racism, Islamophobia, misogyny, extreme nationalism, and being an A-hole will be the new order he will bring to the presidency in order to Make America Great Again if he is elected.


SOURCE

The Dana Loesch Rant...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Just when you think you've seen the craziest another pops out of the woodwork.

Keeping the fear and hyperbole alive on the right.



Source

Via: Memeorandum

Trump Conveniently Declines To Answer Question About President Obama's Presidential Legitimacy...

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Purveyor of Truth

Donald Trump on Tuesday night dodged a post-debate question about whether he really believes President Obama was not born in the United States.

Following the CNN Republican presidential debate, MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked Trump, "Is Donald Trump honest when he says that Barack Obama isn’t a legitimate president?"


"So, I knew you were going to ask me that question," Trump said in response. "You know what I’ll say? I don’t talk about that anymore."

SKIP

Trump has previously questioned whether Obama was actually born in Kenya, but has since dropped the issue.

When a MSNBC panelist told Trump on Tuesday night that he’ll have to address the question in the general election, Trump said, "Alright, well then I’ll answer it then."

SKIP

"I do think that’s a blemish. I think it’s your original sin," Matthews told Trump about his birther past. "Because I’m an American, and I think our president should be respected. I think it has a little ethnic aspect to it. I don’t like it. He’s African American, and we’re saying he’s not a real president. I don’t like that. It’s not a good thing about you."

As Matthews spoke, Trump only said, "I know how you feel," and, "I understand."

Trump at one time alleged he had a team that was gathering info to prove President was not eligible to be president because he was not a natural born American. Mr. Bombast and Bluster was going to present the nation with a really big surprise on national television. Of course it never happened as there was never anything to it.

We rather suspect Trump has dropped the issue and is side stepping the questions because Senator Ted Cruz, who was born with similar parentage realities and circumstances happens to be of the "right color", thus the birther issue is a nasty inconvenience.

SOURCE with video.

Via: Memeorandum


TheNew Yorker ran an excellent article defining what most people who take the time to think beyond just the surface know about Donald Trump. Here's a teaser for the inquisitive.

Donald Trump, when he really gets going, hardly speaks in sentences anymore. He doesn’t need to. His audience is with him in fragments. He shuffles pages covered with poll numbers written in thick black ink; he ovals his mouth, the lower appendage of a solid orange-gold block, and lunges forward like the giant sandworm in “Dune,” which devours all before it. At times ecstatic, relying on emotional connections alone, he leaps from subject to subject. Fear, danger, stupidity. Stupidity! Weakness! The fate of the nation is at stake. The personal safety of the people before him is at stake. Something “terrible” is going on. “We can’t live like this. It’s gonna get worse and worse. You’re going to have more World Trade Centers. It’s gonna get worse and worse. We can be politically correct, and we can be stupid, and it’s gonna get worse and worse.”

The energy comes in surges—in bunched mini-waves, so rhythmically charged that they never bore the listener, even the listener who loathes every word that comes out of his mouth, every frown and eye-rolling grimace, every gesture of his right hand, which disposes of the world’s idiocy in jerking sweeps to the side. In one patch in a recent speech (the speech in which he read his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States), Trump ran from Hillary Clinton (“She’s got no strength. She’s got no stamina”) to the United States being “ripped off on trade,” and then to veterans “not being taken care of,” and then to generals wasting time talking on television, and then to “Bush” (mimics a man sleeping), then to Hillary’s complaint that Trump’s tone was not “nice” (“We have people whose heads are being chopped off …”), then to the need for smart people (“I know a lot of tough people … but they’re not smart”), then to the money we “owe” (“We owe nineteen trillion … trillion, trillion, trillion dollars. Who the hell ever heard of the word ten years ago? There was no such word”), then back to the trade imbalance with China, Japan, and Mexico (“We’re going to build a wall. It will be a real wall. . . . It’s gonna happen”).

His speeches have no beginning or end, no shape, no culmination and release, and none is necessary. For the audience, his fervent incoherence makes him that much more present, for it is Trump alone who matters, the vividness of him standing there, in that moment, embodying what the audience fears and desires. At the Republican Convention in 1964, Barry Goldwater famously said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” At the time, the left heard a reveille issued deep into the woods of the American right. The word “Fascism” was spoken (by Norman Mailer and others) to describe Goldwater’s speech. But now Goldwater’s statement, with its balanced clauses, its formality, seems merely rhetorical, a flourish more than a threat.

Trump is devoted to anti-rhetoric. Boasts and fears and menacing attacks are followed by instant “solutions” (about fighting ISIS: “You don’t want to know what I’m going to do”)—punctuated by war whoops and cries of adoration from the crowd. But put aside Trump’s ideas just for a second. When you do that, you might hear, especially in his recent speeches, uncanny echoes of Alan King and Don Rickles, the New York-born Jewish comics of the sixties and seventies who Trump must have listened to, as a young man, on late-night TV and in Vegas/Atlantic City entertainment rooms. The slow beginning, the sudden up-tempo shift, the shouted indignation, the repetition of a few simple phrases (“It’s not going to happen. Not going to happen”), the wounded expostulation, the exasperated bewilderment: it’s classic Alan King.

Much more BELOW THE FOLD.

Retired Octogenarian Admiral Ace Lyons Feeding Islamophobia...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Islamophobia is certainly alive and well in the United States of America. A nation founded on religious tolerance, at least that's how the Founding Fathers saw it and our secular government was to operate, today we are allowing bigots, hate mongers, ultra nationalists, and neo-fascists (like Donald Trumpf and his admirers) to steer the course of the nationaway from our founding principles. Demagogues and zealots like Trumpf and Lyons, without any proof plunge ahead spewing the hate the right feels towards not only Muslims but also our Christian President.

Fear and hate is driving the right into a frenzy. President Obama's reasoned and reasonable approach to combating terrorists and Islamic extremists who foster and engage in terror activity is the rational approach. Working with Muslim countries as well as European counties in the effort to eradicate terrorism is the only sensible approach.

Admiral Ace Lyons, who received an award from CSP alongside Sen. Jeff Sessions earlier this year, took a question from a woman in the audience who told him, “I’d like to know why no one — that’s literally no one — is gutsy enough to call a Muslim a Muslim in our White House. It’s pretty obvious that he is.”

After what appeared to be a brief consultation with Gaffney, Lyons responded: “Well, all I can say is he certainly acts the part, doesn’t he?”

SKIP

“When the president of the United States is not interested in America leading or America winning, then you understand that greatest threat to our national security resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” Lyons declared to applause.

Obama, he said, has been pushing policies that are “anti-American, anti-Western, but pro-Islam, pro-Iranian and pro-Muslim Brotherhood.”

“I have to ask you,” he said. “Why would an American president embrace the Muslim Brotherhood when their creed is to destroy America from within by our own miserable hands and replace our constitution with Sharia law? It makes absolutely no sense.”

SOURCE

Via: Memeorandum

Political News From France...

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Purveyor of Truth

BBC - France's far-right National Front (FN) has failed to win a single region in the second round of municipal polls.

The party was beaten into third place, despite leading in six of 13 regions in the first round of voting a week ago.

The centre-right Republicans finished ahead of President Francois Hollande's governing Socialist Party.

SKIP

Analysis: BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris

There can be no hiding that the results of the elections are a big personal blow to Marine Le Pen.

She has lost the chance to govern a region and show the world that her party is serious. She has been reminded that however strongly the FN performs, the gates of power remain tightly closed.

But in a way that suits her fine.

Because what it all means is that nothing in France has changed. The two main parties continue sharing out the goodies (in this case deliberately conniving to keep hers as well).

Meanwhile unemployment rises; terror stalks; the grim insurrectionary mood continues to spread.

Ms Le Pen's prospects for power may be limited, but her appeal is as strong as ever for France's growing numbers of disgruntled and disaffected.

That French "ouf" of relief? It's also the noise you make when you get a fist in the abdomen.

Quite similar in many respects to what is likely to be the outcome in the 2016 USA general elections. A stiff gut punch and right uppercut to the GOP conservatives as the middle again calls the shots.

Read the complete story BELOW THE FOLD.

As Neo-Fascist Trumpf Starts to Fade Ted Cruz the "Anointed One" Surges...

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Purveyor of Truth

Every show has an end. Just like "The Apprentice" — gripping the first few few seasons, tired and contrived in the last — Donald Trump's campaign is aging toward death, one reckless outburst at at time. Although the casual political junkie wouldn't know by the looks of most polls, the media fetish with The Donald and his cultish following.

With primaries a bit less than 50 days out, at this point, previously skeptical pundits have assumed not only that Trump is the front-runner in the GOP primary, but that there is no real contest. But while cable news is capitalizing off of kabuki theater, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has been backstage outplaying the entire GOP field.
In the modern ratings-based media world we live in, where candidates get attention off fundraising numbers and sensationalism, we often miss the politics brewing below the surface. Even seasoned politicos get distracted by earned media and national polls; but just as former House Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-Mass.) declared decades ago, the tried and tested formula of winning a presidential primary remains the same: It's all local.

Which is why, at this point in the campaign, we should prioritize "likely GOP voter" polls in early primary states over national and "total registered GOP voters" polls — like the Monmouth University poll out last week taken of Iowa GOP voters who have voted in previous caucuses, which shows Cruz winning at 24 percent (Trump is at 19 percent). Or, Sunday's Des Moines Register poll of likely Republican caucus-goers, which has Cruz at 31 percent and Trump 10 percentage points behind.

Recent general GOP polls (like this one and this one), where Trump is winning, factor in new Republican voters — a key portion of his support, but also those less likely to engage in the arduous Iowa caucus voting. And if those voters don't turn out, suddenly Trump drops below Cruz (in Iowa and South Carolina) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (in New Hampshire) in early primary states, making him dead on arrival to that "brokered convention" the media are fantasizing about.

All the focused polls in early primary states this week show Cruz's momentum growing, a reflection of his formulaic long-term strategy centered on fundraising, investment in ground game across the country, key endorsements and messaging to a coalition of conservative voters.

As we approach the final stretch before primaries begin, third-quarter fundraising reports indicate the health of a presidential campaign. Cruz not only out-raised all other candidates ($12.2 million), but he has assiduously maintained the most cash on hand ($13.8 million). While other big raisers (former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina) have spent resources on pricey ads, Cruz focused on field — perhaps saving media buys for the final days and tight race states. Cruz's investment in ground operations has paid off, as he notably has the strongest infrastructure in Iowa and South Carolina, and is far ahead of the pack in Super Tuesday primary states.

It was to be expected actually. As neo-fascist Trumpf has continued to open his mouth and utter his bigoted, misogynist, and anti American rhetoric in his trademark braggadocio style, Ted Cruz has been quietly building support where it counts; giving him an edge in the early GOP caucus and primary states.

Most would agree Ted Cruz is the brightest and quickest wit in of the entire GOP field. He appeals to the fundamentalist Evangelical base of the GOP as well as effectively cover his bases with the neo cons that see every diplomatic problem as an opportunity for further military engagement. This makes him a palatable candidate to the Trumpf supporters as well. In short, he is as dangerous, if not more so to the preservation of American core values than Trumpf may be.

Would be buyers BEWARE.

Continue Reading

Via: Memeorandum

Indeed...

Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty. - Plato



The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.  - Maximilien Robespierre



If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.  - James Madison

Neo-Fascist Pot Calls Kettle Black...

SOURCE Via: Memeorandum

Narcissism Personified...

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Purveyor of Truth

Straight from the mouth of the USA's biggest narcissist and neo-fascist.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is sending a warning to GOP leaders about his dominance in the polls: “You’ve got to get used to it.”

During an interview with Fox News’s Chris Wallace, the billionaire said Republicans are “kidding themselves” if they think he won’t secure the GOP nomination.

“I say, folks, you know, I’m sorry I did this to you, but you’ve got to get used to it,” Trump said. “It’s one of those little problems in life.”
“I’m going to win. ... You know, I’m not one of these other guys that goes down. I don’t go down. I go up.”

Trump’s interview with Wallace is set to air Sunday at 6 p.m.

Well Donald Bombast Trump, when you finally go down it will no doubt be with a resounding THUMP.

SOURCE with video.

Via: Memeorandum

Fear, Bigotry, and Irrationality our Biggest Threat to American Principles and Ideals...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

We live in troubled and dangerous times. A very real possibility of a prolonged 21'st century clash of western civilization and Islamic fundamentalist extremism exists. How the west handles the growing threat will quite likely determine the length and severity of the destruction.

If blanket bigotry and fear such as that being hawked by Donald J. Trump and the millions of others who share his diseased mindset prevails the world is in for a long protracted bloody battle the world over.

On the other hand if leveler heads, guided by a deep understanding of Middle Eastern history prevail it is possible the threat will be contained and eliminated with less bloodshed and destruction.

Understanding that Muslims in the Middle East and Africa have thus far suffered much greater terrorism, destruction, bloodshed, and loss of life than the USA is important. We must show the Muslim world, Islamic extremist jihadists aside for a moment, that we are willing to ally with them in the fight to end the terror and destruction in their homelands.

We must be willing to aid refugees in finding safety, and we must put religious ideology aside and discontinue treating all Muslims as if they wish to destroy us. They don't.

Vigilance and the heightened concern for our safety is absolutely necessary and we must combat the extremist Islamic terrorist threat for certain. But let us not forget our principles and what this nation has always stood for, as well as against, in the process.

Trump and his minions are as great a danger to our values and constitutional principles as the outside threat of ISIS.

Now on to the immediate visible threat.

ISIS has released chilling new footage depicting its apocalyptic vision of the end of the world.

It has titled the video 'Meeting at Dabiq' which refers to the location of a final battle between the 'Crusaders' and the 'Believers'.

The video also shows an ISIS 'armoured unit' advancing towards the Colosseum in reference to the 'armies of Rome'.

In the footage the terrorist organisation shows a dead fighter being kissed by his comrades, a Jihadi on horseback trying to look like a honourable soldier and groups of men with the majority too scared to show their faces to the camera.

The propaganda video then shows a convoy of cars driving at sunset, before switching to a man raising the black and white flag of ISIS.

It then moves on to show the ISIS flag over Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Iraq before parading the flags of the countries it has decided, ISIS is at war with.

The British flag is one of 60 on the screen.

Last week, the terror group also released a new video threatening terror attacks in major cities across the world.

Two jihadists dressed in army fatigues could be seen in the video launching a series of threats against Paris, New York and Moscow.

The video emerged just one day after MPs voted to launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria.

The video shows the two men sat on a beach before one speaking English begins his tirade against the West.

He says the "revenge has started" and the "blood will flow".

He then adds: "France was the beginning. Tomorrow will be Washington. It will be New York and it will be Moscow."

Read more BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Impact Of Neo-Fascist Rhetoric Used By Heir Trump...

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Purveyor of Truth

As the bigoted, hateful, and neo-fascist rhetoric of the Trump campaign spreads we can anticipate more violent crimes against innocent American Muslim citizens. Trump, a throwback to one of the worst eras in modern history should be held accountable for the results of his neo-fascist rhetoric. Americans who truly value our founding principles and the promise of an America our Founding Fathers envisioned must shut down Heir Trump and his bigoted neo-Nazi campaign to secure the republican nomination for the office George Washington and Thomas Jefferson once held.

If the republican party does not denounce Trump, each and every representative, senator, governor, and National Committee Member, as well as every candidate running for the presidential nomination the republican party is no better than Heir Trump and ought to become totally and completely irrelevant.

ASTORIA, Queens — As anti-Muslim rhetoric rises, particularly on the presidential campaign trail, so do physical attacks on Muslims. In one particular attack in New York, non-Muslim heroes emerged, but not before one man took a painful beating that's now being treated as a hate crime.

Sarker Haque, 53, still had a black eye from the Saturday afternoon pummeling he took in his store, Fatima Food Mart, on 21st Avenue.

"He punched me here," store owner Sarker Haque said, rubbing the back of his neck, and pointing to an ice cream cooler. "I fell down here," he said. "I say, 'What the hell you doing? What's wrong with you?' [The attacker] said, 'I kill Muslims.'"

Police identified the attacker as Piro Kolvani, who investigators said pummeled Haque repeatedly.

"He punched me as much as he can with his left hand," Haque said, choking back tears as he pointed to the arm he'd dislocated last winter that got inflamed again in Saturday's beating.

"He grabbed me here. Then he punched me here," Haque said while pointing to his face.

The daylight attacks on Mister Haque was the latest of recent attacks on Muslims and the Muslim community in New York and the Northeast. On Sunday, somebody threw a pig's head against the wall of a mosque in Philadelphia, a blatant attack against a religion that considers pork unfit for proper consumption

More BELOW THE FOLD.

Heir Trump is deserving of the most despicable American of the year award.

Via: Memeorandum

Will Heir Trump Defeat Himself?...

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Purveyor of Truth

Interesting exchange.

Are we to be driven by fear to act irrationally as Heir Trump advocates or are we to be driven by principle and act as our Founding Fathers and our founding documents would have us act?

As the USA enters a period resembling the early 1930's Germany the rest of the world watches.



SOURCE

Via: Memeorandum

Trump Nation

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Purveyor of Truth

Trump Nation, NOT!



If this dude receives the GOP nomination the republican party will probably get what it deserves. DEFEAT

Should he get the nomination AND the country is foolish enough to elect him president it will get what it deserves. A DIMINISHING DEMCATIC RERUBLIC.

SOURCE

Note: Poll standings are not up to date.

Via: Memeorandum

Beyond Trump...

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Purveyor of Truth

Excerpts from New York Magazine.

In his speech from the Oval Office on Sunday night, President Obama took care to urge his fellow citizens not to equate the extremism of ISIS with the beliefs of Muslims as a whole. “Just as it is the responsibility of Muslims around the world to root out misguided ideas that lead to radicalization, it is the responsibility of all Americans, of every faith, to reject discrimination. It is our responsibility to reject religious tests on who we admit into this country. It’s our responsibility to reject proposals that Muslim-Americans should somehow be treated differently.” Obama made his case on both pragmatic grounds (mistreating Muslims would feed into ISIS’s preferred narrative) and on moral grounds (Muslim-Americans deserve the same rights as the rest of us). Obama’s comments drew particular ire from Senator Marco Rubio, a leading Republican presidential candidate. "And then the cynicism, the cynicism tonight to spend a significant amount of time talking about discrimination against Muslims," Rubio declared on Fox News. "Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims?"

It is unclear what sort of evidence Rubio would accept. According to FBI statistics, hate crimes against Muslim-Americans, which spiked in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, have settled in at an elevated level five times higher than before 2001.

SKIP

Trump has dominated the Republican race by channeling the passions of its base more authentically than any other candidate. Trump’s imprint has been felt in ways that go far beyond his mere chances of capturing the nomination, which (I continue to estimate) remain low. Liberals fall into the habit of assuming that the most authentic spokesperson for the party’s base must necessarily be its most likely leader. The vociferous opposition Trump provokes among Republican leaders guarantees the last non-Trump candidate left standing will enjoy their consolidated and enthusiastic support. What Trump has done is to make the Republican party more Trump-like.

After 9/11, George W. Bush mostly succeeded in channeling nationalistic feelings away from anti-Muslim bigotry. Bush’s departure opened a sewer of ugly sentiments. One early episode of right-wing hysteria focused on a planned Muslim cultural center in lower Manhattan, which conservatives denounced as a “Ground Zero Mosque.” Republicans argued at the time that freedom of religion, which would normally safeguard a minority group’s right to build a cultural center with a house of worship, was overridden by anti-Muslim anger.

SKIP

Republicans distrust Trump for many reasons, beginning with his short and unconvincing record of loyalty to the party’s well-being. As threatening as they have found Trump’s candidacy, it has the convenient side effect of allowing them to define a general tendency in their party as a personal quirk associated with a buffoonish individual. The antipode of the Democratic belief that Trump is certain to rule the GOP is the Republican conviction that the cancer he represents can be cleanly severed from the body.

SKIP

Parliamentary systems channel far-right nationalistic movements of the sort Trump is leading into splinter parties. The American winner-take-all system creates two blocs that absorb far-right movements into the mainstream. Rubio, like all the Republican contenders, has promised to endorse Trump if he wins the nomination, a constraint that limits their ability to denounce him. You can’t call a man a fascist while promising to support him if he collects the requisite delegates. Unless Republican elites are willing to actually cleave the GOP in two — and they have displayed no such inclination — they are going to live with the reality that they are part of an entity that is substantially, if not entirely, a party of Trump.

SOURCE


If the GOP is unable to severe the head of the beast from the party America will indeed have a neo-fascist party with representatives working to destroy the promise of our Founding Fathers.

Via: Memeorandum


UPDATE:

Trump's Islamophobia is a central feature of his appeal to his supporters:

-67% of his voters support a national database of Muslims in the United States, to only 14% opposed to it.

-62% believe his claims that thousands of Arabs cheered in New Jersey when the World Trade Center collapsed, to only 15% who don't believe that.

-51% want to see the Mosques in the country shut down, to only 16% against that.

-And only 24% of Trump supporters in the state even think Islam should be legal at all in the United States, to 44% who think it shouldn't be.

My Response To Neo-Fascist Fear Mongering Bigot Donald T. Trump...

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Purveyor of Truth

Not being a religious individual finding religion to have fostered as much harm as good in civilization I find these sort of comparisons interesting in the least and sometimes informative.

Honesty and the willingness to consider the viewpoints of others, in secular life as well as in the religious beliefs of others is really the only way humans have of living together in harmony. However, history has shown, at least to me anyway, that regardless of effort humankind lacks the capacity to understand this. Fundamentalism in the extreme, whether Islam, Christian, or any other religious tenet is damaging in the least and dangerous at its worst.

Unfortunately today we are witnessing damaging incidents perpetrated by Christian fundamentalists and downright destructive terrorism perpetrated by adherents of extreme fundamentalist Islam. What I am most concerned with is not the threat of Islamic terrorism as the "might of the USA", combined with efforts from the rest of the "civilized" world, has the combined capacity to overcome and destroy the evils of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism. What I fear is what fear is doing to the people of this nation, clouding their ability to recognize that to defeat ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other organizations will require working with Muslim nations whose people have suffered by far more destruction and loss of human life than we have at the hands of Islamic terrorists.

Paint me what you will but unless the fearful folks of this nation begin to understand what President Obama and other leveler and cooler heads are saying we will indeed face a longer and more difficult struggle against radical Islamic terrorism. Because until we understand the struggle, and what actually created it, from a different perspective (change ur paradigm) we will continue to help ISIS recruiters fill there ranks.

And now to the Neo-Fascist:




SOURCE


UPDATE:

How cool is this?!!?

Women Submit, the Lord Sayeth So...

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Purveyor of Truth

We are treated to the "wisdom" and faith of Christianity and the fundamentalist Evangelical Baptist Church. Women are to submit to their husbands in everything. There is a divine hierarchy in marriage and women must submit to their husbands, like it or not.

Further, according to Dr. and Preach Ashley E. Ray the feminist movement is destroying America.



Is it only me or does anyone else see some parallels with Islam here?

SOURCE

From the Mouth of a True P*ssy...

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Purveyor of Truth

Straight from the mouth of one who is apparently scared shitless. Precisely like so many of his rightwing frightwing brethren. A man who obviously will need the protection of the fascist blowhard Trump the Rump.



SOURCE